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Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC) Part2: Ways to Examine Consciousness Moein Esghaei CogSci Group Polytechnic University Fall ‘88. Outline. What we take for granted The Neural Correlates of Consciousness Level of Arousal and Content of Consciousness
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Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC)Part2: Ways to Examine Consciousness Moein EsghaeiCogSci GroupPolytechnic UniversityFall ‘88
Outline What we take for granted The Neural Correlates of Consciousness Level of Arousal and Content of Consciousness States of Consciousness and Conscious States Global Disorders of Consciousness Localized Brain Lesions affecting Consciousness Split-Brain Studies The Neuronal Basis of Conscious Perception Forward versus Feedback Projections Other Aspects of Consciousness
Localized Brain Lesions affecting Consciousness • Apparently enabling factors for consciousness (being awake or asleep) • Reticular activating system (pons, midbrain, posterior hypothalamus) • Releasing neuromodulators such as acetylcholine and noradrenaline • Intralaminar nuclei (ILN) of thalamus
Split-Brain Studies • Left hemisphere is responsible for speech • Leading to apparently 2 conscious experiences!
visuo-spatial hemi-neglect • Lesion in the right inferior parietal cortex
Outline • What we take for granted • The Neural Correlates of Consciousness • Level of Arousal and Content of Consciousness • The Neuronal Basis of Conscious Perception • Forward versus Feedback Projections • Other Aspects of Consciousness
The Neuronal Basis of Conscious Perception • Trying to find the footprints of visual consciousness in brain • Can you be conscious of both cubes at the same time?
Binocular Rivalry Technique • Least change in V1 • Most change in IT (Inferior temporal) • Meanwhile some studies show BOLD activity is high in both late stages and early stages (both FFA and LGN)
Outline • What we take for granted • The Neural Correlates of Consciousness • Level of Arousal and Content of Consciousness • The Neuronal Basis of Conscious Perception • Forward versus Feedback Projections • Other Aspects of Consciousness
Forward versus Feedback Projections • Conscious vs. unconscious • Subprograms are learned consciously • More practice, more unconscious a behavior • Zombie behavior • In vision • Conscious mode is especially on the “what” stream • Visual zombie mode seems possible to happen in the “where” stream
Forward vice Feedback • Feed forward (and) • Detecting animals in nature; 130-150ms • Must be a purely feed-forward path through V1, V4, IT and prefrontal cortex • Far quick to reach consciousness • Feedback • A thalamo-cortical system seems necessary • A global loop back from frontal cortex to cingulate regions, thalamus, and all regions related to consciousness
Outline • What we take for granted • The Neural Correlates of Consciousness • Level of Arousal and Content of Consciousness • The Neuronal Basis of Conscious Perception • Forward versus Feedback Projections • Other Aspects of Consciousness • Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness • Volition and Consciousness
Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness • Entanglement and violating our feeling about locality • Penrose and Microtubules
Volition and Consciousness • Free will or not is not the point • Do you feel free or not? • The perception of free will is a conscious state which we should find the neural correlate for
“Human consciousness is just about the last surviving mystery. A mystery is a phenomenon that people don't know how to think about - yet.” Daniel C. Dennett (Consciousness Explained)