Neurophysiological mechanisms of implicit and explicit memory in the process of consciousness
Don M. Tucker, Phan Luu, Mark H. Johnson
Abstract
The process of consciousness, generating the qualia that may appear to be irreducible qualities of experience, can be understood to arise from neurophysiological mechanisms of memory. Implicit memory, organized by the lemnothalamic brain stem projections and dorsal limbic consolidation in REM sleep, supports the unconscious field and the quasi-conscious fringe of current awareness. Explicit memory, organized by the collothalamic midbrain projections and ventral limbic consolidation of NREM sleep, supports the focal objects of consciousness.
Topics & Concepts
ConsciousnessPsychologyNeuroscienceImplicit memoryNeurophysiologyMemory consolidationQualiaCognitive psychologyUnconscious mindExplicit memoryCognitive scienceEpisodic memoryCognitionHippocampusPsychoanalysisSleep and Wakefulness ResearchMemory and Neural MechanismsEEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces