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Fazekas P, Cleeremans A, Overgaard M. A construct-first approach to consciousness science. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 156:105480. [PMID: 38008237 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/28/2023]
Abstract
We propose a new approach to consciousness science that instead of comparing complex theoretical positions deconstructs existing theories, takes their central assumptions while disregarding their auxiliary hypotheses, and focuses its investigations on the main constructs that these central assumptions rely on (like global workspace, recurrent processing, metarepresentation). Studying how these main constructs are anchored in lower-level constructs characterizing underlying neural processing will not just offer an alternative to theory comparisons but will also take us one step closer to empirical resolutions. Moreover, exploring the compatibility and possible combinations of the lower-level constructs will allow for new theoretical syntheses. This construct-first approach will improve our ability to understand the commitments of existing theories and pave the way for moving beyond them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Fazekas
- Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Universitetsbyen 3, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Axel Cleeremans
- Center for Research in Cognition & Neurosciences, Université Libre De Bruxelles, 50 avenue F.D. Roosevelt CP191, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Morten Overgaard
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Universitetsbyen 3, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
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2
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Ladas AI, Gravalas T, Stoneham T, Frantzidis CA. Towards a hybrid approach to unveil the Chimaira of neurosciences: philosophy, aperiodic activity and the neural correlates of consciousness. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1245868. [PMID: 37900726 PMCID: PMC10603270 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1245868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Contemporary theories of consciousness, although very efficient in postulating testable hypotheses, seem to either neglect its relational aspect or to have a profound difficulty in operationalizing this aspect in a measurable manner. We further argue that the analysis of periodic brain activity is inadequate to reveal consciousness's subjective facet. This creates an important epistemic gap in the quest for the neural correlates of consciousness. We suggest a possible solution to bridge this gap, by analysing aperiodic brain activity. We further argue for the imperative need to inform neuroscientific theories of consciousness with relevant philosophical endeavours, in an effort to define, and therefore operationalise, consciousness thoroughly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aristea I. Ladas
- Department of Psychology, CITY College, University of York Europe Campus, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Triantafyllos Gravalas
- Department of Psychology, CITY College, University of York Europe Campus, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Tom Stoneham
- Department of Philosophy, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Christos A. Frantzidis
- School of Computer Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom
- Laboratory of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, Biomedical Engineering and Aerospace Neuroscience (BEAN), Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
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3
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Abstract
We posit a cognitive account of the puzzle of ideography, which complements the standardization account of Morin. Efficient standardization of spoken language is phenomenologically attributed to a modality effect coupled with chunking of cognitive representations, further aided by multisensory integration and the serialized nature of attention. These mechanisms explain why languages dominate graphic codes for general-purpose communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xerxes D Arsiwalla
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- Wolfram Research, Champaign, IL, USA
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4
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Pintimalli A, Glicksohn J, Marson F, Di Giuseppe T, Ben-Soussan TD. Change in Time Perception Following the Place of Pre-Existence Technique. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:3509. [PMID: 36834202 PMCID: PMC9962325 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20043509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Time perception is closely related to spatial and bodily perception, yet little is known about how this interrelationship is impacted by meditation and biological sex. To examine this, we studied the effects of a stepwise application of three meditation techniques, from focused attention, to open monitoring to non-dual meditation, encompassed in the Place of Pre-Existence technique (PPEt) on the subjective perception of time, space and body using a pre-post research design. A total of 280 participants (mean age = 47.09 years; SD = 10.13; 127:153 males to females) completed the Subjective Time, Self, Space inventory before and after PPEt. Following PPEt, participants perceived time passing as slowing down, while time intensity, relaxation, 'awareness of space' and 'awareness of body' increased, suggesting heightened mindfulness to these constructs following the training. Awareness of space revealed to be modulated by biological sex and meditation expertise, with males showing a decrease of spatial awareness as a function of meditation expertise while females showed an opposite pattern. The speed and intensity of the experience of time both correlated with body and space awareness. In line with previous studies demonstrating a connection between relaxation and perception of time, a significant correlation was found between relaxation and the subjective experience of the intensity of time. The current results are discussed in the context of the embodied experience of time, and the Sphere Model of Consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Pintimalli
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation for Development and Communication, 06081 Assisi, Italy
| | - Joseph Glicksohn
- Department of Criminology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Fabio Marson
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation for Development and Communication, 06081 Assisi, Italy
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Tania Di Giuseppe
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation for Development and Communication, 06081 Assisi, Italy
| | - Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation for Development and Communication, 06081 Assisi, Italy
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5
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O’Neill J, Schoth A. The Mental Maxwell Relations: A Thermodynamic Allegory for Higher Brain Functions. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:827888. [PMID: 35295094 PMCID: PMC8919724 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.827888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The theoretical framework of classical thermodynamics unifies vastly diverse natural phenomena and captures once-elusive effects in concrete terms. Neuroscience confronts equally varied, equally ineffable phenomena in the mental realm, but has yet to unite or to apprehend them rigorously, perhaps due to an insufficient theoretical framework. The terms for mental phenomena, the mental variables, typically used in neuroscience are overly numerous and imprecise. Unlike in thermodynamics or other branches of physics, in neuroscience, there are no core mental variables from which all others formally derive and it is unclear which variables are distinct and which overlap. This may be due to the nature of mental variables themselves. Unlike the variables of physics, perhaps they cannot be interpreted as composites of a small number of axioms. However, it is well worth exploring if they can, as that would allow more parsimonious theories of higher brain function. Here we offer a theoretical exercise in the spirit of the National Institutes of Health Research Domain Criteria (NIH RDoC) Initiative and the Cognitive Atlas Project, which aim to remedy this state of affairs. Imitating classical thermodynamics, we construct a formal framework for mental variables, an extended analogy - an allegory - between mental and thermodynamic quantities. Starting with mental correlates of the physical indefinables length, time, mass or force, and charge, we pursue the allegory up to mental versions of the thermodynamic Maxwell Relations. The Maxwell Relations interrelate the thermodynamic quantities volume, pressure, temperature, and entropy and were chosen since they are easy to derive, yet capable of generating nontrivial, nonobvious predictions. Our "Mental Maxwell Relations" interlink the mental variables consciousness, salience, arousal, and distraction and make nontrivial, nonobvious statements about mental phenomena. The mental system thus constructed is internally consistent, in harmony with introspection, and respects the RDoC criteria of employing only psychologically valid constructs with some evidence of a brain basis. We briefly apply these concepts to the problem of decision-making and sketch how some of them might be tested empirically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph O’Neill
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Andreas Schoth
- IMTEK Department for Process Technology, Institute of Microsystem Technology, Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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7
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Pereira M, Megevand P, Tan MX, Chang W, Wang S, Rezai A, Seeck M, Corniola M, Momjian S, Bernasconi F, Blanke O, Faivre N. Evidence accumulation relates to perceptual consciousness and monitoring. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3261. [PMID: 34059682 PMCID: PMC8166835 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23540-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
A fundamental scientific question concerns the neural basis of perceptual consciousness and perceptual monitoring resulting from the processing of sensory events. Although recent studies identified neurons reflecting stimulus visibility, their functional role remains unknown. Here, we show that perceptual consciousness and monitoring involve evidence accumulation. We recorded single-neuron activity in a participant with a microelectrode in the posterior parietal cortex, while they detected vibrotactile stimuli around detection threshold and provided confidence estimates. We find that detected stimuli elicited neuronal responses resembling evidence accumulation during decision-making, irrespective of motor confounds or task demands. We generalize these findings in healthy volunteers using electroencephalography. Behavioral and neural responses are reproduced with a computational model considering a stimulus as detected if accumulated evidence reaches a bound, and confidence as the distance between maximal evidence and that bound. We conclude that gradual changes in neuronal dynamics during evidence accumulation relates to perceptual consciousness and perceptual monitoring in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Pereira
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
- University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France
- Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI), West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA
| | - Pierre Megevand
- Neurology Division, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Mi Xue Tan
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Wenwen Chang
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Shuo Wang
- Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI), West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA
| | - Ali Rezai
- Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI), West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA
| | - Margitta Seeck
- Neurology Division, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marco Corniola
- Neurosurgery Division, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
- Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Shahan Momjian
- Neurosurgery Division, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
- Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Fosco Bernasconi
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
- Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Nathan Faivre
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.
- University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France.
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8
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Pintimalli A, Di Giuseppe T, Serantoni G, Glicksohn J, Ben-Soussan TD. Dynamics of the Sphere Model of Consciousness: Silence, Space, and Self. Front Psychol 2020; 11:548813. [PMID: 33071865 PMCID: PMC7530372 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.548813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The Sphere Model of Consciousness (SMC) delineates a sphere-shaped matrix that aims to describe subjective experiences using geometric coordinates, in accordance with a neurophenomenological perspective. According to the SMC, an experience of overcoming the habitual self and the conditioning of memories could be placed at the center of the matrix, which can then be called the Place of Pre-Existence (PPE). The PPE is causally associated with self-determination. In this context, we suggest that silence could be considered an intentional inner environment enabling self-perception to focus on the “here and now,” which in turn improves perception of one’s own body in space. To investigate the hypotheses grounded in the model, the current preliminary study examined the Place of Pre-Existence Technique (PPEt), in which practitioners are guided to focus on a self-defined aim, reach a state of detachment from the habitual self, and envision the future. Four-hundred eighty-one volunteer PPEt practitioners completed self-report questionnaires before and after an intensive 3-day meditative training. We analyzed potential relationships between subjective experiences related to physical, emotional, mental, temporal, and spatial components, as well as self-determination and silence, before and after training. The results indicated a transition from a prevailing influence of mental dimension on the other aspects of experience, to a prevailing influence of the spatial dimension. Silence was reported more often following the training and was predominantly related to mental and emotional experiences. The results are discussed in the framework of the SMC, as compared to other models, and in relation to the shift from Narrative to Minimal Self and to increased balance among the considered dimensions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Pintimalli
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation, Assisi, Italy.,Department of History, Anthropology, Religions, Arts and Performing Arts, Faculty of Literature and Philosophy, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Tania Di Giuseppe
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation, Assisi, Italy
| | - Grazia Serantoni
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation, Assisi, Italy
| | - Joseph Glicksohn
- Department of Criminology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.,The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Tal D Ben-Soussan
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation, Assisi, Italy
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Guevara R, Mateos DM, Pérez Velázquez JL. Consciousness as an Emergent Phenomenon: A Tale of Different Levels of Description. ENTROPY (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2020; 22:E921. [PMID: 33286690 PMCID: PMC7597170 DOI: 10.3390/e22090921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2020] [Revised: 08/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
One of the biggest queries in cognitive sciences is the emergence of consciousness from matter. Modern neurobiological theories of consciousness propose that conscious experience is the result of interactions between large-scale neuronal networks in the brain, traditionally described within the realm of classical physics. Here, we propose a generalized connectionist framework in which the emergence of "conscious networks" is not exclusive of large brain areas, but can be identified in subcellular networks exhibiting nontrivial quantum phenomena. The essential feature of such networks is the existence of strong correlations in the system (classical or quantum coherence) and the presence of an optimal point at which the system's complexity and energy dissipation are maximized, whereas free-energy is minimized. This is expressed either by maximization of the information content in large scale functional networks or by achieving optimal efficiency through the quantum Goldilock effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramón Guevara
- Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Centre (INCC UMR8002), University of Paris and CNRS, 75270 Paris, France
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Diego M. Mateos
- Department of Science and Technology, Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos, Paraná 3100, Argentina;
- Instituto de Matemática Aplicada del Litoral (IMAL-CONICET-UNL), Santa Fe 3000, Argentina
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10
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Paoletti P, Ben-Soussan TD. Reflections on Inner and Outer Silence and Consciousness Without Contents According to the Sphere Model of Consciousness. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1807. [PMID: 32903475 PMCID: PMC7435012 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
In the current hypothesis paper, we propose that focusing attention on silence can be used as a paradigm conceptually similar to sensory deprivation, to study consciousness without content. We briefly overview recent influential models of consciousness and consider how they assess the relationship between consciousness and contents. After discussing the strengths and weaknesses of current models, we suggest an extension based on the Sphere Model of Consciousness (SMC) and introduce new definitions for identification and self-awareness as states of consciousness. We further compare Paoletti's theoretical model for the development of self with other influential models, highlighting similarities and differences. We conclude with a discussion of how attentional focus on silence can be empirically tested.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Patrizio Paoletti Foundation, Assisi, Italy
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11
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Singh A, Chandrasekhar Pammi VS, Guleria A, Srinivasan N. Concentrative (Sahaj Samadhi) meditation training and visual awareness: An fMRI study on color afterimages. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2019; 244:185-206. [PMID: 30732837 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.10.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
All of us consciously experience the world around us through our sensory modalities. Empirical studies on the relationship between attention and awareness have shown that attention does influence perceptual experience or appearance in addition to better performance in perceptual tasks. The practice of meditation also changes perceptual experience in addition to better perceptual performance. For example, a study with Sahaj Samadhi meditators utilizing negative color afterimages had shown that concentrative meditation influences visual experience. However the brain regions that are modified by meditation practice leading to such changes in visual experience or awareness are still not known. Here using negative color afterimages in a functional MRI study, we investigated the brain mechanisms underlying the changes in visual awareness as a function of attentional enhancement achieved through long-term concentrative meditation practice. We found increased activity in right lateralized inferior occipital and inferior frontal cortex, which suggests the importance of attentional control in modulating visual awareness. The results of this study indicate that the link between attention and conscious experience is possibly changed by meditation practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amrendra Singh
- Centre of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, India
| | | | | | - Narayanan Srinivasan
- Centre of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, India.
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12
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Kotchoubey B. Human Consciousness: Where Is It From and What Is It for. Front Psychol 2018; 9:567. [PMID: 29740366 PMCID: PMC5924785 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2017] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Consciousness is not a process in the brain but a kind of behavior that, of course, is controlled by the brain like any other behavior. Human consciousness emerges on the interface between three components of animal behavior: communication, play, and the use of tools. These three components interact on the basis of anticipatory behavioral control, which is common for all complex forms of animal life. All three do not exclusively distinguish our close relatives, i.e., primates, but are broadly presented among various species of mammals, birds, and even cephalopods; however, their particular combination in humans is unique. The interaction between communication and play yields symbolic games, most importantly language; the interaction between symbols and tools results in human praxis. Taken together, this gives rise to a mechanism that allows a creature, instead of performing controlling actions overtly, to play forward the corresponding behavioral options in a “second reality” of objectively (by means of tools) grounded symbolic systems. The theory possesses the following properties: (1) It is anti-reductionist and anti-eliminativist, and yet, human consciousness is considered as a purely natural (biological) phenomenon. (2) It avoids epiphenomenalism and indicates in which conditions human consciousness has evolutionary advantages, and in which it may even be disadvantageous. (3) It allows to easily explain the most typical features of consciousness, such as objectivity, seriality and limited resources, the relationship between consciousness and explicit memory, the feeling of conscious agency, etc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris Kotchoubey
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Jarman N, Steur E, Trengove C, Tyukin IY, van Leeuwen C. Self-organisation of small-world networks by adaptive rewiring in response to graph diffusion. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13158. [PMID: 29030608 PMCID: PMC5640682 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-12589-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex networks emerging in natural and human-made systems tend to assume small-world structure. Is there a common mechanism underlying their self-organisation? Our computational simulations show that network diffusion (traffic flow or information transfer) steers network evolution towards emergence of complex network structures. The emergence is effectuated through adaptive rewiring: progressive adaptation of structure to use, creating short-cuts where network diffusion is intensive while annihilating underused connections. With adaptive rewiring as the engine of universal small-worldness, overall diffusion rate tunes the systems' adaptation, biasing local or global connectivity patterns. Whereas the former leads to modularity, the latter provides a preferential attachment regime. As the latter sets in, the resulting small-world structures undergo a critical shift from modular (decentralised) to centralised ones. At the transition point, network structure is hierarchical, balancing modularity and centrality - a characteristic feature found in, for instance, the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Jarman
- Laboratory for Perceptual Dynamics, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium. .,Department of Mathematics, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom.
| | - Erik Steur
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.,Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Chris Trengove
- Laboratory for Perceptual Dynamics, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ivan Y Tyukin
- Department of Mathematics, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom.,Saint-Petersburg State Electrotechnical University, Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation
| | - Cees van Leeuwen
- Laboratory for Perceptual Dynamics, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium.,Center for Cognitive Science, Kaiserslautern University of Technology, Kaiserslautern, Germany
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14
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Lao SA, Kissane D, Meadows G. Cognitive effects of MBSR/MBCT: A systematic review of neuropsychological outcomes. Conscious Cogn 2016; 45:109-123. [PMID: 27580462 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2015] [Revised: 07/05/2016] [Accepted: 08/22/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Mindfulness is theorised to improve attention regulation and other cognitive processes. This systematic review examines whether 8-week standardised and manualised mindfulness training programs such as Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) enhances attention, memory and executive function abilities measured by objective neuropsychological tests. Seven databases were searched resulting in 18 studies meeting inclusion criteria for review. Overall studies did not support attention or executive function improvements. We found preliminary evidence for improvements in working memory and autobiographical memory as well as cognitive flexibility and meta-awareness. Short-term mindfulness meditation training did not enhance theorised attentional pathways. Results call into question the theoretical underpinnings of mindfulness, further highlighting the need for a comprehensive theoretical framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- So-An Lao
- School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Department of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - David Kissane
- School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Department of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Graham Meadows
- School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Department of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Melbourne, Australia.
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15
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Barlow PW. The natural history of consciousness, and the question of whether plants are conscious, in relation to the Hameroff-Penrose quantum-physical 'Orch OR' theory of universal consciousness. Commun Integr Biol 2015; 8:e1041696. [PMID: 26478778 PMCID: PMC4594572 DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2015.1041696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2015] [Revised: 03/28/2015] [Accepted: 04/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Peter W Barlow
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Bristol; Bristol Life Sciences Building; Bristol, UK
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16
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17
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris Kotchoubey
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen , Germany
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18
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Reappraising the relationship between working memory and conscious awareness. Trends Cogn Sci 2014; 18:520-5. [PMID: 25070269 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2014.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2014] [Revised: 05/27/2014] [Accepted: 06/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Classically, the operation of working memory (WM) has been strongly coupled with conscious states; it is thought that WM operates on conscious input and that we are conscious of the contents and operations of WM. Here, we re-evaluate the relationship between WM and conscious awareness in light of current data and question the views that awareness is mandatory for the operation of WM and that WM contents are necessarily linked to experiential states that are consciously accessible for perceptual report. We propose a novel framework for the relationship between WM and conscious awareness.
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Raffone A, Srinivasan N, van Leeuwen C. Perceptual awareness and its neural basis: bridging experimental and theoretical paradigms. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2014; 369:20130203. [PMID: 24639576 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding consciousness is a major scientific challenge of our times, and perceptual awareness is an integral part of that challenge. This Theme Issue aims to provide a timely focus on crucial insights from leading scientists on perceptual awareness and its neural basis. The issue refers to key research questions and findings in perceptual awareness research and aims to be a catalyst for further research, by bringing together the state-of-the-art. It shows how bridges are being built between empirical and theoretical research and proposes new directions for the study of multisensory awareness and the role of the states of the body therein. In this introduction, we highlight crucial problems that have characterized the development of the study of perceptual awareness. We then provide an overview of major experimental and theoretical paradigms related to perceptual awareness and its neural basis. Finally, we present an overview of the Theme Issue, with reference to the contributed articles and their relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonino Raffone
- Department of Psychology, 'Sapienza' University of Rome, , Rome, Italy
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Leon-Dominguez U, Izzetoglu M, Leon-Carrion J, Solís-Marcos I, Garcia-Torrado FJ, Forastero-Rodríguez A, Mellado-Miras P, Villegas-Duque D, Lopez-Romero JL, Onaral B, Izzetoglu K. Molecular concentration of deoxyHb in human prefrontal cortex predicts the emergence and suppression of consciousness. Neuroimage 2013; 85 Pt 1:616-25. [PMID: 23872157 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.07.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2013] [Revised: 05/23/2013] [Accepted: 07/03/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Abstract
This is the first study to use fNIRS to explore anaesthetic depth and awakening during surgery with general anaesthesia. A 16 channel continuous wave (CW) functional near-infrared system (fNIRS) was used to monitor PFC activity. These outcomes were compared to BIS measures. The results indicate that deoxyHb concentration in the PFC varies during the suppression and emergence of consciousness. During suppression, deoxyHb levels increase, signalling the deactivation of the PFC, while during emergence, deoxyHb concentration drops, initiating PFC activation and the recovery of consciousness. Furthermore, BIS and deoxyHb concentrations in the PFC display a high negative correlation throughout the different anaesthetic phases. These findings suggest that deoxyHb could be a reliable marker for monitoring anaesthetic depth, and that the PFC intervenes in the suppression and emergence of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Umberto Leon-Dominguez
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain; Center for Brain Injury Rehabilitation (CRECER), Seville, Spain
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Two means of suppressing visual awareness: A direct comparison of visual masking and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Cortex 2012; 48:333-43. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2010.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2009] [Revised: 02/08/2010] [Accepted: 12/06/2010] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Agnati LF, Guidolin D, Cortelli P, Genedani S, Cela-Conde C, Fuxe K. Neuronal correlates to consciousness. The "Hall of Mirrors" metaphor describing consciousness as an epiphenomenon of multiple dynamic mosaics of cortical functional modules. Brain Res 2012; 1476:3-21. [PMID: 22322150 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2011] [Revised: 01/02/2012] [Accepted: 01/04/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Humans share the common intuition of a self that has access to an inner 'theater of mind' (Baars, 2003). The problem is how this internal theater is formed. Moving from Cook's view (Cook, 2008), we propose that the 'sentience' present in single excitable cells is integrated into units of neurons and glial cells transiently assembled into "functional modules" (FMs) organized as systems of encased networks (from cell networks to molecular networks). In line with Hebb's proposal of 'cell assemblies', FMs can be linked to form higher-order mosaics by means of reverberating circuits. Brain-level subjective awareness results from the binding phenomenon that coordinates several FM mosaics. Thus, consciousness may be thought as the global result of integrative processes taking place at different levels of miniaturization in plastic mosaics. On the basis of these neurobiological data and speculations and of the evidence of 'mirror neurons' the 'Hall of Mirrors' is proposed as a significant metaphor of consciousness. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Brain Integration.
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Abstract
Conscious access to fear-relevant information is mediated by thresholdThe present report proposed a model of access consciousness to fear-relevant information according to which there is a threshold for emotional perception beyond that the subject makes hits with no false alarm. The model was examined by having the participants performed a confidence-ratings masking task with fearful faces. Measures of the thresholds for conscious access were taken by looking at the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves generated from a three-state low- and high-threshold (3-LHT) model by Krantz. Indeed, the analysis of the masking data revealed that the ROCs had threshold-like-nature (a two-limb shape) rather continuous (a curvilinear shape) challenging in this fashion the classical signal-detection view on perceptual processing. Moreover, the threshold ROC curve exhibited the specific y-intercepts relevant to conscious access performance. The study suggests that the threshold can be an intrinsic property of conscious access, mediating emotional contents between perceptual states and consciousness.
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Raffone A, Pantani M. A global workspace model for phenomenal and access consciousness. Conscious Cogn 2010; 19:580-96. [PMID: 20382038 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2010.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2009] [Revised: 03/09/2010] [Accepted: 03/16/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Both the global workspace theory and Block's distinction between phenomenal and access consciousness, are central in the current debates about consciousness and the neural correlates of consciousness. In this article, a unifying global workspace model for phenomenal and access consciousness is proposed. In the model, recurrent neural interactions take place in distinct yet interacting access and phenomenal brain loops. The effectiveness of feedback signaling onto sensory cortical maps is emphasized for the neural correlates of phenomenal consciousness. Two forms of top-down attention, attention for perception and attention for access, play differential roles for phenomenal and access consciousness. The model is implemented in a neural network form, with the simulation of single and multiple visual object processing, and of the attentional blink.
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Raffone A, Srinivasan N. The exploration of meditation in the neuroscience of attention and consciousness. Cogn Process 2009; 11:1-7. [PMID: 20041276 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-009-0354-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2009] [Accepted: 12/11/2009] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Many recent behavioral and neuroscientific studies have revealed the importance of investigating meditation states and traits to achieve an increased understanding of cognitive and affective neuroplasticity, attention and self-awareness, as well as for their increasingly recognized clinical relevance. The investigation of states and traits related to meditation has especially pronounced implications for the neuroscience of attention, consciousness, self-awareness, empathy and theory of mind. In this article we present the main features of meditation-based mental training and characterize the current scientific approach to meditation states and traits with special reference to attention and consciousness, in light of the articles contributed to this issue.
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The ‘I’ and the ‘Me’ in self-referential awareness: a neurocognitive hypothesis. Cogn Process 2009; 11:9-20. [DOI: 10.1007/s10339-009-0336-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2009] [Accepted: 08/21/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Dresp-Langley B, Durup J. A plastic temporal brain code for conscious state generation. Neural Plast 2009; 2009:482696. [PMID: 19644552 PMCID: PMC2715825 DOI: 10.1155/2009/482696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2008] [Revised: 02/18/2009] [Accepted: 05/24/2009] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Consciousness is known to be limited in processing capacity and often described in terms of a unique processing stream across a single dimension: time. In this paper, we discuss a purely temporal pattern code, functionally decoupled from spatial signals, for conscious state generation in the brain. Arguments in favour of such a code include Dehaene et al.'s long-distance reverberation postulate, Ramachandran's remapping hypothesis, evidence for a temporal coherence index and coincidence detectors, and Grossberg's Adaptive Resonance Theory. A time-bin resonance model is developed, where temporal signatures of conscious states are generated on the basis of signal reverberation across large distances in highly plastic neural circuits. The temporal signatures are delivered by neural activity patterns which, beyond a certain statistical threshold, activate, maintain, and terminate a conscious brain state like a bar code would activate, maintain, or inactivate the electronic locks of a safe. Such temporal resonance would reflect a higher level of neural processing, independent from sensorial or perceptual brain mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Birgitta Dresp-Langley
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS - UMR 5508), Université Montpellier 2, CC048 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Jean Durup
- 16 rue Romain Rolland, 34200 Sète, France
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An adaptive workspace hypothesis about the neural correlates of consciousness: insights from neuroscience and meditation studies. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2009; 176:161-80. [PMID: 19733756 DOI: 10.1016/s0079-6123(09)17620-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
While enormous progress has been made to identify neural correlates of consciousness (NCC), crucial NCC aspects are still very controversial. A major hurdle is the lack of an adequate definition and characterization of different aspects of conscious experience and also its relationship to attention and metacognitive processes like monitoring. In this paper, we therefore attempt to develop a unitary theoretical framework for NCC, with an interdependent characterization of endogenous attention, access consciousness, phenomenal awareness, metacognitive consciousness, and a non-referential form of unified consciousness. We advance an adaptive workspace hypothesis about the NCC based on the global workspace model emphasizing transient resonant neurodynamics and prefrontal cortex function, as well as meditation-related characterizations of conscious experiences. In this hypothesis, transient dynamic links within an adaptive coding net in prefrontal cortex, especially in anterior prefrontal cortex, and between it and the rest of the brain, in terms of ongoing intrinsic and long-range signal exchanges, flexibly regulate the interplay between endogenous attention, access consciousness, phenomenal awareness, and metacognitive consciousness processes. Such processes are established in terms of complementary aspects of an ongoing transition between context-sensitive global workspace assemblies, modulated moment-to-moment by body and environment states. Brain regions associated to momentary interoceptive and exteroceptive self-awareness, or first-person experiential perspective as emphasized in open monitoring meditation, play an important modulatory role in adaptive workspace transitions.
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Aarts H, Custers R, Veltkamp M. Goal Priming and the Affective-Motivational Route to Nonconscious Goal Pursuit. SOCIAL COGNITION 2008. [DOI: 10.1521/soco.2008.26.5.555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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Hallett M. Volitional control of movement: the physiology of free will. Clin Neurophysiol 2007; 118:1179-92. [PMID: 17466580 PMCID: PMC1950571 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2007.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2007] [Revised: 03/17/2007] [Accepted: 03/19/2007] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
This review deals with the physiology of the initiation of a voluntary movement and the appreciation of whether it is voluntary or not. I argue that free will is not a driving force for movement, but a conscious awareness concerning the nature of the movement. Movement initiation and the perception of willing the movement can be separately manipulated. Movement is generated subconsciously, and the conscious sense of volition comes later, but the exact time of this event is difficult to assess because of the potentially illusory nature of introspection. Neurological disorders of volition are also reviewed. The evidence suggests that movement is initiated in the frontal lobe, particularly the mesial areas, and the sense of volition arises as the result of a corollary discharge likely involving multiple areas with reciprocal connections including those in the parietal lobe and insular cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Hallett
- Human Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Building 10, Room 5N226, 10 Center Dr MSC 1428, Bethesda, MD 20892-1428, USA.
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Aarts H, Custers R, Holland RW. The nonconscious cessation of goal pursuit: When goals and negative affect are coactivated. J Pers Soc Psychol 2007; 92:165-78. [PMID: 17279843 DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.92.2.165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Extending on the recent investigation into the implicit affective processes underlying motivation and decision making, 5 studies examined the role of negative affect in moderating goal priming effects. Specifically, experimental effects on measures that typify motivational qualities of goal systems, such as keeping a goal at a heightened level of mental accessibility and exerting effort to work for a goal and experiencing desire to attain the goal, showed that the motivation and resultant operation of social goals cease when these goals are primed in temporal proximity of negatively valenced information. These goal cessation effects resulting from the mere coactivation of a goal and negative affect are discussed against the background of present research on nonconscious goal pursuit and the role of accessibility and desirability in the regulation of automatic goal-directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henk Aarts
- Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.
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Changeux JP. The Ferrier Lecture 1998. The molecular biology of consciousness investigated with genetically modified mice. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2006; 361:2239-59. [PMID: 17015398 PMCID: PMC1764850 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2006.1832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/1998] [Accepted: 01/17/2006] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The question is raised of the relevance of experimental work with the mouse and some of its genetically modified individuals in the study of consciousness. Even if this species does not go far beyond the level of 'minimal consciousness', it may be a useful animal model to examine the elementary building blocks of consciousness using the methods of molecular biology jointly with investigations at the physiological and behavioural levels. These building blocks which are anticipated to be universally shared by higher organisms (from birds to humans) may include: (i) the access to multiple states of vigilance, like wakefulness, sleep, general anaesthesia, etc.; (ii) the capacity for global integration of several sensory and cognitive functions, together with behavioural flexibility resulting in what is referred to as exploratory behaviour, and possibly a minimal form of intentionality. In addition, the contribution of defined neuronal nicotinic receptors species to some of these processes is demonstrated and the data discussed within the framework of recent neurocomputational models for access to consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Pierre Changeux
- Institut Pasteur & Collège de France, 25 rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Cedex 15, Paris, France.
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Abstract
Several theoretical views of automaticity are discussed. Most of these suggest that automaticity should be diagnosed by looking at the presence of features such as unintentional, uncontrolled/uncontrollable, goal independent, autonomous, purely stimulus driven, unconscious, efficient, and fast. Contemporary views further suggest that these features should be investigated separately. The authors examine whether features of automaticity can be disentangled on a conceptual level, because only then is the separate investigation of them worth the effort. They conclude that the conceptual analysis of features is to a large extent feasible. Not all researchers agree with this position, however. The authors show that assumptions of overlap among features are determined by the other researchers' views of automaticity and by the models they endorse for information processing in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnes Moors
- Department of Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
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Baars BJ. Subjective experience is probably not limited to humans: the evidence from neurobiology and behavior. Conscious Cogn 2005; 14:7-21. [PMID: 15766888 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2004.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2004] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In humans, conscious perception and cognition depends upon the thalamocortical (T-C) complex, which supports perception, explicit cognition, memory, language, planning, and strategic control. When parts of the T-C system are damaged or stimulated, corresponding effects are found on conscious contents and state, as assessed by reliable reports. In contrast, large regions like cerebellum and basal ganglia can be damaged without affecting conscious cognition directly. Functional brain recordings also show robust activity differences in cortex between experimentally matched conscious and unconscious events. This basic anatomy and physiology is highly conserved in mammals and perhaps ancestral reptiles. While language is absent in other species, homologies in perception, memory, and motor cortex suggest that consciousness of one kind or another may be biologically fundamental and phylogenetically ancient. In humans we infer subjective experiences from behavioral and brain evidence. This evidence is quite similar in other mammals and perhaps some non-mammalian species. On the weight of the biological evidence, therefore, subjectivity may be conserved in species with human-like brains and behavior.
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Perry EK, Perry RH. Neurochemistry of consciousness: cholinergic pathologies in the human brain. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2004; 145:287-99. [PMID: 14650923 DOI: 10.1016/s0079-6123(03)45020-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Elaine K Perry
- MRC Building, Newcastle General Hospital, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6BE, UK.
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Abstract
Consciousness might help to mobilize and integrate brain functions that are otherwise separate and independent. Evidence for this 'conscious access hypothesis' was described almost two decades ago, in a framework called global workspace theory. The theory had little impact at first, for three reasons: because consciousness was controversial; the evidence, though extensive, was indirect; and integrative theory was unfashionable. Recent neuroimaging evidence appears broadly to support the hypothesis, which has implications for perception, learning, working memory, voluntary control, attention and self systems in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard J. Baars
- The Neurosciences Institute, 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, 92121, San Diego, California, USA
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Abstract
Experiments on putative neuronal mechanisms underlying absence seizures as well as clinical observations are critically reviewed for their ability to explain apparent "loss of consciousness." It is argued that the initial defect in absences lies with corticothalamic (CT) neuronal mechanisms responsible for selective attention and/or planning for action, rather than with those establishing either the states or the contents of consciousness. Normally, rich thalamocortical (TC)-CT feedback loops regulate the flow of information to the cortex and help its neurons to organize themselves in discrete assemblies, which through high-frequency (>30 Hz) oscillations bind those distributed processes of the brain that are considered important, so that we are able to focus on what is needed from moment to moment and be aware of this fact. This ability is transiently lost in absence seizures, because large numbers of CT loops are recruited for seconds in much stronger, low-frequency ( approximately 3 Hz) oscillations of EPSP/IPSP sequences, which underlie electroencephalographic (EEG) spike-and-wave discharges (SWDs). These oscillations probably result from a transformation of the normal EEG rhythm of sleep spindles on an abnormal increase of cortical excitability that results in strong activation of inhibitory neurons in the cortex and in nucleus reticularis thalami. The strong general enhancement of CT feedback during SWDs may disallow the discrete feedback, which normally selects specific TC circuits for conscious perception and/or motor reaction. Such a mechanism of SWD generation allows variability in the extent to which different TC sectors are engaged in the SWD activity and thus explains the variable ability of some patients to respond during an absence, depending on the sensory modality examined.
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Affiliation(s)
- G K Kostopoulos
- Department of Physiology, Medical School, University of Patras, Patras 261 10, Greece.
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Driver J, Vuilleumier P, Eimer M, Rees G. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Evoked Potential Correlates of Conscious and Unconscious Vision in Parietal Extinction Patients. Neuroimage 2001; 14:S68-75. [PMID: 11373135 DOI: 10.1006/nimg.2001.0842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potential (ERP) studies of visual extinction in patients with right parietal damage who can detect isolated visual stimuli on either side, yet often miss contralesional (left) stimuli during bilateral stimulation. We consider the neural fate of such extinguished visual stimuli and how neural responses differ for consciously detected versus extinguished stimuli. fMRI findings indicate that extinguished stimuli evoke activity in striate and ventral extrastriate visual cortex, despite escaping awareness. Activations for extinguished stimuli can be found even in category-specific (face-responsive) areas of the fusiform gyrus. On the other hand, activations in visual cortex are stronger for consciously detected versus extinguished stimuli, with parietal and frontal areas of the intact left hemisphere also implicated in this comparison. Recent ERP data likewise suggest differential neural responses for consciously detected versus extinguished stimuli. We discuss these findings in relation to current speculations about the neural basis of conscious and unconscious perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Driver
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, UK. j.driver.ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract
Consciousness remains an elusive concept due to the difficulty to define what has been regarded for many years as a subjective experience, therefore irrelevant for scientific study. Recent development in this field of research has allowed to provide some new insight to a possible way to define consciousness. Going through the extensive literature in this domain, several perspectives are proposed to define this concept. (1) Consciousness and Attention may not reflect the same process. (2) Consciousness during wake and sleep may not involve the same mechanisms. (3) Besides physiological states of consciousness, human beings can experience modified states of consciousness either by self-training (transcendental meditation, hypnosis, etc.) or by drug intake (hallucinogens, anaesthetics, etc.). Altogether, we address the question of a more precise terminology, given the theoretical weight words can convey. To this respect, we propose different definitions for concepts like consciousness, vigilance, arousal and alertness as candidates to separate functional entities.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Tassi
- Centre d'Etudes de Physiologie Appliquée du CNRS, 21, rue Becquerel, 67087 cedex, Strasbourg, France.
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There are no Known Differences in Brain Mechanisms of Consciousness Between Humans and Other Mammals. Anim Welf 2001. [DOI: 10.1017/s0962728600023496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
AbstractRecent scientific findings indicate that consciousness is a fundamental biological adaptation. The known brain correlates of consciousness appear to be phylogenetically ancient, going back at least to early mammals. In all mammals, alertness and sensory consciousness are required for the goal-directed behaviours that make species survival and reproduction possible. In all mammals, the anatomy, neurochemistry and electrical activity of the brain in alert states show striking similarities.After more than seven decades of cumulative discoveries about waking and sensory consciousness, we have not yet found any fundamental differences between humans and other mammals. Species differences such as the size of neocortex seem to be irrelevant to the existence of alertness and sensory consciousness, though different mammals obviously specialize in different kinds of sensory, cognitive and motor abilities.Sceptics sometimes claim that objective evidence for consciousness tells us little about subjective experience, such as the experience of conscious pain. Scientifically, however, plausible inferences are routinely based on reliable and consistent patterns of evidence. In other humans, we invariably infer subjective experiences from objective behavioural and brain evidence - if someone yells ‘Ouch!’ after striking a finger with a hammer, we infer that they feel pain. The brain and behavioural evidence for subjective consciousness is essentially identical in humans and other mammals. On the weight of the objective evidence, therefore, subjective experience would seem to be equally plausible in all species with human-like brains and behaviour. Either we deny this experience to other humans (which is rarely done) or, to be consistent, we must also attribute it to other species that meet the same objective standards. It seems that the burden of proof for the absence of subjectivity in mammals should be placed on the sceptics.
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Pinelli P, Ceriani F, Colombo R, Pasetti C, Terazzi M, Castignoli G. Delayed verbal reactions are specifically impaired in patients with schizophrenia. Int J Psychophysiol 2000; 37:163-75. [PMID: 10832003 DOI: 10.1016/s0167-8760(00)00088-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Recent neuropsychological, psychophysiological and neuroimaging studies have shown that specific changes in attention and information processes occur in schizophrenic disorders. A verbal delayed reaction methodology, determined by our group since 1992, has provided similar quantitative data. Visual verbal stimuli, occurring in random sequence, are presented to the subject who is requested to utter immediately the perceived word in a first trial; in a second one, a delay (foreperiod) between the word presentation and a 'go' signal (eight asterisks) is interposed. Acousticograms and orbicularis oris EMG are recorded as responses. The ratio of the 1.5-s foreperiod delayed reaction time to the immediate reaction time reveals a facilitation of the executive system occurring during sustained purposeful attention, a characteristic function of the prefrontal cortex. A further ratio, with a 0.1-s foreperiod, has been measured to investigate the effect of interference processes. These trials have been performed including 18 patients with schizophrenia, 31 with idiopathic Parkinson's disease, four patients with extrapyramidal degenerative diseases, five affected by obsessive compulsive disorder and in age-matched normal controls. Both ratios were significantly increased in schizophrenic patients and, on the contrary, decreased in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. These changes are in agreement with the neuroimaging findings of 'hypofrontality' in the schizophrenic patients. Verbal delayed reaction methodology seems a reliable and easily applicable tool for investigating sustained purposeful attention processes in clinical conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Pinelli
- Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Neurology, St. Paolo Hospital, University of Milano, Via di Rudinì 8, 20142, Milan, Italy
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Baars BJ. Attention versus consciousness in the visual brain: differences in conception, phenomenology, behavior, neuroanatomy, and physiology. THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 1999; 126:224-33. [PMID: 10443028 DOI: 10.1080/00221309909595364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
A common confound between consciousness and attention makes it difficult to think clearly about recent advances in the understanding of the visual brain. Visual consciousness involves phenomenal experience of the visual world, but visual attention is more plausibly treated as a function that selects and maintains the selection of potential conscious contents, often unconsciously. In the same sense, eye movements select conscious visual events, which are not the same as conscious visual experience. According to common sense, visual experience is consciousness, and selective processes are labeled as attention. The distinction is reflected in very different behavioral measures and in very different brain anatomy and physiology. Visual consciousness tends to be associated with the "what" stream of visual feature neurons in the ventral temporal lobe. In contrast, attentional selection and maintenance are mediated by other brain regions, ranging from superior colliculi to thalamus, prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate. The author applied the common-sense distinction between attention and consciousness to the theoretical positions of M. I. Posner (1992, 1994) and D. LaBerge (1997, 1998) to show how it helps to clarify the evidence. He concluded that clarity of thought is served by calling a thing by its proper name.
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Perry E, Walker M, Grace J, Perry R. Acetylcholine in mind: a neurotransmitter correlate of consciousness? Trends Neurosci 1999; 22:273-80. [PMID: 10354606 DOI: 10.1016/s0166-2236(98)01361-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 483] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The cholinergic system is one of the most important modulatory neurotransmitter systems in the brain and controls activities that depend on selective attention, which are an essential component of conscious awareness. Psychopharmacological and pathological evidence supports the concept of a 'cholinergic component' of conscious awareness. Drugs that antagonize muscarinic receptors induce hallucinations and reduce the level of consciousness, while the nicotinic receptor is implicated as being involved in the mechanism of action of general (inhalational) anaesthetics. In degenerative diseases of the brain, alterations in consciousness are associated with regional deficits in the cholinergic system. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), there is a loss of explicit (more than implicit) memory and hypoactivity of cholinergic projections to the hippocampus and cortex, while the visual hallucinations experienced by subjects with Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are associated with reductions in neocortical ACh-related activity. In Parkinson's disease, the additional loss of pedunculopontine cholinergic neurones, which control REM (rapid eye movement) sleep or dreaming, is likely to contribute to REM abnormalities, which also occur in DLB. Widespread basal-forebrain and rostral brainstem cholinergic pathways, which include converging projections to the thalamus, appear to be located strategically for generating and integrating conscious awareness. Alleviation of a range of cognitive and non-cognitive symptoms by drugs that modulate the cholinergic system, which are being developed for the treatment of AD and related disorders, could be caused by changes in consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Perry
- MRC Neurochemical Pathology Unit, Newcastle General Hospital, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK NE4 6BE
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Rose D. Creativity, Intentionality and the Conscious/Unconscious Distinction: A Neural Theory. JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS 1999. [DOI: 10.1515/jisys.1999.9.5-6.407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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