DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x25102860 ISSN: 0140-525X
The evolution of consciousness: Olfaction first, vision later?
Jonathan BirchAbstract
In a vision-first story, conscious vision evolved before other kinds of conscious experience. This can be contrasted with an olfaction-first story, in which conscious vision co-opted integrative mechanisms that first evolved for modeling the causes of olfactory stimuli. An olfaction-first story makes good sense of the connection between consciousness and holistic integration across temporal windows in the ∼400ms range.