13 hours ago, StringJunky said:

I think it demonstrates the level of plasticity the nervous system is capable of to keep itself functioning.

I agree and I now believe that perspective was @TheVat intent in adding that link to this discussion. The article does indeed explore a perspective on the incredible nauture of brain plasticity, but for me it further emphasizes my perspective on the subordinate nature of cortical structure relative to thalamic function..

Thank you @DrmDoc for your knowledge on this subject. I am not of this field, but have come across it before. I have in many cases been saved thankfully to my fast reactions that have kicked in without my awareness of the danger. At one point a friend while playing decided it would be clever to smash a bottle with a big stick. My attention at the time was not even in his direction however he was within the corner of my eye space. As we had been idiot adolescence we had already broken a few so it was not the sound that made me jump or any defence out of fright, but the bottom of the bottle found a direct trajectory towards my face. Not aware of this my hand, holding a stick at was by my side to a position in-front of my face and blocked said bottle shrapnel. Only then did i put the pieces togeather did I work out what happened.

I wouldnt have posted had yestarday while taking my 84yr old mum to the hospital and seated in the waiting room a sign fell down with the wind. Facing almost the other direction i was not aware of it about to land on my head, but my arm was already there to stop it before this contact occurred.

From this, would i be right to conclude that consciousness is not self awareness, as my senses were aware of these impending threats where I was not. Activities in my brain do occur without such self awareness but something needs to be focusing upon these processes to bring them into focus of my self conscious and my environment as i see it. And this is arguably the Thalamus?

10 hours ago, BuddhasDragon23 said:

From this, would i be right to conclude that consciousness is not self awareness, as my senses were aware of these impending threats where I was not. Activities in my brain do occur without such self awareness but something needs to be focusing upon these processes to bring them into focus of my self conscious and my environment as i see it. And this is arguably the Thalamus?

I believe you're asking about the nature of unconscious behaviors, which are the behaviors or reactions we appear to engage seemingly without conscious awareness. All behaviors we engage--including those defensive behaviors and reactions we engage without apparent conscious direction--are outputs of brain function. Our senses merely deliver information about ourselves and environment into brain function and it's that function that formulates and produces our responses. To some extent, all behaviors are learned, which for me infers that the neural pathways for our responses must be built and maintain by continual experience. Your continual experiences may have involved notable measures of threats where assessing and responding to potential physical harm have become second nature--it's akin to learning how to unconsciously maintain one's balance while riding a bike. For you, it's unconsciously maintaining your physical safety amid relaxed social settings.

8 hours ago, DrmDoc said:

I believe you're asking about the nature of unconscious behaviors, which are the behaviors or reactions we appear to engage seemingly without conscious awareness. All behaviors we engage--including those defensive behaviors and reactions we engage without apparent conscious direction--are outputs of brain function. Our senses merely deliver information about ourselves and environment into brain function and it's that function that formulates and produces our responses. To some extent, all behaviors are learned, which for me infers that the neural pathways for our responses must be built and maintain by continual experience. Your continual experiences may have involved notable measures of threats where assessing and responding to potential physical harm have become second nature--it's akin to learning how to unconsciously maintain one's balance while riding a bike. For you, it's unconsciously maintaining your physical safety amid relaxed social settings.

Is that achieved over time by the experiences (senses) passed through the thalamus and stored around the brain by it? Are the unconscious response a product of this experience? The bit I was originally questioning was the moment I became aware of the two examples I gave. Was this where the information (senses) passing through the thalamus are interpreted and the thalamus which is continuously focusing on this information (being my conscious awareness) and thus I realise what happened?

14 hours ago, BuddhasDragon23 said:

the moment I became aware of the two examples I gave

This happened 200-400ms after the examples had already formed elsewhere, depending on how tired, hungry, hydrated, and caffeinated you were

On 9/26/2025 at 7:30 AM, BuddhasDragon23 said:

Is that achieved over time by the experiences (senses) passed through the thalamus and stored around the brain by it? Are the unconscious response a product of this experience? The bit I was originally questioning was the moment I became aware of the two examples I gave. Was this where the information (senses) passing through the thalamus are interpreted and the thalamus which is continuously focusing on this information (being my conscious awareness) and thus I realise what happened?

Please pardon this delayed response to your inquiry. Other than instinctive responses, which are primarily unconscious responses, some unconscious responses are a result of experience. From my perspective, our behavioral responses to stimuli issue from the thalamus in response the neural feedback (efference) the thalamus receives from surrounding cortical and subcortical structures in response to the stimuli (afference) the thalamus experiences. There are no cortical or subcortical efferent neural pathways that bypass the thalamus to our musculature; therefore, directives from our brain's neural hierarchy must pass through the thalamus to manifest as behavioral responses. In my opinion, conscious awareness generally occurs in the instance the thalamus receives neural feedback from the function of surrounding brain structures in response to the stimuli the thalamus receives from its sensory array. Learned responses isn't as much about focus as it is about continual stimulation of the afferent and efferent neural pathways associated with our behaviors. Learning is memory and memory, in my view, isn't the neural accumulation and storing of information, memory is the neural pathways that remain continuously stimulated by our experiences.