A conceptual framework for consciousness.

Consciousness can be explained through a rational, scientific framework that avoids hidden mysticism. The Attention Schema Theory proposes that the brain constructs a simplified model of its own attention, which serves as the basis for conscious experience. Growing behavioral, brain imaging, and computational evidence supports this theory. Consciousness likely evolved gradually over millions of years, from fish to humans, because it plays specific adaptive roles in cognition and behavior, such as enabling flexible control of attention and social prediction.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article argues that consciousness has a logically sound, explanatory framework, different from typical accounts that suffer from hidden mysticism. The article has three main parts. The first describes background principles concerning information processing in the brain, from which one can deduce a general, rational framework for explaining consciousness. The second part describes a specific theory that embodies those background principles, the Attention Schema Theory. In the past several years, a growing body of experimental evidence-behavioral evidence, brain imaging evidence, and computational modeling-has addressed aspects of the theory. The final part discusses the evolution of consciousness. By emphasizing the specific role of consciousness in cognition and behavior, the present approach leads to a proposed account of how consciousness may have evolved over millions of years, from fish to humans. The goal of this article is to present a comprehensive, overarching framework in which we can understand scientifically what consciousness is and what key adaptive roles it plays in brain function.