Standard neuroscience views memory as a result of synaptic plasticity andconsciousness as a property of neural networks. However, optogenetic experimentsby Tonegawa (2015) have shown that retrograde amnesia may be reversible:memory is not erased but becomes inaccessible for retrieval. This points to theexistence of an active filter that controls access to the engram. In the present work,I propose that this filter is glia (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes).I revise the classification by distinguishing three types of communication betweenneurons (inter-ensemble, volume/paracrine, and intra-ensemble), and show that gliado not create these types but service them — providing synchronization, isolation,noise removal (type 2), and restoration of the iono-mediator environment (type 3).On this basis, I introduce the concept of the glioneural ensemble (GNE, "mantle")— a functional unit where neurons are connected intra-ensemblically, whileastrocytes maintain a specific chemical profile. Memory and consciousness arise asproperties of the GNE: memory is a reproducible sequence of neuronal activation("password"), while conscious experience (qualia) is the unique iono-mediatorprofile of the mantle.The model explains: forgetting without repetition (extinction of glial context),hallucinations in insomnia (noise accumulation → type 2 failure), the nature ofdreaming (replay in a noise-cleared environment), age-related cognitive decline (↓AQP4, reactive gliosis), and the failure of anti-amyloid therapy in Alzheimer'sdisease (amyloid as noise, chronic prohibitory mode).I introduce three glial modes: permissive (normal, sleep), prohibitory (inflammation,chronic stress), and flow (sympathetic activation, dopamine). These modes modulatethe efficiency of types 2 and 3, thereby determining memory access and clarity ofconsciousness.The work proposes an energy model (types 2 and 3 consume ≈24% of the brain'stotal energy), a genetic hypothesis of personality (individual differences inOCEAN/MBTI traits are determined by polymorphisms of glial proteins — AQP4,4GFAP, IP₃R2, DRD4, ADRA2A), and integration with Integrated InformationTheory (IIT): glia are the substrate of integrated information (Φ), and qualia are thespecific iono-mediator profile.I criticize Global Workspace Theory (GWT) for substituting consciousness withinformational accessibility and ignoring qualia, and show that the proposed glialmodel does not contradict but rather provides a substrate-level extension of IIT.Clinical predictions: optogenetic activation of astrocytes should restore memory inamnesic mice (an analog of Tonegawa but with glia); blockade of GLT-1 orenhancement of AQP4 should affect cognitive functions; genetic variations inAQP4, GFAP, IP₃R2 should correlate with temperament and dementia risk.
Alexey Kozhevnikov (Fri,) studied this question.