Why Study It?

Consciousness, like the sense of self, defines the person. The electromagnetic basis of consciousness appears to involve cohesive waves of electromagnetic fields, generated from the cortical manifold, that are recreated ("refreshed") within the 40 Hz range. These quanta of consciousness occur to quickly to be discerned within the range of what we experience as "now" which is the ability to discriminate between sequences separated by more than about 40 msec to 50 msec. There may be different types or states of consciousness, such as dreaming, each of which have different characteristics and properties. If consciousness is "recreated" every 20 to 25 msec ("40 Hz") rather than maintained as a continuous stream, then what happens between the end of one increment and the beginning of the next.

This question generates several interesting questions. Could information from outside of the brain be acquired during this "infinite infinitesimal" interval? Could this information then be incorporated into the stream of experience generated by the normal volleys of sensory neurons? Could normal consciousness be considered a type of "insulation" that prevents access from the myriad of stimuli that we typically do not detect? If there are only a few algorithms of neuroelectromagnetic patterns and what define the "individual" are random variations (neuroelectrical chaos) around these fundamentals would experimental simulation of this complexity actually be the individual. Do these electromagnetic patterns that define the individual induce changes within its physical environment that allow its representation to remain (a type of memory) when the brain deteriorates in a manner analogous to a hologram or to an image of an event upon a photograph?

What we have learned

We have found consciousness can be described as an emergent property of the complex electromagnetic process generated from predictable biochemical and biological processes. Although the terms soul and mind may have been useful at one time to describe this process, they are no longer required. They are more like the term "phlogiston" that was employed to describe why things burned before modern chemistry emerged. When there is no electrical current moving through the parts of a television, there is no picture. When the specific electromagnetic patterns are not generated within the brain structures there is no consciousness or awareness.

Some individuals with very different brain structures show different electromagnetic correlates that are associated with their ability to discern stimuli others cannot detect. Counter clockwise rotation of weak magnetic fields around the skull at specific rates of change (derivatives) can affect subjective time and allow the average person to experience many of the altered states reported by practitioners of mystical traditions as well as "paranormal" phenomena. The critical variables, like any chemical reaction, are the complexity and specificity of the temporal parameters. One component of consciousness may be "sequestered" within second or third derivatives of very narrow bands of changes in frequency within the theta range. Our calculations of resonance, based upon the power changes within quantitative electroencephalographic measures, suggest that one electromagnetic source of consciousness may actually exist within the 10 cm region outside of and surrounding the cranium.