Leon-Dominguez U, Leon-Carrion J
Universidad de Monterrey, San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico.
Universidad de Sevilla, 41004 Sevilla, Espana.
Rev Neurol. 2019 Aug 16;69(4):159-166. doi: 10.33588/rn.6904.2019072.
Interest in the causal relation between consciousness and the underlying neuronal activity has grown in recent decades. Numerous experimental studies have been carried out on the brain structures and networks underlying consciousness in animal models, in patients with brain damage and with very precise functional neuroimaging. In spite of the great multitude of findings, there is no theoretical proposal that integrates this knowledge under a coherent theoretical framework based on the evidence obtained. Existing theories offer a dismembered view of consciousness, since they pose causal explanations that do not include a global functional perspective of the interaction of the different brain networks involved in consciousness. This work offers a theoretical framework that integrates the empirical knowledge, generated in recent decades, into a neurofunctional model of consciousness. This model represents consciousness as an epiphenomenon resulting from the sequential activation of different neural loops that are formed by specific brain structures and networks which receive feedback from their own operations in order to reconfigure their own functional states and the entire system. The ascending reticular activating system, the thalamocortical networks and the cortico-cortical networks sustain cognitive processes that are differentiated, although highly dependent and fundamental for the final experience of consciousness. All these systems form a single physiological space where the individual can deploy different cognitive skills that allow the emergence of complex behaviours such as language, thought and social cognition.
近几十年来，人们对意识与潜在神经元活动之间的因果关系的兴趣与日俱增。针对动物模型、脑损伤患者以及运用非常精确的功能神经影像学，对意识所依赖的脑结构和网络进行了大量实验研究。尽管有众多研究发现，但尚无理论提议能基于所获证据，在一个连贯的理论框架下整合这些知识。现有理论对意识的看法支离破碎，因为它们提出的因果解释未涵盖参与意识活动的不同脑网络相互作用的整体功能视角。这项工作提供了一个理论框架，将近几十年来产生的实证知识整合到一个意识的神经功能模型中。该模型将意识表征为一种副现象，它源于不同神经回路的顺序激活，这些神经回路由特定的脑结构和网络形成，它们接收自身运作的反馈，以便重新配置自身的功能状态及整个系统。上行网状激活系统、丘脑皮质网络和皮质皮质网络维持着虽相互高度依赖且对意识的最终体验至关重要但又有所区分的认知过程。所有这些系统构成一个单一的生理空间，个体可在其中施展不同的认知技能，从而产生诸如语言、思维和社会认知等复杂行为。
