Metaphysics & Psychology

Does consciousness live within electric currents in the brain?

By T.K. Randall
November 26, 2024

Image: AI-generated (Bing AI / Dall-E 3) Of all the fundamental mysteries humankind has grappled with since the dawn of time, the nature of consciousness - something that every single one of us possesses - is perhaps the most fundamental to the human condition.

How is it that we possess the ability to perceive ourselves and others, or to ask questions about the world around us ? How do you explain what consciousness is or how it works ?

Many subscribe to the idea that consciousness exists beyond the physical - that it is our true self, or 'soul', that may even persist after we die.

Others, meanwhile, seek a more materialistic explanation that does not rely on the metaphysical.

One controversial theory that has been gaining traction recently is the idea that consciousness can be explained by way of the electromagnetic fields (or "ephaptic fields") produced by the synaptic firing of neurons in the brain.Psychologist Tamlyn Hunt of the University of California Santa Barbara's META lab has described experimental results indicative of the role that these fields may play in bringing about consciousness.

The findings, which were recorded in 2019 during research at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, saw brain activity 'leaping' across a bisected mouse hippocampus, something that should only be possible through electric field coupling.

"It was a jaw-dropping moment," said study senior author Dominique M Durand.

"For us and for every scientist we told about this so far."

As things stand, however, there is still a long way to go to prove that these fields are responsible for consciousness.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Tags: Consciousness