THE MYSTERY OF CONSCIOUSNESS: How Our Brain Distinguishes Good from Evil
Photo by Harrison Leece on Unsplash
What is consciousness, and where is it located? Humanity has developed an incredible variety of theories on this subject, primarily based on philosophical concepts. This remained the case until biology and medicine began to study brain function systematically. Modern scientists are convinced that consciousness is «hidden» within the brain itself. Thus, the question has shifted: in which specific area of the brain is consciousness localized?
PHILOSOPHY AND NEUROBIOLOGY
People did not immediately discover consciousness within their brains. What seems evident to us now was not apparent to the representatives of ancient civilizations. Some believed that the «self» resided in the belly, others in the heart, while some placed it beyond the human body in a kind of «cosmic sphere», thus stripping it of any material basis.
René Descartes was one of the first to approach the problem of consciousness with scientific and philosophical seriousness. He addressed it through the dualism of a conscious, rational soul and a body prone to various «dark passions». If we can control these passions through reason, we are mindful. Naturally, Descartes’ theory was not the end of the story…
Philosophers continue to debate what «self» and «consciousness» are. Neurobiology firmly asserts the link between the brain and consciousness, which might be questionable to a philosopher. However, biology can provide a more or less definitive answer to the question of «where?» It does not venture into the philosophical domain that seeks to understand «why?» and «for what purpose?»
THE FORMULA OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE BRAIN STEM
According to Harvard scientists, the physical center of human consciousness is a system involving the brainstem and two specific regions. Consciousness consists of two components: arousal and awareness, controlled by two areas — the left ventral insular cortex and the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex.
In general terms, the formula of consciousness can be summarized as Arousal + Awareness = Consciousness.
For a long time, scientists believed that only the cerebral cortex was «responsible» for consciousness. However, as early as 2016, researchers at Harvard Medical School discovered that the brainstem, which acts as a link between the spinal cord and the brain, is responsible for arousal.
The brainstem regulates activity and sleep in humans and animals, controlling the arousal component, where the centers for breathing and heartbeat are located.
Interestingly, during sleep, the heart rate slows, and breathing changes, resembling pranayama — a type of breathing practiced by yogis. Considering that abdominal muscles and the diaphragm are involved in this process, it seems the ancient thinkers were paradoxically correct in associating consciousness with the heart and belly.
DESCARTES AND THE «MYSTERY OF CONSCIOUSNESS»
But what about Descartes’ idea of consciousness as a process of opposing «good» rationality to «evil» irrationality? It also has a scientific basis. Researchers from Oxford discovered it shortly before their Harvard colleagues. They found a region at the pole of the anterior frontal lobe that signals the wrongness of our actions and decisions.
Notably, this small center is absent in animals, even primates. It exists only in humans, granting them the evaluative ability to distinguish between good and evil — even before any specific actions are taken or words are spoken! So, was Descartes right? It’s important to emphasize a particular physiological feature: this center is dual, aligning perfectly with philosophical dualism.
The uniqueness of human consciousness lies in the fact that the brain not only critiques and analyzes itself but also causes psychological suffering. However, the alignment between philosophical concepts and neurobiology doesn’t end here.
A recent article in the Journal of Neuroscience revealed yet another aspect of the «mystery of consciousness», identifying it in the hippocampus.
This structure is also paired but located in the temporal lobes of the hemispheres — a paired structure. The hippocampus is responsible for short-term memory and its conversion into long-term memory.
HIPPOCAMPUS AND THE SPACE OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Once again, scientists had to significantly adjust the old notion of the cerebral cortex’s exclusive role in consciousness. The hippocampus plays a crucial role in our orientation in the external world, which is undoubtedly a conscious process. It processes information about what we are focusing on and creates a kind of cognitive «road map».
However, hippocampal activity is not constant; it varies depending on the complexity of motor programs. Skilled activities, such as handwriting, typing, or playing musical instruments, increase hippocampal activity. It starts to include the recombination of movements in various sequences and their reproduction from memory.
In other words, the hippocampus «pre-orders» well-thought-out and practiced movement sequences and ensures their proper execution. After all, goal-setting is one of the critical functions of consciousness! It is impossible without skilled motor behavior, which requires the appropriate neural foundation.
And this foundation is precisely the hippocampus, which structures the «stream of consciousness» and transforms it into the «space of consciousness».
VIRTUAL «MAP OF REALITY»
When we sit down at the keyboard to create a brilliant text, it is the hippocampus that runs the idea through working memory, simultaneously loading skill programs, associations from long-term memory, speech zones of the cortex, etc. This is how the complex «map of reality» is formed, with events first unfolding in our consciousness and then integrating other data into a virtual image.
Scientists suggest that this brain function evolved in humans from navigation and orientation capabilities. Interestingly, new neurons — about a thousand per day — are born only in the hippocampus and nowhere else.
Unfortunately, as people age, hippocampal activity in neuron production diminishes, and simultaneously, consciousness «fades».
Original research:
