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I'm also confused about the role of the I-function and how certain behaviors can occur with no conductor, such as merry2e's example of walking on hot coals without feeling pain. If the person isn't consciously using the I-function to somehow tell the rest of the nervous system to alter the corollary discharge/sensory input circuit, then how does this circuit get altered so the person doesn't feel pain? Does the I-function just help the person focus on other things so they don't notice the pain? I understand that a conductor is usually not necessary and the different parts of the nervous system communicate among each other with no one part in charge, as in the crayfish swimmeret motion, but in the hot coal example I'm not sure how we would describe the role of the I-function and explain the lack of pain sensation.