The Three Neurogenetic Phases of Human Consciousness

This paper is an organization and conceptualization of a genetic account of human consciousness and to establish an initial list of the neurogenetic correlates of consciousness (NgCC). This will be accomplished by establishing networks of genes that are involved in the multiple facets of the process of human consciousness. The methodology utilized in this work is the evaluation of a small number of genes that have been researched experimentally in order to understand their role in brain development and function. The results demonstrate that most neurogenetic genes can be categorized into three phases: the emergence of neuron-based consciousness, the continuum of neuron-based consciousness, and the neurodegeneration of consciousness. This work also revealed that some genes have a function in more than one of the neurogenetic phases. As of now a starting point has been established in terms of identifying some NgCC but there is room for expansion as there are likely to be hundreds of more genes that have yet to be identified or the function pertaining to human consciousness has not yet been fully understood.