TITLE:
The Default Space Theory of Consciousness: Phenomenological Support from Personal Observations and Clinical Deficits
AUTHORS:
Ravinder Jerath, Connor Beveridge, Michael Jensen
KEYWORDS:
Default 3D Space, Thalamus, Consciousness, Corticothalamic Feedback Loop, Contralateral Neglect, Phantom Limb, Lateral Inhibition
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Neuroscience,
Vol.9 No.1,
January
14,
2019
ABSTRACT: Consciousness
is the unified, structured, subjective experience that we all share. The
Default Space Theory has been proposed as a unified theory of consciousness
that includes the brain and body in describing the infrastructure of
consciousness. We have presented the theory in journals with a variety of
academic specialties; however, the model is continually being developed. Due to
the current state of science on the nature of conscious experience lacking hard
data, the theory’s concepts must thoroughly explain and shoulder
phenomenological observations including the phenomenology of deficits of
consciousness. According to the theory, the thalamus serves as a central hub
which networks the globally distributed, and continuous fast oscillations not only among the
brain, but also the eyes, ears, skin, and other sensory organs. These
oscillations form the virtual template of external space within the mind in which external sensory information is
integrated into this pre-existing, dynamic space. In this article, we
explore phenomenological support for our theory of conscious experience in
which such experience resides entirely in such a virtual space, termed the
default space. In order to provide such support, we discuss simple personal
experiments and observations which anyone can partake along with phenomenal
symptoms of clinical deficits. We encourage readers to perform the personal
experiments we describe in order to gain an understanding of the various
concepts of the theory. The neurological deficits we elucidate not only support
the theory but clarify obscurities surrounding these conditions. We assert the
support we give in our theory here will advance the uphill struggle many paramount theories
face in gaining initial acceptance. Further research is needed in order to
acquire empirical evidence for the veracity of our theory.