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Páleník J. What does it mean for consciousness to be multidimensional? A narrative review. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1430262. [PMID: 38966739 PMCID: PMC11222411 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1430262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024] Open
Abstract
A recent development in the psychological and neuroscientific study of consciousness has been the tendency to conceptualize consciousness as a multidimensional phenomenon. This narrative review elucidates the notion of dimensionality of consciousness and outlines the key concepts and disagreements on this topic through the viewpoints of several theoretical proposals. The reviewed literature is critically evaluated, and the main issues to be resolved by future theoretical and empirical work are identified: the problems of dimension selection and dimension aggregation, as well as some ethical considerations. This narrative review is seemingly the first to comprehensively overview this specific aspect of consciousness science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Páleník
- First Department of Neurology, St. Anne’s University Hospital and Medical Faculty of Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
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Hansen MJ. Modelling developments in consciousness within a multidimensional framework. Neurosci Conscious 2024; 2024:niae026. [PMID: 38895541 PMCID: PMC11184344 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niae026] [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: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
A recent advancement in consciousness science has been the introduction of a multidimensional framework of consciousness. This framework has been applied to global states of consciousness, including psychedelic states and disorders of consciousness, and the consciousness of non-human animals. The multidimensional framework enables a finer parsing of both various states of consciousness and forms of animal consciousness, paving the way for new scientific investigations into consciousness. In this paper, the multidimensional model is expanded by constructing temporal profiles. This expansion allows for the modelling of changes in consciousness across the life cycles of organisms and the progression over time of disorders of consciousness. The result of this expansion is 2-fold: (i) it enables new modes of comparison, both across stages of development and across species; (ii) it proposes that more attention be given to the various types of fluctuations that occur in patients who are suffering from disorders of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mads Jørgensen Hansen
- Department of Philosophy and History of Ideas, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
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Skóra Z, Del Pin SH, Derda M, Koculak M, Rutiku R, Wierzchoń M. No validity without a theory-a critical look at subjective measures of consciousness. Neurosci Conscious 2021; 2021:niab009. [PMID: 33868713 PMCID: PMC8042361 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niab009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Michel (The mismeasure of consciousness: a problem of coordination for the perceptual awareness scale. Philos Sci 2019;86:1239–49) claims that the Perceptual Awareness Scale (PAS) faces the problem of coordination (also known as validity). We argue that his claim holds only under certain theoretical assumptions which need to be made explicit as these are likely not in line with the PAS proponents’ standpoint. We also call for terminological clarity, an example being the usage of ‘levels’ of consciousness. Precise terminology combined with an explicit reference to the chosen theoretical perspective is necessary conditions for making progress in consciousness research and the development of consciousness theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzanna Skóra
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow 30-060, Poland
| | - Simon Hviid Del Pin
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow 30-060, Poland
| | - Monika Derda
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow 30-060, Poland
| | - Marcin Koculak
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow 30-060, Poland
| | - Renate Rutiku
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow 30-060, Poland
| | - Michał Wierzchoń
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow 30-060, Poland
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Hobot J, Koculak M, Paulewicz B, Sandberg K, Wierzchoń M. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation-Induced Motor Cortex Activity Influences Visual Awareness Judgments. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:580712. [PMID: 33177983 PMCID: PMC7593579 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.580712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The influence of non-visual information on visual awareness judgments has recently gained substantial interest. Using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we investigate the potential contribution of evidence from the motor system to judgment of visual awareness. We hypothesized that TMS-induced activity in the primary motor cortex (M1) would increase reported visual awareness as compared to the control condition. Additionally, we investigated whether TMS-induced motor-evoked potential (MEP) could measure accumulated evidence for stimulus perception. Following stimulus presentation and TMS, participants first rated their visual awareness verbally using the Perceptual Awareness Scale (PAS), after which they responded manually to a Gabor orientation identification task. Delivering TMS to M1 resulted in higher average awareness ratings as compared to the control condition, in both correct and incorrect identification task response trials, when the hand with which participants responded was contralateral to the stimulated hemisphere (TMS-response-congruent trials). This effect was accompanied by longer PAS response times (RTs), irrespective of the congruence between TMS and identification response. Moreover, longer identification RTs were observed in TMS-response-congruent trials in the M1 condition as compared to the control condition. Additionally, the amplitudes of MEPs were related to the awareness ratings when response congruence was taken into account. We argue that MEP can serve as an indirect measure of evidence accumulated for stimulus perception and that longer PAS RTs and higher amplitudes of MEPs in the M1 condition reflect integration of additional evidence with visual awareness judgment. In conclusion, we advocate that motor activity influences perceptual awareness judgments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justyna Hobot
- Consciousness Lab, Psychology Institute, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
- Perception and Neuroarchitectural Mapping Group, Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Marcin Koculak
- Consciousness Lab, Psychology Institute, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Borysław Paulewicz
- Faculty of Psychology in Katowice, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Katowice, Poland
| | - Kristian Sandberg
- Perception and Neuroarchitectural Mapping Group, Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Michał Wierzchoń
- Consciousness Lab, Psychology Institute, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
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Anzulewicz A, Hobot J, Siedlecka M, Wierzchoń M. Bringing action into the picture. How action influences visual awareness. Atten Percept Psychophys 2019; 81:2171-2176. [PMID: 31168700 PMCID: PMC6848036 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-019-01781-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
This article discusses how the analysis of interactions between action and awareness allows us to better understand the mechanisms of visual awareness. We argue that action is one of several factors that influence visual awareness and we provide a number of examples. We also discuss the possible mechanisms that underlie these influences on both the cognitive and the neural levels. We propose that action affects visual awareness for the following reasons: (1) it serves as additional information in the process of evidence accumulation; (2) it restricts the number of alternatives in the decisional process; (3) it enables error detection and performance monitoring; and (4) it triggers attentional mechanisms that modify stimulus perception. We also discuss the possible neuronal mechanisms of the aforementioned effects, including feedback-dependent prefrontal cortex modulation of the activity of visual areas, error-based modulation, interhemispheric inhibition of motor cortices, and attentional modulation of visual cortex activity triggered by motor processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Anzulewicz
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland
| | - Justyna Hobot
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland
| | - Marta Siedlecka
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland
| | - Michał Wierzchoń
- Consciousness Lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland.
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Bola M, Orłowski P, Baranowska K, Schartner M, Marchewka A. Informativeness of Auditory Stimuli Does Not Affect EEG Signal Diversity. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1820. [PMID: 30319513 PMCID: PMC6168660 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain signal diversity constitutes a robust neuronal marker of the global states of consciousness. It has been demonstrated that, in comparison to the resting wakefulness, signal diversity is lower during unconscious states, and higher during psychedelic states. A plausible interpretation of these findings is that the neuronal diversity corresponds to the diversity of subjective conscious experiences. Therefore, in the present study we varied an information rate processed by the subjects and hypothesized that greater information rate will be related to richer and more differentiated phenomenology and, consequently, to greater signal diversity. To test this hypothesis speech recordings (excerpts from an audio-book) were presented to subjects at five different speeds (65, 83, 100, 117, and 135% of the original speed). By increasing or decreasing speed of the recordings we were able to, respectively, increase or decrease the presented information rate. We also included a backward (unintelligible) speech presentation and a resting-state condition (no auditory stimulation). We tested 19 healthy subjects and analyzed the recorded EEG signal (64 channels) in terms of Lempel-Ziv diversity (LZs). We report the following findings. First, our main hypothesis was not confirmed, as Bayes Factor indicates evidence for no effect when comparing LZs among five presentation speeds. Second, we found that LZs during the resting-state was greater than during processing of both meaningful and unintelligible speech. Third, an additional analysis uncovered a gradual decrease of diversity over the time-course of the experiment, which might reflect a decrease in vigilance. We thus speculate that higher signal diversity during the unconstrained resting-state might be due to a greater variety of experiences, involving spontaneous attention switching and mind wandering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Bola
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Paweł Orłowski
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.,Institute of Philosophy, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.,Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Karolina Baranowska
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.,Faculty of Physics, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Michael Schartner
- Département des Neurosciences Fondamentales, Université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Artur Marchewka
- Laboratory of Brain Imaging, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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