Consciousness and Related Topics

Memory

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Faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed.

Olin Levi Warner, Memory (1896). Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.

The garden of oblivion, illustration by Ephraim Moses Lilien.

Regulatory sequence in a promoter at a transcription start site with a paused RNA polymerase and a TOP2B-induced double-strand break

Brain regions involved in memory formation including medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)

Declarative memory requires conscious recall, in that some conscious process must call back the information.

Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness

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The Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC) is a professional membership organization that aims to encourage research on consciousness in cognitive science, neuroscience, philosophy, and other relevant disciplines in the sciences and humanities, directed toward understanding the nature, function, and underlying mechanisms of consciousness.

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

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Work by John Locke concerning the foundation of human knowledge and understanding.

Locke contends that consciousness is what distinguishes selves, and thus,

Blindsight

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Ability of people who are cortically blind due to lesions in their striate cortex, also known as the primary visual cortex or V1, to respond to visual stimuli that they do not consciously see.

Hence, visual information can control behavior without producing a conscious sensation.

Sleep

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"The Awakening", an illustration to writing by Leo Tolstoy

The main health effects of sleep deprivation, indicating impairment of normal maintenance by sleep

Bronze statue of Eros sleeping, 3rd century BC–early 1st century AD

World War II poster issued by the US government

Dreams often feel like waking life, yet with added surrealism.

The Land of Cockaigne by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1567

Medieval manuscript illumination from the Menologion of Basil II (985 AD), showing the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus sleeping in their cave

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (1799) by Francisco Goya

Diana and Endymion ({{circa}} 1822) by Jérôme-Martin Langlois

The Second Class Carriage (1864) by Honoré Daumier

Sleep and his Half-brother Death (1874) by John William Waterhouse

Lullaby (1875) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

The Victory of Faith (1891) by Saint George Hare

Zwei schlafende Mädchen auf der Ofenbank (1895) by Albert Anker

Flaming June ({{circa}} 1895) by Frederic Leighton

Noon – Rest from Work (1890) by Vincent van Gogh (after Millet)

Sleeping Girl on a Wooden Bench by Albert Anker

Sleeping Girl, Domenico Fetti, circa 1615.

Sleep is a naturally recurring state of mind and body, characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and reduced interactions with surroundings.

The Neuronal Correlates of Consciousness (NCC) constitute the smallest set of neural events and structures sufficient for a given conscious percept or explicit memory. This case involves synchronized action potentials in neocortical pyramidal neurons.

Neural correlates of consciousness

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The neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) constitute the minimal set of neuronal events and mechanisms sufficient for a specific conscious percept.

The Necker Cube: The left line drawing can be perceived in one of two distinct depth configurations shown on the right. Without any other cue, the visual system flips back and forth between these two interpretations.

Midline structures in the brainstem and thalamus necessary to regulate the level of brain arousal. Small, bilateral lesions in many of these nuclei cause a global loss of consciousness.

A science of consciousness must explain the exact relationship between subjective mental states and brain states, the nature of the relationship between the conscious mind and the electro-chemical interactions in the body (mind–body problem).

On several different levels, from neurotransmitters through neuron firing rates to overall activity, the brain seems to "ramp up" before movements. This image depicts the readiness potential (RP), a ramping-up activity measured using EEG. The onset of the RP begins before the onset of a conscious intention or urge to act. Some have argued that this indicates the brain unconsciously commits to a decision before consciousness awareness. Others have argued that this activity is due to random fluctuations in brain activity, which drive arbitrary, purposeless movements.

Neuroscience of free will

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Study of topics related to free will using neuroscience, and the analysis of how findings from such studies may impact the free will debate.

Some areas of the human brain implicated in mental disorders that might be related to free will. Area 25 refers to Brodmann's area 25, related to major depression.

An activity like playing the piano may be intentional, but is generally regarded as requiring many practiced actions. Studies suggest that each key press could be initiated unconsciously.

Libet's experiment: (0) repose, until (1) the Bereitschaftspotential is detected, (2-Libet's W) the volunteer memorizes a dot position upon feeling their intention, and then (3) acts.

Typical recording of the Bereitschaftspotential that was discovered by Kornhuber and Deecke in 1965 ). Benjamin Libet investigated whether this neural activity corresponded to the "felt intention" (or will) to move of experimental subjects.

It is difficult to identify exactly when a person becomes aware of their actions. Some findings indicate that awareness comes after neural activities have already begun in the brain.

A simple "signalling noise" is used, but it is to warn participants that they must prevent any actions they are aware of.

Graphing tones as they appeared (or didn't) in the time before any action. In this case, researchers believe that the subject becomes aware of his actions at about 1.8 seconds (this is time T). A typical subject's ERP recordings suggest movement preparation as early as −2.8 seconds.

that humans cannot tell the difference between "deciding" to keep driving and having no time to decide at all.

The different types of trials and their different possible outcomes

The general distribution of reaction times for the different trials. Notice the timing of the two peaks for trials labelled "successful decide".

Transcranial magnetic stimulation uses magnetism to safely stimulate or inhibit parts of the brain.

Studies have revealed unexpected things about human agency, moral responsibility, and consciousness in general.

Turing test

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Test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human.

The imitation game, as described by Alan Turing in "Computing Machinery and Intelligence". Player C, through a series of written questions, attempts to determine which of the other two players is a man, and which of the two is the woman. Player A, the man, tries to trick player C into making the wrong decision, while player B tries to help player C. Figure adapted from Saygin, 2000.

The original imitation game test, in which the player A is replaced with a computer. The computer is now charged with the role of the man, while player B continues to attempt to assist the interrogator. Figure adapted from Saygin, 2000.

His Chinese room argument is intended to show that, even if the Turing test is a good operational definition of intelligence, it may not indicate that the machine has a mind, consciousness, or intentionality.