What is pain? Theoretically, pain could be a physical aberration. The experience of it is the attention by the brain to the physical aberration. This means the pain [experience] can be mitigated by targeting the attention [that resulted in the experience] or the physical anomaly that induced the attention. [So, a reason for pain may not always result in the experience.]
Aside from attention, other factors that may result in the pain experience could be the pathways — where the anomaly goes to the destination of hurt, irritation, discomfort, and so forth, directly. What this means is that if there was another serious issue, for the individual, say some happy or sad news, they may proceed to other destinations. Aside from the attention they get, the paths they take may not allow the pain signal its full [free] travel — through a regular sequence or a new one, to destinations of hurt.
So, physical pain is something going wrong. It is the attention to it that causes the experience. It is also the destinations of relays, or where it goes, like irritation, discomfort, and others that might make it worse. Also, if the paths to those destinations are old or regular, it may not seem like a new way is paved, but if not, and it uses a new one, it may add to the unpleasant experience.
For example, learning something new can be said to be the making of a new sequence, so opening it up towards related memory areas might make learning appear tough. The same can be used to describe the pain conceptually.
For a pain experience, it is not just the physical cut but the attention, the destinations, the sequences, and so on. So, if someone is conscious of a cut somewhere in the body, what made it so?
Consciousness
Consciousness, conceptually, can be described as the attributes that accompany functions. Simply, it is not just about a function, but about the attributes that grade that function. Functions include memory, feelings, emotions, and the regulation of internal senses.
If a function is not graded to a certain measure — especially ahead of others — it does not get attention or prioritization. The function and others stay pre-prioritized. If a function does not use a new sequence sometimes, it may not be properly graded. There are several other attributes, like subjectivity and control.
Functions and attributes are mechanized in the same location.
Can Brain Organoids Be Conscious?
Do they have functions, and do those functions have attributes? While neural organoids may not have the full spectrum of functions, what functions do they have, and what are the grades?
Conceptually, wherever there are electrical and chemical signals, in neural clusters, there are functions and there are attributes. So, even if they are not as advanced as in a human brain, they have some functions and some attributes.
It is possible to measure what functions they have and what attributes.
Can AI Be Conscious?
AI can be explained to have language consciousness. Simply, large language models [LLMs] can be described as having language sentience.
The function of language can be said to be a subdivision of memory. But to make it conscious, it has to be prioritized or pre-prioritized. It may also use a new or an old sequence, as well as go to some destinations within memory areas.
Even while the functions of feelings, emotions, and the regulation of internal signals are absent, language as a form of memory can be measured for its reach into consciousness, for LLMs.
So, in the whole, say human consciousness is 1 at any point, language can have a fraction depending on the number of attributes.
BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN)
BICAN recently published A cell census of the developing human brain focused on gene expression. While their work may be of use in some form, the immediate problem of explaining what human intelligence is, amid AI, is absent. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding the Brain Initiative, does not have a Human Intelligence Research Lab. They do not even have an AI Psychosis Research Lab. BICAN, for now, cannot explain or provide any usefulness to the problem of AI-induced Psychosis, even though they focused on a trajectory for mental disorders from early on.
BICAN has no novel or leading brain theory. They are also stuck with using neurons to explain the brain, not even moving on to electrical and chemical signals, to postulate, in spite of the unprecedented evidence.
The answer for now is not simply a cell atlas or more genomics. What does it mean that there is a mental state of disorder, using the components [signals] and their mechanism [functions and attributes].
A Mechanism of Human Consciousness – Postulate
“Human consciousness can be defined, conceptually, as the interaction of the electrical and chemical signals, in sets—in clusters of neurons—with their features, grading those interactions into functions and experiences.
Simply, for functions to occur, electrical and chemical signals, in sets, have to interact. However, attributes for those interactions are obtained by the states of electrical and chemical signals at the time of the interactions.
So, sets of electrical signals often have momentary states or statuses at which they interact [or strike] at sets of chemical signals, which also have momentary states or statuses. So, if, for example, in a set, electrical signals split, with some going ahead, it is in that state that they interact, initially, before the incoming ones follow, which may or may not interact the same way or at the same destination [or set of chemical signals]. If a set [of chemical signals] has more volumes of one of the constituents [chemical signals], more than the others, it is in that state too that they are interacted with.
So, while functions are produced by interactions, the states of the signals, at the time of the interactions, may determine the extent to which the interactions occur. This means that what is termed attention is an attribute of high volume for [a set of] chemical signals or high intensity for electrical signals [in a set]. Subjectivity is the variation of the volume of chemical signals from side to side. Intent is a space of constant diameter, in some sets, for some volumes, conceptually. Subjectivity or the volume variation presents what it feels like to be.
There are other attributes like sequences, which are paths [old or new] traveled by the electrical signals. Sequences explain why several interpretations are quick and precise, since they [sets of electrical signals] use an old sequence or a defined route towards the interpretation. It means that what came in already knows which way to go, for interaction [of interpretation]. A reason some sudden sound could be jolting or shocking could be the use of a new sequence towards interpretation. This could also occur due to the intensity of electrical signals or high-volume chemical signals [in a set].
Attributes also include thin and thick sets of chemical signals. There are splits of electrical signals, explaining what is called prediction. There is the principal spot [or measure] of a set, arrays, and so forth.
So, electrical and chemical signals interact to produce functions. The states of the signals at the time of the interactions become attributes that decide the extent to which they interact. Consciousness is principally a collection of all functions and attributes.”
Organoids Ethics Event
There is an event, Ethical and Societal Implications of Neural Organoids, Assembloids, and Their Transplantation, held at “Asilomar Hotel and Conference Grounds, 800 Asilomar Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, from November 10, 2025 – November 12, 2025, 6:00 PM-1:00 PM with the overview Stem cell-derived neural organoids and assembloids are opening new frontiers in human neuroscience. However, experiments with these models in vitro and in vivo, following transplantation, have also raised ethical challenges around emergent properties, animal welfare, as well as how to communicate the research to the public.”
“This conference will include plenary talks, interdisciplinary panel discussions, and targeted small-group sessions.”
This article was written for WHN by David Stephen, who currently does research in conceptual brain science with a focus on the electrical and chemical signals for how they mechanize the human mind, with implications for mental health, disorders, neurotechnology, consciousness, learning, artificial intelligence, and nurture. He was a visiting scholar in medical entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL. He did computer vision research at Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN neither agrees nor disagrees with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement.
Opinion Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of WHN/A4M. Any content provided by guest authors is of their own opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything else. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
