Emulating I - biomed 2010

A resting state of consciousness exists in which neural activity, energy consumption and cerebral blood flow are minimized. The author refers to this as i, or little I. In this basal state, there is no internal visual or verbal mental activity, sensory-motor functions are blocked, the executive function is in standby mode and the EEG exhibits theta-alpha band activity. As background, the author describes his experiences as a US Air Force test subject in the 1970s in unpublished training experiments using biofeedback and meditative techniques to control autonomic nervous system functions. The author used this information to extend his computerized human nervous system function emulator (HNSFE), a multitasking IEEE 1275 / Forth language program which imitates the major neural-cognitive operations of the human brain, artificial intelligence, synthetic emotions and somatic control. This program runs on a PC/104 multiprocessor network which includes 8-core 32-bit microprocessors and analog circuit boards to support artificial neural networks, neural membrane substrate-receptor binding simulation, emotional responses and high-level behaviors. The author now moves the executive function i to a separate ARM-based processor board. A waveform generator integrated circuit was also added to create a synthetic EEG signal, whose frequency was varied by a voltage produced by the ARM processor board. The result is a facsimile of the resting state of the conscious brain, instantiated in its own CPU board, generating a simulated EEG, in which the full range of brain functions may be reactivated by voluntary means or by incoming sensory alert.