Rodent studies of navigation across single- and two-dimensional
environments show patterns of hippocampal pyramidal cell activation characterized by
a “place field” in the format of a cone and a highest firing “place cell” neuron in its
center. As the animal moves across the environment, the field of neuronal activation
concomitantly changes in the hippocampus. The animal realizes knowledge about its
location through the relationship between a central neuronal spike and the overall
activation of a place field. Awareness of location is signaled by the matching of maps
represented in the hippocampus with incoming perceptual information. This pattern
supports the idea of subjective experiences as abstract information that transcends
specific physical location. It supports a content-independent mechanism for the
realization of information into “knowledge”. In two-dimensional mazes, neurons that
become active at the crossroads also become tied to different routes, emerging as
omnidirectional cells. Multiple episodes of common junctions can free neurons from
their physical context. Emergent levels of omnidirectional assemblies have a relational
origin and can become part of higher order representations. These results suggest the
existence of mechanisms that abstract information from spatial and temporal
perspectives. They also indicate that motor actions have a pivotal role in the generation
of maps and, ultimately, that actions form the basis for the representation of the
physical world and the transition of Shannon to non-Shannon “aboutness” information.
Such results counter the IIT premise of awareness generation in systems that cannot be
activated.
Keywords: Aboutness Problem, Abstract Maps, Action-Based Consciousness,
Awareness of Location, Bottom-up Consciousness, Content-Free Qualia, Feelings
of Knowing, Hippocampal Navigation Studies, Hippocampal Pyramidal Cells,
Higher Order Representations, Hippocampal Theta Oscillation, IIT Inactive
Systems, Omnidirectional Cells, Oscillatory Phase, Place Field, Place Cell,
Realization of Meaning, Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity, Temporal Code,
Thermodynamic Decoupling.
