Controls vital functions like blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, digestion. First part of brain to evolve. Part of brainstem - helps with body's autonomic functions and reflexes. Respiration, heart rate, swallowing, digestion. Relay station for nerve signals to and from the brain. Part of brainstem - Relays sensory information, helps control autonomic functions and has a role in levels of arousal or consciousness and sleep.
n. 1. (Philosophy) the traditional philosophical problem concerning the nature of mind, body, and the relationship between them. See dualism 2, interactionism, parallelism 3, monism 1, idealism 3, materialism 2, identity theory, behaviourism 2.
First published Fri Jun 18, 2004; substantive revision Tue Jan 14, 2014. Perhaps no aspect of mind is more familiar or more puzzling than consciousness and our conscious experience of self and world. The problem of consciousness is arguably the central issue in current theorizing about the mind. Despite the lack of any agreed upon theory of consciousness, there is a widespread, if less than universal, consensus that an adequate account of mind requires a clear understanding of it and its place in nature.