One new paper argues that consciousness evolved in distinct waves from environmental pressures, like a sort of cognitive diamond. In the first paper , researchers Albert Newen, PhD, and Carlos Montemayor, PhD, argue that across species, consciousness evolved in distinct waves, each serving a particular function. Should their speculation prove true, the implications of Maldarelli and Güntürkün’s work deeply complicates our understanding of human consciousness. The paper suggests that consciousness is possible without a mammalian prefrontal cortex—a well-organized brain structure commonly associated with the profound consciousness we humans are capable of. This could mean that other structures are capable of producing similar levels of consciousness or that consciousness originates elsewhere.