All cortical

consciousness is absolutely contingent dependent upon brainstem arousal.

And brainstem arousal, far from being merely a quantitative dimension of consciousness, you know wakefulness,

the level of consciousness, as Yark's work showed us,

brainstem consciousness, this basic foundational prerequisite for all other forms of consciousness, has a quality, and that quality is affect.

The brain is not just an object, it is also a subject. This is the most unique feature of the brain

is that it feels like something to be a brain and as far as we know this doesn't apply to anything else in nature.

Welcome to brain science, the podcast where we explore how discoveries in neuroscience are helping unravel the mystery of how our

brain makes us human.

I'm your host Dr. Ginger Campbell and this is episode 184. If you're curious about how your brain

really works, this is the podcast for you. Last month we talked with Jeff Hawkins about the cortical origins of intelligence,

but this month we will dive into the deeper parts of the brain to explore the role of sub-cortical structures and emotions in

creating consciousness. I will be talking with Mark Solms about his new book, The Hidden Spring, a journey to the source of consciousness.

The excerpt that opened this episode captures two key ideas. Most obvious is the claim that consciousness has a

subcortical origin. Longtime listeners will also have noticed

Somme's reference to the work of the late Jacques Pangsep. In this interview, Mark

shares how Pangsep's work influenced him, as well as his more recent collaboration with Carl Friston, one of the pioneers of

computational neuroscience and predictive coding.

Before we jump into the interview, I want to remind you that you can find complete

show notes and episode transcripts at brainscience podcast.com brain science is

produced independently and it relies on the financial

support of listeners like you. To learn more, please visit brain science

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