The Global Neuronal Workspace theory, which links consciousness to cognitive functions like perception and memory, aligns with the Unlimited Associative Learning theory that describes minimal consciousness. However, applying these models to basal vertebrates requires significant adjustments based on brain evolution. Comparative evidence indicates that in these vertebrates, the workspace is implemented by the event memory system in the hippocampal homolog. This offers testable predictions about hippocampal and cortical roles, the evolutionary link between memory and consciousness, and the development of unified perception.
A conscious being has a subjective point of view on the world and its own body, a concept easiest to grasp with vision, as Ernst Mach illustrated by drawing his own visual perspective. However, subjective experience encompasses far more than vision, including sounds, odors, tastes, and tactile sensations—a complete sensory world. The text argues that these sensory experiences constitute a full subjective point of view, extending beyond any single sense to shape a person's entire conscious experience of reality.