ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses seven key characteristics of the basic neural encoding function that bear on the incidence of conflict and on our work to prevent, reduce, or resolve conflict. The seven characteristics are: the brain’s internal connectivity; the neural stability/plasticity balance; neural activation; the delay between stimulus and response; expectancy; the dorsal and ventral systems of attention and motivation; and memory. The chapter describes more explicit terms some of the relational implications of the functional characteristics of embodied cognition and consciousness. A striking demonstration of the connectivity of brain function is seen in the experience reported by neurosurgeon Mark Rayport during an operation in which he was stimulating the olfactory bulb, the region of the brain that produces the experience of smell. Neural structures are variable according to the survival salience of the perceived circumstantial conditions of the moment. The neural structures of the brain are organized along three primary dimensions: left/right; front/back; and inside/outside.
