Scientific Understanding of Consciousness
Consciousness as an Emergent Property of Thalamocortical Activity

Pain and Pleasure Systems

Pain network consists of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), insula (Ins), somatosensory cortex (SSC), thalamus (Thal), and periaqueductal gray (PAG). This network is implicated in physical and social pain processes.

 

Reward or pleasure network consists of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), ventral striatum (VS), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), and the amygdala (Amyg). This network is implicated in physical and social rewards.

 

Orbital cortex may be especially involved in working memories about rewards and punishments. (LeDoux; Emotional Brain, 285)

 

Emotion and motivation are linked by the property that both involve rewards and punishers. (Rolls; Emotion Explained, 1)

Science 13 February 2009: Vol. 323. no. 5916, pp. 890 – 891; Pains and Pleasures of Social Life; Matthew D. Lieberman and Naomi I. Eisenberger; Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA

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