This chapter reviews the assumed evolutionary background of body sensations from the
very beginning. Instead of directly relying on sensory input, highly developed animals often …

Based on the notion that the body is perceived as a unitary object, this chapter summarizes
the bottom-up aspects of interoception in the broader sense (aka somatovisceral afference) …

This book is an evolutionary history of life on earth. Its focus is not the evolution of the
structural/functional adaptations found in any biology textbook, though these are necessarily …

Ever wondered why yawning is contagious? What about why some golfers, even the
professionals, are dogged by the yips? Why do we not overtly feel the clothes that we are …

How consciousness appeared much earlier in evolutionary history than is commonly
assumed, and why all vertebrates and perhaps even some invertebrates are conscious …

The issue of the biological origin of consciousness is linked to that of its function. One source
of evidence in this regard is the contrast between the types of information that are and are …

To answer the question of why we have consciousness, I propose the following evolutionary
trajectory leading to this feature: Nervous systems appeared for the purpose of orchestrating …

Demystifying consciousness: how subjective experience can be explained by natural brain
and evolutionary processes. Consciousness is often considered a mystery. How can the …

Publisher Summary The problem of an objective definition of consciousness increases
several orders of magnitude when trying to recognize the physical basis of consciousness …

Humans have evolved to interact smoothly with their environment and with others. There are
highly complex processes that enable these interactions and many systems are engaged …