PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF AWARENESS - SELF-IDENTIFICATION HYPOTHESIS

A hypothesis is advanced concerning the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the mental process of self-identification, It is assumed th at a specific excitation pattern produced by a stimulus in one of seve ral cortical areas is transmitted back to the neurons of the same cort ical areas via massive parallel feedback pathways. The coincident (ide ntical) excitation patterns those produced by the stimulus and relayed by backward projections add together in the same neuronal structures thus inducing their intensive firing. This cyclic process amplifies th e specificity and intensifies a representation of the stimulus thus cr eating the most favorable conditions for its categorization by distrib uted long-term memory. The result of categorization, a symbol or an im age, is physiologically expressed by a pattern of neuronal activity, w hich is also included in the cycle of self-identification. This proces s underlies representation of subjective meaning of sensory characteri stics of the stimulus. Symbolic representation of the stimulus signifi es the transition of the perception process from the physiological (ob jective) to the mental (subjective) level. Theoretical analysis and ex perimental data show that the cyclic processes of self-identification and symbolic interpretation of sensory signals are likely to produce t he phenomenon of awareness.