ISSN 2641-4317

Review Article

International Journal of Psychiatry Research“Consciousness” as a Fusion of the Global Neuronal Network (GNW)
Hypothesis and the Tripartite Mechanism of Memory
Gerard Marx1* and Chaim Gilon2*

MX Biotech Ltd., Jerusalem, Israel.

1

Institute of Chemistry, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.

2

Correspondence:

Gerard Marx, MX Biotech Ltd., Jerusalem, Israel, E-mail:
Gerardmarx@gmail.com.
Received: 05 Mar 2024; Accepted: 12 Apr 2024; Published: 20 Apr 2024

Citation: Marx G, Gilon C. “Consciousness” as a Fusion of the Global Neuronal Network (GNW) Hypothesis and the Tripartite
Mechanism of Memory. Int J Psychiatr Res 2024; 7(2): 1-6.

ABSTRACT
Many scholars consider that the gap in our understanding of consciousness to be unbridgeable. In our view, memoryis the central phenomenon of consciousness. In that we have technical mastery of the memory of computers, many
look to computers and its Information Theory as possible models for neural memory.
We point out that the “cognitive information” of neurons is distinct from the binary “information” used incomputers; the former represents emotive states that escape binary-formatted formulations. Emotive “cognitive
information” is the basis of neural memory, without which consciousness has no meaning. But the core enigma
remains:

Keywords

BackgroundHow does the chemical composition of the brain generate
experiential memory?
A “Global Neuronal Network” (GNW) hypothesis has been
forwarded as a central tenet of consciousness. It was proposedthat widely distributed “Information” flows between various
anatomical regions of the brain by way of a “global workspace”(i.e. “brain cloud”). We have previously described a tripartite
mechanism of neural memory in which neurons encode cognitive
information within the surrounding extracellular matrix (nECM),
using trace metal cations and neurotransmitters to encode emotive
states [1-11].

Memory and emotive states also beg clarification. Possibly,
memory and emotions are mere facets of the “great enigma” of“consciousness”. Schooled as we are in the thermodynamic tenetsof information and entropy [12,13], which describe the relation
between energy and work, we can pose a secondary question:
How is the metabolic energy of the neural net transformed into thedimension of conscious experience?

Global neuronal network, Consciousness, Enigma.

We propose a fusion of the GNW hypothesis with the tripartite
mechanism of emotive memory to describe how the brain
achieves mental states of memory and emotions to experience
consciousness. The unique electro-chemical performance of many
individual neurons is consolidated by the anatomic units of thebrain comprising the GNW, to achieve mental states based on the“tripartite encoded” emotive memory.
Int J Psychiatr Res, 2024

Leaving aside the question of “origin of life”, “consciousness”
is the “great enigma” of our existence. How does it work? Whatinstigates the psychic experiences of our brains?

In that science provides technical mastery of the memory ofcomputers, many look to computers and its Information Theory
as possible models for neural memory. Many scholars consider
that the gap in our understanding of brain processes generating
consciousness to be unbridgeable. Philosophers and theologeans
conjured up concepts related to consciousness in terms of spirits,
souls, ghosts and the like [14-17]. Physicists and logicians haveattempted to parse conscious mentality into bite-size pieces
of “information” modeled after computer algorithms [18-25].
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Psychologists invented “psycho-speak” to refer to Id, Ego andSuperego (Freud, Jung etc.) to refer to “consciousness” and its
converse, “unconsciousness” [26,27]. In our view, memory is thecentral phenomenon of both consciousness and unconsciousness.
Information (info)
One could say that while “data” is a quantifiable unit of knowledge,“info” is vague. The single datum, the smallest unit of knowledge(input), is materially represented in the chip as dopants distributed
in a matrix [13,28,29]. By itself, an individual binary datum or a“bit”, is meaningless. But a set of binary bits can integrate intoa meaningful pattern, termed “information” (info). Thus, “info”
derives from a material pattern of encoded “data”, recognizedby an algorithm or an observing programmer. With respect toneurobiology however, the term "info" is inadequate as it cannot
encompass the emotive mentality achieved by the neural/glial
network comprising the conscious the brain [1-11].
We adopt the term “cognitive information” (cog-info) to expand
the term "info" to encompass emotive states. The molecular
correlates of such states are the neuro-glio-transmitters (NTs/
GTs), molecules which elicit both physiologic reactions andmental states. More on this later.
Computers and the Internet “Cloud”
Synthetic devices such as computers provide a compelling model
for a process termed “memory”. “Reading” the stored signals
by the microprocessor defines operational “memory”. The microprocessing chips which make up the functioning core of the computer,are capable of encoding binary signals and storing them in their Si
matrix which serves as their “memory material” [13,28,29,30].
Today, many computers are linked to the internet, which serves toconnect one to the other. The stored memory of many computers
has been termed “cloud memory” and can be readily accessed on
demand (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloudcomputing, Figure 1).
The Enigma of Consciousness
Some scientists have attempted to model brain activity as ananalogue to computer processing. They call up the “Information
Theory” of Turing, von Neumann and others [18-20] to proposethat neural signaling of "info" is effectively an electrodynamic
process whose code is transformed by the neural net into mentality[31,32]. Thus, computer scientists have served up an amalgamof zeros and ones (0 1) to formulate algorithms termed “artificial
intelligence” (AI) [33-35].
However, consciousness and the mental talents associated with
viable neural nets cannot be mimicked by “demotive” electronic
devices or binary-formated algorithms which cannot encode
emotive states. Even entangled quantum processors with many
indeterminate states cannot achieve the mentality described asemotions. By contrast, neural nets powered by the Life Force of
metabolism are inherently emotive, their sensorium sensitized bymolecular mosaics which instigate cellular responses [36-38].
Int J Psychiatr Res, 2024

Figure 1: Cloud computing metaphor: the group of networked elements
providing services need not be individually addressed or managedby users; instead, the entire provider-managed suite of hardware andsoftware can be thought of as “Cloud computing”, being the on-demandavailability of computer system resources (memory storage) andcomputing power, without direct active management by the user. Large“clouds” often have functions distributed over multiple locations (i.e. data
centers). Essentially, “cloud computing” relies on the sharing of resourcesto achieve coherence (Wikipedia).

Consciousness is a biological phenomenon of all neural creatures,
whose process we have not quite figured out. An explanatory
account should explain how mental characteristics are linked tobiological processes such as metabolism and follow the evolutionof neural beings with ever more complex neural nets.
GNW Hypothesis of Consciousness
Some neuroscientists have forwarded a “Global Neuronal
Network” (GNW) hypothesis as a central tenet of consciousness[40-42]. It was proposed that widely distributed “Information”
flows between various anatomical regions of the brain by way of a“global workspace” (i.e. “brain cloud”). This hypothesis suggeststhat the GNW acts as a router whereby “information” is amplified
and distributed. The global availability of “information” is what
one subjectively experiences as consciousness.
Critique
While the GNW hypothesis is attractive as a model based on
the anatomy of the brain, it is lacking in that it does not define“information” or elucidate how emotive states are achieved. It
assumes a memory function but does not clarify how memory isrepresented or actuated. Also, it is vague regarding the emotive
states that are the hallmark of consciousness and memory. These“holes” in the GNW hypothesis are addressed by the tripartite
mechanism of emotive memory, as described below and in thecited references.
Information vs Cognitive information (info vs cog-info)
Neural “cognitive information” is distinct from the binary “info”
used in computers, in that it represents emotive states that escapebinary-formatted formulations.
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Attempts to describe cognitive information by enlisting quantum
mechanics and arcane “Hilbert space” mathematical formulae as:Limn. h. v = consciousnessv

where n represents the dimensionality of Hilbert spaces, v thevibration and h the Planck constant, are futile. The authors
themselves admit that consciousness is “beyond logic andtherefore, beyond mathematics [43].
Nonetheless, we plough on and attempt to describe consciousness
by using the tools and concepts acceptable to biochemists
and biologists. From a physiologic perspective, the molecular
correlates of emotive states are the neuro-glio-transmitters (NTs/GTs) which elicit both physiologic reactions and psychic states
which are remembered (Tables 1, 2).
Table 1: Neuro-transmitters (NTs) and glio-transmitters (GTs) that elicit
physiologic feelings and psychic emotions.
NTs
Acetylcholine (ACh)Amino acids (AA) (>5).
cAMP
Dopamine (DA)Epinephrine (EPI)
Glutamine (Gln)Histamine (HIS)Norepinephrine (NE)Oxytocin (OT)
Serotonin (SER)NO

GTsamino-3 hydroxy-5-methyl-4 isoxazole-proprionicacid
N-methyl D-aspartic acid (NMDAR)
ATP, cAMP
D-Serine (D-Se)
Glutamate (Glu)Somatostatin
TaurineGABA

trace metal cations

Definitions: The term "elicit" is defined as an experimentallyobservable reaction to the injection or application of a NT into acell culture, an animal or human. For example, injecting adrenaline(epinephrine) "elicits" altered heart beat, vascular pressure andvisceral reactions as well as changes in mental attitude, aggression,fight/flight reactions, all which impact on the memory/recall of
those events.
Table 2: Neurotransmitters (NTs), which elicit both physiologic reactions
and psychic states.
Neutrotransmitter(NT)
Biogenic amines (6)Amino acids (>10)
Neuropeptides (>70)
NO (1)
Endocannabinoids(>10)

Physiologic reactions*(Sensations, feelings)
Breathing
Blinking
Blood pressure
Blood coagulation

Psychic states!
AnxietyAggression
Awareness
Craving

Cold (feel)

Curiosity

Contraction of muscles
Coughing
CrampsCryingDefecation

Depression
DesireDreadsDreams
Fantasy

Int J Psychiatr Res, 2024

Dilation of muscles
Dilation of pupil
Drooling
Erection
Fever
Goose bumps
Heart beat
Heat (fell)
Hunger (feel)
Immune reactions
Itching
Pain
Retching
SeeingShivering
Smelling
Thirst (feel)
Touching
Vomiting*No memory required.

Fear
Hate
Joy
Love
Paranoia
Sadness
Sex drive
Sociability! Emotions requiring
memoryEvolving Memory Mechanism
We take as a given that the neural circuit is the biological entitythat senses the stimulus provided by the environment and reacts
appropriately. Neural sensing evolved from the signaling processes
pioneered by bacterial colonies which employed modulating
molecules (bio-modulators later called neurotransmitters (NTs))
to control the movement (tropism) of the colony to or awayfrom a stimulus source. Biologic evolution continued with thedevelopment of the earliest neural creatures, worms (C. elegans)from which all other neural creatures evolved. The evolved
neurons and their immediate environment (see tripartite & nECM/
PNN below) employed the same bacterial signaling molecules (i.e.
biogenic amines, amino acids as well as new peptides, Table 2)
to instigate favorable or unfavorable reactions (i.e. "feelings") tothe environment. Moreover, the neurons developed a process forencoding and recalling "feelings" as memory, the recall of such
could be termed "emotions".
Tripartite Mechanism of Emotive Memory
For the neural emotive memory, we proposed that the cognitive
unit of information (cuinfo) is realized materially (sic. chemically[13,28,29]. Thus, a chemically based code permits the achievementof an emotive state instigated by neurotransmitters (NTs) releasedby neurons/glial cells and the recall of such [1-11]. The proposed
tripartite mechanism for ecoding memory involves the interactionsof neurons with their surrounding extracellular matrix (nECM/
PNN). It has been experimentally verified that neurons are not“naked”, but are enshrouded in a web of glycoaminoglycans[44-49] which we propose serves as a “memory material”[13,28,29]. Incoming perceptions are encoded with trace metals +neurotransmitters (NTs) to form metal-centered cognitive units of
information (cuinfo). We have developed a chemographic notation
for the tripartite mechanism which captures the essence of thisregarding emotive memory (Figure 2).
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Figure 2: Chemographic representation of an “address” within the nECM surrounding the neuron and glial cells. The “address” is shown as an electronrich square that can chelate a metal cation and subsequently entrap a signaling molecule such as a neurotransmitter (NT) or a gliotransmitter (GT), toform a metal-centered ternary complex equivalent to a cognitive unit of information (cuinfo). The cuinfo is the basic memory unit, the biochemical
realization of the molecular unit of memory (MMM) proposed by Zeltzer et al., 2022 [1-11].

Fusion of GNW with Tripartite Mechanism
The notion that the basis for memory is due to external stimuli which
produce enduring physical changes in the brain, was first proposedby Richard Semon, a German psychoanalyst, who invented theterm “engram” to refer to a physical “trace” of sensorial stimuli
embodied within the brain and available for recall [51]. The cuinfo
are the molecular correlates of a memory engram. Essentially,
the entire “edifice” of memory rests on the proper functioning ofsuch a molecular encoding process. The tripartite mechanism of
emotive memory is focused on the individual (quantal) memory
units (cuinfo) that can be processed by the individual neuron.

of emotive memory describes how the brain achieves mental
states of memory and emotions to experience consciousness. The
unique biochemical performance of many individual neurons is
consolidated by the anatomic units of the brain comprising the
GNW to achieve mental states and emotive memory, schematicallypresented in Figure 3.

In a binary-formatted computer memory, the individual bits (orbytes) are stored in a matrix. But comprehensive memory resultsfrom the collective activity of a group of neurons, not only fromthe cuinfo of an individual neuron. Thus, a working model of how
the brain generates emotive memory needs to meld physiologic
effects with electro-biochemical processes. The GNW hypothesis
suggests a “brain cloud” that permits the neural net to consolidate
the contribution of individual neurons in different anatomic
compartments into comprehensive recall, effectively an integrationof units of dispersed units of cognitive information [52].

Conclusion

The connection between extracellular matrix, neurotransmitter,essential metal cations and the expression of memory derived frombacterial signaling processes which evolved to ever more complex
organisms. It is from this perspective that we propose a mechanismof neural memory from which one can synthesize a concept
consciousness, Without memory, consciousness has no meaning.
A fusion of the GNW hypothesis with the tripartite mechanism
Int J Psychiatr Res, 2024

Figure 3: Conceptual schema whereby memory units (i.e. cuinfo([C]) are encoded within the nECM throughout the brain (i.e. “nECM
cloud”). Different anatomic regions of the brain are indicated by letters(i.e. amygdala, occipital lobe, parietal lobe, hippocampus, etc.) which
comprise the brain’s GNW, which integrates and consolidates the many
dispersed but entangled cuinfo, to enable the recall experience.
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We avoid here a consideration of the “origin of life”, but
focus on a possible biochemical mechanism whereby life wasrendered conscious through memory. Clearly, the computer andits associated binary-coded algorithms are not up to the task of
encoding an emotive state. Our physico-chemical rationalization
begins with bacterial chemical signaling with biogenic amines(Table 1) [36]. Through the evolution of neural-net signaling, thisemerged as the memory and consciousness of primates (Figure 3),
which still employ identical bacterial signaling molecules (Tables
1,2).

5. Marx G, Gilon C. The Molecular Basis of Neural Memory.
Part 11. Chem-electric Write /Read Processes. J. Neurosurg.
Imaging Techniques. 2020e ; 6: 283-301.

While this schema has none of the pictorial elegance of Fritz
Kahn’s metaphorical depiction of bodily processes [53], it
serves to conceptualize the “brain cloud” of memory involvedin the conversion of sensory input into a mental process by the
hypothesized GNW model of consciousness.

9. Marx G, Gilon C. Addressing Searle’s “Problem ofConsciousness”. Int J Psychiatr Res. 2021i; 4: 1-4.

Acknowledgement(GM) To the memory of my wife, the artist Georgette Batlle (19402009), whose graphic skills helped me refine my models of blood
coagulation and my epiphany of cognition. My daughter Danaeand son Jonathan continue Georgette’s approach, by helping theirfather to cope.
(CG and GM): Our collaboration exemplifies the sage proverb:"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens the face of hisneighbor" to mean that in a good collaboration, one mind sharpens
the abilities of the other.
(Mishlei, Proverbs 27:17).

Conflict of Interest

GM is a founder of MX Biotech Ltd., with a commercial goal todevelop biotechnology for wound healing and biomimetic sensors.
CG is emeritus professor of Hebrew University, but is active indeveloping and patenting peptide-based tools for surgery andpharmacology.
Notwithstanding, the ideas forwarded here are scientificallygenuine and presented in good faith, without commercial cloudingof the concepts expressed here.

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