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Cited by 180Philosophy and Theoretical ScienceNeural dynamics and brain functionCognitive Science and Education Research

Evolution of consciousness

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Eccles, J C·1992·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.89.16.7320PMC PMC49701
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Abstract

The hypothesis of the origin of consciousness is built upon the unique properties of the mammalian neocortex. The apical dendrites of the pyramidal cells bundle together as they ascend to lamina I to form neural receptor units of approximately 100 apical dendrites plus branches receiving hundreds of thousands of excitatory synapses, the collective assemblage being called a dendron. It is proposed that the whole world of consciousness, the mental world, is microgranular, with mental units called psychons, and that in mind-brain interaction one psychon is linked to one dendron through quantum physics. The hypothesis is that in mammalian evolution dendrons evolved for more effective integration of the increased complexity of sensory inputs. These evolved dendrons had the capacity for interacting with psychons that came to exist, so forming the mental world and giving the mammal conscious experiences. In Darwinian evolution, consciousness would have occurred initially some 200 million years ago in relation to the primitive cerebral cortices of evolving mammals. It would give global experiences of a surrounding world for guiding behavior beyond what is given by the unconscious operation of sensory cortical areas per se. So conscious experiences would give mammals evolutionary advantage over the reptiles, which lack a neocortex giving consciousness. The Wulst of the avian brain needs further investigation to discover how it could give birds the consciousness that they seem to have.

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  • Hebb's cell assemblies, Eccles's modules, and Crick and Koch's coherent sets of neurons are each estimated to contain some 10,000 to 100,000 neurons which may be widely distributed throughout the brain.

    “Hebb's [140] 'cell assemblies', Eccles's [141] 'modules', and Crick and Koch's [48] 'coherent sets of neurons' are each estimated to contain some 10,000 to 100,000 neurons which may be widely distributed throughout the brain [37].”

    From Consciousness in the universe (2014) · cites this paper as [141]

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Authors
Eccles, J. C.
Affiliations
Max Planck Institute for Brain Research (DE)
Corresponding author
Eccles, J C
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
1992-08-15
Volume
89
Issue
16
Pages
7320-7324
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.89.16.7320
PMC
PMC49701
OpenAlex
W1997717179
Cited by
180
References
14
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 7
FWCI
5.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Cognitive Science and Education Research
Keywords
origin of consciousness, neocortex, dendrons, pyramidal neurons, apical dendrites, mind-brain interaction, quantum consciousness, mammalian evolution, sensory integration, cerebral cortex
MeSH terms
Animals, Cerebral Cortex, Consciousness, Biological Evolution, Mammals, Models, Neurological, Synapses

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