How the Brain Makes Cognition Possible

We take for granted that we can see, hear, remember, speak, feel, act, think – but can we take for granted what characterizes cognition? What are mechanisms of the brain to create of what is taken for granted? The answer is “time windows” in the neural systems. Three such time windows of different duration are fundamental for cognition and behavioural control. One time window is located in the temporal domain of some 30 to 40 milliseconds. Here elementary processing units create the building blocks for consciousness. When they are lost (like in anaesthesia) conscious activity comes to an end. Within this time window the before-after relationship of information no longer exists; this means that the physical definition of the continuity of time no longer applies. Another time window is located in the domain of approximately 3 seconds. This time window can be observed in perception, movements, speech, short-term memory, brain activities, and also with aesthetic appreciations in poetry, music and visual art. This time window is the temporal basis for creating and maintaining the identity of a mental content for some time, i.e. some 3 seconds. A third much longer time window is the circadian rhythm. All psychological and bodily functions show a distinct diurnal rhythm; examples are the diurnal variation of body temperature or of attentional control. Our “body clock” is entrained every day to the geophysical day-night cycle which is mainly done by light involving a special area of the brain. These different time windows represent logistic functions of the brain; they have a genetic basis reflecting anthropological universals; thus, they reflect a unifying principle for all humans.