Global Workspace Theory and LIDA ---- the role of conscious events in cognitive architectures.

1. Global Workspace Theory and LIDA ---- the role of conscious events in cognitive architectures. Bernard J. Baars This powerpoint is available for educational use, from: www. bernardbaars.pbwiki.com Additional pdf articles: Baars & Franklin (2007) Architectural models of conscious/unconscious brain functions: GWT and IDA. Neural Networks. Baars & Frankin, (2003) How conscious experience and working memory interact. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Baars (2002) The conscious access hypothesis: History and recent evidence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

2. How can scientists study consciousness? • “The study… of the distribution of consciousness shows it to be exactly such as we might expect in an organ added for the sake of steering a nervous system grown too complex to regulate itself.” • --- W. James, The Principles of Psychology, 1890, p. 141

3. Global workspace theory and IDA/LIDA - development 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000's

4. Pandemonium - A parallel distributed architecture for cognition. • The “demons” are little processors that do specialized tasks. • The blackboard is a place where they can all interact. • The supervisor tries to keep them on task. • The eyes scan one word at a time. • But where is consciousness? Where is the audience? • From Lindsay & Norman, Human Information Processing.

5. A 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.

6. Applying GWT to cognitive functions. Baars & Gage, 2007. • Brain correlates:

7. The "spotlight of selective attention" works with the "broadcasting of conscious contents." Spotlight - controlled by prefrontal regions. Broadcasting arrow - from sensory cortex?

8. Binocular competition for consciousness - gamma resonance. (Engel & Singer, 1995)

9. Early visual areas Higher visual areas Prefrontal areas Dehaene's Predictions of the global neuronal workspace model conscious processing subliminal processing Masking strength weak masking conscious at threshold subliminal strong masking time following stimulus onset (ms)

10. Experimental results: From Dehaene et al, 2001

11. Scheider & Chein - architectural model for automaticity. Novel task --- Automatic task

12. 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

13. 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

14. GWT-IDA prediction: All "active components" of Working Memory involve consciousness From Baars & Franklin,"Consciousness and Working Memory Interact" Trends in Cognitive Sciences.2003 after Baddeley & Hitch Notice the open circles for conscious moments needed to trigger distributed WM functions.

15. Memory: A GW/IDA account of conscious and unconscious aspects of Working Memory (Baars & Franklin, 2003, TICS)

16. The LIDA Cognitive Cycle Environment Sensory Memory Action Execution Perception & Perceptual Memory Action Selection Workspace Procedural Memory Transient Episodic Memory Consciousness Declarative Memory Structure-building codelets

17. How the IDA-GWT Cognitive Cycle might run Working Memory

18. GWT: theater of consciousness - a useful theoretical metaphor --- only the bright spot on stage is conscious (because consciousness is very limited in capacity) --- sensory inputs compete for access to the conscious bright spot; so do output plans; --- the "theater stage" corresponds to Working Memory; --- all other parts are unconscious, including longterm memory, the automatic processes of language, and events going on backstage. (The capacity of unconsciousness is enormous.) -- the theater metaphor has been turned into several testable models. From Carl Carpenter, A New Model of Consciousnes, Sci& Con Rev.2006.

19. From Carl Carpenter, A New Model of Consciousnes, Sci& Con Rev.2006.

20. Incoming Stimulus Understanding Attending Selecting Executing Action Cognitive Cycle Overview Cognitive Cycle

21. Winning coalition chosen Incoming stimulus Model updated Action selected Percept sent Stabilizing Points in Time Source of selection must be fixed four times - frozen snapshot Fix BN Fix SN Fix WorkPlace fix GW Time line Understanding Selecting Attending

22. Cognitive Cycle Processing • Hypothesis— Like IDA’s, human cognitive processing is via an iterating sequence of Cognitive Cycles • Duration— Each cognitive cycle takes roughly 200 ms with steps 1 through 5 occupying about 80 ms • Cascading— Several cycles may have parts running simultaneously in parallel • Seriality— Consciousness maintains serial order and the illusion of continuity • Start— Cycle may start with action selection instead of perception