DOCSLIB.ORG

Explanatory Profiles of Models of Consciousness

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Explanatory Profiles of Models of Consciousness Explanatory profiles of models of consciousness - towards a systematic classification Camilo Miguel Signorellia,b,c,*, , Joanna Szczotkad,*, and Robert Prentnere,f,* aCognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM U992, NeuroSpin, France. bDepartment of Computer Science, University of Oxford, UK. cCenter for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain. d Center for Sleep and Consciousness, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA e Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, USA fCenter for the Future Mind, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, USA *All authors contributed equally to this work Models of consciousness aim to inspire new experimental pro- 1. Introduction tocols and aid interpretation of empirical evidence to reveal the structure of conscious experience. Nevertheless, no current Models of consciousness set out to provide a principled de- model is univocally accepted on either theoretical or empirical scription of how the physical domain relates to conscious ex- grounds. Moreover, a straightforward comparison is difficult perience (1–3). In the last decades, consciousness researchers for conceptual reasons. In particular, we argue that different put forward an abundance of conceptual and formal propos- models explicitly or implicitly subscribe to different notions of als, drawing from neuroscience, physics, mathematics, phi- what constitutes a satisfactory explanation, use different tools losophy, or experimental psychology. In an early scientific in their explanatory endeavours, and even aim to explain very phase, it is natural to expect many competing models to de- different phenomena. We thus present a framework to com- velop in parallel to each other. A more mature stage should pare existing models in the field with respect to what we call entail a substantial cross-talk between them, aiming at dis- their "explanatory profiles". We focus on the following minimal tilling critical similarities and differences between them, ex- dimensions: mode of explanation, mechanisms of explanation, tracting precise empirical predictions (4) and lastly, eliminat- and target of explanation. We also discuss the empirical conse- quences of the discussed discrepancies among models. This ap- ing falsified frameworks through a set of crucial empirical proach may eventually lead to identifying driving assumptions, experiments, as presently envisioned in (5). theoretical commitments, experimental predictions, and a bet- An alternative would be to demand that competing theories ter design of future testing experiments. Finally, our conclusion need to converge to a unified, synthesized account in or- points to more integrative theoretical research, where axiomatic der to make progress (6,7). In the following paragraphs, models may play a critical role in solving current theoretical and we posit that there are currently several, serious impedi- experimental contradictions. ments to both crucial experiments but also convergence ap- Models of consciousness | Explanation | Unification | Phenomenology | Inte- proaches. Arguably, more conspicuous and empirically tan- grated information | Global workspace | NCCs | Quality | Quantity gible differences in the theories (such as their postulated Correspondence: [email protected] neural-correlates: prefrontal cortex or posterior hot-zone) de- rive from much deeper, implicitly held deviations in theoret- Highlights ical and philosophical assumptions. In particular, proponents • Models of consciousness constitute hypotheses on how of different theories seem to substantially disagree on what consciousness relates to the physical domain.DRAFTwould constitute a satisfactory explanation of consciousness in the first place. Therefore, the aims of these theories are • Numerous competing frameworks build on different sometimes different. Once all these discrepancies are fully philosophical grounds and favour particular scientific made explicit, the major models can start to enrich each other methodologies. in a meaningful way. At least in some cases, theoretical mis- alignment between the models might boil down to different • We compare models based on three analytical dimen- angles of looking at the same problem. sions: mode of explanation, mechanisms of explana- Although navigating through such a highly diversified theo- tion and target of explanation. retical landscape remains challenging, there is hope that one • Differences in the conception of explanation have em- could account for the large variation in the field by using pirical consequences: the futility of localization ap- only relatively few axes of comparison. To this date, there proaches, the potential of second-person methodolo- have been only a couple of systematic attempts to thoroughly gies, and different senses of "content" of conscious- compare the contemporary models of consciousness (6,8,9). ness. Arguably, however, all these endeavours have not gone be- yond simply collating the theories’ different explanatory tar- • Future research needs integrative approaches, where gets and their main employed paradigms. In addition, the mathematical and axiomatic models may play a criti- way the theories have been classified so far (such as targeting cal role. either phenomenal or access consciousness (6) or whether CM Signorelli et al. | PsyArXiv | May 26, 2021 | 1–20 they are related to the pre- or post-stimulus neural activity) understood in this weaker way, the majority of neuroscien- might have created more confusion than elucidation (10–12). tists would likely agree. However, it is then not clear how In order to identify the most critical points of contention in this position would contribute to a scientific understanding the field, we first introduce the philosophical landscape (Sec- of consciousness, effectively arguing against a philosophical tion2), then we explicate three crucial directions in which straw man. frameworks diverge most noticeably with respect to their ex- Another related distinction is the one between the notions of planatory pretense (Section3). Among these directions we "phenomenal" and "access" consciousness (21, 22). The for- distinguish: mode of explanation (mechanistic vs. unifica- mer refers explicitly to its what-it-is-likeness, sometimes as- tionist), mechanism of explanation (functional vs. causal), sumed to correspond to a "minimal sense" of conscious expe- and target of explanation (quality vs. quantity of conscious- rience without necessarily requiring reportability (23, 24). In ness). These dimensions are discussed along contemporary particular, some theories of consciousness claim to be about models of consciousness, which creates a multi-dimensional exactly this phenomenal aspect and thus carry a distinct ex- explanatory profile for each. We also discuss two empirical planatory pretense. The latter notion, "access" conscious- consequences of this (Section4). We conclude by advocating ness, corresponds to centralized availability for processing of for a more integrative approach, hinting at already existing information and the reportability of a conscious experience. empirical and theoretical (mathematical) tools (Section5). It also refers to phenomena that are closely related to con- We narrow our scope to 14 influential models. While being sciousness in other aspects (e.g. attention or meta-cognition). aware that our selection of models is not exhaustive, we do It is an open debate in the scientific study of consciousness hope that our work would still spark meaningful discussions whether an explanation purely in terms of access conscious- and inspire orderly and structured comparisons in the field. ness is truly satisfactory or whether it is not in fact the only scientifically rigorous approach (25, 26). 2. The problem of consciousness Much of the prominence that phenomenal consciousness re- Philosophy does not solve problems, it rather helps to empha- ceived as a potential scientific topic can be traced back to the size and reconceptualize them, making problems amenable work of David Chalmers who introduced the notion of the to scientific investigation. Therefore, we first look at some of “hard problem of consciousness” (27), the difficulty to ex- the main concepts relevant to the question of consciousness, plain why certain forms of physical information processing which are often implicitly held by current scientific theories. should feel like anything at all or how physical and phenom- enal facts are related to each other. Chalmers argued against 2.1. "What-it-is-like" to have an experience the reducibility of consciousness and initially advocated a The idea that consciousness comprises an inner subjective “natural dualism” (28). Natural dualists assume that reality feeling poses perhaps the biggest challenge to any model is composed of two sets of (irreducible) properties. Chalmers of consciousness. Explanatory projects in the contempo- moreover assumed that those refer to two properties of “in- rary neuroscience of consciousness thus often seem to tar- formation”, and that the functional (psychological) structure get the notion of "phenomenal consciousness" that goes back of information processing in the brain is mirrored in the phe- to work by Thomas Nagel from the 1970s, emphasizing the nomenal structure of consciousness. Chalmers later made the "what-it-is-likeness" of conscious experience. Nagel argued case for “panpsychism” (29–31), the view that consciousness that the purely objective study of an entity, such as the one is ubiquitous in nature and serves as the irreducible “intrin- science provides,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Arxiv:2012.10390V2 [Cs.AI] 20 Feb 2021 Inaccessible
    Opinion - Paper under review Deep Learning and the Global Workspace Theory Rufin VanRullen1, 2 and Ryota Kanai3 1CerCo, CNRS UMR5549, Toulouse, France 2ANITI, Universit´ede Toulouse, France 3Araya Inc, Tokyo. Japan Abstract Recent advances in deep learning have allowed Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reach near human-level performance in many sensory, perceptual, linguistic or cognitive tasks. There is a growing need, however, for novel, brain-inspired cognitive architectures. The Global Workspace theory refers to a large-scale system integrating and distributing infor- mation among networks of specialized modules to create higher-level forms of cognition and awareness. We argue that the time is ripe to consider explicit implementations of this theory using deep learning techniques. We propose a roadmap based on unsu- pervised neural translation between multiple latent spaces (neural networks trained for distinct tasks, on distinct sensory inputs and/or modalities) to create a unique, amodal global latent workspace (GLW). Potential functional advantages of GLW are reviewed, along with neuroscientific implications. 1 Cognitive neural architectures in brains and ma- chines Deep learning denotes a machine learning system using artificial neural networks with multiple \hidden" layers between the input and output layers. Although the underlying theory is more than 3 decades old [1, 2], it is only in the last decade that these systems have started to fully reveal their potential [3]. Many of the recent breakthroughs in AI (Artificial Intelligence) have been fueled by deep learning. Neuroscientists have been quick to point out the similarities (and differences) between the brain and these deep artificial neural networks [4{9]. The advent of deep learning has allowed the efficient computer implementation of perceptual and cognitive functions that had been so far arXiv:2012.10390v2 [cs.AI] 20 Feb 2021 inaccessible.
    [Show full text]
  • Theoretical Models of Consciousness: a Scoping Review
    brain sciences Review Theoretical Models of Consciousness: A Scoping Review Davide Sattin 1,2,*, Francesca Giulia Magnani 1, Laura Bartesaghi 1, Milena Caputo 1, Andrea Veronica Fittipaldo 3, Martina Cacciatore 1, Mario Picozzi 4 and Matilde Leonardi 1 1 Neurology, Public Health, Disability Unit—Scientific Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20133 Milan, Italy; [email protected] (F.G.M.); [email protected] (L.B.); [email protected] (M.C.); [email protected] (M.C.); [email protected] (M.L.) 2 Experimental Medicine and Medical Humanities-PhD Program, Biotechnology and Life Sciences Department and Center for Clinical Ethics, Insubria University, 21100 Varese, Italy 3 Oncology Department, Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy; veronicaandrea.fi[email protected] 4 Center for Clinical Ethics, Biotechnology and Life Sciences Department, Insubria University, 21100 Varese, Italy; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +39-02-2394-2709 Abstract: The amount of knowledge on human consciousness has created a multitude of viewpoints and it is difficult to compare and synthesize all the recent scientific perspectives. Indeed, there are many definitions of consciousness and multiple approaches to study the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC). Therefore, the main aim of this article is to collect data on the various theories of consciousness published between 2007–2017 and to synthesize them to provide a general overview of this topic. To describe each theory, we developed a thematic grid called the dimensional model, which qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes how each article, related to one specific theory, debates/analyzes a specific issue.
    [Show full text]
  • Dennett's Dual-Process Theory of Reasoning ∗
    ∗∗∗ Dennett’s dual-process theory of reasoning Keith Frankish 1. Introduction Content and Consciousness (hereafter, C&C) 1 outlined an elegant and powerful framework for thinking about the relation between mind and brain and about how science can inform our understanding of the mind. By locating everyday mentalistic explanations at the personal level of whole, environmentally embedded organisms, and related scientific explanations at the subpersonal level of internal informational states and processes, and by judicious reflections on the relations between these levels, Dennett showed how we can avoid the complementary errors of treating mental states as independent of the brain and of projecting mentalistic categories onto the brain. In this way, combining cognitivism with insights from logical behaviourism, we can halt the swinging of the philosophical pendulum between the “ontic bulge” of dualism (C&C, p.5) and the confused or implausible identities posited by some brands of materialism, thereby freeing ourselves to focus on the truly fruitful question of how the brain can perform feats that warrant the ascription of thoughts and experiences to the organism that possesses it. The main themes of the book are, of course, intentionality and experience – content and consciousness. Dennett has substantially expanded and revised his views on these topics over the years, though without abandoning the foundations laid down in C&C, and his views have been voluminously discussed in the associated literature. In the field of intentionality, the major lessons of C&C have been widely accepted – and there can be no higher praise than to say that claims that seemed radical forty-odd years ago now seem obvious.
    [Show full text]
  • Poetry and the Multiple Drafts Model: the Functional Similarity of Cole Swensen's Verse and Human Consciousness
    University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 6-1-2011 Poetry and the Multiple Drafts Model: The Functional Similarity of Cole Swensen's Verse and Human Consciousness Connor Ryan Kreimeyer Fisher University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the American Literature Commons, and the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Fisher, Connor Ryan Kreimeyer, "Poetry and the Multiple Drafts Model: The Functional Similarity of Cole Swensen's Verse and Human Consciousness" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 202. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/202 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. POETRY AND THE MULTIPLE DRAFTS MODEL: THE FUNCTIONAL SIMILARITY OF COLE SWENSEN’S VERSE AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS __________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Arts and Humanities University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts __________ by Connor Ryan Kreimeyer Fisher June 2011 Advisor: W. Scott Howard Author: Connor Ryan Kreimeyer Fisher Title: POETRY AND THE MULTIPLE DRAFTS MODEL: THE FUNCTIONAL SIMILARITY OF COLE SWENSEN’S VERSE AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS Advisor: W. Scott Howard Degree Date: June 2011 Abstract This project compares the operational methods of three of Cole Swensen’s books of poetry (Such Rich Hour , Try , and Goest ) with ways in which the human mind and consciousness function.
    [Show full text]
  • Biocentrism in Environmental Ethics: Questions of Inherent Worth, Etiology, and Teleofunctional Interests David Lewis Rice III University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
    University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 8-2016 Biocentrism in Environmental Ethics: Questions of Inherent Worth, Etiology, and Teleofunctional Interests David Lewis Rice III University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Rice, David Lewis III, "Biocentrism in Environmental Ethics: Questions of Inherent Worth, Etiology, and Teleofunctional Interests" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 1650. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1650 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Biocentrism in Environmental Ethics: Questions of Inherent Worth, Etiology, and Teleofunctional Interests A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy by David Rice Delta State University Bachelor of Science in Biology, 1994 Delta State University Master of Science in Natural Sciences in Biology, 1999 University of Mississippi Master of Arts in Philosophy, 2009 August 2016 University of Arkansas This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. ____________________________________ Dr. Richard Lee Dissertation Director ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Dr. Warren Herold Dr. Tom Senor Committee Member Committee Member Abstract Some biocentrists argue that all living things have "inherent worth". Anything that has inherent worth has interests that provide a reason for why all moral agents should care about it in and of itself. There are, however, some difficulties for biocentric individualist arguments which claim that all living things have inherent worth.
    [Show full text]
  • How Can We Solve the Meta-Problem of Consciousness?
    How Can We Solve the Meta-Problem of Consciousness? David J. Chalmers I am grateful to the authors of the 39 commentaries on my article “The Meta-Problem of Consciousness”. I learned a great deal from reading them and from thinking about how to reply.1 The commentaries divide fairly nearly into about three groups. About half of them discuss po- tential solutions to the meta-problem. About a quarter of them discuss the question of whether in- tuitions about consciousness are universal, widespred, or culturally local. About a quarter discuss illusionism about consciousness and especially debunking arguments that move from a solution to the meta-problem to illusionism. Some commentaries fit into more than one group and some do not fit perfectly into any, but with some stretching this provides a natural way to divide them. As a result, I have divided my reply into three parts, each of which can stand alone. This first part is “How can We Solve the Meta-Problem of Conscousness?”. The other two parts are “Is the Hard Problem of Consciousness Universal?” and “Debunking Arguments for Illusionism about Consciousness”. How can we solve the meta-problem? As a reminder, the meta-problem is the problem of explaining our problem intuitions about consciousness, including the intuition that consciousness poses a hard problem and related explanatory and metaphysical intuitions, among others. One constraint is to explain the intuitions in topic-neutral terms (for example, physical, computational, structural, or evolutionary term) that do not make explicit appeal to consciousness in the explana- tion. In the target article, I canvassed about 15 potential solutions to the meta-problem.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Workspace Theory and Animal Consciousness
    19 August 2020 Global Workspace Theory and Animal Consciousness Jonathan Birch Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK. Email: [email protected] Webpage: http://personal.lse.ac.uk/birchj1 This is a preprint of an article that will appear in Philosophical Topics. 7082 words 1 Abstract: Carruthers has recently argued for a surprising conditional: if a global workspace theory of phenomenal consciousness is both correct and fully reductive, then there are no substantive facts to discover about phenomenal consciousness in non-human animals. I present two problems for this conditional. First, it rests on an odd double-standard about the ordinary concept of phenomenal consciousness: its intuitive non-gradability is taken to be unchallengeable by future scientific developments, whereas its intuitive determinacy is predicted to fall by the wayside. Second, it relies on dismissing, prematurely, the live empirical possibility that phenomenal consciousness may be linked to a core global broadcast mechanism that is (determinately) shared by a wide range of animals. Future developments in the science of consciousness may lead us to reconsider the non-gradability of phenomenal consciousness, but they are unlikely to lead us to accept that there are no facts to discover outside the paradigm case of a healthy adult human. Key words: animal consciousness, phenomenal consciousness, consciousness science, global workspace theory, phenomenal concepts 2 1. Carruthers’ surprising conditional For more than thirty years, scepticism about attributions of phenomenal consciousness1 to (states of) non-human animals has been a major theme in Peter Carruthers’ work (Carruthers 1989, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2018a,b, 2019, 2020).
    [Show full text]
  • Metaphilosophy of Consciousness Studies
    Part Three Metaphilosophy of Consciousness Studies Bloomsbury companion to the philosophy of consciousness.indb 185 24-08-2017 15:48:52 Bloomsbury companion to the philosophy of consciousness.indb 186 24-08-2017 15:48:52 11 Understanding Consciousness by Building It Michael Graziano and Taylor W. Webb 1 Introduction In this chapter we consider how to build a machine that has subjective awareness. The design is based on the recently proposed attention schema theory (Graziano 2013, 2014; Graziano and Kastner 2011; Graziano and Webb 2014; Kelly et al. 2014; Webb and Graziano 2015; Webb, Kean and Graziano 2016). This hypothetical building project serves as a way to introduce the theory in a step-by-step manner and contrast it with other brain-based theories of consciousness. At the same time, this chapter is more than a thought experiment. We suggest that the machine could actually be built and we encourage artificial intelligence experts to try. Figure 11.1 frames the challenge. The machine has eyes that take in visual input (an apple in this example) and pass information to a computer brain. Our task is to build the machine such that it has a subjective visual awareness of the apple in the same sense that humans describe subjective visual awareness. Exactly what is meant by subjective awareness is not a priori clear. Most people have an intuitive notion that is probably not easily put into words. One goal of this building project is to see if a clearer definition of subjective awareness emerges from the constrained process of trying to build it.
    [Show full text]
  • Searle's Critique of the Multiple Drafts Model of Consciousness 1
    FACTA UNIVERSITATIS Series: Linguistics and Literature Vol. 7, No 2, 2009, pp. 173 - 182 SEARLE'S CRITIQUE OF THE MULTIPLE DRAFTS MODEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS 1 UDC 81'23(049.32) Đorđe Vidanović Faculty of Philosophy, University of Niš, Serbia E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. In this paper I try to show the limitations of John Searle's critique of Daniel Dennett's conception of consciousness based on the idea that the computational architecture of consciousness is patterned on the simple replicating units of information called memes. Searle claims that memes cannot substitute virtual genes as expounded by Dennett, saying that the spread of ideas and information is not driven by "blind forces" but has to be intentional. In this paper I try to refute his argumentation by a detailed account that tries to prove that intentionality need not be invoked in accounts of memes (and consciousness). Key words: Searle, Dennett, Multiple Drafts Model, consciousness,memes, genes, intentionality "No activity of mind is ever conscious" 2 (Karl Lashley, 1956) 1. INTRODUCTION In his collection of the New York Times book reviews, The Mystery of Conscious- ness (1997), John Searle criticizes Daniel Dennett's explanation of consciousness, stating that Dennett actually renounces it and proposes a version of strong AI instead, without ever accounting for it. Received June 27, 2009 1 A version of this paper was submitted to the Department of Philosophy of the University of Maribor, Slovenia, as part of the Festschrift for Dunja Jutronic in 2008, see http://oddelki.ff.uni-mb.si/filozofija/files/Festschrift/Dunjas_festschrift/vidanovic.pdf 2 Lashley, K.
    [Show full text]
  • The Phenomenology of the Self-Conscious Mind
    The Phenomenology of the Self-Conscious Mind Robert G. Mays, B.Sc. Suzanne B. Mays Chapel Hill, NC ABSTRACT: The phenomenon of a near-death experiencer's veridical perceptions during the out-of-body experience (OBE) strongly suggests the existence of a self-conscious mind as a "field of consciousness," a region of space where a person's consciousness exists. In the out-of-body state, the mind appears to be nonmaterial and completely independent of the physical body. Ordinarily, though, the self-conscious mind appears as an autonomous entity united with the brain and body. In this united state, the self-conscious mind operates through the mediation of the brain. This view is supported by evidence from neurological phenomena such as subjective antedating of sensory experiences and mental force. This evidence suggests that a nonneural agency induces conscious experience and self-conscious awareness. Phenomena from OBEs, including apparent subtle interactions with physical processes such as light, sound, and physical objects, as well as reported interactions with "in-body" persons, support the view that the self-conscious mind is able to interact in some physical way with the brain. Neurological phenomena such as Benjamin Libet's (1985) delayed awareness of willed action can be reconsidered successfully in light of this view. Such efforts might also prove useful, for example, in explaining phantom limb phenomena. KEY WORDS: near-death experience; out-of-body experience; mind-body problem; self-conscious mind; veridical perception. Robert G. Mays, B.Sc., is a retired senior software engineer and Suzanne B. Mays, A.A., is a Certified Music Practitioner (through the Music for Healing and Transition Program) who provides palliative care to hospitalized patients.
    [Show full text]
  • Tative State Is a Life Sentence. Search on the Minimally Us May Help Commute It
    mmm A Flicl<er of onscious• tative state is a life sentence. search on the minimally us may help commute it ON SUNDAY, AUG. 9, 2009, VALENTINE Filipov, a handsome and energetic manag- er at a refrigeration factory in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria, decided to change a burned-out lamp in his garden. His daughter Anna refers to what happened next as "my fa- ther's ridiculous accident," Filipov lost his balance on the 3-ft. (0.9 m) stepladder and fell, hitting his head on the pavement. The blow put him in a coma for five days. When he opened his eyes, doctors determined that the damage he sustained had left him in a vegetative state, a condition defined by unresponsive wakefulness, in which patients follow a normal sleep-wake cycle, breathe without assistance and make re- flexive movements such as swallowing, yawning, grunting and fidgeting but have Photographs by Peter van Agtmael for TIME ness Window into the soul Valentine Filipov's eyesfollow a mirror during a test doctors used to confirm he has retained some level of consciousness 43 SCIENCE I CONSCIOUSNESS no awareness of their environment and leave remarkable room for recovery. Pa- can't respond to commands. tients labeled vegetative typically stay After FiliI>OVspent a month in the hos- that way-but sometimes they don't. So pital, the doctors discharged him. They where's the line between resignation and told his family there was nothing more hope? Various studies in the past decade, they could do, that he would be in a veg- including one by Belgian and U.S.experts etative state for the rest of his life.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Attention in Conscious Access Mechanisms and Their Influence on Visual Representation : Evidence from Psychophysics and Fmri Louis Thibault
    The role of attention in conscious access mechanisms and their influence on visual representation : evidence from psychophysics and fMRI Louis Thibault To cite this version: Louis Thibault. The role of attention in conscious access mechanisms and their influence on visual representation : evidence from psychophysics and fMRI. Cognitive Sciences. Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, 2016. English. NNT : 2016USPCB225. tel-02042613 HAL Id: tel-02042613 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-02042613 Submitted on 20 Feb 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. École Doctorale Cognition, Comportement et Conduites Humaines (ED3CH) Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception (LPP) The Role of Attention in Conscious Access Mechanisms and their Influence on Visual Representation Evidence from Psychophysics and fMRI A Doctoral Thesis in Cognitive Neuroscience Louis Thibault 2016 Advisors: Claire Sergent & Patrick Cavanagh Keywords: consciousness, representation, attention, vision, fMRI, Multivariate Pattern Analysis, psychophysics, behavioral model Abstract A major finding in the scientific study of conscious perception has been the existence of two temporally-distinct phases of visual processing. The first, characterized by the feed-forward propagation of evoked activity in early visual cortex, is not typically associated with conscious perception.
    [Show full text]