How is consciousness addressed within the perspective of cognitive neuroscience - Essay Example

Overview of Consciousness Psychologists and neuroscientists have been trying their best to unravel the complex process that leads to consciousness. There are several challenges facing the venture to understand consciousness. Some people argue that cognitive processes are not sufficient to explain consciousness. Neuroscientists seek to elaborate how neural connections contribute to achieving consciousness (Frackowiak, 2004). Some psychologists argue that there are specific cognitive processes that control an individual’s awareness (Kalat, 2009).

These processes are likely to be the causative mechanisms to behavior change. On the other hand, neuroscientists argue that there is a possibility that consciousness results due to a complex neural structure consisting of multiple neural connections (Gennaro, 2012). Neuroscientists seek to establish the major mechanisms that result to the main aspects that depict awareness such as pain, self-consciousness and visual awareness. However, neuroscientists have not been able to unravel whether different aspects of consciousness result from similar mechanisms or different ones (Giacino, 2005).

Many researchers in this field accept that it is not possible to define consciousness because the available factual data proves wanting .Neuroscientists seek to understand the specialty of neural connections that result to consciousness (Moscovitch, Thompson, and Zelazo, 2007). It becomes more complicated when neuroscientists begin to analyze which parts of the brain produce neural connections that translate to consciousness (Holt, 2005). On a different aspect, neurology predicts that it probably there are many unconscious processes that result to consciousness.

This implies that consciousness exists unconsciously. This argument receives its backing from the fact that performing a task requires neural connections that usually go unnoticed. From this overview, it becomes evident that neuroscientists need to provide answers that explain the complexity of consciousness (Squire, 2012). Majority of the models and theories try to answer the less demanding issues about cognition first in order to have sufficient background information to address the complex issues (Gennaro, 2004).

One of the theories is the reentrant dynamic core theory that bases its argument on a globalist point of view. It is the proposal of Edelman and Tononi and suggests that consciousness does not occur in specific areas of the brain. In addition, the theory suggests that no special neural connections lead up to the cognitive processes that cause awareness. This theory discredits the suggestions by others and offers the explanation that consciousness results from dynamic interactions of different groups of neurons that occur on different parts of the brain.

This theory combines the easy and difficult tasks in defining consciousness. Edelman and Tononi suggest that there is a reentry of information occurring between variant groups of neurons. An additional theory argues that consciousness results from emotional experiences resulting from an interaction of different parts of the brain. According to this theory, this occurs in instances when the brain undergoes high neural activation. This appreciates the contribution of the working memory in awareness. This t