Working Mechanism of Brain Neural Network

The working mechanism of the brain and the origin of consciousness is still the great challenge in neuroscience and computational science. Human cerebral cortex is composed of the typical six layers structure. Different layers possessed different functions. But from the functional point of view, it is a unitary system composed of vertical chains of neurons which formed the functional columns of the cerebral cortex. A neural network model was suggested and the information flow chart within and among the functional columns was deduced to describe the information processing mechanism of the cerebral functional column. The reverberating circuits of the thalamus and cerebral cortex are of great importance to maintain the activation, consciousness and the normal function of the cerebral cortex. There are three kinds of thalamocortial projections: the specific projection, the nonspecific projection, and the diffuse projection. This ascending reticular projection system is of great importance for the maintenance of wakefulness and consciousness of the cerebral cortex. A functional consciousness neural network model was suggested. The chief cortical areas involved in the working mechanism of consciousness are the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and the intermediate related associate cortex. These three cortical areas constituted the intermediate working platform of consciousness in which the prefrontal cortex was served as the display screen and decision making element of the consciousness. The anterior cingulate cortex was served as the selective element to guide the consciousness to the destination of interest (the intermediate working associate cortex). The information of the selected associate cortex was then allocated and entered the intermediate working platform of consciousness