Beyond "dichotomania" --- Conscious information flows from sensory regions to both

1. Beyond "dichotomania" --- Conscious information flows from sensory regions to both - contextual self-systems and - multiple memory systems. Bernard J. Baars This powerpoint is freely available for educational use, from: www. bernardbaars.pbwiki.com Baars, 1988, fundamental book on Global Workspace Theory is free at: www. Nsi.edu/users/baars

2. Is consciousness global or local? It's both! Izhikevich et al, 2007 from Baars, 1983, 1988, 1997, 2002

3. Massive unconscious parallelism Is consciousness global or local? It's both! Limited conscious contents at any moment From Baars & Gage, Cognition, Brain & Consciousness. Elsevier/ AP, 2007. Based on K. Friston, 1994. (@ Elsevier)

4. Conscious vs. unconscious visual input at the same moment.

5. Locally your brain shows more intense activity for conscious compared to unconscious visual input. Faces: FFA Houses: PPA fMRI signal increases when an image is conscious, decreases when not conscious. Frank Tong, 1998

6. But conscious input also goes beyond the visual cortex --- as shown in multiple studies. Conscious Non-conscious • Conscious words activated visual cortex plus wider regions in parietal and frontal cortex, at high levels of activity. • Visual cortex input… • Masked (invisible) words activated word recognition regions of visual cortex, at lower levels of activity. Dehaene et al. (2001).

7. In the Theater of Consciousness - a useful theoretical metaphor --- only the bright spot on stage is conscious (consciousness is very limited in capacity) --- sensory inputs compete for access to the conscious bright spot --- the "stage" corresponds to Working Memory --- all other features as unconscious, including long-term memory, the automatic processes of language, and the events going on backstage -- the theater metaphor has been turned into several testable models. From Carl Carpenter, A New Model of Consciousness, Sci& Con Rev.2006.

8. Backstage is unconscious - director (self) - stage hands (contexts) - script writer - waiting actors

9. Backstage is unconscious Unconscious audience

10. Conscious contents are made available "backstage" --- to unconscious contexts, including self (executive) systems. • Executives • Backstage - Preparing to go onstage

11. Where are "backstage" unconscious contextual systems located in the brain? Prefontal ego functions (also unconscious) (Injury to Phineas Gage, reconstructed by Hannah Damasio). Parietal egocentric maps (unconscious) - (Tutis Villis) oare

12. So --- where does conscious information flow to? Conscious visual input flows freely to parietal (egocentric maps) and frontal lobes (for ego-functions - like saying "yes, I see it!"). Unconscious visual input does not flow as freely, or as resonantly, to frontoparietal areas. oare

13. So --- where does conscious information flow to? Conscious visual input flows freely to parietal (egocentric maps) and frontal lobes (for ego-functions - like saying "yes, I see it!") Co Unconscious visual input does not flow as freely, or as resonantly, to frontoparietal areas. Del Cul & Deheane, 200x oare

14. Conscious input is also turned into longterm memory traces --- via hippocampal-neocortical distribution. Conscious visual input flows freely through the Hippocampal Complex) to be encoded in multiple distributed traces in neocortex. (Traces are unconscious) This allows neocortex to constantly learn and update itself with novel and significant information. (Nadel & Moscovitch - Multiple Trace Theory. Figure from M. Moscovitch, personal comm. ) Hippocampal Complex Conscious episodes "Episodic memory" = memory for conscious episodes HC = Hippocampal Complex, medial temporal lobe oare

15. Conscious input is also turned into longterm memory traces --- via hippocampal-neocortical distribution. Hippocampal connections to neocortex --- huge distribution. This allows neocortex to constantly learn and update itself with novel and significant conscious information. (Nadel & Moscovitch - Multiple Trace Theory. Figure from M. Moscovitch, personal comm. ) "Episodic memory" = memory for conscious episodes The Hippocampal Complex includes neighboring regions in the medial temporal lobe. oare

16. Globalist theories include…. Neural Darwinism (Edelman et al) Complexity Theory (Tononi et al) W.J. Freeman's "movie shutter at alpha-theta rate." S. Dehaene et al, "Neuronal Global Workspace theory." Baars and coworkers (Franklin, Shanahan, To keNewman, etc.) Similar proposals by Daniel Schacter, Walter Schneider, JR Anderson, HA Simon, A. Newell, Allan Baddeley, Karl Pribram, E.R. John, M.S. Gazzaniga, van de Velde & de Kamp, and others. None of these theories deny local-regional activity to support focal conscious contents.

17. Summary. Let's not be "dichotomaniacs"… : Conscious activity involves both local activity and very widespread (globally distributed) activity. (Unconscious - but often evokes new conscious activity) Conscious input triggers episodic and semantic learning, via hippocampal-neocortical 'broadcasting'. Conscious input also triggers contextual adaptation from egocentric maps & frontal executive systems. (Including ego functions, motivation & emotions.) Conscious episodes oare Slides are freely available for educational use from www.bernardbaars.pbwiki.com

18. With gratitude to …. oare Slides are freely available for educational use from www.bernardbaars.pbwiki.com