This theory proposes that conscious experience is determined by the thalamic reticular nucleus, suggesting implications for several consciousness-related phenomena.
This paper proposes that consciousness is the binary gating function of the thalamic reticular nucleus — the structure that decides which signal coalition becomes conscious reality by suppressing relay nuclei carrying weaker coalitions through GABAergic inhibitory projections. Experience belongs to specialized neural tools. Consciousness is what decides which tool gets heard. The framework addresses the hard problem, sleep, dreaming, impulsivity, and disorders of consciousness, and positions TRN as the seat of the self rather than its correlate. Clinical evidence from traumatic brain injury and cardiac arrest confirms TRN destruction ends selfhood while cortical damage degrades capability.
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M. Mustafa Akdemir (2026) studied this question.
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