?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=A+Physiologically+Based+System+Theory+of+Consciousness&rft.creator=coward%2C+l+andrew&rft.subject=Neuropsychology&rft.subject=Perceptual+Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Physiological+Psychology&rft.description=A+system+which+uses+large+numbers+of+devices+to+perform+a+complex+functionality+is+forced+to+adopt+a+simple+functional+architecture+by+the+needs+to+construct+copies+of%2C+repair%2C+and+modify+the+system.+A+simple+functional+architecture+means+that+functionality+is+partitioned+into+relatively+equal+sized+components+on+many+levels+of+detail+down+to+device+level%2C+a+mapping+exists+between+the+different+levels%2C+and+exchange+of+information+between+components+is+minimized.++In+the+instruction+architecture+functionality+is+partitioned+on+every+level+into+instructions%2C+which+exchange+unambiguous+system+information+and+therefore+output+system+commands.+The+von+Neumann+architecture+is+a+special+case+of+the+instruction+architecture+in+which+instructions+are+coded+as+unambiguous+system+information.++In+the+recommendation+(or+pattern+extraction)+architecture+functionality+is+partitioned+on+every+level+into+repetition+elements%2C+which+can+freely+exchange+ambiguous+information+and+therefore+output+only+system+action+recommendations+which+must+compete+for+control+of+system+behavior.+Partitioning+is+optimized+to+the+best+tradeoff+between+even+partitioning+and+minimum+cost+of+distributing+data.++Natural+pressures+deriving+from+the+need+to+construct+copies+under+DNA+control%2C+recover+from+errors%2C+failures+and+damage%2C+and+add+new+functionality+derived+from+random+mutations+has+resulted+in+biological+brains+being+constrained+to+adopt+the+recommendation+architecture.+The+resultant+hierarchy+of+functional+separations+can+be+the+basis+for+understanding+psychological+phenomena+in+terms+of+physiology.++A+theory+of+consciousness+is+described+based+on+the+recommendation+architecture+model+for+biological+brains.++++Consciousness+is+defined+at+a+high+level+in+terms+of+sensory+independent+image+sequences+including+self+images+with+the+role+of+extending+the+search+of+records+of+individual+experience+for+behavioral+guidance+in+complex+social+situations.++Functional+components+of+this+definition+of+consciousness+are+developed%2C++and+it+is+demonstrated+that+these+components+can+be+translated+through+subcomponents+to+descriptions+in+terms+of+known+and+postulated+physiological+mechanisms.+&rft.publisher=UPA&rft.contributor=Jordan%2C+Scott&rft.date=1999&rft.type=Book+Chapter&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F2303%2F3%2FConcTheory.pdf&rft.identifier=++coward%2C+l+andrew++(1999)+A+Physiologically+Based+System+Theory+of+Consciousness.++%5BBook+Chapter%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F2303%2F