CONSCIOUSNESS

2. Neuroscience 99
synapses of the synapses belonging to the learned item. Activating the postsynapses belonging
to the learned item without activating their presynaptic terminals will evoke cellular hallucination
of an action potential-induced synaptic transmission from presynapses belonging to
the learned item inducing synaptic semblance. When more than one postsynapse (dendritic
spine) of a neuron gets depolarized through the functional LINKs, during memory retrieval, it
enables spatial and/or temporal summation of excitatory postsynaptic potentials to evoke an
action potential. The activity from this neuron propagates in the downstream network that belongs
to the learned item and induce network semblance (creating hallucination of sensory inputs
from the learned item). The net effect of synaptic and network semblances provide virtual
sensation of a stimulus in its absence, which is memory. Since there are several suggestions
that consciousness is related to some form of memory (Crick and Koch, 1998; Ramachandran
and Hirstein, 1997; Rosenbaum et al., 2007), it is reasonable to formulate a framework for
consciousness from semblance hypothesis. Neuronal activity from the hippocampal and cortical
oscillations as well as those that are triggered by background environmental stimuli activate
a non-specific set of neurons result in the formation of highly non-selective semblances
named as primary semblances. The prominent one among them is named as consciousness
semblance (C-semblance). Qualia can be described as a primary semblance formed from sensory
inputs from a single sensory system. Secondary semblances form in the presence of a cue
stimulus used in previous associative learning. Examples include memory, decision-making
and path finding. Tertiary semblance occurs as a response to a novel cue stimulus and may
result in more than one semblance leaving the animal with an option to choose from. If the
semblances are of nearly equal strength, choosing one of them becomes a probability problem
similar to that in quantum mechanics. Extent of previous associative learning and the nature
of the problem (cue) giving rise to tertiary semblance may explain the existing arguments for
and against “free will”. This work should be considered as unproven until it is verified against
experimental evidence. P8
2.2 Vision
119 Inversion of the Retinal Layers as Necessary Condition for Spatial
Constancy Eduard Alto (Vantaa, Finland)
The retinal layers inversion means that the brain ‘looks’ at the image from the awkward
direction. All the objects are turned twice: from left to right and upside-down. For example,
the figure ‘5’ reflected on the retina can not be restored into its initial shape by rotations in the
plane. But in the case of uninverted retina (as if the brain looked at the image from the opposite
side of retina) the objects would be seen simply as turned over ones. Thus, there must exist
a serious reason for the ‘awkward’ choice. The reason may lay in the requirement for constancy.
If there is a single and minimal visible dot within the completely empty visual field, it
remains spatially constant even in monocular conditions. In lack of any additional information
there can be the only one possible way for that. Even single photoreceptor comparable with
the minimal visible dot evokes polysynaptic input to a number of neurons, and each transition
from one separate photoreceptor to another one changes 3D grating of exited synapses. Nevertheless,
the smallest visible dot represented by these continuously changing gratings retains its
constancy. It means that the synapse grating changes its shape in some special way which lets
the brain know the precise direction to the dot. This three-dimensional stimulus representation
allows the visual system to directly compare successive phases of stimulus form and location
within the interval of approximately 1/15 sec. Moreover, this precision provides stereopsis
even for monocular vision as well, as it follows from the well-known experiments with the
artificial stabilized images on the retina. (Both effects were described in the author’s previous
abstracts). And need for the correct view of this 3D shape dictates the direction of sight which
is awkward in other aspects. As a result, there arise some new problems. Though the correct
order of mutual positions of receptive fields can be reconstructed by means of chiasmatic
redirections, geometric forms of stimuli within receptive fields themselves would retain their
original inverted shape. The problem could be resolved by mirror transformation, and it forces
us to remember the layers inversion in the lateral geniculate nucleus where the layers 4 and 5