The emergence of identity, agency and consciousness from the temporal dynamics of neural elaboration.
Front Netw Physiol April 2, 2024
Identity and agency, typically seen as conscious mental constructs, may instead arise as necessary computational byproducts of how nervous systems model time. To interact with a rapidly changing world, animals need neural algorithms that predict sensory events (received with a delay) and plan motor actions in advance. The brain handles these different temporal dynamics by transforming time sequences into simultaneous patterns, enabling predictive algorithms. The contrast between delayed perception and anticipatory motor control generates the distinction between self and non-self (identity) and the sense of being an author of one's acts (agency) as computational requirements for modeling reality, without requiring awareness. In conscious brains, these constructs may become mental experiences.