[Self-consciousness, consciousness of the other and dementias].

Science.gov (United States)

Gil, Roger

2007-06-01

Studies of self-consciousness in dementia concern essentially anosognosia or the loss of insight. However, Self-consciousness is multifaceted: it includes awareness of the body, perceptions, one's own history, identity, and one's own projects. Self-consciousness is linked to consciousness of others i.e. to social cognition supported by identification of others, but also by comprehension of facial expression of emotions, comprehension and expression of emotional prosody, pragmatic abilities, ability to infer other's people's mental states, thoughts, and feelings (theory of mind and empathy), knowledge of social norms and rules, social reasoning. The subtypes of dementias (and namely Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia) affect heterogeneously the different aspects of the self-and other-consciousness. Further studies are needed for a better knowledge of the complex relationship between Self-consciousness, social cognition, decision making and neuropsychiatric symptoms and behavioral disturbances occurring in demented patients.

The learning organization and the level of consciousness

OpenAIRE

Chiva Gómez, Ricardo

2017-01-01

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze learning organization by comparing with other types of organizations. This typology is based on the levels of consciousness and relates each type of organization with a level of learning and an organizational structure. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper based on the concept of levels of consciousness. Findings – The paper proposes that learning organization requires the highest level of consciousness. O...

Climate-conscious architecture. Design and wind testing method for climates in change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuismanen, K.

2008-07-01

The main objective of this research was to develop practical tools with which it is possible to improve the environment, micro-climate and energy economy of buildings and plans in different climate zones, and take the climate change into account. The parts of the study are: State of art study into existing know-how about climate and planning. Study of the effects of climate change on the built environment. Development of simple micro-climate, nature and built environment analysis methods. Defining the criteria of an acceptable micro-climatic environment. Development of the wind test blower. Presenting ways to interpret test results and draw conclusions. Development of planning and design guidelines for different climate zones. An important part of the research is the development of the CASE wind test instrument, different wind simulation techniques, and the methods of observing the results. Bioclimatic planning and architectural design guidelines for different climate zones are produced. The analyse tools developed give a qualitative overall view, which can be deepened towards a quantitative analyse with wind testing measurements and roughness calculations. No mechanical rules are suggested, but complementary viewpoints and practices introduced to a normal planning process as well as improvement of consultative knowledge. The 'method' is that there is no strict mechanical method, but a deeper understanding of bioclimatic matters. Climate-conscious planning with the developed CASE method, make it possible to design a better micro-climate for new or old built-up areas. Winds can be used in to ventilate exhaust fumes and other pollutants, which improves the quality of air and the healthiness of the urban environment. The analyses and scale-model tests make it possible to shield cold windy areas and to diminish the cooling effect of wind on facades. According to studies in Scandinavian countries this will bring energy savings of 5-15 per cent. The method can

Impact of emotion on consciousness: positive stimuli enhance conscious reportability.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristine Rømer Thomsen

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Emotion and reward have been proposed to be closely linked to conscious experience, but empirical data are lacking. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC plays a central role in the hedonic dimension of conscious experience; thus potentially a key region in interactions between emotion and consciousness. Here we tested the impact of emotion on conscious experience, and directly investigated the role of the ACC. We used a masked paradigm that measures conscious reportability in terms of subjective confidence and objective accuracy in identifying the briefly presented stimulus in a forced-choice test. By manipulating the emotional valence (positive, neutral, negative and the presentation time (16 ms, 32 ms, 80 ms we measured the impact of these variables on conscious and subliminal (i.e. below threshold processing. First, we tested normal participants using face and word stimuli. Results showed that participants were more confident and accurate when consciously seeing happy versus sad/neutral faces and words. When stimuli were presented subliminally, we found no effect of emotion. To investigate the neural basis of this impact of emotion, we recorded local field potentials (LFPs directly in the ACC in a chronic pain patient. Behavioural findings were replicated: the patient was more confident and accurate when (consciously seeing happy versus sad faces, while no effect was seen in subliminal trials. Mirroring behavioural findings, we found significant differences in the LFPs after around 500 ms (lasting 30 ms in conscious trials between happy and sad faces, while no effect was found in subliminal trials. We thus demonstrate a striking impact of emotion on conscious experience, with positive emotional stimuli enhancing conscious reportability. In line with previous studies, the data indicate a key role of the ACC, but goes beyond earlier work by providing the first direct evidence of interaction between emotion and conscious experience in the human

Artificial consciousness and the consciousness-attention dissociation.

Science.gov (United States)

Haladjian, Harry Haroutioun; Montemayor, Carlos

2016-10-01

Artificial Intelligence is at a turning point, with a substantial increase in projects aiming to implement sophisticated forms of human intelligence in machines. This research attempts to model specific forms of intelligence through brute-force search heuristics and also reproduce features of human perception and cognition, including emotions. Such goals have implications for artificial consciousness, with some arguing that it will be achievable once we overcome short-term engineering challenges. We believe, however, that phenomenal consciousness cannot be implemented in machines. This becomes clear when considering emotions and examining the dissociation between consciousness and attention in humans. While we may be able to program ethical behavior based on rules and machine learning, we will never be able to reproduce emotions or empathy by programming such control systems-these will be merely simulations. Arguments in favor of this claim include considerations about evolution, the neuropsychological aspects of emotions, and the dissociation between attention and consciousness found in humans. Ultimately, we are far from achieving artificial consciousness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Maturity Grid Assessment Tool for Environmentally Conscious Design in the Medical Device Industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moultrie, James; Sutcliffe, Laura Francesca Rose; Maier, Anja

2016-01-01

. This intervention tool provides designers and product marketers with insights on how to improve the design of their medical devices and specifically allows consideration of the complex trade-offs between decisions that influence different life-cycle stages. Through the tool, actionable insight is created......The medical device industry is growing increasingly concerned about environmental impact of products. Whilst there are many tools aiming to support environmentally conscious design, they are typically complex to use, demand substantial data collection and are not tailored to the specific needs...... of the medical device sector. This paper reports on the development of a Maturity Grid to address this gap. This novel design tool was developed iteratively through application in five case studies. The tool captures principles of eco-design for medical devices in a simple form, designed to be used by a team...

Organizational consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Pees, Richard C; Shoop, Glenda Hostetter; Ziegenfuss, James T

2009-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual understanding of organizational consciousness that expands the discussion of organizational analysis, and use a case study to apply it in the analysis of a merger between an academic health center and a regional medical center. The paper draws on the experiences and insights of scholars who have been exploring complex organizational issues in relationship with consciousness. Organizational consciousness is the organization's capacity for reflection; a centering point for the organization to "think" and find the degree of unity across systems; and a link to the organization's identity and self-referencing attributes. It operates at three stages: reflective, social, and collective consciousness. Translating abstract concepts such as consciousness to an organizational model is complex and interpretive. For now, the idea of organizational consciousness remains mostly a theoretical concept. Empirical evidence is needed to support the theory. Faced with complicated and compelling issues for patient care, health care organizations must look beyond the analysis of structure and function, and be vigilant in their decisions on where important issues sit on the ladder of competing priorities. Organizational consciousness keeps the organization's attention focused on purpose and unifies the collective will to succeed. If the paper can come to understand how consciousness operates in organizations, and learn how to apply it in organizational decisions, the pay-off could be big in terms of leading initiatives for change. The final goal is to use what is learned to improve organizational outcomes.

Virginia Lee Burton's "Little House" in Popular Consciousness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goddard, Joseph

2011-01-01

This article considers the significance of Victoria Lee Burton’s authorship, specifically The Little House, for lifestyle preferences and the development of environmental consciousness in the postwar period. The article argues that Burton deliberately designed her work to evoke country-friendly s......This article considers the significance of Victoria Lee Burton’s authorship, specifically The Little House, for lifestyle preferences and the development of environmental consciousness in the postwar period. The article argues that Burton deliberately designed her work to evoke country...

The Measurement of Consciousness: A Framework for the Scientific Study of Consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David eGamez

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Scientists studying consciousness are attempting to identify correlations between measurements of consciousness and the physical world. Consciousness can only be measured through first-person reports, which raises problems about the accuracy of first-person reports, the possibility of non-reportable consciousness and the causal closure of the physical world. Many of these issues could be resolved by assuming that consciousness is entirely physical or functional. However, this would sacrifice the theory-neutrality that is a key attraction of a correlates-based approach to the study of consciousness. This paper puts forward a different solution that uses a framework of definitions and assumptions to explain how consciousness can be measured. This addresses the problems associated with first-person reports and avoids the issues with the causal closure of the physical world. This framework is compatible with most of the current theories of consciousness and it leads to a distinction between two types of correlates of consciousness.

What Explains Consciousness? Or…What Consciousness Explains?

Science.gov (United States)

Dulany, Donelson E.

2014-01-01

In this invited commentary I focus on the topic addressed in three papers: De Sousa's (2013[1617]) Toward an Integrative Theory of Consciousness, a monograph with Parts 1 & 2, as well as commentaries by Pereira (2013a[59]) and Hirstein (2013[42]). All three are impressively scholarly and can stand—and shout—on their own. But theory of consciousness? My aim is to slice that topic into the two fundamentally different kinds of theories of consciousness, say what appears to be an ideology, out of behaviourism into cognitivism, now also influencing the quest for an “explanation of consciousness” in cognitive neuroscience. I will then say what can be expected given what we know of the complexity of brain structure, the richness of a conscious “vocabulary”, and current technological limits of brain imaging. This will then turn to the strategy for examining “what consciousness explains”—metatheory, theories, mappings, and a methodology of competitive support, a methodology especially important where there are competing commitments. There are also increasingly common identifications of methodological bias in, along with failures to replicate, studies reporting unconscious controls in decision, social priming—as there have been in perception, learning, problem solving, etc. The literature critique has provided evidence taken as reducing, and in some cases eliminating, a role for conscious controls—a position consistent with that ideology out of behaviourism into cognitivism. It is an ideological position that fails to recognize the fundamental distinction between theoretical and metaphysical assertions. PMID:24891796

Conscious Belief

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Pitt

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Tim Crane maintains that beliefs cannot be conscious because they persist in the absence of consciousness. Conscious judgments can share their contents with beliefs, and their occurrence can be evidence for what one believes; but they cannot be beliefs, because they don’t persist. I challenge Crane’s premise that belief attributions to the temporarily unconscious are literally true. To say of an unconscious agent that she believes that p is like saying that she sings well. To say she sings well is to say that when she sings, her singing is good. To say that she believes that p is (roughly to say that when she consciously considers the content that p she consciously affirms (believes it. I also argue that the phenomenal view of intentional content Crane appears to endorse prima facie commits him to the view, at least controversial, perhaps incoherent, that there is unconscious phenomenology (the intentional contents of unconscious beliefs.

Incorporating Renewable Energy Science in Regional Landscape Design: Results from a Competition in The Netherlands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renée M. de Waal

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Energy transition is expected to make an important contribution to sustainable development. Although it is argued that landscape design could foster energy transition, there is scant empirical research on how practitioners approach this new challenge. The research question central to this study is: To what extent and how is renewable energy science incorporated in regional landscape design? To address this knowledge gap, a case study of a regional landscape design competition in the Netherlands, held from 2010–2012, is presented. Its focus was on integral, strategic landscape transformation with energy transition as a major theme. Content analysis of the 36 competition entries was supplemented and triangulated with a survey among the entrants, observation of the process and a study of the competition documents and website. Results indicated insufficient use of key-strategies elaborated by renewable energy science. If landscape design wants to adopt a supportive role towards energy transition, a well-informed and evidence-based approach is highly recommended. Nevertheless, promising strategies for addressing the complex process of ensuring sustainable energy transition also emerged. They include the careful cultivation of public support by developing inclusive and bottom-up processes, and balancing energy-conscious interventions with other land uses and interests.

ECOSUSTAINABLE HIGH-RISE : The Environmentally Conscious Architecture of Skyscraper

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jimmy Priatman

2000-01-01

Full Text Available The term " green architecture " is related to evolving architecture which is sensitive to the environment and emerges from the environmental awareness due to the effects of destruction of air, water, energy and earth. It is characterized by improving energy efficiency, sustainability concept and holistic approach of the entire building enterprise, where all of the environmental factors are regarded as an objective. Although there are many of environmentally conscious architectural works today, but most of the building designers prefer to deal primarily with small-scale buildings (low to medium rise and often only in greenfield, rural or suburban sites. All those large scale, high-rise or tall buildings located in dense urban areas are regarded as avoidable objects that consumes a lot of energy, uses huge amounts of materials, and produces massive volumes of waste discharge into the environment. These intensive buildings deserve greater attention and should be designed by greater part of our expertise and effort to ecologically design than the smaller buildings with fewer problems. The paper discusses "green" dimensions applied to tall buildings/high-rise buildings with their innovative approach that leads to ecosustainable tall buildings.

Effects of Art/Design Education on Meta-Esthetics Consciousness of Fine Arts Students

Science.gov (United States)

Tataroglu, Eylem

2015-01-01

The objectives of the present study were to determine the consciousness and sensitivity levels of Fine Arts students about the meta-esthetics as a consumer and producer and to determine the effects of the courses they took on their meta-esthetic consciousness. The research universe was composed of fine art faculties of the foundation universities…

To Explore the Effect of Sub Consciousness on Sudden Moments of Inspiration (SMI) in the Sketching Process of Industrial Design

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Qun; Wang, Yecheng

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to identify the occurrence of Sudden Moments of Inspiration (SMI) in the sketching process of industrial design through experiments to explain the effect of sub consciousness on SMI. There are a pre-experiment and a formal experiment. In the formal experiment, nine undergraduates majoring in industrial design with same…

75 FR 73946 - Worker Safety and Health Program: Safety Conscious Work Environment

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-30

... Environment AGENCY: Office of the General Counsel, Department of Energy (DOE). ACTION: Notice of denial of... Nuclear Regulatory Commission's ``Safety-Conscious Work Environment'' guidelines as a model. DOE published.... Second, not only would instituting a ``Safety-Conscious Work Environment'' by regulation be redundant...

Nonneurocognitive Extended Consciousness

Science.gov (United States)

Wojcik, Kevin; Chemero, Anthony

2012-01-01

One of the attributes necessary for Watson to be considered human is that it must be conscious. From Rachlin's (2012) point of view, that of teleological behaviorism, consciousness refers to the organization of behavioral complexity in which overt behavior is distributed widely over time. Consciousness is something that humans do, or achieve, in…

[Team work as the way to back up consciousness].

Science.gov (United States)

Maksakova, O A

2014-01-01

Conception of unconsciousness after brain injury had changed considerably due to high technologies. Nowadays some patients considered by clinicians as unconscious are admitted to awareness with neurovisual techniques. Physiologic and neurophysiologic signals' combining brings forward robust quantification of patients' clinical state too. These "Third Person View" approaches leave the question of patient's experience content open because of determined stimuli paradigms. Yet patient's response pattern becomes formed not only with brain deficits but by questions-stimuli, context, and inquiring person. Rehabilitation team work is sourcing of phenomenology knowledge of patient's processes due to "First-Second Person View" approach and chance to real-time change. Restoration of consciousness comes of building-up patients' contacts with their own bodies, other persons and outward things. The basic principle of this approach is feedback assignement to any minimal movement or vegetative signal of the patient. The net of feedbacks with the patient and inter-professional ones builds up the team as Non-linear Complex System. Characteristics of "Team-Patient" system status are energy, entropy, and complexity. Impairment of consciousness as the absence of linear contact with a patient may appear together with a loss of essential functions (low energy), vegetative-visceral fits (excessive energy and low order), motor agitation (excessive energy and order), and etc. Techniques of team work are different in these cases for resulting optimization of the system condition. System complexity rise is a powerful tool to arouse apatient with impairment of consciousness. System self-organization is a key process for awareness formation. Analysis of complex communication process in patient--team system may be useful for creation of the general theory of consciousness.

On the character of consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arto eAnnila

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The human brain is a particularly demanding system to infer its nature from observations. Thus, there is on one hand plenty of room for theorizing and on the other hand a pressing need for a rigorous theory. We apply statistical mechanics of open systems to describe the brain as a hierarchical system in consuming free energy in least time. This holistic tenet accounts for cellular metabolism, neuronal signaling, cognitive processes all together or any other process by a formal equation of motion that extends down to the ultimate precision of one quantum of action. According to this general thermodynamic theory cognitive processes are no different by their operational and organizational principle from other natural processes. Cognition too will emerge and evolve along path-dependent and non-determinate trajectories by consuming free energy in least time to attain thermodynamic balance within the nervous system itself and with its surrounding systems. Specifically, consciousness can be ascribed to a natural process that integrates various neural networks for coherent consumption of free energy, i.e., for meaningful deeds. The whole hierarchy of integrated systems can be formally summed up to thermodynamic entropy. The holistic tenet provides insight to the character of consciousness also by acknowledging awareness in other systems at other levels of nature’s hierarchy.

Integrated energy design of the building envelope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vraa Nielsen, M.

2012-07-01

This thesis describes the outcome of the PhD project Integrated energy design of the building envelope carried out through a combination of scientific dissemination reported through peer-reviewed journals and a wide range of affiliated projects involved in at an architectural firm. The research project analysed how the implementation of technical knowledge early in the building design process can quantify the effect of a building's facades on its energy efficiency and indoor climate and thereby facilitate a more qualified design development. The project was structured in the following way: 1) the importance of integrating knowledge in the early stages of design, and how it can be done; 2) understanding the facade's typology; and 3) the complex notion of comfort. The project touched not only on the technical capabilities and requirements governing facade design, but also the process by which it takes place. This was done by applying the methodology of Integrated Energy Design (IED) and analysing its applicability in the design of facades. A major part of the project was an actual engagement in the architectural process to test out incorporating a consciousness about energy and comfort as part of a more holistic performance evaluation. The research project illustrates the great potential in taking passive properties into account through a geometrical optimisation inherent in the development of the architectural concept. It demonstrates that integration of technical knowledge at the early stages of design not only can qualify the geometrical processing, but also facilitate the design development of the facade. Thereby a more holistic performance optimisation can be obtained through parameters such as overall facade geometry and orientation, functional organisation, room height and depth, facade layout, window geometry and transparency, design of the window aperture, etc. Through the wide range of affiliated project involved in at the architectural firm over

Towards environmentally sustainable human behaviour: targeting non-conscious and conscious processes for effective and acceptable policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Marteau, Theresa M

2017-06-13

Meeting climate change targets to limit global warming to 2°C requires rapid and large reductions in demand for products that most contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These include production of bulk materials (e.g. steel and cement), energy supply (e.g. fossil fuels) and animal source foods (particularly ruminants and their products). Effective strategies to meet these targets require transformative changes in supply as well as demand, involving changes in economic, political and legal systems at local, national and international levels, building on evidence from many disciplines. This paper outlines contributions from behavioural science in reducing demand. Grounded in dual-process models of human behaviour (involving non-conscious and conscious processes) this paper considers first why interventions aimed at changing population values towards the environment are usually insufficient or unnecessary for reducing demand although they may be important in increasing public acceptability of policies that could reduce demand. It then outlines two sets of evidence from behavioural science towards effective systems-based strategies, to identify interventions likely to be effective at: (i) reducing demand for products that contribute most to GHG emissions, mainly targeting non-conscious processes and (ii) increasing public acceptability for policy changes to enable these interventions, targeting conscious processes.This article is part of the themed issue 'Material demand reduction'. © 2017 The Authors.

Towards environmentally sustainable human behaviour: targeting non-conscious and conscious processes for effective and acceptable policies

Science.gov (United States)

Marteau, Theresa M.

2017-05-01

Meeting climate change targets to limit global warming to 2°C requires rapid and large reductions in demand for products that most contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These include production of bulk materials (e.g. steel and cement), energy supply (e.g. fossil fuels) and animal source foods (particularly ruminants and their products). Effective strategies to meet these targets require transformative changes in supply as well as demand, involving changes in economic, political and legal systems at local, national and international levels, building on evidence from many disciplines. This paper outlines contributions from behavioural science in reducing demand. Grounded in dual-process models of human behaviour (involving non-conscious and conscious processes) this paper considers first why interventions aimed at changing population values towards the environment are usually insufficient or unnecessary for reducing demand although they may be important in increasing public acceptability of policies that could reduce demand. It then outlines two sets of evidence from behavioural science towards effective systems-based strategies, to identify interventions likely to be effective at: (i) reducing demand for products that contribute most to GHG emissions, mainly targeting non-conscious processes and (ii) increasing public acceptability for policy changes to enable these interventions, targeting conscious processes. This article is part of the themed issue 'Material demand reduction'.

Towards environmentally sustainable human behaviour: targeting non-conscious and conscious processes for effective and acceptable policies

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Meeting climate change targets to limit global warming to 2°C requires rapid and large reductions in demand for products that most contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These include production of bulk materials (e.g. steel and cement), energy supply (e.g. fossil fuels) and animal source foods (particularly ruminants and their products). Effective strategies to meet these targets require transformative changes in supply as well as demand, involving changes in economic, political and legal systems at local, national and international levels, building on evidence from many disciplines. This paper outlines contributions from behavioural science in reducing demand. Grounded in dual-process models of human behaviour (involving non-conscious and conscious processes) this paper considers first why interventions aimed at changing population values towards the environment are usually insufficient or unnecessary for reducing demand although they may be important in increasing public acceptability of policies that could reduce demand. It then outlines two sets of evidence from behavioural science towards effective systems-based strategies, to identify interventions likely to be effective at: (i) reducing demand for products that contribute most to GHG emissions, mainly targeting non-conscious processes and (ii) increasing public acceptability for policy changes to enable these interventions, targeting conscious processes. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Material demand reduction’. PMID:28461435

Perfectionism, failure and self-conscious emotions : a role for self-compassion?

OpenAIRE

Almond, Natalie R.

2015-01-01

Abstract Objectives This study investigated: (1) whether maladaptive perfectionism predicted the experience of self-conscious emotions such as shame, guilt and pride following an imagined failure and (2) whether self-compassionate writing could reduce shame and guilt and increase pride relative to a control and self-esteem writing task. Design The study used a correlational design to assess the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and self-conscious emotions. The study ...

Consciousness without a cortex, but what kind of consciousness is this? [Open Peer Commentary

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coenen, A.M.L.

2007-01-01

Merker suggests that the thalamocortical system is not an essential system for consciousness, but, instead, that the midbrain reticular system is responsible for consciousness. Indeed, the latter is a crucial system for consciousness, when consciousness is regarded as the waking state. However, when

Conscious Leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Suzanne F; Haase, Beth

2016-11-01

Health care leaders need to use leadership methodologies that support safe patient care, satisfy employees, and improve the bottom line. Conscious leaders help create desirable personal and professional life experiences for themselves using specific tools that include mindfulness, context, and the observer-self, and they strive to help their employees learn to use these tools as well. In perioperative nursing, conscious leaders create an environment in which nurses are supported in their aim to provide the highest level of patient care and in which transformations are encouraged to take place; this environment ultimately promotes safety, contributes to fulfilling and meaningful work, and enhances a facility's financial viability. This article discusses some of the key concepts behind conscious leadership, how perioperative leaders can reach and maintain expanded consciousness, and how they can best assist their staff members in their own evolution to a more mindful state. Copyright © 2016 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hope-filled, energy-conscious town of Itakura. Regional new energy vision for Itakura Town; 2001 nendo Itakura machi shin energy vision. Yume ippai enetown Itakura

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-02-01

For promoting the introduction of new energy and for enhancing people's consciousness of such at Itakura Town, Niigata Prefecture, surveys and studies were conducted involving energy demand of the town, the amount of new energy resources in existence, and new energy introduction projects, and a vision was formulated. In fiscal 2000 the town consumed 549,973 GJ/year in energy, with the industrial sector consuming 202,014 GJ, the residential/commercial sector 194,233 GJ, and the transportation sector 153,725 GJ. The energy types were gasoline, kerosene, electricity, gas oil, heavy oil, and LPG, as named in the descending order in terms of consumed amount. It is estimated that the energy consumption resulted in the emission of carbon dioxide of 11,839 t-C/year. New energy introduction projects were discussed, which involved wind power generation for the Itakura sewage purification center; snow-aided cooling systems for a Yasuragi rest house and the special nursing home for elderly people; snow-aided refrigeration for a unhusked rice silo; photovoltaic power generation and cogeneration for the town office; photovoltaic/wind power-driven hybrid street lamps; use of biomass solid fuel for heating public facilities; use of clean-energy vehicles as official vehicles; and the like. (NEDO)

Moral significance of phenomenal consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Neil; Savulescu, Julian

2009-01-01

Recent work in neuroimaging suggests that some patients diagnosed as being in the persistent vegetative state are actually conscious. In this paper, we critically examine this new evidence. We argue that though it remains open to alternative interpretations, it strongly suggests the presence of consciousness in some patients. However, we argue that its ethical significance is less than many people seem to think. There are several different kinds of consciousness, and though all kinds of consciousness have some ethical significance, different kinds underwrite different kinds of moral value. Demonstrating that patients have phenomenal consciousness--conscious states with some kind of qualitative feel to them--shows that they are moral patients, whose welfare must be taken into consideration. But only if they are subjects of a sophisticated kind of access consciousness--where access consciousness entails global availability of information to cognitive systems--are they persons, in the technical sense of the word employed by philosophers. In this sense, being a person is having the full moral status of ordinary human beings. We call for further research which might settle whether patients who manifest signs of consciousness possess the sophisticated kind of access consciousness required for personhood.

Attention and Olfactory Consciousness

OpenAIRE

Keller, Andreas

2011-01-01

Understanding the relation between attention and consciousness is an important part of our understanding of consciousness. Attention, unlike consciousness, can be systematically manipulated in psychophysical experiments and a law-like relation between attention and consciousness is waiting to be discovered. Most attempts to discover the nature of this relation are focused on a special type of attention: spatial visual attention. In this review I want to introduce another type of attention to ...

Is Your Gut Conscious? Is an Extraterrestrial?

Science.gov (United States)

Vos Post, Jonathan

2011-10-01

This paper speculates on questions intending to be taken scientifically rather than metaphysically: "Can the human gut (enteric nervous system) be conscious?"; "Can your immune system think?"; "Could consciousness be coded in DNA?"; "What do we mean when asserting that an Extraterrestrial is Thinking, or is Conscious? We explore through reference to theory, experiment, and computational models by Christof Koch (Caltech), Barbara Wold (Caltech), and Stuart Kauffman (University of Calgary, Tampere University of Technology, Santa Fe Institute). We use a tentative new definition of thinking, designed to be applicable for humans, cetecea, corvids, artificial intelligences, and extraterrestrial intelligences of any substrate (i.e. Life as We Do Not Know It): "Thinking is the occurrence, transformation, and storage in a mind or brain (or simulation thereof) of information-bearing structures (representations) of one kind or another, such as thoughts, concept, percepts, ideas, impressions, notions, rules, schemas, images, phantasms, or subpersonal representations." We use the framework for Consciousness developed by Francis Crick and Christof Koch. We try to describe scientific goals, but discuss Philosophy sufficient to avoid naïve philosophical category errors (thus are careful not to conflate thought, consciousness, and language) Penrose, Hameroff, and Kauffman speculate (differently) that CNS consciousness is a macroscopic quantum phenomenon. Might intestinal, immune system, or genetic regulatory network dynamics exhibit emergent cooperative quantum effects? The speculations are in the context of Evolution by Natural Selection, presumed to operate throughout the Cosmos, and recent work in the foundations of Computational Biology and Quantum Mechanics.

Consciousness and the "Causal Paradox"

OpenAIRE

Velmans, Max

1996-01-01

Viewed from a first-person perspective consciousness appears to be necessary for complex, novel human activity - but viewed from a third-person perspective consciousness appears to play no role in the activity of brains, producing a "causal paradox". To resolve this paradox one needs to distinguish consciousness of processing from consciousness accompanying processing or causing processing. Accounts of consciousness/brain causal interactions switch between first- and third-person perspectives...

Neuroimaging of consciousness

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cavanna, Andrea Eugenio [Birmingham Univ. (United Kingdom). Dept. of Neuropsychiatry; UCL Institute of Neurology, London (United Kingdom). Sobell Dept. of Motor, Neuroscience and Movement Disorders; Nani, Andrea [Birmingham Univ. (United Kingdom). Research Group BSMHFT; Blumenfeld, Hal [Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (United States). Depts. of Neurology, Neurobiology and Neurosurgery; Laureys, Steven (ed.) [Liege Univ. (Belgium). Cyclotron Research Centre

2013-07-01

An important reference work on a multidisciplinary and rapidly expanding area. Particular focus on the relevance of neuroimaging for the diagnosis and treatment of common neuropsychiatric disorders affecting consciousness. Written by world-class experts in the field. Relevant for clinicians, researchers, and scholars across different specialties. Within the field of neuroscience, the past few decades have witnessed an exponential growth of research into the brain mechanisms underlying both normal and pathological states of consciousness in humans. The development of sophisticated imaging techniques (above all fMRI and PET) to visualize and map brain activity in vivo has opened new avenues in our understanding of the pathological processes involved in common neuropsychiatric disorders affecting consciousness, such as epilepsy, coma, vegetative states, dissociative disorders, and dementia. This book presents the state of the art in neuroimaging exploration of the brain correlates of the alterations in consciousness across these conditions, with a particular focus on the potential applications for diagnosis and management. Although the book has a practical approach and is primarily targeted at neurologists, neuroradiologists, and psychiatrists, a wide range of researchers and health care professionals will find it an essential reference that explains the significance of neuroimaging of consciousness for clinical practice. Within the field of neuroscience, the past few decades have witnessed an exponential growth of research into the brain mechanisms underlying both normal and pathological states of consciousness in humans. The development of sophisticated imaging techniques (above all fMRI and PET) to visualize and map brain activity in vivo has opened new avenues in our understanding of the pathological processes involved in common neuropsychiatric disorders affecting consciousness, such as epilepsy, coma, vegetative states, dissociative disorders, and dementia. This

Neuroimaging of consciousness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavanna, Andrea Eugenio; UCL Institute of Neurology, London; Nani, Andrea; Blumenfeld, Hal; Laureys, Steven

2013-01-01

An important reference work on a multidisciplinary and rapidly expanding area. Particular focus on the relevance of neuroimaging for the diagnosis and treatment of common neuropsychiatric disorders affecting consciousness. Written by world-class experts in the field. Relevant for clinicians, researchers, and scholars across different specialties. Within the field of neuroscience, the past few decades have witnessed an exponential growth of research into the brain mechanisms underlying both normal and pathological states of consciousness in humans. The development of sophisticated imaging techniques (above all fMRI and PET) to visualize and map brain activity in vivo has opened new avenues in our understanding of the pathological processes involved in common neuropsychiatric disorders affecting consciousness, such as epilepsy, coma, vegetative states, dissociative disorders, and dementia. This book presents the state of the art in neuroimaging exploration of the brain correlates of the alterations in consciousness across these conditions, with a particular focus on the potential applications for diagnosis and management. Although the book has a practical approach and is primarily targeted at neurologists, neuroradiologists, and psychiatrists, a wide range of researchers and health care professionals will find it an essential reference that explains the significance of neuroimaging of consciousness for clinical practice. Within the field of neuroscience, the past few decades have witnessed an exponential growth of research into the brain mechanisms underlying both normal and pathological states of consciousness in humans. The development of sophisticated imaging techniques (above all fMRI and PET) to visualize and map brain activity in vivo has opened new avenues in our understanding of the pathological processes involved in common neuropsychiatric disorders affecting consciousness, such as epilepsy, coma, vegetative states, dissociative disorders, and dementia. This

The Science of Consciousness

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2015-01-01

We not only act in the world but we consciously perceive it. The interactions of myriad of neuronal and sub-neuronal processes that are responsible for visual behaviors also give rise to the daily movie screened for our benefit in the privacy of our own skull. I will discuss the empirical progress that has been achieved over the past several decades in characterizing the behavioral and the neuronal correlates of consciousness in human and non-human animals and in dissociating selective visual attention from visual consciousness. I will introduce Tononi’s integrated Information Theory (IIT) that explains in a principled manner which physical systems are capable of conscious, subjective experience. The theory explains many empirical facts about consciousness and its pathologies in humans. It can also be extrapolated to more difficult cases, such as fetuses, mice, or bees. The theory predicts that many, seemingly complex, systems are not conscious, in particular digital computers running software, even if thes...

The regulatory function of self-conscious emotion: insights from patients with orbitofrontal damage.

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Beer, Jennifer S; Heerey, Erin A; Keltner, Dacher; Scabini, Donatella; Knight, Robert T

2003-10-01

Although once considered disruptive, self-conscious emotions are now theorized to be fundamentally involved in the regulation of social behavior. The present study examined the social regulation function of self-conscious emotions by comparing healthy participants with a neuropsychological population--patients with orbitofrontal lesions--characterized by selective regulatory deficits. Orbitofrontal patients and healthy controls participated in a series of tasks designed to assess their social regulation and self-conscious emotions. Another task assessed the ability to infer others' emotional states, an appraisal process involved in self-conscious emotion. Consistent with the theory that self-conscious emotions are important for regulating social behavior, the findings show that deficient behavioral regulation is associated with inappropriate self-conscious emotions that reinforce maladaptive behavior. Additionally, deficient behavioral regulation is associated with impairments in interpreting the self-conscious emotions of others.

Consciousness and neural plasticity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

changes or to abandon the strong identity thesis altogether. Were one to pursue a theory according to which consciousness is not an epiphenomenon to brain processes, consciousness may in fact affect its own neural basis. The neural correlate of consciousness is often seen as a stable structure, that is...

Conscious motor processing and movement self-consciousness: two dimensions of personality that influence laparoscopic training.

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Malhotra, Neha; Poolton, Jamie M; Wilson, Mark R; Fan, Joe K M; Masters, Rich S W

2014-01-01

Identifying personality factors that account for individual differences in surgical training and performance has practical implications for surgical education. Movement-specific reinvestment is a potentially relevant personality factor that has a moderating effect on laparoscopic performance under time pressure. Movement-specific reinvestment has 2 dimensions, which represent an individual's propensity to consciously control movements (conscious motor processing) or to consciously monitor their 'style' of movement (movement self-consciousness). This study aimed at investigating the moderating effects of the 2 dimensions of movement-specific reinvestment in the learning and updating (cross-handed technique) of laparoscopic skills. Medical students completed the Movement-Specific Reinvestment Scale, a psychometric assessment tool that evaluates the conscious motor processing and movement self-consciousness dimensions of movement-specific reinvestment. They were then trained to a criterion level of proficiency on a fundamental laparoscopic skills task and were tested on a novel cross-handed technique. Completion times were recorded for early-learning, late-learning, and cross-handed trials. Propensity for movement self-consciousness but not conscious motor processing was a significant predictor of task completion times both early (p = 0.036) and late (p = 0.002) in learning, but completion times during the cross-handed trials were predicted by the propensity for conscious motor processing (p = 0.04) rather than movement self-consciousness (p = 0.21). Higher propensity for movement self-consciousness is associated with slower performance times on novel and well-practiced laparoscopic tasks. For complex surgical techniques, however, conscious motor processing plays a more influential role in performance than movement self-consciousness. The findings imply that these 2 dimensions of movement-specific reinvestment have a differential influence in the learning and updating

Good Old-Fashioned Artificial Consciousness and the Intermediate Level Fallacy

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Riccardo Manzotti

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Recently, there has been considerable interest and effort to the possibility to design and implement conscious robots, i.e., the chance that robots may have subjective experiences. Typical approaches as the global workspace, information integration, enaction, cognitive mechanisms, embodiment, i.e., the Good Old-Fashioned Artificial Consciousness, henceforth, GOFAC, share the same conceptual framework. In this paper, we discuss GOFAC's basic tenets and their implication for AI and Robotics. In particular, we point out the intermediate level fallacy as the central issue affecting GOFAC. Finally, we outline a possible alternative conceptual framework toward robot consciousness.

Inner Consciousness Tindakan Nabi

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Moh. Helmi Umam

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The article is written to examine deeds and actions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him within inner consciousness analysis of Husserl’s phenomenology. The article is formulated to explore the significance of phenomenology of religious study, Prophet’s deeds as well as his inner consciousness, and inner consciousness analysis of Prophet’s deeds. This article is written using phenomenological method, i.e. a comprehensive interpretation about the source of information or object’s phenomenon as long as it can be traced. Inner consciousness of Prophet’s actions sees that his deeds in deciding important religious pronouncements were results of long-term memory based on divine and social argumentations, which have came into Prophet’s consciousness as a human.

The Neurogenetic Correlates of Consciousness

Science.gov (United States)

Grandy, John K.

2013-09-01

The neurogenetic correlates of consciousness (NgCC) is a new field of consciousness studies that focuses on genes that have an effect on or are involved in the continuum of neuron-based consciousness. A framework of consciousness based on the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) has already been established by Francis Crick and Christof Kock. In this work I propose that there are NgCC underlying the NCC which are both active during the conscious experience. So how are genes involved? There are two significant connections between DNA and neurons that are involved in the conscious experience. First, any brain system can be adversely affected by underlying genetic abnormalities which can be expressed in an individual at birth, in adulthood, or later in life. Second, the DNA molecule does not lay dormant while the neuron runs on autopilot. DNA is active in translating and transcribing RNA and protein products that are utilized during neuron functioning. Without these products being continuously produced by the DNA during a conscious experience the neurons would cease to function correctly and be rendered unable to provide a continuum of human consciousness. Consequently, in addition to NCC, NgCC must be factored in when appreciating a conscious event. In this work I will discuss and explain some NgCC citing several examples.

Measuring consciousness in dreams: the lucidity and consciousness in dreams scale.

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Voss, Ursula; Schermelleh-Engel, Karin; Windt, Jennifer; Frenzel, Clemens; Hobson, Allan

2013-03-01

In this article, we present results from an interdisciplinary research project aimed at assessing consciousness in dreams. For this purpose, we compared lucid dreams with normal non-lucid dreams from REM sleep. Both lucid and non-lucid dreams are an important contrast condition for theories of waking consciousness, giving valuable insights into the structure of conscious experience and its neural correlates during sleep. However, the precise differences between lucid and non-lucid dreams remain poorly understood. The construction of the Lucidity and Consciousness in Dreams scale (LuCiD) was based on theoretical considerations and empirical observations. Exploratory factor analysis of the data from the first survey identified eight factors that were validated in a second survey using confirmatory factor analysis: INSIGHT, CONTROL, THOUGHT, REALISM, MEMORY, DISSOCIATION, NEGATIVE EMOTION, and POSITIVE EMOTION. While all factors are involved in dream consciousness, realism and negative emotion do not differentiate between lucid and non-lucid dreams, suggesting that lucid insight is separable from both bizarreness in dreams and a change in the subjectively experienced realism of the dream. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Science, conscience, consciousness.

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Hennig, Boris

2010-01-01

Descartes' metaphysics lays the foundation for the special sciences, and the notion of consciousness ("conscientia") belongs to metaphysics rather than to psychology. I argue that as a metaphysical notion, "consciousness" refers to an epistemic version of moral conscience. As a consequence, the activity on which science is based turns out to be conscientious thought. The consciousness that makes science possible is a double awareness: the awareness of what one is thinking, of what one should be doing, and of the possibility of a gap between the two.

Consumer Ethical Decision Making: Intensity, Self-Consciousness and Neutralization Techniques

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Syed Afzal Moshadi Shah

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of moral intensity on self-conscious emotions and neutralization techniques in the context of ethical decision making among consumers. A sample of 388 shopping mall retail consumers was recruited through self-administered survey technique. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, correlation was carried out in SPSS whereas the measurement model and structural relationships were estimated using AMOS. Results indicate that moral intensity positively influences consumer’s self-consciousness, neutralization techniques and behavioural intention. Self-consciousness negatively influence consumer’s defence mechanism i.e. neutralization techniques. Neither self-consciousness nor neutralization techniques is found to have an impact on consumers’ behavioural intention. Only self-consciousness is found to complementary mediate the relationship of moral intensity and neutralization. The limitations associated with field survey and crosssectional research design are inevitable. The study offers some relevant practical implications for government, marketing professionals and academia. The study is among the pioneer studies that theoretically links and empirically examines Issue Contingent Model, theory of neutralization and self-consciousness. The study develops and tested an Urdu language version of the questionnaire for retail consumers.

The biological function of consciousness

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Brian eEarl

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This research is an investigation of whether consciousness—one’s ongoing experience—influences one’s behavior and, if so, how. Analysis of the components, structure, properties, and temporal sequences of consciousness has established that, (1 contrary to one’s intuitive understanding, consciousness does not have an active, executive role in determining behavior; (2 consciousness does have a biological function; and (3 consciousness is solely information in various forms. Consciousness is associated with a flexible response mechanism (FRM for decision-making, planning, and generally responding in nonautomatic ways. The FRM generates responses by manipulating information and, to function effectively, its data input must be restricted to task-relevant information. The properties of consciousness correspond to the various input requirements of the FRM; and when important information is missing from consciousness, functions of the FRM are adversely affected; both of which indicate that consciousness is the input data to the FRM. Qualitative and quantitative information (shape, size, location, etc., is incorporated into the input data by a qualia array of colors, sounds, and so on, which makes the input conscious. This view of the biological function of consciousness provides an explanation why we have experiences; why we have emotional and other feelings, and why their loss is associated with poor decision-making; why blindsight patients do not spontaneously initiate responses to events in their blind field; why counter-habitual actions are only possible when the intended action is in mind; and the reason for inattentional blindness.

An information integration theory of consciousness

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Tononi Giulio

2004-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Consciousness poses two main problems. The first is understanding the conditions that determine to what extent a system has conscious experience. For instance, why is our consciousness generated by certain parts of our brain, such as the thalamocortical system, and not by other parts, such as the cerebellum? And why are we conscious during wakefulness and much less so during dreamless sleep? The second problem is understanding the conditions that determine what kind of consciousness a system has. For example, why do specific parts of the brain contribute specific qualities to our conscious experience, such as vision and audition? Presentation of the hypothesis This paper presents a theory about what consciousness is and how it can be measured. According to the theory, consciousness corresponds to the capacity of a system to integrate information. This claim is motivated by two key phenomenological properties of consciousness: differentiation – the availability of a very large number of conscious experiences; and integration – the unity of each such experience. The theory states that the quantity of consciousness available to a system can be measured as the Φ value of a complex of elements. Φ is the amount of causally effective information that can be integrated across the informational weakest link of a subset of elements. A complex is a subset of elements with Φ>0 that is not part of a subset of higher Φ. The theory also claims that the quality of consciousness is determined by the informational relationships among the elements of a complex, which are specified by the values of effective information among them. Finally, each particular conscious experience is specified by the value, at any given time, of the variables mediating informational interactions among the elements of a complex. Testing the hypothesis The information integration theory accounts, in a principled manner, for several neurobiological observations

Consciousness in non-epileptic attack disorder.

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Reuber, Markus; Kurthen, M

2011-01-01

Non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD) is one of the most important differential diagnoses of epilepsy. Impairment of consciousness is the key feature of non-epileptic attacks (NEAs). The first half of this review summarises the clinical research literature featuring observations relating to consciousness in NEAD. The second half places this evidence in the wider context of the recent discourse on consciousness in neuroscience and the philosophy of mind. We argue that studies of consciousness should not only distinguish between the 'level' and `content' of consciousness but also between 'phenomenal consciousness' (consciousness of states it somehow "feels to be like") and 'access consciousness' (having certain 'higher' cognitive processes at one's disposal). The existing evidence shows that there is a great intra- and interindividual variability of NEA experience. However, in most NEAs phenomenal experience - and, as a precondition for that experience, vigilance or wakefulness - is reduced to a lesser degree than in those epileptic seizures involving impairment of consciousness. In fact, complete loss of "consciousness" is the exception rather than the rule in NEAs. Patients, as well as external observers, may have a tendency to overestimate impairments of consciousness during the seizures.

Consciousness extended

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carrara-Augustenborg, Claudia

2012-01-01

There is no consensus yet regarding a conceptualization of consciousness able to accommodate all the features of such complex phenomenon. Different theoretical and empirical models lend strength to both the occurrence of a non-accessible informational broadcast, and to the mobilization of specific...... brain areas responsible for the emergence of the individual´s explicit and variable access to given segments of such broadcast. Rather than advocating one model over others, this chapter proposes to broaden the conceptualization of consciousness by letting it embrace both mechanisms. Within...... such extended framework, I propose conceptual and functional distinctions between consciousness (global broadcast of information), awareness (individual´s ability to access the content of such broadcast) and unconsciousness (focally isolated neural activations). My hypothesis is that a demarcation in terms...

Is Consciousness Reality or Illusion ? A Non-Dualist Interpretation of Consciousness

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Schwarz, Eric

2004-08-01

This paper proposes a way to approach the "hard problem" of consciousness. First, we present a typology of the main models developed in the litterature to understand consciousness. Most of them adopt a physicalist ontology and a functionalist epistemology. We then present the main features of a metamodel we have elaborated to interpret nonlinear systems evolving toward complexity and autonomy. This systemic metamodel is a general framework that can later be used to make models of specific systems. As an extension of the mechanist paradigm, it is based on three primordial categories objects, relations and wholes or systems. In the last part, we apply it to the cases of the logic of life and the nature of consciousness. Both can be interpreted by the metamodel, in particular, by the autopoiesis proposed by Maturana and Varela for life and self-reference for consciousness.

Intentionality and Consciousness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ierna, Carlo; Jacquette, Dale

2018-01-01

In this chapter I concentrate on the notion of intentionality and its relation to consciousness. Ever since its re-introduction into contemporary philosophy in the works of Franz Brentano, intentionality has been associated in various ways with consciousness. In the continental and analytic

LANL Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE) Self-Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hargis, Barbara C. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2014-01-29

On December 21, 2012 Secretary of Energy Chu transmitted to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) revised commitments on the implementation plan for Safety Culture at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. Action 2-5 was revised to require contractors and federal organizations to complete Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE) selfassessments and provide reports to the appropriate U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) - Headquarters Program Office by September 2013. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) planned and conducted a Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE) Self-Assessment over the time period July through August, 2013 in accordance with the SCWE Self-Assessment Guidance provided by DOE. Significant field work was conducted over the 2-week period August 5-16, 2013. The purpose of the self-assessment was to evaluate whether programs and processes associated with a SCWE are in place and whether they are effective in supporting and promoting a SCWE.

A Heuristic Model of Consciousness with Applications to the Development of Science and Society

Science.gov (United States)

Curreri, Peter A.

2010-01-01

A working model of consciousness is fundamental to understanding of the interactions of the observer in science. This paper examines contemporary understanding of consciousness. A heuristic model of consciousness is suggested that is consistent with psycophysics measurements of bandwidth of consciousness relative to unconscious perception. While the self reference nature of consciousness confers a survival benefit by assuring the all points of view regarding a problem are experienced in sufficiently large population, conscious bandwidth is constrained by design to avoid chaotic behavior. The multiple hypotheses provided by conscious reflection enable the rapid progression of science and technology. The questions of free will and the problem of attention are discussed in relation to the model. Finally the combination of rapid technology growth with the assurance of many unpredictable points of view is considered in respect to contemporary constraints to the development of society.

Consciousness: function and definition.

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Niedermeyer, E

1994-07-01

The term "consciousness" plays an enormous role in the clinical assessment of patients and also in psychophysiological considerations. It has often been said that consciousness is a term that defies definition. This lack of definability, however, might be more apparent than real. In the multitude of facets, three main components can be singled out: a) vigilance, b) mental contents and c) selective attention. Vigilance, not to be equated with consciousness, is most amenable to electrophysiological studies. The stages of sleep have fairly well standardized EEG correlates, unlike the comatose states. The overflowing wealth of mental contents is constantly adjusted to momentary needs by the mechanism of selective attention. Awareness is a subcomponent and differs from both vigilance and consciousness. Emotionality is particularly important among the variety of further subcomponents. The time factor must be taken into account in order to understand the dynamics and fluctuations of consciousness.

Neural Darwinism and consciousness.

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Seth, Anil K; Baars, Bernard J

2005-03-01

Neural Darwinism (ND) is a large scale selectionist theory of brain development and function that has been hypothesized to relate to consciousness. According to ND, consciousness is entailed by reentrant interactions among neuronal populations in the thalamocortical system (the 'dynamic core'). These interactions, which permit high-order discriminations among possible core states, confer selective advantages on organisms possessing them by linking current perceptual events to a past history of value-dependent learning. Here, we assess the consistency of ND with 16 widely recognized properties of consciousness, both physiological (for example, consciousness is associated with widespread, relatively fast, low amplitude interactions in the thalamocortical system), and phenomenal (for example, consciousness involves the existence of a private flow of events available only to the experiencing subject). While no theory accounts fully for all of these properties at present, we find that ND and its recent extensions fare well.

Impact of Emotion on Consciousness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Kristine Rømer; Lou, Hans Olav Christensen; Jønsson, Morten

2011-01-01

Emotion and reward have been proposed to be closely linked to conscious experience, but empirical data are lacking. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a central role in the hedonic dimension of conscious experience; thus potentially a key region in interactions between emotion...... and consciousness. Here we tested the impact of emotion on conscious experience, and directly investigated the role of the ACC. We used a masked paradigm that measures conscious reportability in terms of subjective confidence and objective accuracy in identifying the briefly presented stimulus in a forced......-choice test. By manipulating the emotional valence (positive, neutral, negative) and the presentation time (16 ms, 32 ms, 80 ms) we measured the impact of these variables on conscious and subliminal (i.e. below threshold) processing. First, we tested normal participants using face and word stimuli. Results...

Psychotherapy, consciousness, and brain plasticity

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Daniel eCollerton

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Purely psychological treatments for emotional distress produce lasting, measureable, and reproducible changes in cognitive and emotional consciousness and brain function. How these changes come about illustrates the interplay between brain and consciousness. Studies of the effects of psychotherapy highlight the holistic nature of consciousness. Pre and post treatment functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging localises the brain changes following psychotherapy to frontal, cingulate, and limbic circuits, but emphasise that these areas support a wide range of conscious experiences. Multivoxel Pattern Analysis of distributed changes in function across these brain areas may be able to provide the ability to distinguish between different states of consciousness.

A Heuristic Model of Consciousness with Applications to the Development of Science and Society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter A. Curreri

2010-12-01

Full Text Available A working model of consciousness is fundamental to understanding of the interactions of the observer in science. This paper examines contemporary understanding of consciousness. A heuristic model of consciousness is suggested that is consistent with psycophysics measurements of bandwidth of consciousness relative to unconscious perception. While the self reference nature of consciousness confers a survival benefit by assuring the all points of view regarding a problem are experienced in sufficiently large population, conscious bandwidth is constrained by design to avoid chaotic behavior. The multiple hypotheses provided by conscious reflection enable the rapid progression of science and technology. The questions of free will and the problem of attention are discussed in relation to the model. Finally the combination of rapid technology growth with the assurance of many unpredictable points of view is considered in respect to contemporary constraints to the development of society.

Energy efficient design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

Solar Applications and Energy Efficiency in Building Design and Town Planning (RER/87/006) is a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project of the Governments of Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, The Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, France, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Turkey, United Kingdom and Yugoslavia. The project began in 1988 and comes to a conclusion at the end of 1991. It is to enhance the professional skills of practicing architects, engineers and town planners in European countries to design energy efficient buildings which reduce energy consumption and make greater use of passive solar heating and natural cooling techniques. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) is the Executing Agency of the project which is implemented under the auspices of the Committee on Energy, General Energy Programme of Work for 1990-1994, sub-programme 5 Energy Conservation and Efficiency (ECE/ENERGY/15). The project has five main outputs or results: an international network of institutions for low energy building design; a state-of-the-art survey of energy use in the built environment of European IPF countries; a simple computer program for energy efficient building design; a design guide and computer program operators' manual; and a series of international training courses in participating European IPF countries. Energy Efficient Design is the fourth output of the project. It comprises the design guide for practicing architects and engineers, for use mainly in mid-career training courses, and the operators' manual for the project's computer program

Attention Networks and Consciousness

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Michael ePosner

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The term consciousness is an important one in the vernacular of the western literature in many fields. It is no wonder that scientists have assumed that consciousness will be found as a component of the human brain and that we will come to understand its neural basis. However, there is rather little in common between consciousness as the neurologist would use it to diagnose the vegetative state, how the feminist would use it to support raising male consciousness of the economic plight of women and as the philosopher would use it when defining the really hard question of the subjective state of awareness induced by sensory qualities. When faced with this kind of problem it is usual to subdivide the term into more manageable perhaps partly operational definitions. Three meanings that capture aspects of consciousness are: (1 the neurology of the state of mind allowing coherent orientation to time and place (2 the selection of sensory or memorial information for awareness and (3 the voluntary control over overt responses. In each of these cases the mechanisms of consciousness overlap with one or more of the attentional networks that have been studied with the methods of cognitive neuroscience. In this paper we explore t

The neurochemical correlate of consciousness: exploring neurotransmitter systems underlying conscious vision

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Loon, A.M.

2014-01-01

How and where does our brain integrated the information that we get into our eyes into a unifying percept and into a conscious experience? Although different neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) have been proposed, depending on the kind of neural signals recorded, the type of manipulation used,

[Consciousness and the electroencephalogram].

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Faber, J; Vladyka, V; Subrt, O

1991-08-01

In the course of 12 years the authors subjected to clinical EEG and stereo-EEG (SEEG) 72 patients (66 epileptics with the diagnosis of psychomotor epilepsy and grand mal) and six psychotic patients suffering from schizophrenia. With the exception of five epileptics and two psychotic patients all subjects had epileptic foci in the amygdalohippocampal complex (AHK). After coagulation of these foci marked improvement of the fits and the mental state occurred in half the patients. During EEG and SEEG recording the authors used different activation methods (hyperventilation through the nose and mouth, sleep, listening to music) and above all direct electric stimulation (ES) of one of the AHK. Secondary epileptic foci had, as a rule, more spikes and a lower threshold for ES than primary ones which contained more delta and slow theta waves. The ES led as a rule to an emotional response, such as anxiety and fear, more rarely to illusions, depersonalization and oneiroid hallucinations and twice to a hedonic response of non-sexual character. The purpose of ES was to assess the site from where it is possible to start the original aura or typical parox. The authors considered these foci, consistent with data in the literature, as the leading focus and it was subsequently coagulated. The authors investigated the reactivity and vigility by the patient's response to sound (the patient had to press a button) and by an interview with the patient. It was revealed that in isolated discharges of the spikes and waves in the scalp electrodes, i.e. in the neocortex, reactivity is lacking. In isolated discharges in the AHK the reactivity was satisfactory, but as a rule anxiety developed. It is thus possible to divide consciousness into emotional consciousness with its site in the AHK, i.e. in the limbic system, and rational consciousness which is a function of the neocrotical system. Congenital changes of consciousness such as vigility or sleep are described as "states" of consciousness

Minimally conscious state or cortically mediated state?

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Naccache, Lionel

2018-04-01

Durable impairments of consciousness are currently classified in three main neurological categories: comatose state, vegetative state (also recently coined unresponsive wakefulness syndrome) and minimally conscious state. While the introduction of minimally conscious state, in 2002, was a major progress to help clinicians recognize complex non-reflexive behaviours in the absence of functional communication, it raises several problems. The most important issue related to minimally conscious state lies in its criteria: while behavioural definition of minimally conscious state lacks any direct evidence of patient's conscious content or conscious state, it includes the adjective 'conscious'. I discuss this major problem in this review and propose a novel interpretation of minimally conscious state: its criteria do not inform us about the potential residual consciousness of patients, but they do inform us with certainty about the presence of a cortically mediated state. Based on this constructive criticism review, I suggest three proposals aiming at improving the way we describe the subjective and cognitive state of non-communicating patients. In particular, I present a tentative new classification of impairments of consciousness that combines behavioural evidence with functional brain imaging data, in order to probe directly and univocally residual conscious processes.

Conscience and consciousness: a definition.

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Vithoulkas, G; Muresanu, D F

2014-03-15

While consciousness has been examined extensively in its different aspects, like in philosophy, psychiatry, neurophysiology, neuroplasticity, etc., conscience though it is an equal important aspect of the human existence, which remains an unknown to a great degree as an almost transcendental aspect of the human mind. It has not been examined as thoroughly as consciousness and largely remains a "terra incognita" for its neurophysiology, brain topography, etc. Conscience and consciousness are part of a system of information that governs our experience and decision making process. The intent of this paper is to define these terms, to discuss about consciousness from both neurological and quantum physics point of view, the relationship between the dynamics of consciousness and neuroplasticity and to highlight the relationship between conscience, stress and health.

Interference Control Modulations Over Conscious Perception

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Itsaso Colás

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The relation between attention and consciousness has been a controversial topic over the last decade. Although there seems to be an agreement on their distinction at the functional level, no consensus has been reached about attentional processes being or not necessary for conscious perception. Previous studies have explored the relation of alerting and orienting systems of attention and conscious perception, but the impact of the anterior executive attention system on conscious access remains unexplored. In the present study, we investigated the behavioral interaction between executive attention and conscious perception, testing control mechanisms both at stimulus-level representation and after error commission. We presented a classical Stroop task, manipulating the proportion of congruent and incongruent trials, and analyzed the effect of reactive and proactive control on the conscious perception of near-threshold stimuli. Reactive control elicited under high proportion congruent conditions influenced participants’ decision criterion, whereas proactive control elicited under low proportion congruent conditions was ineffective in modulating conscious perception. In addition, error commission affected both perceptual sensitivity to detect near-threshold information and response criterion. These results suggest that reactivation of task goals through reactive control strategies in conflict situations impacts decision stages of conscious processing, whereas interference control elicited by error commission impacts both perceptual sensitivity and decision stages of conscious processing. We discuss the implications of our results for the gateway hypothesis about attention and consciousness, as they showed that interference control (both at stimulus-level representation and after error commission can modulate the conscious access of near-threshold stimuli.

Creative Consciousness

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Ashok Natarajan

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Consciousness is creative. That creativity expresses in myriad ways – as moments in time in which decades of progress can be achieved overnight, as organizational innovations of immense power for social accomplishment; as creative social values that further influence the evolution of organizations and society; as the creativity of individuality in the leader, genius, artist and inventor; as social creativity that converts raw human experience into civilization; as cultural creativity that transforms human relationships into sources of rich emotional capacity; and as value-based educational creativity that can awaken and nurture young minds to develop and discover their own inherent capacity for knowledge in freedom. Through such moments do society and humanity evolve. Education is society’s most advanced institution for conscious social evolution. Values are the essence of society’s knowledge for highest accomplishment. Education that imparts values is an evolutionary social organization that can hasten the emergence of that creative consciousness.

Consciousness cannot be separated from function.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Michael A; Dennett, Daniel C

2011-08-01

Numerous theories of consciousness hold that there are separate neural correlates of conscious experience and cognitive function, aligning with the assumption that there are 'hard' and 'easy' problems of consciousness. Here, we argue that any neurobiological theory based on an experience/function division cannot be empirically confirmed or falsified and is thus outside the scope of science. A 'perfect experiment' illustrates this point, highlighting the unbreachable boundaries of the scientific study of consciousness. We describe a more nuanced notion of cognitive access that captures personal experience without positing the existence of inaccessible conscious states. Finally, we discuss the criteria necessary for forming and testing a falsifiable theory of consciousness. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coherence in consciousness: paralimbic gamma synchrony of self-reference links conscious experiences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lou, Hans C; Gross, Joachim; Biermann-Ruben, Katja

2010-01-01

. In minimal self-reference subjective experiences are self-aware in the weak sense that there is something it feels like for the subject to experience something. In autonoetic consciousness, consciousness emerges, by definition, by retrieval of memories of personally experienced events (episodic memory...

Perceptual consciousness overflows cognitive access.

Science.gov (United States)

Block, Ned

2011-12-01

One of the most important issues concerning the foundations of conscious perception centers on the question of whether perceptual consciousness is rich or sparse. The overflow argument uses a form of 'iconic memory' to argue that perceptual consciousness is richer (i.e., has a higher capacity) than cognitive access: when observing a complex scene we are conscious of more than we can report or think about. Recently, the overflow argument has been challenged both empirically and conceptually. This paper reviews the controversy, arguing that proponents of sparse perception are committed to the postulation of (i) a peculiar kind of generic conscious representation that has no independent rationale and (ii) an unmotivated form of unconscious representation that in some cases conflicts with what we know about unconscious representation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genomic instantiation of consciousness in neurons through a biophoton field theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Cacha, Lleuvelyn A; Poznanski, Roman R

2014-06-01

A theoretical framework is developed based on the premise that brains evolved into sufficiently complex adaptive systems capable of instantiating genomic consciousness through self-awareness and complex interactions that recognize qualitatively the controlling factors of biological processes. Furthermore, our hypothesis assumes that the collective interactions in neurons yield macroergic effects, which can produce sufficiently strong electric energy fields for electronic excitations to take place on the surface of endogenous structures via alpha-helical integral proteins as electro-solitons. Specifically the process of radiative relaxation of the electro-solitons allows for the transfer of energy via interactions with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules to induce conformational changes in DNA molecules producing an ultra weak non-thermal spontaneous emission of coherent biophotons through a quantum effect. The instantiation of coherent biophotons confined in spaces of DNA molecules guides the biophoton field to be instantaneously conducted along the axonal and neuronal arbors and in-between neurons and throughout the cerebral cortex (cortico-thalamic system) and subcortical areas (e.g., midbrain and hindbrain). Thus providing an informational character of the electric coherence of the brain - referred to as quantum coherence. The biophoton field is realized as a conscious field upon the re-absorption of biophotons by exciplex states of DNA molecules. Such quantum phenomenon brings about self-awareness and enables objectivity to have access to subjectivity in the unconscious. As such, subjective experiences can be recalled to consciousness as subjective conscious experiences or qualia through co-operative interactions between exciplex states of DNA molecules and biophotons leading to metabolic activity and energy transfer across proteins as a result of protein-ligand binding during protein-protein communication. The biophoton field as a conscious field is

Distorted temporal consciousness and preserved knowing consciousness in confabulation: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

La Corte, Valentina; George, Nathalie; Pradat-Diehl, Pascale; Barba, Gianfranco Dalla

2011-01-01

In this study we describe a patient, TA, who developed a chronic amnesic-confabulatory syndrome, following rupture of a right internal carotid siphon aneurysm. Our aim was to elucidate as fully as possible the nature of TA's impairment and to test the hypothesis of confabulation as reflecting a dysfunction of Temporal Consciousness, i.e., to become aware of something as part of a personal past, present or future. TA's confabulations were present in answers to questions tapping Temporal Consciousness, i.e., autobiographical episodic memory, orientation in time and place, and foresight of personal future. In contrast, confabulations were not observed in answers to questions tapping Knowing Consciousness, i.e., to become aware of something as a meaning or as an element of impersonal knowledge. In fact, he had normal access to semantic knowledge, including foresight of impersonal future. TA's brain MRI showed lesions involving the right hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, fornix, mammillary bodies, and thalamus. Moreover TA showed sub-cortical lesions involving the caudate and putamen nuclei bilaterally, a lesion site not commonly described in amnesic-confabulatory syndrome. We suggest that this pattern of results is better accounted for within the framework of the Memory, Consciousness and Temporality Theory and reflects a specific distortion of Temporal Consciousness.

Energy materials

CERN Document Server

Bruce, Duncan W; Walton, Richard I

2011-01-01

In an age of global industrialisation and population growth, the area of energy is one that is very much in the public consciousness. Fundamental scientific research is recognised as being crucial to delivering solutions to these issues, particularly to yield novel means of providing efficient, ideally recyclable, ways of converting, transporting and delivering energy. This volume considers a selection of the state-of-the-art materials that are being designed to meet some of the energy challenges we face today. Topics are carefully chosen that show how the skill of the synthetic chemist can

Electrophysiological evidence for phenomenal consciousness.

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Revonsuo, Antti; Koivisto, Mika

2010-09-01

Abstract Recent evidence from event-related brain potentials (ERPs) lends support to two central theses in Lamme's theory. The earliest ERP correlate of visual consciousness appears over posterior visual cortex around 100-200 ms after stimulus onset. Its scalp topography and time window are consistent with recurrent processing in the visual cortex. This electrophysiological correlate of visual consciousness is mostly independent of later ERPs reflecting selective attention and working memory functions. Overall, the ERP evidence supports the view that phenomenal consciousness of a visual stimulus emerges earlier than access consciousness, and that attention and awareness are served by distinct neural processes.

Measuring the level and content of consciousness during epileptic seizures: the Ictal Consciousness Inventory.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavanna, A E; Mula, M; Servo, S; Strigaro, G; Tota, G; Barbagli, D; Collimedaglia, L; Viana, M; Cantello, R; Monaco, F

2008-07-01

Ictal alterations of the level of general awareness and subjective content of consciousness play a pivotal role in the clinical phenomenology of epilepsy, and reflect the pathological involvement of different neurobiological substrates. However, no self-reported measures have been proposed for patients experiencing altered conscious states during seizures. This study describes the development and validation of a new scale for the quantitative assessment of the level and content of ictal consciousness, the Ictal Consciousness Inventory (ICI). The ICI is a 20-item questionnaire generated on the basis of interviews with patients, literature review, and consultation with experts. It was tested on a sample of 110 patients attending three different epilepsy clinics in Northern Italy, who also completed standardized clinical scales. Standard psychometric methods were used to demonstrate that this scale satisfies criteria for acceptability, reliability, and validity. The ICI is proposed as a user-friendly and clinically sound instrument for the measurement of ictal alterations of consciousness in patients with epilepsy.

10 CFR 434.508 - Determination of the design energy consumption and design energy cost.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Determination of the design energy consumption and design... Alternative § 434.508 Determination of the design energy consumption and design energy cost. 508.1The Design Energy Consumption shall be calculated by modeling the Proposed Design using the same methods...

Consciousness, biology and quantum hypotheses.

Science.gov (United States)

Baars, Bernard J; Edelman, David B

2012-09-01

Natural phenomena are reducible to quantum events in principle, but quantum mechanics does not always provide the best level of analysis. The many-body problem, chaotic avalanches, materials properties, biological organisms, and weather systems are better addressed at higher levels. Animals are highly organized, goal-directed, adaptive, selectionist, information-preserving, functionally redundant, multicellular, quasi-autonomous, highly mobile, reproducing, dissipative systems that conserve many fundamental features over remarkably long periods of time at the species level. Animal brains consist of massive, layered networks of specialized signaling cells with 10,000 communication points per cell, and interacting up to 1000 Hz. Neurons begin to divide and differentiate very early in gestation, and continue to develop until middle age. Waking brains operate far from thermodynamic equilibrium under delicate homeostatic control, making them extremely sensitive to a range of physical and chemical stimuli, highly adaptive, and able to produce a remarkable range of goal-relevant actions. Consciousness is "a difference that makes a difference" at the level of massive neuronal interactions in the most parallel-interactive anatomical structure of the mammalian brain, the cortico-thalamic (C-T) system. Other brain structures are not established to result in direct conscious experiences, at least in humans. However, indirect extra-cortical influences on the C-T system are pervasive. Learning, brain plasticity and major life adaptations may require conscious cognition. While brains evolved over hundreds of millions of years, and individual brains grow over months, years and decades, conscious events appear to have a duty cycle of ∼100 ms, fading after a few seconds. They can of course be refreshed by inner rehearsal, re-visualization, or attending to recurrent stimulus sources. These very distinctive brain events are needed when animals seek out and cope with new

Consciousness, biology and quantum hypotheses

Science.gov (United States)

Baars, Bernard J.; Edelman, David B.

2012-09-01

Natural phenomena are reducible to quantum events in principle, but quantum mechanics does not always provide the best level of analysis. The many-body problem, chaotic avalanches, materials properties, biological organisms, and weather systems are better addressed at higher levels. Animals are highly organized, goal-directed, adaptive, selectionist, information-preserving, functionally redundant, multicellular, quasi-autonomous, highly mobile, reproducing, dissipative systems that conserve many fundamental features over remarkably long periods of time at the species level. Animal brains consist of massive, layered networks of specialized signaling cells with 10,000 communication points per cell, and interacting up to 1000 Hz. Neurons begin to divide and differentiate very early in gestation, and continue to develop until middle age. Waking brains operate far from thermodynamic equilibrium under delicate homeostatic control, making them extremely sensitive to a range of physical and chemical stimuli, highly adaptive, and able to produce a remarkable range of goal-relevant actions. Consciousness is “a difference that makes a difference” at the level of massive neuronal interactions in the most parallel-interactive anatomical structure of the mammalian brain, the cortico-thalamic (C-T) system. Other brain structures are not established to result in direct conscious experiences, at least in humans. However, indirect extra-cortical influences on the C-T system are pervasive. Learning, brain plasticity and major life adaptations may require conscious cognition. While brains evolved over hundreds of millions of years, and individual brains grow over months, years and decades, conscious events appear to have a duty cycle of ∼100 ms, fading after a few seconds. They can of course be refreshed by inner rehearsal, re-visualization, or attending to recurrent stimulus sources. These very distinctive brain events are needed when animals seek out and cope with new

Improving energy performance of school buildings while ensuring indoor air quality ventilation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, Rachel; Goldberger, Itamar [Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa (Israel). Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Structural Engineering and Construction Management; Paciuk, Monica [National Building Research Institute, Technion, Haifa (Israel)

2007-09-15

Energy conscious design of school buildings, as well as deemed-to-satisfy provisions in a Performance Based Energy Code, should address the problem known as the energy efficiency - thermal comfort - indoor air quality dilemma (EE-TC-IAQ Dilemma). In warm and moderate climates, the large internal heat sources usually found in school buildings prevent achieving thermal comfort without active cooling in summer, but are not sufficient to eliminate the need for heating in winter. Commonly used air-conditioners do not improve air quality, while natural ventilation induces uncontrolled energy losses. In this study, a step by step process was used for the development of deemed-to-satisfy design solutions, which cope with the EE-TC-IAQ Dilemma, for a performance based code. A distinction is made between improving building design variables and improving ventilation schemes. Results indicate that implementation of improved ventilation schemes in an otherwise well designed energy-conscious building result in savings of 28-30% and 17-18% for northern and southern classroom orientations, respectively. (author)

On the quantum mechanics of consciousness, with application to anomalous phenomena

Science.gov (United States)

Jahn, Robert G.; Dunne, Brenda J.

1986-08-01

molecular bonds, barrier penetration, and quantum statistical collective behavior become useful analogies for representation of a variety of consciousness experiences, both normal and anomalous, and for the design of experiments to study these systematically.

Neurobiology of consciousness: an overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Delacour, J

1997-05-01

The aim of this review is to connect the phenomenology of consciousness to its neurobiology. A survey of the recent literature revealed the following points. (1) Comprehensive descriptions of consciousness, of its subjective as well as of its objective aspects, are both possible and necessary for its scientific study. An intentionality-modeling structure (an unified and stable ego refers to objects or to itself in the framework of a stable, reproducible, predictable world) accounts for the main features. (2) The material basis of consciousness can be clarified without recourse to new properties of matter or to quantum physics. Current neurobiology appears to be able to handle the problem. In fact, the neurobiology of consciousness is already in progress, and has achieved substantial results. At the system level, its main sources of data are: the neurophysiology of sleep-wakefulness, brain imaging of mental representations, attention and working memory, the neuropsychology of frontal syndrome, and awareness-unawareness dissociations in global amnesia and different forms of agnosia. At an intermediate level of organization, the mechanisms of consciousness may be the formation of a certain kind of neural assembly. (3) Further research may focus on neuropsychology and neurophysiology of object perception and recognition as a natural model of intentionality, perception of time, body schema, interhemispheric communications, 'voluntary' acts and mental images. The synthetic and dynamic views provided by brain imaging may be decisive for discovering the neural correlates of the integrative aspects of consciousness. (4) The neurobiological approach may, beyond the finding of cellular and molecular mechanisms, improve the general concepts of consciousness, overcome their antinomies and, against epiphenomenalism, definitely establish the reality of consciousness.

Disorders of consciousness and communication. Ethical motivations and communication-enabling attributes of consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamburrini, Guglielmo; Mattia, Donatella

2011-01-01

Envisaged extensions of a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique allowing communication with patients affected by disorders of consciousness are here examined in connection with subjective symptom reporting, informed consent, and continued medical care decision-making. The principles of medical beneficence, personal autonomy protection, and the right to participate in social life are isolated as appropriate sources of ethical motivations for the use of fMRI-enabled communication. Consciousness requirements for each communication context are identified on the basis of qualitative distinctions between the access, phenomenal, and narrative varieties of consciousness. Ethically motivated uses of fMRI-enabled communication are hierarchically organized in terms of progressively more demanding consciousness requirements for successful communication. The outcomes of this analysis can be used to curb unrealistic expectations of these new scientific developments, and to promote mutual trust between medical doctors, patient surrogates and families.

Quantitative Rates of Brain Glucose Metabolism Distinguish Minimally Conscious from Vegetative State Patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stender, Johan; Kupers, Ron; Rodell, Anders

2015-01-01

of these patients. However, no quantitative comparisons of cerebral glucose metabolism in VS/UWS and MCS have yet been reported. We calculated the regional and whole-brain CMRglc of 41 patients in the states of VS/UWS (n=14), MCS (n=21) or emergence from MCS (EMCS, n=6), and healthy volunteers (n=29). Global......The differentiation of the vegetative or unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) from the minimally conscious state (MCS) is an important clinical issue. The cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRglc) declines when consciousness is lost, and may reveal the residual cognitive function...... these results reveal a significant correlation between whole-brain energy metabolism and level of consciousness, suggesting that quantitative values of CMRglc reveal consciousness in severely brain-injured patients.Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism advance online publication, 8 October 2014; doi:10...

Perceptual integration without conscious access.

Science.gov (United States)

Fahrenfort, Johannes J; van Leeuwen, Jonathan; Olivers, Christian N L; Hogendoorn, Hinze

2017-04-04

The visual system has the remarkable ability to integrate fragmentary visual input into a perceptually organized collection of surfaces and objects, a process we refer to as perceptual integration. Despite a long tradition of perception research, it is not known whether access to consciousness is required to complete perceptual integration. To investigate this question, we manipulated access to consciousness using the attentional blink. We show that, behaviorally, the attentional blink impairs conscious decisions about the presence of integrated surface structure from fragmented input. However, despite conscious access being impaired, the ability to decode the presence of integrated percepts remains intact, as shown through multivariate classification analyses of electroencephalogram (EEG) data. In contrast, when disrupting perception through masking, decisions about integrated percepts and decoding of integrated percepts are impaired in tandem, while leaving feedforward representations intact. Together, these data show that access consciousness and perceptual integration can be dissociated.

Consciousness, Psychology, and Education: A Speculative Essay.

Science.gov (United States)

1980

This monograph explores implications of the psychology of consciousness for education. The psychology of consciousness encompasses the relationships among behavior, experience, and states of consciousness. It is interpreted to include different states of consciousness, paranormal phenomena, mystical experiences, dreams, psychic healing, and other…

Exploring self-conscious emotions in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Samantha L; Robertson, Noelle; Goldstein, Roger S; Brooks, Dina

2017-02-01

This study aimed to explore the extent to which self-conscious emotions are expressed, to explore any associations with adverse health outcomes, and to compare self-conscious emotions in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to healthy controls. A two-stage mixed-methods study design was employed. Interviews with 15 individuals with COPD informed the choice of questionnaires to assess self-conscious emotions which were completed by individuals with COPD and healthy controls. Five overarching themes were abstracted: grief, spectrum of blame, concern about the view of others, concealment, and worry about the future. The questionnaires were completed by 70 patients (mean( SD) age 70.8(9.4) years, forced expiratory volume in one second predicted 40.5(18.8), 44% male) and 61 healthy controls (mean( SD) age 62.2(12.9) years, 34% male]. Self-conscious emotions were associated with reduced mastery, heightened emotions, and elevated anxiety and depression (all p pride than healthy controls (all p ≤ 0.01). There is a need to increase awareness of self-conscious emotions in individuals with COPD. Therapies to target such emotions may improve mastery, emotions, and psychological symptoms.

The Emerging Physics of Consciousness

CERN Document Server

Tuszynski, Jack A

2006-01-01

Consciousness remains one of the major unsolved problems in science. How do the feelings and sensations making up conscious experience arise from the concerted actions of nerve cells and their associated synaptic and molecular processes? Can such feelings be explained by modern science, or is there an entirely different kind of explanation needed? And how can this seemingly intractable problem be approached experimentally? How do the operations of the conscious mind emerge out of the specific interactions involving billions of neurons? This book seeks answers to these questions on the underlying assumption that consciousness can be understood using the intellectual potential of modern physics and other sciences. There are a number of theories of consciousness, some based on classical physics while others require the use of quantum concepts. The latter ones have drawn criticism from the parts of the scientific establishment while simultaneously claiming that classical approaches are doomed to failure. The cont...

Consciousness and the Invention of Morel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lampros ePerogamvros

2013-03-01

Full Text Available A scientific study of consciousness should take into consideration both objective and subjective measures of conscious experiences. To this date, very few studies have tried to integrate third-person data, or data about the neurophysiological correlates of conscious states, with first-person data, or data about subjective experience. Inspired by Morel’s invention (Casares, 1940, a literary machine capable of reproducing sensory-dependent external reality, this article suggests that combination of virtual reality techniques and brain reading technologies, that is, decoding of conscious states by brain activity alone, can offer this integration. It is also proposed that the multimodal, simulating and integrative capacities of the dreaming brain render it an 'endogenous' Morel's machine, which can potentially be used in studying consciousness, but not always in a reliable way. Both the literary machine and dreaming could contribute to a better understanding of conscious states.

Ecological concepts and strategies with relevance to energy-conscious spatial planning and design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stremke, S.; Koh, J.

2010-01-01

Sustainable systems utilise renewable energy sources and recycle materials effectively. In theory, solar radiation provides abundant energy to sustain humanity. Our capacity to utilise available sources, however, is limited and competition for resources is expected to increase in the future. Spatial

The mystery of consciousness

CERN Document Server

Searle, John R

1997-01-01

It has long been one of the most fundamental problems of philosophy, and it is now, John Searle writes, "the most important problem in the biological sciences": What is consciousness? Is my inner awareness of myself something separate from my body? In what began as a series of essays in The New York Review of Books, John Searle evaluates the positions on consciousness of such well-known scientists and philosophers as Francis Crick, Gerald Edelman, Roger Penrose, Daniel Dennett, David Chalmers, and Israel Rosenfield. He challenges claims that the mind works like a computer, and that brain functions can be reproduced by computer programs. With a sharp eye for confusion and contradiction, he points out which avenues of current research are most likely to come up with a biological examination of how conscious states are caused by the brain. Only when we understand how the brain works will we solve the mystery of consciousness, and only then will we begin to understand issues ranging from artificial intelligence...

Consciousness Is a Thing, Not a Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan Pockett

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The central dogma of cognitive psychology is ‘consciousness is a process, not a thing’. Hence, the main task of cognitive neuroscientists is generally seen as working out what kinds of neural processing are conscious and what kinds are not. I argue here that the central dogma is simply wrong. All neural processing is unconscious. The illusion that some of it is conscious results largely from a failure to separate consciousness per se from a number of unconscious processes that normally accompany it—most particularly focal attention. Conscious sensory experiences are not processes at all. They are things: specifically, spatial electromagnetic (EM patterns, which are presently generated only by ongoing unconscious processing at certain times and places in the mammalian brain, but which in principle could be generated by hardware rather than wetware. The neurophysiological mechanisms by which putatively conscious EM patterns are generated, the features that may distinguish conscious from unconscious patterns, the general principles that distinguish the conscious patterns of different sensory modalities and the general features that distinguish the conscious patterns of different experiences within any given sensory modality are all described. Suggestions for further development of this paradigm are provided.

Science of consciousness and the hard problem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stapp, H.P.

1996-05-22

Quantum theory is essentially a rationally coherent theory of the interaction of mind and matter, and it allows our conscious thoughts to play a causally efficacious and necessary role in brain dynamics. It therefore provides a natural basis, created by scientists, for the science of consciousness. As an illustration it is explained how the interaction of brain and consciousness can speed up brain processing, and thereby enhance the survival prospects of conscious organisms, as compared to similar organisms that lack consciousness. As a second illustration it is explained how, within the quantum framework, the consciously experienced {open_quotes}I{close_quotes} directs the actions of a human being. It is concluded that contemporary science already has an adequate framework for incorporating causally efficacious experimential events into the physical universe in a manner that: (1) puts the neural correlates of consciousness into the theory in a well defined way, (2) explains in principle how the effects of consciousness, per se, can enhance the survival prospects of organisms that possess it, (3) allows this survival effect to feed into phylogenetic development, and (4) explains how the consciously experienced {open_quotes}I{close_quotes} can direct human behaviour.

8 Questions About the Conscious Mind

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dooremalen, A.J.P.W.

Can the mind function separately from the brain? Can machines have conscious minds? Is Google Maps part of the conscious mind? Hans Dooremalen provides answers to these three and five other questions about the conscious mind in an easy to read introduction to the philosophy of mind.

Phenomenal and access consciousness in olfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, Richard J

2009-12-01

Contemporary literature on consciousness, with some exceptions, rarely considers the olfactory system. In this article the characteristics of olfactory consciousness, viewed from the standpoint of the phenomenal (P)/access (A) distinction, are examined relative to the major senses. The review details several qualitative differences in both olfactory P consciousness (shifts in the felt location, universal synesthesia-like and affect-rich experiences, and misperceptions) and A consciousness (recovery from habituation, capacity for conscious processing, access to semantic and episodic memory, learning, attention, and in the serial-unitary nature of olfactory percepts). The basis for these differences is argued to arise from the functions that the olfactory system performs and from the unique neural architecture needed to instantiate them. These data suggest, at a minimum, that P and A consciousness are uniquely configured in olfaction and an argument can be made that the P and A distinction may not hold for this sensory system.

On the evolution of conscious attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Haladjian, Harry Haroutioun; Montemayor, Carlos

2015-06-01

This paper aims to clarify the relationship between consciousness and attention through theoretical considerations about evolution. Specifically, we will argue that the empirical findings on attention and the basic considerations concerning the evolution of the different forms of attention demonstrate that consciousness and attention must be dissociated regardless of which definition of these terms one uses. To the best of our knowledge, no extant view on the relationship between consciousness and attention has this advantage. Because of this characteristic, this paper presents a principled and neutral way to settle debates concerning the relationship between consciousness and attention, without falling into disputes about the meaning of these terms. A decisive conclusion of this approach is that extreme views on the relationship between consciousness and attention must be rejected, including identity and full dissociation views. There is an overlap between the two within conscious attention, but developing a full understanding of this mechanism requires further empirical investigations.

A mathematical model of embodied consciousness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rudrauf, D.; Bennequin, D.; Granic, I.; Landini, G.; Friston, K.; Williford, K.

2017-01-01

We introduce a mathematical model of embodied consciousness, the Projective Consciousness Model (PCM), which is based on the hypothesis that the spatial field of consciousness (FoC) is structured by a projective geometry and under the control of a process of active inference. The FoC in the PCM

Toward a computational theory of conscious processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Dehaene, Stanislas; Charles, Lucie; King, Jean-Rémi; Marti, Sébastien

2014-04-01

The study of the mechanisms of conscious processing has become a productive area of cognitive neuroscience. Here we review some of the recent behavioral and neuroscience data, with the specific goal of constraining present and future theories of the computations underlying conscious processing. Experimental findings imply that most of the brain's computations can be performed in a non-conscious mode, but that conscious perception is characterized by an amplification, global propagation and integration of brain signals. A comparison of these data with major theoretical proposals suggests that firstly, conscious access must be carefully distinguished from selective attention; secondly, conscious perception may be likened to a non-linear decision that 'ignites' a network of distributed areas; thirdly, information which is selected for conscious perception gains access to additional computations, including temporary maintenance, global sharing, and flexible routing; and finally, measures of the complexity, long-distance correlation and integration of brain signals provide reliable indices of conscious processing, clinically relevant to patients recovering from coma. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two tools for environmentally conscious designers and product developers of electrical & electronic equipment (EEE)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poll, Christian; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Olsen, Stig Irving

2002-01-01

The paper presents the two tools 1)"Product families - short cuts to environmental knowledge" and 2)"Eco-conscious design of electrical & electronic equipment (EEE)". Tool 1) comes in form of a handbook. The purpose of this handbook is to ease the work with developing more environmentally sound...... products, thus giving guidelines for development of new products without the companies themselves having to perform an LCA. The handbook describes 5 productfamilies: mobile phones, vacuum cleaners, industrial valves with electronic controls, lighting, ventilation. Tool 2) comes in form of a software tool...... with built in training, guidance, references, calculator and database. The tool provides the basic understanding of how EEE-products in general interact with the environment. The tool gives an overview of the tasks and responsibilities involved in Eco-Desing, and examples of how to choose and quantify...

Consciousness and Attention: On sufficiency and necessity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeroen J A Van Boxtel

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Recent research has slowly corroded a belief that selective attention and consciousness are so tightly entangled that they cannot be individually examined. In this review, we summarize psychophysical and neurophysiological evidence for a dissociation between top-down attention and consciousness. The evidence includes recent findings that show subjects can attend to perceptually invisible objects. More contentious is the finding that subjects can become conscious of an isolated object, or the gist of the scene in the near absence of top-down attention; we critically re-examine the possibility of ‘complete’ absence of top-down attention. We also cover the recent flurry of studies that utilized independent manipulation of attention and consciousness. These studies have shown paradoxical effects of attention, including examples where top-down attention and consciousness have opposing effects, leading us to strengthen and revise our previous views. Neuroimaging studies with EEG, MEG and fMRI are uncovering the distinct neuronal correlates of selective attention and consciousness in dissociative paradigms. These findings point to a functional dissociation: attention as analyzer and consciousness as synthesizer. Separating the effects of selective visual attention from those of visual consciousness is of paramount importance to untangle the neural substrates of consciousness from those for attention.

Pain and consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Larrea, Luis; Bastuji, Hélène

2017-10-12

The aversive experience we call "pain" results from the coordinated activation of multiple brain areas, commonly described as a "pain matrix". This is not a fixed arrangement of structures but rather a fluid system composed of several interacting networks: A 'nociceptive matrix' includes regions receiving input from ascending nociceptive systems, and ensures the bodily characteristics of physical pain. A further set of structures receiving secondary input supports the 'salience' attributes of noxious stimuli, triggers top-down cognitive controls, and -most importantly- ensures the passage from pre-conscious nociception to conscious pain. Expectations and beliefs can still modulate the conscious experience via activity in supramodal regions with widespread cortical projections such as the ventral tegmental area. Intracortical EEG responses in humans show that nociceptive cortical processing is initiated in parallel in sensory, motor and limbic areas; it progresses rapidly to the recruitment of anterior insular and fronto-parietal networks, and finally to the activation of perigenual, posterior cingulate and hippocampal structures. Functional connectivity between sensory and high-level networks increases during the first second post-stimulus, which may be determinant for access to consciousness. A model is described, progressing from unconscious sensori-motor and limbic processing of spinothalamic and spino-parabrachial input, to an immediate sense of awareness supported by coordinated activity in sensorimotor and fronto-parieto-insular networks, and leading to full declarative consciousness through integration with autobiographical memories and self-awareness, involving posterior cingulate and medial temporal areas. This complete sequence is only present during full vigilance states. We contend, however, that even in unconscious subjects, repeated limbic and vegetative activation by painful stimuli via spino-amygdalar pathways can generate implicit memory traces and

A narrative method for consciousness research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José-Luis eDíaz

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Some types of first person narrations of mental processes that constitute phenomenological parliaments and texts, such as internal monologue statements, epitomize the best expressions and representations of human consciousness available and therefore may be used to model phenomenological streams of consciousness. The type of autonomous monologue in which an author or narrator declares actual mental processes in a think aloud manner seems particularly suitable for modeling streams of consciousness. A narrative method to extract and depict conscious processes, operations, contents, and states from an acceptable phenomenological text would require three subsequent steps: operational criteria for producing and/or selecting a phenomenological text, a system for detecting text items that are indicative of conscious contents and processes, and a procedure for representing such items in formal dynamic system devices such as Petri nets. The requirements and restrictions of each of these steps are presented, analyzed, and applied to phenomenological texts in the following manner: (1 The relevance of introspective language and narrative analyses to consciousness research and the idea that specific narratives are of paramount interest for such investigation is justified; (2 Some of the obstacles and constraints to attain plausible consciousness inferences from narrative texts and the methodological requirements to extract and depict items relevant to consciousness contents and operations from a suitable phenomenological text are examined; (3 A preliminary exercise of the proposed method is used to analyze and chart a classical interior monologue excerpted from James Joyce’s Ulysses, a masterpiece of the stream-of-consciousness literary technique and, finally, an inter-subjective evaluation for inter-observer agreement of mental attributions of another phenomenological text (an excerpt from the Intimate Journal of Miguel de Unamuno is presented using some

A narrative method for consciousness research.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz, José-Luis

2013-01-01

Some types of first-person narrations of mental processes that constitute phenomenological accounts and texts, such as internal monolog statements, epitomize the best expressions and representations of human consciousness available and therefore may be used to model phenomenological streams of consciousness. The type of autonomous monolog in which an author or narrator declares actual mental processes in a think aloud manner seems particularly suitable for modeling streams of consciousness. A narrative method to extract and depict conscious processes, operations, contents, and states from an acceptable phenomenological text would require three subsequent steps: operational criteria for producing and/or selecting a phenomenological text, a system for detecting text items that are indicative of conscious contents and processes, and a procedure for representing such items in formal dynamic system devices such as Petri nets. The requirements and restrictions of each of these steps are presented, analyzed, and applied to phenomenological texts in the following manner: (1) the relevance of introspective language and narrative analyses to consciousness research and the idea that specific narratives are of paramount interest for such investigation is justified; (2) some of the obstacles and constraints to attain plausible consciousness inferences from narrative texts and the methodological requirements to extract and depict items relevant to consciousness contents and operations from a suitable phenomenological text are examined; (3) a preliminary exercise of the proposed method is used to analyze and chart a classical interior monolog excerpted from James Joyce's Ulysses, a masterpiece of the stream-of-consciousness literary technique and, finally, (4) an inter-subjective evaluation for inter-observer agreement of mental attributions of another phenomenological text (an excerpt from the Intimate Journal of Miguel de Unamuno) is presented using some mathematical tools.

A narrative method for consciousness research

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz, José-Luis

2013-01-01

Some types of first-person narrations of mental processes that constitute phenomenological accounts and texts, such as internal monolog statements, epitomize the best expressions and representations of human consciousness available and therefore may be used to model phenomenological streams of consciousness. The type of autonomous monolog in which an author or narrator declares actual mental processes in a think aloud manner seems particularly suitable for modeling streams of consciousness. A narrative method to extract and depict conscious processes, operations, contents, and states from an acceptable phenomenological text would require three subsequent steps: operational criteria for producing and/or selecting a phenomenological text, a system for detecting text items that are indicative of conscious contents and processes, and a procedure for representing such items in formal dynamic system devices such as Petri nets. The requirements and restrictions of each of these steps are presented, analyzed, and applied to phenomenological texts in the following manner: (1) the relevance of introspective language and narrative analyses to consciousness research and the idea that specific narratives are of paramount interest for such investigation is justified; (2) some of the obstacles and constraints to attain plausible consciousness inferences from narrative texts and the methodological requirements to extract and depict items relevant to consciousness contents and operations from a suitable phenomenological text are examined; (3) a preliminary exercise of the proposed method is used to analyze and chart a classical interior monolog excerpted from James Joyce’s Ulysses, a masterpiece of the stream-of-consciousness literary technique and, finally, (4) an inter-subjective evaluation for inter-observer agreement of mental attributions of another phenomenological text (an excerpt from the Intimate Journal of Miguel de Unamuno) is presented using some mathematical tools

Consistency between recognition and behavior creates consciousness

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Keita Inaba

2004-08-01

Full Text Available What is consciousness? Is it possible to create consciousness mechanically? Various studies have been performed in the fields of psychology and cerebral science to answer these questions. As of yet, however, no researchers have proposed a model capable of explaining the mind-body problem described by Descartes or replicating a consciousness as advanced as that of human beings. Ancient people believed that the consciousness resided in a Homunculus, a human in miniature who lived in the brain. It is no mystery that the ancients came up with such an idea; for consciousness has always been veiled in mystery, beyond the reach of our explorative powers. We can assert, however, that consciousness does not "live" in us, but "exists" in us. Insofar as the processes occurring inside the human brain are a product of the physical activity of the neurons that reside there, we believe that it should be possible to define consciousness systematically.

Consciousness and biological evolution.

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Lindahl, B I

1997-08-21

It has been suggested that if the preservation and development of consciousness in the biological evolution is a result of natural selection, it is plausible that consciousness not only has been influenced by neural processes, but has had a survival value itself; and it could only have had this, if it had also been efficacious. This argument for mind-brain interaction is examined, both as the argument has been developed by William James and Karl Popper and as it has been discussed by C.D. Broad. The problem of identifying mental phenomena with certain neural phenomena is also addressed. The main conclusion of the analysis is that an explanation of the evolution of consciousness in Darwinian terms of natural selection does not rule out that consciousness may have evolved as a mere causally inert effect of the evolution of the nervous system, or that mental phenomena are identical with certain neural phenomena. However, the interactionistic theory still seems, more plausible and more fruitful for other reasons brought up in the discussion.

DMN Operational Synchrony Relates to Self-Consciousness: Evidence from Patients in Vegetative and Minimally Conscious States.

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Fingelkurts, Andrew A; Fingelkurts, Alexander A; Bagnato, Sergio; Boccagni, Cristina; Galardi, Giuseppe

2012-01-01

The default mode network (DMN) has been consistently activated across a wide variety of self-related tasks, leading to a proposal of the DMN's role in self-related processing. Indeed, there is limited fMRI evidence that the functional connectivity within the DMN may underlie a phenomenon referred to as self-awareness. At the same time, none of the known studies have explicitly investigated neuronal functional interactions among brain areas that comprise the DMN as a function of self-consciousness loss. To fill this gap, EEG operational synchrony analysis [1, 2] was performed in patients with severe brain injuries in vegetative and minimally conscious states to study the strength of DMN operational synchrony as a function of self-consciousness expression. We demonstrated that the strength of DMN EEG operational synchrony was smallest or even absent in patients in vegetative state, intermediate in patients in minimally conscious state and highest in healthy fully self-conscious subjects. At the same time the process of ecoupling of operations performed by neuronal assemblies that comprise the DMN was highest in patients in vegetative state, intermediate in patients in minimally conscious state and minimal in healthy fully self-conscious subjects. The DMN's frontal EEG operational module had the strongest decrease in operational synchrony strength as a function of selfconsciousness loss, when compared with the DMN's posterior modules. Based on these results it is suggested that the strength of DMN functional connectivity could mediate the strength of self-consciousness expression. The observed alterations similarly occurred across EEG alpha, beta1 and beta2 frequency oscillations. Presented results suggest that the EEG operational synchrony within DMN may provide an objective and accurate measure for the assessment of signs of self-(un)consciousness in these challenging patient populations. This method therefore, may complement the current diagnostic procedures for

A framework for investigating animal consciousness.

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Droege, Paula; Braithwaite, Victoria A

2015-01-01

An assessment of consciousness in nonverbal animals requires a framework for research that extends testing methods beyond subjective report. This chapter proposes a working definition of consciousness in terms of temporal representation that provides the critical link between internal phenomenology and external behavior and neural structure. Our claim is that consciousness represents the present moment as distinct from the past and the future in order to flexibly respond to stimuli. We discuss behavioral and neural evidence that indicates the capacity for both flexible response and temporal representation, and we illustrate these capacities in fish, a taxonomic group that challenges human intuitions about consciousness.

Phenomenology without conscious access is a form of consciousness without top-down attention

OpenAIRE

Koch, Christof; Tsuchiya, Naotsugu

2007-01-01

We agree with Block's basic hypothesis postulating the existence of phenomenal consciousness without cognitive access. We explain such states in terms of consciousness without top-down, endogenous attention and speculate that their correlates may be a coalition of neurons that are consigned to the back of cortex, without access to working memory and planning in frontal cortex.

Mythology, Weltanschauung, symbolic universe and states of consciousness

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Gert Malan

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This article investigates whether different religious (mythological worldviews can be described as alternative and altered states of consciousness (ASCs. Differences between conscious and unconscious motivations for behaviour are discussed before looking at ASCs, Weltanschauung and symbolic universes. Mythology can be described both as Weltanschauung and symbolic universe, functioning on all levels of consciousness. Different Weltanschauungen constitute alternative states of consciousness. Compared to secular worldviews, religious worldviews may be described as ASCs. Thanks to our globalised modern societies, the issue is even more complex, as alternate modernities lead to a symbolic multiverse, with individuals living in a social multiverse. Keyowrds: mythology; Weltanschauung; worldview; symbolic universe; states of consciousness; altered states of consciousness; alternative states of consciousness; symbolic multiverse; social multiverse

On the neural mechanisms subserving consciousness and attention

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Catherine eTallon-Baudry

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Consciousness, as described in the experimental literature, is a multi-faceted phenomenon, that impinges on other well-studied concepts such as attention and control. Do consciousness and attention refer to different aspects of the same core phenomenon, or do they correspond to distinct functions? One possibility to address this question is to examine the neural mechanisms underlying consciousness and attention. If consciousness and attention pertain to the same concept, they should rely on shared neural mechanisms. Conversely, if their underlying mechanisms are distinct, then consciousness and attention should be considered as distinct entities. This paper therefore reviews neurophysiological facts arguing in favor or against a tight relationship between consciousness and attention. Three neural mechanisms that have been associated with both attention and consciousness are examined (neural amplification, involvement of the fronto-parietal network, and oscillatory synchrony, to conclude that the commonalities between attention and consciousness at the neural level may have been overestimated. Last but not least, experiments in which both attention and consciousness were probed at the neural level point toward a dissociation between the two concepts. It therefore appears from this review that consciousness and attention rely on distinct neural properties, although they can interact at the behavioral level. It is proposed that a "cumulative influence model", in which attention and consciousness correspond to distinct neural mechanisms feeding a single decisional process leading to behavior, fits best with available neural and behavioral data. In this view, consciousness should not be considered as a top-level executive function but should rather be defined by its experiential properties.

Cajal and consciousness. Introduction.

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Marijuán, P C

2001-04-01

One hundred years after Santiago Ramón Cajal established the bases of modern neuroscience in his masterpiece Textura del sistema nervioso del hombre y de los vertebrados, the question is stated again: What is the status of consciousness today? The responses in this book, by contemporary leading figures of neuroscience, evolution, molecular biology, computer science, and quantum physics, collectively compose a fascinating conceptual landscape. Both the evolutionary emergence of consciousness and its development towards the highest level may be analyzed by a wealth of new theories and hypotheses, including Cajal's prescient ones. Some noticeable gaps remain, however. Celebrating the centennial of Textura is a timely occasion to reassess how close--and how far--our system of the sciences is to explaining consciousness.

The Learning Organization and the Level of Consciousness

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Chiva, Ricardo

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze learning organization by comparing with other types of organizations. This typology is based on the levels of consciousness and relates each type of organization with a level of learning and an organizational structure. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper based on the concept of…

Environmentally conscious patent histories

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Crouch, Dennis D.; Crouch, Henry L.

2004-02-01

There is a need for investigators, legislators, and business leaders to understand the magnitude of innovation and discovery in the field of environmentally conscious technologies (ECTs). Knowledge of the "big picture" is important to providing a national and global account of actual environmental stewardship over the last twenty-five years. A recitation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supported Acts which have been enacted into law reveals one facet of the multifaceted dynamic of environmental consciousness. The popular discussion and debate, as well as partisan lobbying, which created the political forces leading to environmentally conscious legislation is another facet. A third facet is the corporate response to the threats and opportunities predicted by CEO"s and others through environmental scanning. This paper examines changes in environmentally conscious inventive effort by comparing data from United States Patents issued from 1976 through 2003. Patents are useful tool for measuring technological innovation because they are publicly available records of innovative activity. Although not all inventions result in patent applications, the monopoly rights granted on the invention give the inventor a strong incentive to obtain patents on any viable product or process. Among the results, we found a significant increase in patents relating to environmentally conscious products and processes during the period in question. Specifically, a dramatic increase in patent activity was seen for the decade of the 1990"s. Surprisingly, the patenting rate from 2000 to 2003 seems to have stabilized. Additionally public discussion of ECTs appears to have a positive impact on patent filings.

Functional neuroanatomy of disorders of consciousness.

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Di Perri, Carol; Stender, Johan; Laureys, Steven; Gosseries, Olivia

2014-01-01

Our understanding of the mechanisms of loss and recovery of consciousness, following severe brain injury or during anesthesia, is changing rapidly. Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that patients with chronic disorders of consciousness and subjects undergoing general anesthesia present a complex dysfunctionality in the architecture of brain connectivity. At present, the global hallmark of impaired consciousness appears to be a multifaceted dysfunctional connectivity pattern with both within-network loss of connectivity in a widespread frontoparietal network and between-network hyperconnectivity involving other regions such as the insula and ventral tegmental area. Despite ongoing efforts, the mechanisms underlying the emergence of consciousness after severe brain injury are not thoroughly understood. Important questions remain unanswered: What triggers the connectivity impairment leading to disorders of consciousness? Why do some patients recover from coma, while others with apparently similar brain injuries do not? Understanding these mechanisms could lead to a better comprehension of brain function and, hopefully, lead to new therapeutic strategies in this challenging patient population. © 2013.

Dissociable endogenous and exogenous attention in disorders of consciousness.

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Chennu, Srivas; Finoia, Paola; Kamau, Evelyn; Monti, Martin M; Allanson, Judith; Pickard, John D; Owen, Adrian M; Bekinschtein, Tristan A

2013-01-01

Recent research suggests that despite the seeming inability of patients in vegetative and minimally conscious states to generate consistent behaviour, some might possess covert awareness detectable with functional neuroimaging. These findings motivate further research into the cognitive mechanisms that might support the existence of consciousness in these states of profound neurological dysfunction. One of the key questions in this regard relates to the nature and capabilities of attention in patients, known to be related to but distinct from consciousness. Previous assays of the electroencephalographic P300 marker of attention have demonstrated its presence and potential clinical value. Here we analysed data from 21 patients and 8 healthy volunteers collected during an experimental task designed to engender exogenous or endogenous attention, indexed by the P3a and P3b components, respectively, in response to a pair of word stimuli presented amongst distractors. Remarkably, we found that the early, bottom-up P3a and the late, top-down P3b could in fact be dissociated in a patient who fitted the behavioural criteria for the vegetative state. In juxtaposition with healthy volunteers, the patient's responses suggested the presence of a relatively high level of attentional abilities despite the absence of any behavioural indications thereof. Furthermore, we found independent evidence of covert command following in the patient, as measured by functional neuroimaging during tennis imagery. Three other minimally conscious patients evidenced non-discriminatory bottom-up orienting, but no top-down engagement of selective attentional control. Our findings present a persuasive case for dissociable attentional processing in behaviourally unresponsive patients, adding to our understanding of the possible levels and applications of consequent conscious awareness.

[Functional pathophysiology of consciousness].

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Jellinger, Kurt A

2009-01-01

Consciousness (Latin conscientia "moral conscience"), according to the English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) [103], is the awareness of all that occurs in the mind of a person, whereas the American philosopher John Searle (2000) defined it as "inner qualitative, subjective states and processes of awareness". In modern science it is defined as a continuous state of full awareness of the Self and one's relationship to the external and internal environment, describing the degree of wakefulness in which an organism recognizes stimuli. This widely discussed biological term for complex neuronal processes that allow an individuum to recognize itself and its environment and to act accordingly, has been and still is the subject of much research in philosophy and natural/neuroscience. Its definition is often used for awareness and recognition, too. While the Egyptians in the papyrus Edwin Smith already recognized the brain as the seat of consciousness, René Descartes (1644 [36]) believed its special structure should be "a small gland in the middle", but the anatomical structures and physiological processes involved in consciousness were elucidated only in the middle of the 20th century. Neuronal substrates include several functional networks that are hierarchically organized and cooperate functionally. The lowest level is the mesencephalic formatio reticularis and its projections to the thalamus that were identified als ascending reticular system (ARAS) by the classical experiments of Moruzzi and Magoun, whereas later analyses of patients with impaired consciousness provided further insights. The mesencephalic ARAS as motor of the function of higher structures projects 1. via the reticular thalamus diffusely to the cortex, 2. via hypothalamus to the basal forebrain and limbic system, and 3. to the medial raphe of the brainstem and locus coeruleus and their diffuse cortical projections. The reticular system is stimulated directly and indirectly via numerous collaterals

How neuroscience will change our view on consciousness.

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Lamme, Victor A F

2010-09-01

Is there consciousness in machines? Or in animals? What happens to consciousness when we are asleep, or in vegetative state? These are just a few examples of the many questions about consciousness that are troubling scientists and laypersons alike. Moreover, these questions share a striking feature: They seem to have been around forever, yet neither science nor philosophy has been able to provide an answer. Why is that? In my view, the main reason is that the study of consciousness is dominated by what we know from introspection and behavior. This has fooled us into thinking that we know what we are conscious of. The scientific equivalent of this is Global Workspace theory. But in fact we don't know what we are conscious of, as I will explain from a simple experiment in visual perception. Once we acknowledge that, it is clear that we need other evidence about the presence or absence of a conscious sensation than introspection or behavior. Assuming the brain has something to do with it, I will demonstrate how arguments from neuroscience, together with theoretical and ontological arguments, can help us resolve what the exact nature of our conscious sensation is. It turns out that we see much more than we think, and that Global Workspace theory is all about access but not about seeing. The exercise is an example of how neuroscience will move us away from psychological intuitions about consciousness, and hence depict a notion of consciousness that may go against our deepest conviction: "My consciousness is mine, and mine alone." It's not.

Spatial frequency tuning during the conscious and non-conscious perception of emotional facial expressions—an intracranial ERP study

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Verena eWillenbockel

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have shown that complex visual stimuli, such as emotional facial expressions, can influence brain activity independently of the observers’ awareness. Little is known yet, however, about the informational correlates of consciousness—i.e., which low-level information correlates with brain activation during conscious vs. non-conscious perception. Here, we investigated this question in the spatial frequency (SF domain. We examined which SFs in disgusted and fearful facial expressions modulate activation in the insula and amygdala over time and as a function of awareness, using a combination of intracranial event-related potentials (ERPs, SF Bubbles (Willenbockel et al., 2010a, and Continuous Flash Suppression (CFS; Tsuchiya and Koch, 2005. Patients implanted with electrodes for epilepsy monitoring viewed face photographs (13° x 7° that were randomly SF filtered trial-by-trial. In the conscious condition, the faces were visible; in the non-conscious condition, they were rendered invisible using CFS. Data were analyzed by performing multiple linear regressions on the SF filters from each trial and the transformed ERP amplitudes across time. The resulting classification images suggest that many SFs are involved in the conscious and non-conscious perception of emotional expressions, with those between 6 and 10 cycles per face width being particularly important early on. The results also revealed qualitative differences between the awareness conditions for both regions. Non-conscious processing relied on low SFs more and was faster than conscious processing. Overall, our findings are consistent with the idea that different pathways are employed for the processing of emotional stimuli under different degrees of awareness. The present study represents a first step to mapping with a high temporal resolution how SF information flows through the emotion-processing network and to shedding light on the informational correlates of

Consciousness can reduce the voltage of the output signal of solar cell

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Cao, Dayong

2010-10-01

When the sun's light radiate on the solar cell, the solar cell can produce the output signal as the photocurrent. We use the Data Acquisition Modules to record the voltage of the output signals. The v1 is voltage of the output signal of solar cell1; The v2 is the one of solar cell2. And these two solar cells stay side by side. When we record the voltage of the output signal from the morning to the noon, the voltage of the output signals will go up, and the v1 is bigger than the v2 during this time. But when the experimenter use consciousness to reduce the voltage of the output signals. That is to say: not only natural light ratiade on two solar cells, but also consciousness act on two solar cells. Not only I can use consciousness to reduce the growth voltage of the output signals, but also can change the v1 to be littler than the v2. The experiment was conducted on Sep. 2010. There is the physical system of the mass, energy, space and time-MEST; There is the spirited system of the mind, consciousness, emotion and desire-MECD; the information system is the code system. We can use them to develop photoelectric principle, life technology and Nanotech of semiconductor for consciousness effect.

Social Construction of National Reality: Chinese Consciousness versus Hong Kong Consciousness

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Fu-Lai Tony Yu

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The struggle to break away from the parent state and claim for independence often results in political unrest, terrorist activities and even ethnic cleansing. In East Asia, the hostilities between people from Hong Kong and mainland China also intensify rapidly in recent years. The late 2000s and early 2010s witness a surge in anti-Mainlander sentiment in Hong Kong and a call for self-determination, resulting in a series of political upheavals. In literatures, irredentist and secessionist advocators generally defend themselves in terms of common blood, race and culture. None of them regards the issue from human agency theory. This paper has two objectives. Firstly, based largely on the works of Max Weber, W.I. Thomas, Alfred Schutz and Peter Berger, this paper constructs a theoretical framework, namely, the social construction of national reality, which allows us to explain the origin of national identity and the reason for people to call for autonomy or secession. It will argue that collective consciousness originates from everyday life experience taken for granted during socialization. Individuals make sense of the external world. Experiences taken for granted become the actor’s stock of knowledge. A common scheme of knowledge shared by the community serves to differentiate in-group (nationals and out-group (foreigners. Collective consciousness thus defines national identity and hence a nation. Unless people (both in-group and out-group interact with and learn from each other, different stocks of knowledge taken for granted will create conflict. This theory is applied to explain growing Sinophobia in Hong Kong. The confrontation between traditional Chinese consciousness and emerging Hong Kong consciousness undermines the peaceful coexistence among Hongkongers and Mainlanders, unless both parties redefine their stock of knowledge via dynamic learning. The paper concludes that in order to reduce the conflicts in the regions, understanding the

The consciousness state space (CSS)-a unifying model for consciousness and self.

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Berkovich-Ohana, Aviva; Glicksohn, Joseph

2014-01-01

Every experience, those we are aware of and those we are not, is embedded in a subjective timeline, is tinged with emotion, and inevitably evokes a certain sense of self. Here, we present a phenomenological model for consciousness and selfhood which relates time, awareness, and emotion within one framework. The consciousness state space (CSS) model is a theoretical one. It relies on a broad range of literature, hence has high explanatory and integrative strength, and helps in visualizing the relationship between different aspects of experience. Briefly, it is suggested that all phenomenological states fall into two categories of consciousness, core and extended (CC and EC, respectively). CC supports minimal selfhood that is short of temporal extension, its scope being the here and now. EC supports narrative selfhood, which involves personal identity and continuity across time, as well as memory, imagination and conceptual thought. The CSS is a phenomenological space, created by three dimensions: time, awareness and emotion. Each of the three dimensions is shown to have a dual phenomenological composition, falling within CC and EC. The neural spaces supporting each of these dimensions, as well as CC and EC, are laid out based on the neuroscientific literature. The CSS dynamics include two simultaneous trajectories, one in CC and one in EC, typically antagonistic in normal experiences. However, this characteristic behavior is altered in states in which a person experiences an altered sense of self. Two examples are laid out, flow and meditation. The CSS model creates a broad theoretical framework with explanatory and unificatory power. It constructs a detailed map of the consciousness and selfhood phenomenology, which offers constraints for the science of consciousness. We conclude by outlining several testable predictions raised by the CSS model.

Is Phenomenal Consciousness a Complex Structure?

OpenAIRE

Stieg, Chuck

2004-01-01

Evolutionary explanations of psychological phenomena have become widespread. This paper examines a recent attempt by Nichols and Grantham (2000) to circumvent the problem of epiphenomenalism in establishing the selective status of consciousness. Nichols and Grantham (2000) argue that a case can be made for the view that consciousness is an adaptation based on its complexity. I set out this argument and argue that it fails to establish that phenomenal consciousness is a complex system. It ...

A framework for public involvement at the design stage of NHS health and social care research: time to develop ethically conscious standards.

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Pandya-Wood, Raksha; Barron, Duncan S; Elliott, Jim

2017-01-01

Researchers who conduct studies in health and social care are encouraged to involve the public as early as possible in the process of designing their studies. Before their studies are allowed to start researchers must seek approval from a Research Ethics Committee, which will assess whether the study is going to be safe and ethical for patients or healthy volunteers to take part in. The process of ethical review does not consider how researchers work with patients and the public early on to design their studies. Furthermore, there is no requirement for researchers to seek ethical approval for public involvement. However, in our work advising researchers about public involvement we have found that the ways in which researchers involve the public in the design of their studies are sometimes unintentionally unethical, and this is the focus of our paper. We have observed ten areas where ethical issues may arise because of the actions researchers may or may not take and which might consequently have a negative impact. Therefore, we have used these observations to develop a "framework" to help researchers and the public work together at the early design stage in ways that are ethical. Our intention for the framework is to help researchers be mindful of these ten areas and how easily ethical issues can arise. The framework suggests some ways to overcome the potential issues in each of the ten areas. The ten areas are: 1) Allocating sufficient time for public involvement; 2) Avoiding tokenism; 3) Registering research design stage public involvement work with NHS Research & Development Trust Office at earliest opportunity; 4) Communicating clearly from the outset; 5) Entitling public contributors to stop their involvement for any unstated reasons; 6) Operating fairness of opportunity; 7) Differentiating qualitative research methods and public involvement activities; 8) Working sensitively; 9) Being conscious of confidentiality and 10) Valuing, acknowledging and rewarding

Neural plasticity lessons from disorders of consciousness

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Athena eDemertzi

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Communication and intentional behavior are supported by the brain’s integrity at a structural and a functional level. When widespread loss of cerebral connectivity is brought about as a result of a severe brain injury, in many cases patients are not capable of conscious interactive behavior and are said to suffer from disorders of consciousness (e.g., coma, vegetative state /unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, minimally conscious states. This lesion paradigm has offered not only clinical insights, as how to improve diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, but also put forward scientific opportunities to study the brain’s plastic abilities. We here review interventional and observational studies performed in severely brain-injured patients with regards to recovery of consciousness. The study of the recovered conscious brain (spontaneous and/or after surgical or pharmacologic interventions, suggests a link between some specific brain areas and the capacity of the brain to sustain conscious experience, challenging at the same time the notion of fixed temporal boundaries in rehabilitative processes. Altered functional connectivity, cerebral structural reorganization as well as behavioral amelioration after invasive treatments will be discussed as the main indices for plasticity in these challenging patients. The study of patients with chronic disorders of consciousness may, thus, provide further insights not only at a clinical level (i.e., medical management and rehabilitation but also from a scientific-theoretical perspective (i.e., the brain’s plastic abilities and the pursuit of the neural correlate of consciousness.

George Herbert Mead on consciousness: antidote to Cartesian absurdities?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Willert, Søren

The article explicates George Herbert Mead's theory of consciousness as presented in Mind, Self and Society. According to Mead, the term consciousness may refer to three different sets of phenomena: (1) the environment as implied by our goal-directed action; Mead names this consciousness aspect...... experience; it is shared by humans and subhuman animals alike; (2) consciousness of environmental experience; Mead names this consciousness aspect awareness; it is exclusively human; (3) the peculiar sensed qualities attaching to consciousness, equalling what is today named qualia. Descartes......-inspired psychology makes the third consciousness aspect all-important. Within Mead's framework for a darwinistically inspired psycholgy, it becomes theoretically insignificant....

Consciousness in Non-Epileptic Attack Disorder

OpenAIRE

Reuber, M.; Kurthen, M.

2011-01-01

Non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD) is one of the most important differential diagnoses of epilepsy. Impairment of\\ud consciousness is the key feature of non-epileptic attacks (NEAs). The first half of this review summarises the clinical research\\ud literature featuring observations relating to consciousness in NEAD. The second half places this evidence in the wider context\\ud of the recent discourse on consciousness in neuroscience and the philosophy of mind. We argue that studies of consci...

Does perceptual learning require consciousness or attention?

Science.gov (United States)

Meuwese, Julia D I; Post, Ruben A G; Scholte, H Steven; Lamme, Victor A F

2013-10-01

It has been proposed that visual attention and consciousness are separate [Koch, C., & Tsuchiya, N. Attention and consciousness: Two distinct brain processes. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11, 16-22, 2007] and possibly even orthogonal processes [Lamme, V. A. F. Why visual attention and awareness are different. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7, 12-18, 2003]. Attention and consciousness converge when conscious visual percepts are attended and hence become available for conscious report. In such a view, a lack of reportability can have two causes: the absence of attention or the absence of a conscious percept. This raises an important question in the field of perceptual learning. It is known that learning can occur in the absence of reportability [Gutnisky, D. A., Hansen, B. J., Iliescu, B. F., & Dragoi, V. Attention alters visual plasticity during exposure-based learning. Current Biology, 19, 555-560, 2009; Seitz, A. R., Kim, D., & Watanabe, T. Rewards evoke learning of unconsciously processed visual stimuli in adult humans. Neuron, 61, 700-707, 2009; Seitz, A. R., & Watanabe, T. Is subliminal learning really passive? Nature, 422, 36, 2003; Watanabe, T., Náñez, J. E., & Sasaki, Y. Perceptual learning without perception. Nature, 413, 844-848, 2001], but it is unclear which of the two ingredients-consciousness or attention-is not necessary for learning. We presented textured figure-ground stimuli and manipulated reportability either by masking (which only interferes with consciousness) or with an inattention paradigm (which only interferes with attention). During the second session (24 hr later), learning was assessed neurally and behaviorally, via differences in figure-ground ERPs and via a detection task. Behavioral and neural learning effects were found for stimuli presented in the inattention paradigm and not for masked stimuli. Interestingly, the behavioral learning effect only became apparent when performance feedback was given on the task to measure learning

Energy design for architects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaw, A. (ed.)

1989-01-01

This book contains techniques for energy efficiency in architectural design. Many aspects are covered including: cost; comfort and health; energy use; the design process; and analytical techniques. 202 figs. (JF)

Philosophical foundations of artificial consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Chrisley, Ron

2008-10-01

Consciousness is often thought to be that aspect of mind that is least amenable to being understood or replicated by artificial intelligence (AI). The first-personal, subjective, what-it-is-like-to-be-something nature of consciousness is thought to be untouchable by the computations, algorithms, processing and functions of AI method. Since AI is the most promising avenue toward artificial consciousness (AC), the conclusion many draw is that AC is even more doomed than AI supposedly is. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the soundness of this inference. The results are achieved by means of conceptual analysis and argumentation. It is shown that pessimism concerning the theoretical possibility of artificial consciousness is unfounded, based as it is on misunderstandings of AI, and a lack of awareness of the possible roles AI might play in accounting for or reproducing consciousness. This is done by making some foundational distinctions relevant to AC, and using them to show that some common reasons given for AC scepticism do not touch some of the (usually neglected) possibilities for AC, such as prosthetic, discriminative, practically necessary, and lagom (necessary-but-not-sufficient) AC. Along the way three strands of the author's work in AC--interactive empiricism, synthetic phenomenology, and ontologically conservative heterophenomenology--are used to illustrate and motivate the distinctions and the defences of AC they make possible.

Consciousness: a unique way of processing information.

Science.gov (United States)

Marchetti, Giorgio

2018-02-08

In this article, I argue that consciousness is a unique way of processing information, in that: it produces information, rather than purely transmitting it; the information it produces is meaningful for us; the meaning it has is always individuated. This uniqueness allows us to process information on the basis of our personal needs and ever-changing interactions with the environment, and consequently to act autonomously. Three main basic cognitive processes contribute to realize this unique way of information processing: the self, attention and working memory. The self, which is primarily expressed via the central and peripheral nervous systems, maps our body, the environment, and our relations with the environment. It is the primary means by which the complexity inherent to our composite structure is reduced into the "single voice" of a unique individual. It provides a reference system that (albeit evolving) is sufficiently stable to define the variations that will be used as the raw material for the construction of conscious information. Attention allows for the selection of those variations in the state of the self that are most relevant in the given situation. Attention originates and is deployed from a single locus inside our body, which represents the center of the self, around which all our conscious experiences are organized. Whatever is focused by attention appears in our consciousness as possessing a spatial quality defined by this center and the direction toward which attention is focused. In addition, attention determines two other features of conscious experience: periodicity and phenomenal quality. Self and attention are necessary but not sufficient for conscious information to be produced. Complex forms of conscious experiences, such as the various modes of givenness of conscious experience and the stream of consciousness, need a working memory mechanism to assemble the basic pieces of information selected by attention.

Intuitive decisions on the fringes of consciousness

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Mark C. Price

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Decision making research often dichotomises between more deliberative, cognitive processes and more heuristic, intuitive and emotional processes. We argue that within this two-systems framework (e.g., Kahneman, 2002 there is ambiguity over how to map the System 1/System 2 axis, and the notion of intuitive processing, onto the distinction between conscious and non-conscious processes. However the convergent concepts of experience-based metacognitive judgements (Koriat, 2007 and of fringe consciousness (Mangan, 1993 can clarify intuitive processing as an informative extit{conscious feeling} without conscious access to the antecedents of the feeling. We stress that these intuitive feelings can be used to guide behaviour in a controlled and contextually sensitive manner that would not be permitted by purely non-conscious influences on behaviour. An outline is provided for how to empirically recognise these intuitive feelings. This is illustrated with an example from research on implicit learning where intuitive feelings may play an important role in peoples' decisions and judgements. Finally we suggest that our approach to understanding intuitive feelings softens rather than reinforces the two-systems dichotomy.

Consciousness, crosstalk, and the mereological fallacy: An evolutionary perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Rodrick

2012-12-01

The cross-sectional decontextualization afflicting contemporary neuroscience - attributing to ‘the brain’ what is the province of the whole organism - is mirrored by an evolutionary decontextualization exceptionalizing consciousness. The living state is characterized by cognitive processes at all scales and levels of organization. Many can be associated with dual information sources that ‘speak’ a ‘language’ of behavior-in-context. Shifting global broadcasts analogous to consciousness, albeit far slower - wound healing, tumor control, immune function, gene expression, etc. - have emerged through repeated evolutionary exaptation of the crosstalk and noise inherent to all information transmission. These recruit ‘unconscious’ cognitive modules into tunable arrays as needed to meet threats and opportunities across multiple frames of reference. The development is straightforward, based on the powerful necessary conditions imposed by the asymptotic limit theorems of communication theory, in the same sense that the Central Limit Theorem constrains sums of stochastic variates. Recognition of information as a form of free energy instantiated by physical processes that consume free energy permits analogs to phase transition and nonequilibrium thermodynamic arguments, leading to ‘dynamic regression models’ useful for data analysis.

[Cognitive neuroscience of consciousness: from theory to bedside].

Science.gov (United States)

Naccache, Lionel

2013-05-01

The exploration of the neural bases of consciousness (both conscious states and conscious mental contents) has progressed significantly over the last 15 years, in particular concerning the investigation of conscious access during perception. These advancements stem both from original neuropsychological studies, and from the rapid development of functional brain-imaging tools and methods. Only since recently these discoveries lead to medical applications aiming at improving the evaluation and follow-up of patients suffering from impairments of functional communication and/or of consciousness (comatose, vegetative, minimally conscious states, or paralyzed patients such as the "locked in" syndrome or similar conditions). By contributing to possible improvements of diagnosis and prognosis evaluations of these complex medical situations, these new tools open new perspectives associated with noteworthy ethical, social and philosophic implications.

Reflective self-awareness and conscious states

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjaer, Troels W; Nowak, Markus; Lou, Hans C

2002-01-01

A recent meta-analysis has shown precuneus, angular gyri, anterior cingulate gyri, and adjacent structures to be highly metabolically active in support of resting consciousness. We hypothesize that these regions constitute a functional network of reflective self-awareness thought to be a core...... function of consciousness. Seven normal volunteers were asked to think intensely on how they would describe the personality traits and physical appearance of themselves and a neutral reference person known to all the subjects (the Danish Queen). During each of the four conditions cerebral blood flow...... during reflective self-awareness. The commonality between the neural networks of the resting conscious state and self-awareness reflects the phenomenological concept of a fundamental contribution of reflective self-awareness to the contents and coherence of the conscious state....

The Emergence of Consciousness in the Quantum Universe

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Xiaolei

2011-01-01

It is argued that human consciousness is likely to have emerged during the self-consistent evolution of the physical universe, through the gradual accumulation of biological entities' ability to tap into the intrinsic non-deterministic potentiality in the global nonequilibrium phase transitions occurring continually in the quantum universe. Due to the fact that the matter and energy content participating in these global phase transitions is a continuum, there are in effect infinite degrees-of...

Nabokov's impressionistic expression of free consciousness

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Lončar-Vujnović Mirjana

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The most interesting thing about Nabokov's narrative technique is the way in which he always manages to impress the presence of the implied author on the reader's consciousness without making direct intrusion intonation. Narration through the confined consciousness of an individual is really, it seems, only a springboard for Nabokov. He takes an impressionistic device (consciously or unconsciously, it makes no difference and pushes it to its limits without technically violating the point of view to which he has committed himself.

The Methodology of Psychological Research of Ecological Consciousness

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Irina A. Shmeleva

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The paper examines the methodological principles of the psychological study of ecological consciousness as one of the urgent interdisciplinary problems of XX–XXI century, caused by the aggravation of global ecological problems and the need for the realization of the “sustainable development”ideas. Ecological consciousness is considered as multilayered, dynamic, reflexive element of human consciousness, incorporating multivariate, holistic aspects of interaction of the human being as the H.S. and the Humanity representative with the environment and the Planet. The possibility of the more active introduction of Russian psychology in the process is argued for in connection with the existing conceptual approaches, which compose the methodological basis for ecological consciousness research. Among these approaches are considered: the principles of holistic study of the human being by B. Ananyev, the methodology of system psychological description by V. Gansen and G. Sukhodolsky, the idea of reflexivity of consciousness by S. Rubinstein, the humanitarian- ecological imperative of the development of consciousness by V. Zinchenko, the theory of relations by V. Myasishev, consideration of ecological consciousness as relation to nature by S. Deryabo and V. Yasvin, theories of consciousness by V. Petrenko, V. Allakhverdov and other Russian psychologists. The value component of ecological consciousness is distinguished as the most significant. The possibility of applying the Values’ theory of the by S. Schwartz for studying the ecological values is discussed along with the prognostic potential of the universalism value.

Evidence that logical reasoning depends on conscious processing.

Science.gov (United States)

DeWall, C Nathan; Baumeister, Roy F; Masicampo, E J

2008-09-01

Humans, unlike other animals, are equipped with a powerful brain that permits conscious awareness and reflection. A growing trend in psychological science has questioned the benefits of consciousness, however. Testing a hypothesis advanced by [Lieberman, M. D., Gaunt, R., Gilbert, D. T., & Trope, Y. (2002). Reflection and reflexion: A social cognitive neuroscience approach to attributional inference. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 34, 199-249], four studies suggested that the conscious, reflective processing system is vital for logical reasoning. Substantial decrements in logical reasoning were found when a cognitive load manipulation preoccupied conscious processing, while hampering the nonconscious system with consciously suppressed thoughts failed to impair reasoning (Experiment 1). Nonconscious activation (priming) of the idea of logical reasoning increased the activation of logic-relevant concepts, but failed to improve logical reasoning performance (Experiments 2a-2c) unless the logical conclusions were largely intuitive and thus not reliant on logical reasoning (Experiment 3). Meanwhile, stimulating the conscious goal of reasoning well led to improvements in reasoning performance (Experiment 4). These findings offer evidence that logical reasoning is aided by the conscious, reflective processing system.

Little behaviors with big impacts: Exploring the sense of community surrounding socially conscious consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Devincenzo, Marie E. Hafey

The thesis is a study of socially conscious consumption practices and the meanings those behaviors have for consumers who participate in them. Psychological sense of community was used as the theoretical grounding for the study because it provided a way to examine socially conscious behaviors not solely as the behaviors of individuals but as behaviors within a social context with social meaning. Data were collected in two phases. First, a written, projective instrument compared cultural perceptions of various types of socially conscious consumption practices. Then, in-depth interviews were conducted to collect consumption narratives from participants and nonparticipants in a wind energy program called Blue Sky. The interviews were analyzed using a hermeneutical approach. The findings identified a new type of consumption community not recognized in prior literature: the principle based consumption community.

Opposing effects of attention and consciousness on afterimages.

Science.gov (United States)

van Boxtel, Jeroen J A; Tsuchiya, Naotsugu; Koch, Christof

2010-05-11

The brain's ability to handle sensory information is influenced by both selective attention and consciousness. There is no consensus on the exact relationship between these two processes and whether they are distinct. So far, no experiment has simultaneously manipulated both. We carried out a full factorial 2 x 2 study of the simultaneous influences of attention and consciousness (as assayed by visibility) on perception, correcting for possible concurrent changes in attention and consciousness. We investigated the duration of afterimages for all four combinations of high versus low attention and visible versus invisible. We show that selective attention and visual consciousness have opposite effects: paying attention to the grating decreases the duration of its afterimage, whereas consciously seeing the grating increases the afterimage duration. These findings provide clear evidence for distinctive influences of selective attention and consciousness on visual perception.

The consciousness state space (CSS – a unifying model for consciousness and self

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Aviva eBerkovich-Ohana

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Every experience, those we are aware of and those we are not, is embedded in a subjective timeline, is tinged with emotion, and inevitably evokes a certain sense of self. Here, we present a phenomenological model for consciousness and selfhood which relates time, awareness, and emotion within one framework. The consciousness state space (CSS model is a theoretical one. It relies on a broad range of literature, hence has high explanatory and integrative strength, and helps in visualizing the relationship between different aspects of experience.Briefly, it is suggested that all phenomenological states fall into two categories of consciousness, core and extended (CC and EC, respectively. CC supports minimal selfhood that is short of temporal extension, its scope being the here and now. EC supports narrative selfhood, which involves personal identity and continuity across time, as well as memory, imagination and conceptual thought. The CSS is a phenomenological space, created by three dimensions: time, awareness and emotion. Each of the three dimensions is shown to have a dual phenomenological composition, falling within CC and EC. The neural spaces supporting each of these dimensions, as well as CC and EC, are laid out based on the neuroscientific literature.The CSS dynamics includes two simultaneous trajectories, one in CC and one in EC, typically antagonistic in normal experiences. However, this characteristic behavior is altered in states in which a person experiences an altered sense of self. Two examples are laid out, flow and meditation. The CSS model creates a broad theoretical framework with explanatory and unificatory power. It constructs a detailed map of the consciousness and selfhood phenomenology, which offers constraints for the science of consciousness. We conclude by outlaying several testable predictions raised by the CSS model.

[Recovery of consciousness: process-oriented approach].

Science.gov (United States)

Gusarova, S B

2014-01-01

Traditionally psychological neurorehabilitation of neurosurgical patients is provided subject to availability of clear consciousness and minimal potential to communicate verbally. Cognitive and emotional disorders, problems in social adaptation, neurotic syndromes are normally targets in such cases. We work with patients having survived severe brain damage being in different states of consciousness: vegetative state, minimal state of consciousness, mutism, confusion, posttraumatic Korsaroff syndrom. Psychologist considers recovery of consciousness as the target besides traditional tasks. Construction of communication with patient is central part of such job, where the patient remains unable to contact verbally, yet it is impossible to consider potential aphasia. This is a non-verbal "dialogue" with patient created by psychologist with gradual development and involving other people and objects of environment. Inline with modern neuroscientific achievements demonstrating ability to recognize by patients with severe brain injury (A. Owen, S. Laureys, M. Monti, M. Coleman, A. Soddu, M. Boly and others) we base upon psychological science, on psychotherapeutic approaches containing instruments inevitable to work with patients in altered states of consciousness and creation of non-verbal communication with patient (Jung, Reich, Alexander, Lowen, Keleman, Arnold and Amy Mindell, S. Tomandl, D. Boadella, A. Längle, P. Levin etc). This article will include 15 years of experience to apply Process-oriented approach by A. Mindell to recovery of consciousness of neurosurgical patients based on work with "minimal signals" (micro moves, breath, mimic reactions etc.), principle of feedback, psychosomatic resonance, empathy.

The neural correlates of consciousness: new experimental approaches needed?

Science.gov (United States)

Hohwy, Jakob

2009-06-01

It appears that consciousness science is progressing soundly, in particular in its search for the neural correlates of consciousness. There are two main approaches to this search, one is content-based (focusing on the contrast between conscious perception of, e.g., faces vs. houses), the other is state-based (focusing on overall conscious states, e.g., the contrast between dreamless sleep vs. the awake state). Methodological and conceptual considerations of a number of concrete studies show that both approaches are problematic: the content-based approach seems to set aside crucial aspects of consciousness; and the state-based approach seems over-inclusive in a way that is hard to rectify without losing sight of the crucial conscious-unconscious contrast. Consequently, the search for the neural correlates of consciousness is in need of new experimental paradigms.

The cognitive approach to conscious machines

CERN Document Server

Haikonen, Pentti O

2003-01-01

Could a machine have an immaterial mind? The author argues that true conscious machines can be built, but rejects artificial intelligence and classical neural networks in favour of the emulation of the cognitive processes of the brain-the flow of inner speech, inner imagery and emotions. This results in a non-numeric meaning-processing machine with distributed information representation and system reactions. It is argued that this machine would be conscious; it would be aware of its own existence and its mental content and perceive this as immaterial. Novel views on consciousness and the mind-

Energy-saving construction. A practice book for architects, engineers and energy consultants; Energiesparendes Bauen. Ein Praxisbuch fuer Architekten, Ingenieure und Energieberater

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marquardt, Helmut

2011-07-01

Due to a rapid amendment of the Energy Saving Ordinance in 2007 and 2009, the opportunities for energy conservation in buildings come more clearly into the public consciousness. The energy consultancy increasingly is in demand. Under this aspect, the author of te book under consideration reports on the fundamentals of thermal protection, on designs for compliance with the Energy Saving Ordinance, on the appropriate plant engineering as well as on the calculation of residential buildings according to the Energy Saving Ordinance and Act on Power Generation from Renewable Energy Sources.

Becoming conscious of learning and nursing in clinical settings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Kirsten; Pedersen, Birthe D.; Helms, Niels Henrik

2015-01-01

Literature shows several benefits of implementing ePortfolio and focusing on learning styles within nursing education. However, there is some ambiguity, so the aim was to investigate learning mediated by the mandatory part of ePortfolio in clinical settings. The design takes a phenomenological......-hermeneutic approach. The setting was a ten-week clinical course in Basic Nursing, and participants were 11 first-year students randomly assigned. Data was generated by participant observations, narrative interviews and portfolio documents. The entire data material was interpreted according to the French philosopher...... Paul Ricoeurs theory of interpretation. This paper reports that the mandatory part promotes consciousness of own learning and competencies in clinical nursing and raises students` consciousness of nurse identity. It gives preceptors the opportunity to differentiate their supervision for individual...

INTERACTION OF EUROPEAN AND RUSSIAN LEGAL CONSCIOUSNESS

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A. Tyrtyshny

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This article provides an overview of certain ideologemes of Western (European and Russian legal consciousness – prominent works of Ivan Ilyin and Duncan Kennedy are taken as examples. The article analyzes the tabula rasa principle and its place in legal consciousness. We use legal scholarship, judicial practice and opinion polls to examine the relationship between legal consciousness and the lack of trust in Russian courts, as well as their inefficiency from the point of view of public opinion. There are a number of shocking cases of torture of innocent people by the Russian police. Why is this so? The answer lies in the legal consciousness of police officers and of judges. This is something that has been inherited from the Soviet period. It is completely different from the Western legal consciousness, one of the key features of which is denial of authority. The critical legal studies branch of American legal realism almost denies the very existence of law, and, perhaps for this reason, American culture is less open to abuses like torture. At the same time, there is no possibility to shift legal consciousness immediately, the tabula rasa principle does not work. The final objective of the article is to provide a perspective on the reform of higher legal education and its relation to legal consciousness and legal anthropology. We propose that a greater part of the university curriculum is devoted to legal anthropology.

Bosman and self-conscious fiction

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N. Meihuizen

1991-05-01

Full Text Available Bosman, in a number of ways, underlines his fascination with his medium. In this article, an attempt is made to indicate some of the ways in which he does this. Particular attention is paid to Bosman’s use of commentary, his own self-conscious reflections on the text before the reader. Using two stories, “Unto Dust”, and “Old Transvaal Story”, I present the ways in which Bosman’s self-consciousness manifests itself in his art. If he is so adept at undermining illusion, what yet entertains us in the most self-conscious of his texts? It is argued that his fascination with his medium is buttressed by his ability to delude us, which displaces our reliance on illusion.

The Role of Environmentally Conscious Architecture and Planning As Components of Future National Development Plans in Egypt

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Karim M. Ayyad

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Egypt has been experiencing challenging economic, social and political disturbance during the end of the twentieth century and towards the beginning of the twenty-first. With its fast expanding population, high consumption rate and economic deficit, the Egyptian community continues to experience a low quality of living. These issues contributed greatly to the uprising, following the Tunisian model, in January, 2011. However, the political change that followed did not help a lot, as development strategies are still far from being sustainable. In the beginning of the millennium, Egypt experienced an 8.6% energy deficit, followed by a growing energy crisis [1]. Knowing that almost 50% of the energy produced in Egypt is consumed inside buildings [2], environmentally conscious architecture can be a very powerful tool in development plans, as it can reasonably reduce the consumption of energy and other resources and enhance the quality of living for people. This work analyzes the supposed role of environmentally conscious architecture and, hence, evaluates its importance as a major component of national development plans in the near future. The analysis encompasses a review of the status quo in terms of consumption patterns and required services and, then, compares it with the case in which environmentally conscious architecture is adopted.

Consciousness in the Universe

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Khalil Chamcham

2013-07-01

Full Text Available So far we can identify at least three concepts within modern cosmology that bring into debate the question of consciousness in the universe: 1 Fine Tuning; 2 The Anthropic Principle and 3 The Multiverse. This does not exclude the question of the role of observer (i.e. consciousness in cosmology as developed within Quantum Physics: we observe the universe through quanta and any breakthrough in understanding the origin and nature of the universe will come only through a quantum theory of gravity […

Converging intracranial markers of conscious access.

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Raphaël Gaillard

2009-03-01

Full Text Available We compared conscious and nonconscious processing of briefly flashed words using a visual masking procedure while recording intracranial electroencephalogram (iEEG in ten patients. Nonconscious processing of masked words was observed in multiple cortical areas, mostly within an early time window (<300 ms, accompanied by induced gamma-band activity, but without coherent long-distance neural activity, suggesting a quickly dissipating feedforward wave. In contrast, conscious processing of unmasked words was characterized by the convergence of four distinct neurophysiological markers: sustained voltage changes, particularly in prefrontal cortex, large increases in spectral power in the gamma band, increases in long-distance phase synchrony in the beta range, and increases in long-range Granger causality. We argue that all of those measures provide distinct windows into the same distributed state of conscious processing. These results have a direct impact on current theoretical discussions concerning the neural correlates of conscious access.

Brain, conscious experience and the observing self

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baars, Bernard J.; Ramsøy, Thomas; Laureys, Steven

2003-01-01

Conscious perception, like the sight of a coffee cup, seems to involve the brain identifying a stimulus. But conscious input activates more brain regions than are needed to identify coffee cups and faces. It spreads beyond sensory cortex to frontoparietal association areas, which do not serve...... as properties of the subject, rather than the object, of experience - the 'observing self' that appears to be needed to maintain the conscious state...

Consciousness and Attention: On sufficiency and necessity

OpenAIRE

Jeroen J A Van Boxtel; Naotsugu Tsuchiya; Naotsugu Tsuchiya; Christof Koch; Christof Koch; Christof Koch

2010-01-01

Recent research has slowly corroded a belief that selective attention and consciousness are so tightly entangled that they cannot be individually examined. In this review, we summarize psychophysical and neurophysiological evidence for a dissociation between top-down attention and consciousness. The evidence includes recent findings that show subjects can attend to perceptually invisible objects. More contentious is the finding that subjects can become conscious of an isolated object, or the...

The Role of Consciousness in Human Cognitive Activity

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Victor M. Allakhverdov

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The problem of consciousness is examined in the article. It is argued that all the existing approaches to consciousness do not explain the role consciousness plays in human life. An attempt of revealing and describing the principles of the mind’s work is made. Experimental phenomena observed by the author and his followers, particularly, the tendency of previously non-realized ideas not to be realized subsequently, are reviewed. The discussion of these phenomena allows to formulate a novel view on the nature of consciousness.

Do cortical midline variability and low frequency fluctuations mediate William James' "Stream of Consciousness"? "Neurophenomenal Balance Hypothesis" of "Inner Time Consciousness".

Science.gov (United States)

Northoff, Georg

2014-11-01

William James famously characterized consciousness by 'stream of consciousness' which describes the temporal continuity and flow of the contents of consciousness in our 'inner time consciousness'. More specifically he distinguished between "substantive parts", the contents of consciousness, and "transitive parts", the linkages between different contents. While much research has recently focused on the substantive parts, the neural mechanisms underlying the transitive parts and their characterization by the balance between 'sensible continuity' and 'continuous change' remain unclear. The aim of this paper is to develop so-called neuro-phenomenal hypothesis about specifically the transitive parts and their two phenomenal hallmark features, sensible continuity and continuous change in 'inner time consciousness'. Based on recent findings, I hypothesize that the cortical midline structures and their high degree of variability and strong low frequency fluctuations play an essential role in mediating the phenomenal balance between sensible continuity and continuous change. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Consciousness can reduce the voltage of the output signal of solar cell

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Dayong

2011-03-01

When the sun's light radiate on the solar cell, it can produce the output signal as the pho- tocurrent. We use the Data Acquisition Modules to record the voltage of the output signals. The v1 is voltage of the photocurrent of solar cell1; The v2 is the one of solar cell2. And these two solar cells stay side by side. When we record the voltages from the morning to the noon, the voltages will go up, and the v1 is bigger than the v2 during this time. But in other experi- menter, not only sun's light ratiade on two solar cells, but also consciousness act on two solar cells. Not only I can use consciousness to reduce the growth voltage of the output signals, but also can change the v1 to be littler than the v2. The experiment was conducted on Sep. 2010. When light of lamp radiate on two solar cells, I can reduce v1, at the same time, can augment v2. These experiments had been finished in Los Angeles, Oct. 26th. And the experiment show that the consciousness active function differ from the passive function of conditioned reflex (of Pavlov). There is the physical system of the mass, energy, space and time-MEST; There is the spirited system of the mind, consciousness, emotion and desire-MECD; the information system is the code system. We can use the consciousness change the electron-structure of solar cell by the interaction of the information.

Magnetic correlates in electromagnetic consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Liboff, A R

2016-01-01

We examine the hypothesis that consciousness is a manifestation of the electromagnetic field, finding supportive factors not previously considered. It is not likely that traditional electrophysiological signaling modes can be readily transmitted throughout the brain to properly enable this field because of electric field screening arising from the ubiquitous distribution of high dielectric lipid membranes, a problem that vanishes for low-frequency magnetic fields. Many reports over the last few decades have provided evidence that living tissue is robustly sensitive to ultrasmall (1-100 nT) ELF magnetic fields overlapping the γ-frequency range often associated with awareness. An example taken from animal behavior (coherent bird flocking) lends support to the possibility of a disembodied electromagnetic consciousness. In contrast to quantum consciousness hypotheses, the present approach is open to experimental trial.

Conscious Experience and Episodic Memory: Hippocampus at the Crossroads

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Ralf-Peter eBehrendt

2013-05-01

Full Text Available If an instance of conscious experience of the seemingly objective world around us could be regarded as a newly formed event memory, much as an instance of mental imagery has the content of a retrieved event memory, and if, therefore, the stream of conscious experience could be seen as evidence for ongoing formation of event memories that are linked into episodic memory sequences, then unitary conscious experience could be defined as a symbolic representation of the pattern of hippocampal neuronal firing that encodes an event memory – a theoretical stance that may shed light into the mind-body and binding problems in consciousness research. Exceedingly detailed symbols that describe patterns of activity rapidly self-organizing, at each cycle of the θ rhythm, in the hippocampus are instances of unitary conscious experience that jointly constitute the stream of consciousness. Integrating object information (derived from the ventral visual stream and orbitofrontal cortex with contextual emotional information (from the anterior insula and spatial environmental information (from the dorsal visual stream, the hippocampus rapidly forms event codes that have the informational content of objects embedded in an emotional and spatiotemporally extending context. Event codes, formed in the CA3-dentate network for the purpose of their memorization, are not only contextualized but also allocentric representations, similarly to conscious experiences of events and objects situated in a seemingly objective and observer-independent framework of phenomenal space and time. Conscious perception is likely to be related to more fleeting and seemingly internal forms of conscious experience, such as autobiographical memory recall, mental imagery, including goal anticipation, and to other forms of externalized conscious experience, namely dreaming and hallucinations; and evidence pointing to an important contribution of the hippocampus to these conscious phenomena will

Conscious experience and episodic memory: hippocampus at the crossroads.

Science.gov (United States)

Behrendt, Ralf-Peter

2013-01-01

If an instance of conscious experience of the seemingly objective world around us could be regarded as a newly formed event memory, much as an instance of mental imagery has the content of a retrieved event memory, and if, therefore, the stream of conscious experience could be seen as evidence for ongoing formation of event memories that are linked into episodic memory sequences, then unitary conscious experience could be defined as a symbolic representation of the pattern of hippocampal neuronal firing that encodes an event memory - a theoretical stance that may shed light into the mind-body and binding problems in consciousness research. Exceedingly detailed symbols that describe patterns of activity rapidly self-organizing, at each cycle of the θ rhythm, in the hippocampus are instances of unitary conscious experience that jointly constitute the stream of consciousness. Integrating object information (derived from the ventral visual stream and orbitofrontal cortex) with contextual emotional information (from the anterior insula) and spatial environmental information (from the dorsal visual stream), the hippocampus rapidly forms event codes that have the informational content of objects embedded in an emotional and spatiotemporally extending context. Event codes, formed in the CA3-dentate network for the purpose of their memorization, are not only contextualized but also allocentric representations, similarly to conscious experiences of events and objects situated in a seemingly objective and observer-independent framework of phenomenal space and time. Conscious perception, creating the spatially and temporally extending world that we perceive around us, is likely to be evolutionarily related to more fleeting and seemingly internal forms of conscious experience, such as autobiographical memory recall, mental imagery, including goal anticipation, and to other forms of externalized conscious experience, namely dreaming and hallucinations; and evidence pointing to

How rich is consciousness? The partial awareness hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kouider, Sid; de Gardelle, Vincent; Sackur, Jérôme; Dupoux, Emmanuel

2010-07-01

Current theories of consciousness posit a dissociation between 'phenomenal' consciousness (rich) and 'access' consciousness (limited). Here, we argue that the empirical evidence for phenomenal consciousness without access is equivocal, resulting either from a confusion between phenomenal and unconscious contents, or from an impression of phenomenally rich experiences arising from illusory contents. We propose a refined account of access that relies on a hierarchy of representational levels and on the notion of partial awareness, whereby lower and higher levels are accessed independently. Reframing of the issue of dissociable forms of consciousness into dissociable levels of access provides a more parsimonious account of the existing evidence. In addition, the rich phenomenology illusion can be studied and described in terms of testable cognitive mechanisms. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Access is mainly a second-order process: SDT models whether phenomenally (first-order) conscious states are accessed by reflectively (second-order) conscious processes.

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Snodgrass, Michael; Kalaida, Natasha; Winer, E Samuel

2009-06-01

Access can either be first-order or second-order. First order access concerns whether contents achieve representation in phenomenal consciousness at all; second-order access concerns whether phenomenally conscious contents are selected for metacognitive, higher order processing by reflective consciousness. When the optional and flexible nature of second-order access is kept in mind, there remain strong reasons to believe that exclusion failure can indeed isolate phenomenally conscious stimuli that are not so accessed. Irvine's [Irvine, E. (2009). Signal detection theory, the exclusion failure paradigm and weak consciousness-Evidence for the access/phenomenal distinction? Consciousness and Cognition.] partial access argument fails because exclusion failure is indeed due to lack of second-order access, not insufficient phenomenally conscious information. Further, the enable account conforms with both qualitative differences and subjective report, and is simpler than the endow account. Finally, although first-order access may be a distinct and important process, second-order access arguably reflects the core meaning of access generally.

Role of consciousness in temporal integration of semantic information.

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Yang, Yung-Hao; Tien, Yung-Hsuan; Yang, Pei-Ling; Yeh, Su-Ling

2017-10-01

Previous studies found that word meaning can be processed unconsciously. Yet it remains unknown whether temporally segregated words can be integrated into a holistic meaningful phrase without consciousness. The first four experiments were designed to examine this by sequentially presenting the first three words of Chinese four-word idioms as prime to one eye and dynamic Mondrians to the other (i.e., the continuous flash suppression paradigm; CFS). An unmasked target word followed the three masked words in a lexical decision task. Results from such invisible (CFS) condition were compared with the visible condition where the preceding words were superimposed on the Mondrians and presented to both eyes. Lower performance in behavioral experiments and larger N400 event-related potentials (ERP) component for incongruent- than congruent-ending words were found in the visible condition. However, no such congruency effect was found in the invisible condition, even with enhanced statistical power and top-down attention, and with several potential confounding factors (contrast-dependent processing, long interval, no conscious training) excluded. Experiment 5 demonstrated that familiarity of word orientation without temporal integration can be processed unconsciously, excluding the possibility of general insensitivity of our paradigm. The overall result pattern therefore suggests that consciousness plays an important role in semantic temporal integration in the conditions we tested.

A unified 3D default space consciousness model combining neurological and physiological processes that underlie conscious experience

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Jerath, Ravinder; Crawford, Molly W.; Barnes, Vernon A.

2015-01-01

The Global Workspace Theory and Information Integration Theory are two of the most currently accepted consciousness models; however, these models do not address many aspects of conscious experience. We compare these models to our previously proposed consciousness model in which the thalamus fills-in processed sensory information from corticothalamic feedback loops within a proposed 3D default space, resulting in the recreation of the internal and external worlds within the mind. This 3D default space is composed of all cells of the body, which communicate via gap junctions and electrical potentials to create this unified space. We use 3D illustrations to explain how both visual and non-visual sensory information may be filled-in within this dynamic space, creating a unified seamless conscious experience. This neural sensory memory space is likely generated by baseline neural oscillatory activity from the default mode network, other salient networks, brainstem, and reticular activating system. PMID:26379573

A unified 3D default space consciousness model combining neurological and physiological processes that underlie conscious experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ravinder eJerath

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The Global Workspace Theory and Information Integration Theory are two of the most currently accepted consciousness models; however, these models do not address many aspects of conscious experience. We compare these models to our previously proposed consciousness model in which the thalamus fills-in processed sensory information from corticothalamic feedback loops within a proposed 3D default space, resulting in the recreation of the internal and external worlds within the mind. This 3D default space is composed of all cells of the body, which communicate via gap junctions and electrical potentials to create this unified space. We use 3D illustrations to explain how both visual and non-visual sensory information is filled-in within this dynamic space, creating a unified seamless conscious experience. This neural sensory memory space is likely generated by baseline neural oscillatory activity from the default mode network, other salient networks, brainstem, and reticular activating system.

A unified 3D default space consciousness model combining neurological and physiological processes that underlie conscious experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Jerath, Ravinder; Crawford, Molly W; Barnes, Vernon A

2015-01-01

The Global Workspace Theory and Information Integration Theory are two of the most currently accepted consciousness models; however, these models do not address many aspects of conscious experience. We compare these models to our previously proposed consciousness model in which the thalamus fills-in processed sensory information from corticothalamic feedback loops within a proposed 3D default space, resulting in the recreation of the internal and external worlds within the mind. This 3D default space is composed of all cells of the body, which communicate via gap junctions and electrical potentials to create this unified space. We use 3D illustrations to explain how both visual and non-visual sensory information may be filled-in within this dynamic space, creating a unified seamless conscious experience. This neural sensory memory space is likely generated by baseline neural oscillatory activity from the default mode network, other salient networks, brainstem, and reticular activating system.

A global workspace model for phenomenal and access consciousness.

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Raffone, Antonino; Pantani, Martina

2010-06-01

Both the global workspace theory and Block's distinction between phenomenal and access consciousness, are central in the current debates about consciousness and the neural correlates of consciousness. In this article, a unifying global workspace model for phenomenal and access consciousness is proposed. In the model, recurrent neural interactions take place in distinct yet interacting access and phenomenal brain loops. The effectiveness of feedback signaling onto sensory cortical maps is emphasized for the neural correlates of phenomenal consciousness. Two forms of top-down attention, attention for perception and attention for access, play differential roles for phenomenal and access consciousness. The model is implemented in a neural network form, with the simulation of single and multiple visual object processing, and of the attentional blink. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Consciousness: physiological dependence on rapid memory access.

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Hudson, Arthur J

2009-01-01

Consciousness develops from birth during the early months as the senses and other nervous system functions mature sufficiently to receive, process and store information. Among these is the ascending reticular activating (arousal) system in the brain stem that is responsible for wakefulness and was proposed by Penfield and Jasper more than 50 years ago as the "controlling mechanism for states of consciousness". This concept has remained the most advanced physiological interpretation of consciousness although recent developments offer greater insights into its nature. The ascending arousal system is the source of activation of the thalamocortical and cortical mechanisms for sensory input and facilitates the rapid matching of sensory input and the binding of memory during cognitive processing. Nonetheless, it is proposed that memory is the critical element through which our connection with the world exists without which, despite a fully functional arousal system, consciousness as we know it could not exist. Evidence is presented in support of this concept in addition to the physiological difficulties that must be resolved if consciousness is to be understood.

Energy Consumption Management in Design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smit, Jaap

1997-01-01

A survey of the basic issues in low power design is presented, including techniques for the analysis of energy consumption in the early design phase of analog and digital circuits. The concept of energy complexity will be introduced in conjunction with techniques for parameterized energy management.

Energy as form giver: conservation technologies in architecture's future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vosbeck, R R

1981-07-01

The need to conserve energy has changed architecture, which now has distinct energy-conscious designs and a new design vocabulary. Future designs will consider how energy affects buildings and minimize the impact in siting and landscaping decisions. Existing buildings must also be accommodated. No building performance standards exist yet that allow architects to be creative, although architects are working more closely with engineers and builders. Earth-sheltering designs will have to overcome psychological barriers, but the opportunities to preserve open space and views will improve their acceptability. The American Institute of Archiects will assume leadership in this area, but it will not take over all the research programs abandoned by the Reagan administration. Future housing will be more compact, grouped, and closely integrated. (DCK)

A framework for consciousness.

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Crick, Francis; Koch, Christof

2003-02-01

Here we summarize our present approach to the problem of consciousness. After an introduction outlining our general strategy, we describe what is meant by the term 'framework' and set it out under ten headings. This framework offers a coherent scheme for explaining the neural correlates of (visual) consciousness in terms of competing cellular assemblies. Most of the ideas we favor have been suggested before, but their combination is original. We also outline some general experimental approaches to the problem and, finally, acknowledge some relevant aspects of the brain that have been left out of the proposed framework.

Reading comprehension and textual consciousness on primary school

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Vera Wannmacher Pereira

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The difficulties on reading comprehension in the primary school are evidenced by several official exams applied. Given these statistics and the evidences obtained through academic research and observations on children’s performance during the school life, there is acknowledgment of the situation as a problem that requires further development and finding solutions. The Psycholinguistics is giving its contribution, especially regarding the role of linguistic consciousness on reading learning. Many studies have been conducted specifically focusing on phonological consciousness. Studies on syntactic consciousness are also found, although less than phonological ones. Regarding the role of textual consciousness, few initiatives considers the students of the primary school. This makes the author proposes as the heartland of this communication the textual consciousness with support predominantly on Gombert (1992, aiming to examine the relationship between this level of consciousness and learning to read. Based on recent studies (PEREIRA; SCLIAR-CABRAL, 2012, the author presents in this paper: a the analysis of the context of learning and teaching of reading; b a theoretical exposition about reading learning and textual consciousness; c the pedagogical referrals for education based on the interaction between these two topics; and d the development of reflections on the possibility of the proposed path contribute to the solution of the worrying problem on read learning by the primary schools students.

Using Brain Stimulation to Disentangle Neural Correlates of Conscious Vision

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Tom Alexander de Graaf

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Research into the neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs has blossomed, due to the advent of new and increasingly sophisticated brain research tools. Neuroimaging has uncovered a variety of brain processes that relate to conscious perception, obtained in a range of experimental paradigms. But methods such as fMRI or EEG do not always afford inference on the role these brain processes play in conscious vision. Such empirical neural correlates of consciousness could reflect neural prerequisites, neural consequences, or neural substrates of a conscious experience. Here, we take a closer look at the use of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS techniques in this context. We discuss and review how NIBS methodology can enlighten our understanding of brain mechanisms underlying conscious vision by disentangling the empirical neural correlates of consciousness.

Energy-aware design of digital systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gruian, F.

2000-02-01

Power and energy consumption are important issues in many digital applications, for reasons such as packaging cost and battery life-span. With the development of portable computing and communication, an increasing number of research groups are addressing power and energy related issues at various stages during the design process. Most of the work done in this area focuses on lower abstraction levels, such as gate or transistor level. Ideally, a power and energy-efficient design flow should consider the power and energy issues at every stage in the design process. Therefore, power and energy aware methods, applicable early in the design process are required. In this trend, the thesis presents two high-level design methods addressing power and energy consumption minimization. The first of the two approaches we describe, targets power consumption minimization during behavioral synthesis. This is carried out by minimizing the switching activity, while taking the correlations between signals into account. The second approach performs energy consumption minimization during system-level design, by choosing the most energy-efficient schedule and configuration of resources. Both methods make use of the constraint programming paradigm to model the problems in an elegant manner. The experimental results presented in this thesis show the impact of addressing the power and energy related issues early in the design process.

[The neurodynamic core of consciousness and neural Darwinism].

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Ibáñez, A

In the last decades, the scientific study of consciousness in the scope of the cognitive neurosciences can be considered one of the greatest challenges of contemporary science. The Gerald Edelman theory of consciousness is one of the most promising and controversial perspectives. This theory stands out by its approach to topics usually rejected by other neurophysiologic theories of consciousness, as the case of the neurophysiologic explanation of qualia. The goal of this paper is to review the dynamic core theory of consciousness, presenting the main features of the theory, analyzing the explanation strategies, their empirical extensions, and elaborating some critical considerations about the possibility of the neuroscientific study of qualia. The central and additional theoretical components are analyzed, emphasizing its ontological, restrictive and explanatory assumptions. The properties of conscious phenomena and their cerebral correlates as advanced by the theory are described, and finally its experiments and empirical extensions are examined. The explanatory strategies of the theory are analyzed, based on conceptual isomorphism between the phenomenological properties and the neurophysiological and mathematical measures. Some criticisms could be raised about the limitations of the dynamic core theory, especially regarding its account of the so-called 'hard problem' of consciousness or qualia.

Consciousness and working memory: Current trends and research perspectives.

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Velichkovsky, Boris B

2017-10-01

Working memory has long been thought to be closely related to consciousness. However, recent empirical studies show that unconscious content may be maintained within working memory and that complex cognitive computations may be performed on-line. This promotes research on the exact relationships between consciousness and working memory. Current evidence for working memory being a conscious as well as an unconscious process is reviewed. Consciousness is shown to be considered a subset of working memory by major current theories of working memory. Evidence for unconscious elements in working memory is shown to come from visual masking and attentional blink paradigms, and from the studies of implicit working memory. It is concluded that more research is needed to explicate the relationship between consciousness and working memory. Future research directions regarding the relationship between consciousness and working memory are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parameters of measuring of european political consciousness

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M. M. Pikula

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In the article the author analyzes the parameters of European political consciousness, i.e. European research field of political consciousness in qualitative and quantitative terms, which may be based on different indicators. The issue of emergence and development of European political consciousness becomes topical because firstly, its formation as the subjective dimension of European integration policy is not a spontaneous process and, secondly, European integration is carried out not only from the top but from the bottom, requiring deliberate interference of the public with the process; the public possesses the formed European political consciousness. Since the latter is a specific mental construct, the author offers to apply the triad «criteria ­ parameters – indicators». The characteristic that makes it possible to evaluate certain processes or phenomena in the system of Europeanness / Europeanism and specifies the quality system of views and opinions, which are realized in European behavior, is considered to be the criterion of European political consciousness. The European political consciousness parameters are seen to include the relevant historical memory, trends of public opinion and awareness regarding the European Union and position of its members in the European integration process, including the assessment of the existence and development of the EU; knowledge and views on the main EU institutions, assessing the importance of the main institutions of the EU and trust in them; a positive vision for the future of the European Union etc. The author considers the performance and objective characteristics and dimensions, including positive correlation of national and European levels of identity (European identity and European behavior to be the indicatiors of European political awareness. On the basis of these indicators the control of the condition and trends of European political consciousness development will be carried out.

Environmentalism and typological characteristics of globalistion consciousness

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Roman M. Kolisnichenko

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Analyzed anthropo-saving and environmental-depth approaches to understanding the essence environmentalism. The definition of environmentalism as global environmental trends that recognizes the intrinsic value of the natural world, all its elements and aims to rescue mankind from global environmental threats by achieving a sustainable balance of planetary ecosystems, the proper state of the environment and harmonious development of man and nature. Developed the typology of globalization consciousness attitude to solving global problems in the relationship between man and nature. The main types globalistion consciousness, as the growth of thrift in relation to nature, located in the following sequence: ecodestructive, anthropocentric, ecoconsumerist, ecotraditional, environmental, sacred-ethical, naturecentric and antropofobiastic. Developing a typology of globalistion consciousness above criteria also highlighted its neutral type. Proved that environmental globalistion consciousness is environmentally oriented system of ideas that reflect solutions to global environmental problems in accordance with the principles environmentalism. This type of consciousness globalistion a high degree of awareness of global environmental problems, persistent desire to implement effective methods of humane solution, the optimal it is due, the need to maximize the spread of population. It is concluded that the formation environmental globalistion consciousness as a prerequisite for saving humanity from self created global environmental threats can be greatly accelerated by the terms of the assistance of governments, the media, educational institutions, political parties, public organizations and other institutions of political socialization.

Music and Consciousness: A Continuing Project

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Clarke, David; Clarke, Eric

2014-01-01

If there is a topic on which the humanities might make a distinctive claim, it is that of consciousness--an essential aspect of human being. And within the humanities, music might make its own claims in relation to both consciousness and being human. To investigate this connection, David Clarke and Eric Clarke brought together a wide variety of…

Dynamic change of global and local information processing in propofol-induced loss and recovery of consciousness.

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Martin M Monti

Full Text Available Whether unique to humans or not, consciousness is a central aspect of our experience of the world. The neural fingerprint of this experience, however, remains one of the least understood aspects of the human brain. In this paper we employ graph-theoretic measures and support vector machine classification to assess, in 12 healthy volunteers, the dynamic reconfiguration of functional connectivity during wakefulness, propofol-induced sedation and loss of consciousness, and the recovery of wakefulness. Our main findings, based on resting-state fMRI, are three-fold. First, we find that propofol-induced anesthesia does not bear differently on long-range versus short-range connections. Second, our multi-stage design dissociated an initial phase of thalamo-cortical and cortico-cortical hyperconnectivity, present during sedation, from a phase of cortico-cortical hypoconnectivity, apparent during loss of consciousness. Finally, we show that while clustering is increased during loss of consciousness, as recently suggested, it also remains significantly elevated during wakefulness recovery. Conversely, the characteristic path length of brain networks (i.e., the average functional distance between any two regions of the brain appears significantly increased only during loss of consciousness, marking a decrease of global information-processing efficiency uniquely associated with unconsciousness. These findings suggest that propofol-induced loss of consciousness is mainly tied to cortico-cortical and not thalamo-cortical mechanisms, and that decreased efficiency of information flow is the main feature differentiating the conscious from the unconscious brain.

Conscious Anxiety, Conscious Repression and Ego-strength as Related to Dream Recall, Content and Vividness

OpenAIRE

Newbold, David

1980-01-01

Subjects' reported dream recall frequency, dream content and vividness or recall were discussed and examined in relation to sex of the subject and MMPI Conscious Anxiety, Conscious Repression and Ego-strength scores. Fifty-three Utah State University students, who volunteered to participate in a study of dreaming behavior, were administered the MMPI and asked to complete a dream log diary. The dream log required a daily recording of total number of dreams recalled, the number of vividly an...

Question of Consciousness: to Quantum Mechanics for the Answers

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Karpenko Ivan A.

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The article presents the possible role of consciousness in quantum-mechanical description of physical reality. The widely spread interpretations of quantum phenomena are considered as indicating the apparent connection between conscious processes (such as observation and the properties of the microcosm. The reasons for discrepancies between the results of observations of the microcosm and macrocosm and the potential association of consciousness with these reasons are closely investigated. The mentioned connection is meant to be interpreted in the sense that the probable requirement for a complete understanding of quantum theory is the adequate description of consciousness within it and that the correct theory of consciousness should include quantum-mechanical theoretical apparatus. In this context, the question about the methods of scientific cognition is discussed, in particular, the problem of the place and the importance of intellectual intuition in science and philosophy of science. The author draws the conclusions about the current state of the “measuring” consciousness. problem in its relationship with

State of consciousness and ERP (event-related potential measures. Diagnostic and prognostic value of electrophysiology for disorders of consciousness

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Michela Balconi

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Disorders of consciousness were amply studied in the recent years. At this regards new methodologies and technologies were applied to explore the diagnostic and prognostic criteria that may be applied to the patients. Specifically electrophysiological measures were used to verify the degree of awareness and responsiveness in coma, vegetative states (VS, minimal consciousness state (MC, and locked-in syndrome (LI. Recently, ERPs (event-related potentials were adopted to integrate the classical neuroimaging measures. Between the others, MMN (mismatch negativity and P300 deflections were found to represent a consistent index of the present state of consciousness and to be predictive of successive modifications of this state. Also frequency-based EEG measures, such as brain oscillations, were revealed to be relevant marker of consciousness and awareness, able to predict the future evolution of pathology.

How and to what end may consciousness contribute to action? Attributing properties of consciousness to an embodied, minimally cognitive artificial neural network.

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Cruse, Holk; Schilling, Malte

2013-01-01

An artificial neural network called reaCog is described which is based on a decentralized, reactive and embodied architecture developed to control non-trivial hexapod walking in an unpredictable environment (Walknet) while using insect-like navigation (Navinet). In reaCog, these basic networks are extended in such a way that the complete system, reaCog, adopts the capability of inventing new behaviors and - via internal simulation - of planning ahead. This cognitive expansion enables the reactive system to be enriched with additional procedures. Here, we focus on the question to what extent properties of phenomena to be characterized on a different level of description as for example consciousness can be found in this minimally cognitive system. Adopting a monist view, we argue that the phenomenal aspect of mental phenomena can be neglected when discussing the function of such a system. Under this condition, reaCog is discussed to be equipped with properties as are bottom-up and top-down attention, intentions, volition, and some aspects of Access Consciousness. These properties have not been explicitly implemented but emerge from the cooperation between the elements of the network. The aspects of Access Consciousness found in reaCog concern the above mentioned ability to plan ahead and to invent and guide (new) actions. Furthermore, global accessibility of memory elements, another aspect characterizing Access Consciousness is realized by this network. reaCog allows for both reactive/automatic control and (access-) conscious control of behavior. We discuss examples for interactions between both the reactive domain and the conscious domain. Metacognition or Reflexive Consciousness is not a property of reaCog. Possible expansions are discussed to allow for further properties of Access Consciousness, verbal report on internal states, and for Metacognition. In summary, we argue that already simple networks allow for properties of consciousness if leaving the phenomenal

How and to what end may consciousness contribute to action? Attributing properties of consciousness to an embodied, minimally cognitive artificial neural network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Holk eCruse

2013-06-01

Full Text Available An artificial neural network called reaCog is described which is based on a decentralized, reactive and embodied architecture to control non-trivial hexapod walking in unpredictable environment (Walknet as well as insect-like navigation (Navinet. In reaCog, these basic networks are extended in such a way that the complete system, reaCog, adopts the capability of inventing new behaviors and - via internal simulation - of planning ahead. This cognitive expansion enables the reactive system to be enriched with additional procedures. Here, we focus on the question to what extent properties of phenomena to be characterized on a different level of description as for example consciousness can be found in this minimally cognitive system. Adopting a monist view, we argue that the phenomenal aspect of mental phenomena can be neglected when discussing the function of such a system. Under this condition, reaCog is discussed to be equipped with properties as are bottom-up and top-down attention, intentions, volition and some aspects of Access Consciousness. These properties have not been explicitly implemented but emerge from the cooperation between the elements of the network. The aspects of access consciousness found in reaCog concern the above mentioned ability to plan ahead and to invent and guide (new actions. Furthermore, global accessibility of memory elements, another aspect characterizing Access Consciousness is realized by this network. reaCog allows for both reactive/automatic control and (access- conscious control of behavior. We discuss examples for interactions between both the reactive domain and the conscious domain. Metacognition or Reflexive Consciousness is not a property of reaCog. Possible expansions are discussed to allow for further properties of Access Consciousness, verbal report on internal states, and for Metacognition. In summary, we argue that already simple networks allow for properties of consciousness if leaving the phenomenal

Conscious and nonconscious memory effects are temporally dissociable.

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Slotnick, Scott D; Schacter, Daniel L

2010-03-01

Intentional (explicit) retrieval can reactivate sensory cortex, which is widely assumed to reflect conscious processing. In the present study, we used an explicit visual memory event-related potential paradigm to investigate whether such retrieval related sensory activity could be separated into conscious and nonconscious components. During study, abstract shapes were presented in the left or right visual field. During test, old and new shapes were presented centrally and participants classified each shape as "old-left", "old-right", or "new". Conscious activity was isolated by comparing accurate memory for shape and location (old-hits) with forgotten shapes (old-misses), and nonconscious activity was isolated by comparing old-left-misses with old-right-misses and vice versa. Conscious visual sensory activity had a late temporal onset (after 800 ms) while nonconscious visual sensory activity had an early temporal onset (before 800 ms). These results suggest explicit memory related sensory activity reflects both conscious and nonconscious processes that are temporally dissociable.

A Neural Marker of Perceptual Consciousness in Infants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kouider, Sid; Stahlhut, Carsten; Gelskov, Sofie V.

2013-01-01

Consciousness Arrives Neurophysiological measures in human adults correspond to the transition between very brief, “unnoticeable,” and slightly longer-lived visual stimuli that penetrate deeply enough to leave a conscious imprint that subjects report they can “see.” Kouider et al. (p. 376) have...... performed parallel behavioral and neurophysiological studies in infants to identify a similar neural signal that appears to mark the development of visual consciousness....

Feminist consciousness and assertiveness in Ifeoma Okoye's ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Okoye is an African feminist who advocates feminist consciousness as a concept through which women can be enlightened for consciousness-raising, empowerment and assertiveness in her novels, Behind the Clouds and Chimere, while emphasizing education, economic independence and sisterhood as avenues for ...

An integrative view on consciousness and introspection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Overgaard, Morten; Mogensen, Jesper

2017-01-01

The relation between first and higher order mental states is currently unknown. In particular, the relation between conscious experience and introspection is difficult as the same methods are used to investigate them. In order to make progress in the scientific understanding of consciousness...

ECOLOGICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AS ONE OF THE MAIN PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGICAL POLICY

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Diana O. Dushkova

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The article presents the concept of ecological consciousness and analyzes main features of its development and implementation in the environmental policy in European practice on the example of Germany. The study of German experience is conditioned by the fact that among the other developed countries of the world Germany is the leading country in its active work carried out at all levels of the environmental policy. It is shown that actions aimed at the development of ecological culture and environmental education of the civil society in Germany are of the same priority as the use of renewable energy, development of green technologies, etc. The article provides an overview of the most important publications devoted to the phenomenon of ecological consciousness and highlights different approaches to this definition. Based on the German experience, it defines the prerequisites, main roots and sources of ecological consciousness creation and the ways in which it can be involved in the regional programs on sustainable development and ecological policy. It analyzes the main practical approaches to the implementation of the principles of ecological consciousness in Germany as well as the role of environmental organizations in the realization of environmentally oriented activities. Therefore, it presents the main results of socio-ecological surveys conducted in Germany and Russia and gives their comparative analysis. It indicates possible ways to transfer the German experience in the Russian context to improve the ecological awareness of the Russian society and to arise its ecological activity in addressing environmental issues.

Disruption of Conscious Access in Schizophrenia.

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Berkovitch, Lucie; Dehaene, Stanislas; Gaillard, Raphaël

2017-11-01

Schizophrenia is a severe and complex psychiatric disorder resulting in delusions, hallucinations, and cognitive impairments. Across a variety of paradigms, an elevated threshold for conscious perception has been repeatedly observed in persons with schizophrenia. Remarkably, even subtle measures of subliminal processing appear to be preserved. We argue here that the dissociation between impaired conscious access and intact unconscious processing may be due to a specific disruption of top-down attentional amplification. This proposal is compatible with the neurophysiological disturbances observed in schizophrenia, including dysconnectivity, abnormal neural oscillations, and glutamatergic and cholinergic dysregulation. Therefore, placing impaired conscious access as a central feature of schizophrenia can help researchers develop a coherent and parsimonious pathophysiological framework of the disease. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Isolating neural correlates of conscious perception from neural correlates of reporting one’s perception

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Michael A Pitts

2014-10-01

Full Text Available To isolate neural correlates of conscious perception (NCCs, a standard approach has been to contrast neural activity elicited by identical stimuli of which subjects are aware versus unaware. Because conscious experience is private, determining whether a stimulus was consciously perceived requires subjective report: e.g., button-presses indicating detection, visibility ratings, verbal reports, etc. This reporting requirement introduces a methodological confound when attempting to isolate NCCs: The neural processes responsible for accessing and reporting one’s percept are difficult to distinguish from those underlying the conscious percept itself. Here, we review recent attempts to circumvent this issue via a modified inattentional blindness paradigm (Pitts, Martinez, & Hillyard, 2012 and present new data from a backward masking experiment in which task-relevance and visual awareness were manipulated in a 2x2 crossed design. In agreement with our previous inattentional blindness results, stimuli that were consciously perceived yet not immediately accessed for report (aware, task-irrelevant condition elicited a mid-latency posterior ERP negativity (~200-240ms, while stimuli that were accessed for report (aware, task-relevant condition elicited additional components including a robust P3b (~380-480ms subsequent to the mid-latency negativity. Overall, these results suggest that some of the NCCs identified in previous studies may be more closely linked with accessing and maintaining perceptual information for reporting purposes than with encoding the conscious percept itself. An open question is whether the remaining NCC candidate (the ERP negativity at 200-240ms reflects visual awareness or object-based attention.

Consciousness as a global property of brain dynamic activity

Science.gov (United States)

Mateos, D. M.; Wennberg, R.; Guevara, R.; Perez Velazquez, J. L.

2017-12-01

We seek general principles of the structure of the cellular collective activity associated with conscious awareness. Can we obtain evidence for features of the optimal brain organization that allows for adequate processing of stimuli and that may guide the emergence of cognition and consciousness? Analyzing brain recordings in conscious and unconscious states, we followed initially the classic approach in physics when it comes to understanding collective behaviours of systems composed of a myriad of units: the assessment of the number of possible configurations (microstates) that the system can adopt, for which we use a global entropic measure associated with the number of connected brain regions. Having found maximal entropy in conscious states, we then inspected the microscopic nature of the configurations of connections using an adequate complexity measure and found higher complexity in states characterized not only by conscious awareness but also by subconscious cognitive processing, such as sleep stages. Our observations indicate that conscious awareness is associated with maximal global (macroscopic) entropy and with the short time scale (microscopic) complexity of the configurations of connected brain networks in pathological unconscious states (seizures and coma), but the microscopic view captures the high complexity in physiological unconscious states (sleep) where there is information processing. As such, our results support the global nature of conscious awareness, as advocated by several theories of cognition. We thus hope that our studies represent preliminary steps to reveal aspects of the structure of cognition that leads to conscious awareness.

Does perceptual learning require consciousness or attention?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meuwese, J.D.I.; Post, R.A.G.; Scholte, H.S.; Lamme, V.A.F.

2013-01-01

It has been proposed that visual attention and consciousness are separate [Koch, C., & Tsuchiya, N. Attention and consciousness:Two distinct brain processes. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11, 16-22, 2007] and possibly even orthogonal processes [Lamme, V. A. F. Why visual attention and awareness are

Conscious visual memory with minimal attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto, Yair; Vandenbroucke, Annelinde R; Otten, Marte; Sligte, Ilja G; Seth, Anil K; Lamme, Victor A F

2017-02-01

Is conscious visual perception limited to the locations that a person attends? The remarkable phenomenon of change blindness, which shows that people miss nearly all unattended changes in a visual scene, suggests the answer is yes. However, change blindness is found after visual interference (a mask or a new scene), so that subjects have to rely on working memory (WM), which has limited capacity, to detect the change. Before such interference, however, a much larger capacity store, called fragile memory (FM), which is easily overwritten by newly presented visual information, is present. Whether these different stores depend equally on spatial attention is central to the debate on the role of attention in conscious vision. In 2 experiments, we found that minimizing spatial attention almost entirely erases visual WM, as expected. Critically, FM remains largely intact. Moreover, minimally attended FM responses yield accurate metacognition, suggesting that conscious memory persists with limited spatial attention. Together, our findings help resolve the fundamental issue of how attention affects perception: Both visual consciousness and memory can be supported by only minimal attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Probabilistic Design of Wave Energy Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Kofoed, Jens Peter; Ferreira, C.B.

2011-01-01

Wave energy has a large potential for contributing significantly to production of renewable energy. However, the wave energy sector is still not able to deliver cost competitive and reliable solutions. But the sector has already demonstrated several proofs of concepts. The design of wave energy...... devices is a new and expanding technical area where there is no tradition for probabilistic design—in fact very little full scale devices has been build to date, so it can be said that no design tradition really exists in this area. For this reason it is considered to be of great importance to develop...... and advocate for a probabilistic design approach, as it is assumed (in other areas this has been demonstrated) that this leads to more economical designs compared to designs based on deterministic methods. In the present paper a general framework for probabilistic design and reliability analysis of wave energy...

Cybernetics and consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Trabka, J

1999-01-01

This paper is a review of hypotheses of consciousness which arose from application of the theory of information and regulation and the cybernetic theory of mathematical machines in medicine. The author presents these hypotheses on the examples of his own works.

Low-Energy Building Design Guidelines: Energy-Efficient Design for New Federal Facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zachman, W.; Carlisle, N.

2001-01-01

This guidebook has been prepared primarily for Federal energy managers to provide practical information for applying the principles of low-energy, whole-building design in new Federal buildings. An important objective of this guidebook is to teach energy managers how to be advocates for renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies, and how to apply specific strategies during each phase of a given project's time line. These key action items are broken out by phase and appear in abbreviated form in this guidebook

Consciousness, Free Will, and Transformation. Science and Ancient Samkhya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pratibha Gramann

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The existence of free will has been discovered by neurological studies. However there is a lack of research in what initiates the firing of free will within the nerve endings. This paper addresses that issue using ancient knowledge about consciousness, three energies that characterize matter, prana, and transformation. The premise made is that regular pranayam breath practices are a key-method to initiate the firing of nerve synapse in the brain to develop free will and transformation

Quantitative rates of brain glucose metabolism distinguish minimally conscious from vegetative state patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Stender, Johan; Kupers, Ron; Rodell, Anders; Thibaut, Aurore; Chatelle, Camille; Bruno, Marie-Aurélie; Gejl, Michael; Bernard, Claire; Hustinx, Roland; Laureys, Steven; Gjedde, Albert

2015-01-01

The differentiation of the vegetative or unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) from the minimally conscious state (MCS) is an important clinical issue. The cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRglc) declines when consciousness is lost, and may reveal the residual cognitive function of these patients. However, no quantitative comparisons of cerebral glucose metabolism in VS/UWS and MCS have yet been reported. We calculated the regional and whole-brain CMRglc of 41 patients in the states of VS/UWS (n=14), MCS (n=21) or emergence from MCS (EMCS, n=6), and healthy volunteers (n=29). Global cortical CMRglc in VS/UWS and MCS averaged 42% and 55% of normal, respectively. Differences between VS/UWS and MCS were most pronounced in the frontoparietal cortex, at 42% and 60% of normal. In brainstem and thalamus, metabolism declined equally in the two conditions. In EMCS, metabolic rates were indistinguishable from those of MCS. Ordinal logistic regression predicted that patients are likely to emerge into MCS at CMRglc above 45% of normal. Receiver-operating characteristics showed that patients in MCS and VS/UWS can be differentiated with 82% accuracy, based on cortical metabolism. Together these results reveal a significant correlation between whole-brain energy metabolism and level of consciousness, suggesting that quantitative values of CMRglc reveal consciousness in severely brain-injured patients.

Chasing the Rainbow: The Non-conscious Nature of Being

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David A. Oakley

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Despite the compelling subjective experience of executive self-control, we argue that “consciousness” contains no top-down control processes and that “consciousness” involves no executive, causal, or controlling relationship with any of the familiar psychological processes conventionally attributed to it. In our view, psychological processing and psychological products are not under the control of consciousness. In particular, we argue that all “contents of consciousness” are generated by and within non-conscious brain systems in the form of a continuous self-referential personal narrative that is not directed or influenced in any way by the “experience of consciousness.” This continuously updated personal narrative arises from selective “internal broadcasting” of outputs from non-conscious executive systems that have access to all forms of cognitive processing, sensory information, and motor control. The personal narrative provides information for storage in autobiographical memory and is underpinned by constructs of self and agency, also created in non-conscious systems. The experience of consciousness is a passive accompaniment to the non-conscious processes of internal broadcasting and the creation of the personal narrative. In this sense, personal awareness is analogous to the rainbow which accompanies physical processes in the atmosphere but exerts no influence over them. Though it is an end-product created by non-conscious executive systems, the personal narrative serves the powerful evolutionary function of enabling individuals to communicate (externally broadcast the contents of internal broadcasting. This in turn allows recipients to generate potentially adaptive strategies, such as predicting the behavior of others and underlies the development of social and cultural structures, that promote species survival. Consequently, it is the capacity to communicate to others the contents of the personal narrative that

The merit of synesthesia for consciousness research

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Tessa Marije Van Leeuwen

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Synesthesia is a phenomenon in which additional perceptual experiences are elicited by sensory stimuli or cognitive concepts. Synesthetes possess a unique type of phenomenal experiences not directly triggered by sensory stimulation. Therefore, for better understanding of consciousness it is relevant to identify the mental and physiological processes that subserve synesthetic experience. In the present work we suggest several reasons why synesthesia has merit for research on consciousness. We first review the research on the dynamic and rapidly growing field of the studies of synesthesia. We particularly draw attention to the role of semantics in synesthesia, which is important for establishing synesthetic associations in the brain. We then propose that the interplay between semantics and sensory input in synesthesia can be helpful for the study of the neural correlates of consciousness, especially when making use of ambiguous stimuli for inducing synesthesia. Finally, synesthesia-related alterations of brain networks and functional connectivity can be of merit for the study of consciousness.

“Situation” in the study of moral and legal consciousness: From theory to techniques

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V E Grebneva

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The multidimensional structure of legal consciousness, in which the norms of different orders collide, and the intricate intertwining of cognitive, emotive and behavioral components cannot be described in just one system of representations. This article considers conceptual bases of the study of moral and legal consciousness on the example of value-cognitive dilemmas. The author presents interpretations of the concept “situation” in the works of Russian and Western scientists, identifies its general theoretical bases and analyzes its potential in the study of moral and legal consciousness; suggests as one of the ways to find and identify determinants of moral and legal consciousness identification of specific decisions made by individuals in a variety of small-scale short situations in the given frame and normatively determined, because in the situational dilemma a social agent, whatever decision he makes, needs a rational reason and justification. The author describes the process of designing a technique on the basis of vignette-method and the method of controlled projection for the study of the conflict of multiple rationalities implying different models of justification in the structure of value choice.

Low-Energy Building Design Guidelines: Energy-Efficient Design for New Federal Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zachman, W.; Carlisle, N.

2001-07-19

This guidebook has been prepared primarily for Federal energy managers to provide practical information for applying the principles of low-energy, whole-building design in new Federal buildings. An important objective of this guidebook is to teach energy managers how to be advocates for renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies, and how to apply specific strategies during each phase of a given project's time line. These key action items are broken out by phase and appear in abbreviated form in this guidebook.

Unitary and Dual Models of Phenomenal Consciousness

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Marvan, Tomáš; Polák, M.

-, č. 56 (2017), s. 1-12 ISSN 1053-8100 Institutional support: RVO:67985955 Keywords : phenomenal consciousness * David Rosenthal * what it is like * unconscious mind * theories fo consciousness Subject RIV: AA - Philosophy ; Religion OBOR OECD: Philosophy, History and Philosophy of science and technology Impact factor: 2.144, year: 2016

In Situ Representations and Access Consciousness in Neural Blackboard or Workspace Architectures

OpenAIRE

Frank van der Velde

2018-01-01

Phenomenal theories of consciousness assert that consciousness is based on specific neural correlates in the brain, which can be separated from all cognitive functions we can perform. If so, the search for robot consciousness seems to be doomed. By contrast, theories of functional or access consciousness assert that consciousness can be studied only with forms of cognitive access, given by cognitive processes. Consequently, consciousness and cognitive access cannot be fully dissociated. Here,...

Microelectronic circuit design for energy harvesting systems

CERN Document Server

Di Paolo Emilio, Maurizio

2017-01-01

This book describes the design of microelectronic circuits for energy harvesting, broadband energy conversion, new methods and technologies for energy conversion. The author also discusses the design of power management circuits and the implementation of voltage regulators. Coverage includes advanced methods in low and high power electronics, as well as principles of micro-scale design based on piezoelectric, electromagnetic and thermoelectric technologies with control and conditioning circuit design. Provides a single-source reference to energy harvesting and its applications; Serves as a practical guide to microelectronics design for energy harvesting, with application to mobile power supplies; Enables readers to develop energy harvesting systems for wearable/mobile electronics.

Thermal energy systems design and analysis

CERN Document Server

Penoncello, Steven G

2015-01-01

IntroductionThermal Energy Systems Design and AnalysisSoftwareThermal Energy System TopicsUnits and Unit SystemsThermophysical PropertiesEngineering DesignEngineering EconomicsIntroductionCommon Engineering Economics NomenclatureEconomic Analysis Tool: The Cash Flow DiagramTime Value of MoneyTime Value of Money ExamplesUsing Software to Calculate Interest FactorsEconomic Decision MakingDepreciation and TaxesProblemsAnalysis of Thermal Energy SystemsIntroductionNomenclatureThermophysical Properties of SubstancesSuggested Thermal Energy Systems Analysis ProcedureConserved and Balanced QuantitiesConservation of MassConservation of Energy (The First Law of Thermodynamics)Entropy Balance (The Second Law of Thermodynamics)Exergy Balance: The Combined LawEnergy and Exergy Analysis of Thermal Energy CyclesDetailed Analysis of Thermal Energy CyclesProblemsFluid Transport in Thermal Energy SystemsIntroductionPiping and Tubing StandardsFluid Flow FundamentalsValves and FittingsDesign and Analysis of Pipe NetworksEconomi...

IN SEARCH OF SENSES (SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN WORKS OF G. A. KOTELNIKOV)

OpenAIRE

Oreshkina M. A.

2015-01-01

In the recent past, class-consciousness was considered one of the expression forms of social consciousness and acted as its main form due to close interaction with interests of people. The class-consciousness and the consciousness of classes were two separate matters of consideration. It was supposed that the essence of class-consciousness and of the class-psychology concomitant with it could only be comprehended in consideration of structure of the social consciousness as a whole. The correl...

The thinking ape: the enigma of human consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Paulson, Steve; Chalmers, David; Kahneman, Daniel; Santos, Laurie; Schiff, Nicholas

2013-11-01

What is the origin and nature of consciousness? If consciousness is common to humans and animals alike, what are the defining traits of human consciousness? Moderated by Steve Paulson, executive producer and host of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Nobel laureate psychologist Daniel Kahneman, philosopher David Chalmers, expert in primate cognition Laurie Santos, and physician-scientist Nicholas Schiff discuss what it means to be conscious and examine the human capacities displayed in cognitive, aesthetic, and ethical behaviors, with a focus on the place and function of the mind within nature. The following is an edited transcript of the discussion that occurred October 10, 2012, 7:00-8:15 PM, at the New York Academy of Sciences in New York City. © 2013 New York Academy of Sciences.

Obliczeniowe teorie świadomości (Computational theories of consciousness

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Marcin Miłkowski

2010-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, I review the motivations for having a computational theory of consciousness to see if they turn out to be no longer plausible in the light of recent criticisms. These criticisms focus on the alleged inability of computational theories to deal with qualia, or qualities of experience (or objects of experience in some accounts, and with so-called symbol grounding on the other hand. Yet it seems that computationalism remains the best game in town when one wants to explain and predict the dynamics of information processing of cognitive systems. Conscious information processing does not seem to be explainable better within any other framework; computationalism regarding consciousness can only be discarded by supposing that consciousness is epiphenomenal in information processing.I will argue that recent theories of consciousness that are to deal with the so-called hard problem of consciousness remain in their core computational if they do not subscribe to epiphenomenalism. For example, the quantum theory as proposed by Stuart Hameroff remains openly computational; the same goes for pan(protopsychist speculation of David Chalmers. The qualitative character of information processing that Chalmers takes to explain the existence of subjective experience piggy-backs, so to say, on the very fact that there is information processing that is best explained in a computationalist framework. I also briefly show that other alternative accounts of consciousness (such as direct theories of consciousness that were supposed to oppose computational and functionalist conceptions are not only compatible with them but require them to begin with.In short, to discard credentials of computationalism in consciousness research one would have to show that it`s possible to explain conscious information-processing mechanisms sufficiently in a non-computational way. And this has not been done by any of the critics of computational accounts. This all doesn`t suggest

Affectivity And Time: Towards A Phenomenology Of Embodied Time-Consciousness

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Pokropski Marek

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In the article, I develop some ideas introduced by Edmund Husserl concerning time-consciousness and embodiment. However, I do not discuss the Husserlian account of consciousness of time in its full scope. I focus on the main ideas of the phenomenology of time and the problem of bodily sensations and their role in the constitution of consciousness of time. I argue that time-consciousness is primarily constituted in the dynamic experience of bodily feelings.

Hippocampus is place of interaction between unconscious and conscious memories.

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Marc Alain Züst

Full Text Available Recent evidence suggests that humans can form and later retrieve new semantic relations unconsciously by way of hippocampus-the key structure also recruited for conscious relational (episodic memory. If the hippocampus subserves both conscious and unconscious relational encoding/retrieval, one would expect the hippocampus to be place of unconscious-conscious interactions during memory retrieval. We tested this hypothesis in an fMRI experiment probing the interaction between the unconscious and conscious retrieval of face-associated information. For the establishment of unconscious relational memories, we presented subliminal (masked combinations of unfamiliar faces and written occupations ("actor" or "politician". At test, we presented the former subliminal faces, but now supraliminally, as cues for the reactivation of the unconsciously associated occupations. We hypothesized that unconscious reactivation of the associated occupation-actor or politician-would facilitate or inhibit the subsequent conscious retrieval of a celebrity's occupation, which was also actor or politician. Depending on whether the reactivated unconscious occupation was congruent or incongruent to the celebrity's occupation, we expected either quicker or delayed conscious retrieval process. Conscious retrieval was quicker in the congruent relative to a neutral baseline condition but not delayed in the incongruent condition. fMRI data collected during subliminal face-occupation encoding confirmed previous evidence that the hippocampus was interacting with neocortical storage sites of semantic knowledge to support relational encoding. fMRI data collected at test revealed that the facilitated conscious retrieval was paralleled by deactivations in the hippocampus and neocortical storage sites of semantic knowledge. We assume that the unconscious reactivation has pre-activated overlapping relational representations in the hippocampus reducing the neural effort for conscious

Object of desire self-consciousness theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Bogaert, Anthony F; Brotto, Lori A

2014-01-01

In this article, the authors discuss the construct of object of desire self-consciousness, the perception that one is romantically and sexually desirable in another's eyes. The authors discuss the nature of the construct, variations in its expression, and how it may function as part of a self-schemata or script related to romance and sexuality. The authors suggest that object of desire self-consciousness may be an adaptive, evolved psychological mechanism allowing sexual and romantic tactics suitable to one's mate value. The authors also suggest that it can act as a signal that one has high mate value in the sexual marketplace. The authors then review literature (e.g., on fantasies, on sexual activity preferences, on sexual dysfunctions, on language) suggesting that object of desire self-consciousness plays a particularly important role in heterosexual women's sexual/romantic functioning and desires.

Age and the experience of strong self-conscious emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, Julie D; von Hippel, William; Nangle, Matthew R; Waters, Michele

2018-04-01

It remains unclear whether there are age-related changes in the experience of strong self-conscious emotion, such as shame, guilt, pride and embarrassment. Because shame and guilt figure prominently in the aetiology of depressive symptoms and other mental health problems, a better understanding of how age affects the strong experience of these two negative self-conscious emotions is of particular importance. Thirty younger, 30 middle-aged and 30 older adults were compared on standardised cognitive assessments, in addition to an interview-based measure that assessed whether there are age differences in the likelihood of strongly experiencing four different types of self-conscious emotion within the past five years (shame, guilt, embarrassment and pride). The three groups did not differ in their likelihood of reporting an event that strongly elicited the positive self-conscious emotion of pride. However, older adults were more likely to report sources of pride that were other (as opposed to self) focused. Older adults were also less likely to report experiencing events that elicited all three negative self-conscious emotions, in particular, shame. Strong negative self-conscious emotion, and in particular shame, appears to be experienced less by older than younger adults.

Perception, Action, and Consciousness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

What is the relationship between perception and action, between an organism and its environment, in explaining consciousness? These are issues at the heart of philosophy of mind and the cognitive sciences. This book explores the relationship between perception and action from a variety of interdi......What is the relationship between perception and action, between an organism and its environment, in explaining consciousness? These are issues at the heart of philosophy of mind and the cognitive sciences. This book explores the relationship between perception and action from a variety...... of interdisciplinary perspectives, ranging from theoretical discussion of concepts to findings from recent scientific studies. It incorporates contributions from leading philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, and an artificial intelligence theorist. The contributions take a range of positions with respect...

Consciousness, Plasticity, and Connectomics: The Role of Intersubjectivity in Human Cognition

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Micah eAllen

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Consciousness is typically construed as being explainable purely in terms of either private, raw feels or higher-order, reflective representations. In contrast to this false dichotomy, we propose a new view of consciousness as an interactive, plastic phenomenon open to sociocultural influence. We take up our account of consciousness from the observation of radical cortical neuroplasticity in human development. Accordingly, we draw upon recent research on macroscopic neural networks, including the default mode, to illustrate cases in which an individual’s particular connectome is shaped by encultured social practices that depend upon and influence phenomenal and reflective consciousness. On our account, the dynamically interacting connectivity of these networks bring about important individual differences in conscious experience and determine what is present in consciousness. Further, we argue that the organization of the brain into discrete anti-correlated networks supports the phenomenological distinction of prereflective and reflective consciousness, but we emphasize that this finding must be interpreted in light of the dynamic, category-resistant nature of consciousness. Our account motivates philosophical and empirical hypotheses regarding the appropriate time-scale and function of neuroplastic adaptation, the relation of high and low frequency neural activity to consciousness and cognitive plasticity, and the role of ritual social practices in neural development and cognitive function.

Results of Research about Consciousness of Foodstuff Consumers in Hungary

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Ibolya Bravacz

2013-10-01

How self-restrictive and self-conscious are we when purchasing and consuming foodstuff? – with every foodstuff purchase we make decisions about our environment, which indirectly has an effect on the producers, manufacturers and dealers. I will briefly review the foodstuff consumers segments in Hungary, which first have been identified using factor analysis followed by cluster analysis. I have identified the following consumer groups based on health consciousness: Conscious majority, Conscious by commitment, Economist “housewife”, Youthfully eclectic and Passives.

Human Development IX: A Model of the Wholeness of Man, His Consciousness, and Collective Consciousness

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Søren Ventegodt

2006-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we look at the rational and the emotional interpretation of reality in the human brain and being, and discuss the representation of the brain-mind (ego, the body-mind (Id, and the outer world in the human wholeness (the I or “soul”. Based on this we discuss a number of factors including the coherence between perception, attention and consciousness, and the relation between thought, fantasies, visions and dreams. We discuss and explain concepts as intent, will, morals and ethics. The Jungian concept of the human collective conscious and unconscious is also analyzed. We also hypothesis on the nature of intuition and consider the source of religious experience of man. These phenomena are explained based on the concept of deep quantum chemistry and infinite dancing fractal spirals making up the energetic backbone of the world. In this paper we consider man as a real wholeness and debate the concepts of subjectivity, consciousness and intent that can be deduced from such a perspective.

Design and management of energy-efficient hybrid electrical energy storage systems

CERN Document Server

Kim, Younghyun

2014-01-01

This book covers system-level design optimization and implementation of hybrid energy storage systems. The author introduces various techniques to improve the performance of hybrid energy storage systems, in the context of design optimization and automation. Various energy storage techniques are discussed, each with its own advantages and drawbacks, offering viable, hybrid approaches to building a high performance, low cost energy storage system. Novel design optimization techniques and energy-efficient operation schemes are introduced. The author also describes the technical details of an act

How neuroscience will change our view on consciousness: discussion paper

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lamme, V.A.F.

2010-01-01

Is there consciousness in machines? Or in animals? What happens to consciousness when we are asleep, or in vegetative state? These are just a few examples of the many questions about consciousness that are troubling scientists and laypersons alike. Moreover, these questions share a striking feature:

Interactive communication and political consciousness

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Pikula Mykola Mykolayovych

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The article presents the research of the new communication technologies’ influence on the political consciousness formation. According to the author, today the Internet has become a kind of environment where people spend a lot of time and where the huge flow of information streams, unlimited with national borders and language barriers. This gives the Internet communication a mediating role in the display of the real world in people's minds. Such forms of interactive communication like social networks, blogs, forums and chats have a particularly important role in development of the society political consciousness.

Reading embodied consciousness in "Emma".

Science.gov (United States)

Harbus, Antonina

2011-01-01

The language of Emma (1815) reflects Jane Austen's developing view of embodied consciousness and her particular interest in this novel in the physical manifestations of emotions, such as blushes and nervous responses. The discursive exploration of the inner life in Emma is the product of a cultural context that features emerging brain science and Austen's own conceptualization of the psychophysical nature of emotions. This article analyzes the language of mind and emotion in Emma, to contend that Austen grapples with the implications of the idea of embodied consciousness in a narrative that contrasts mind reading with interpreting the body.

"Conscious Consumption": Ecocapitalism as Ideology

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Maria das Graças e Silva

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to raise a set of questions about “conscious consumption.” It is an essay of a bibliographic nature whose central thesis consists in affirming that in a capitalist society conscious consumption cannot be instituted as an affirmation of the principle of socioenvironmental sustainability. The paper presents the ideological nature of this formulation, which associates consumerism and the possibility of overcoming it only to the need for behavioral changes, without explaining its socioeconomic dimensions and its functionality as a mechanism for the reproduction of the destructive logic of capital.

An Heuristic Framework for Non-Conscious Reasoning

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Felipe Lara-Rosano

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Human non-conscious reasoning is one of the most successful procedures evolved for the purposes of solving everyday problems in an efficient way. This is why the field of artificial intelligence should analyze, formalize and emulate the multiple ways of non-conscious reasoning with the purpose of applying them in human problem solving tasks, like medical diagnostics and treatments, educational diagnostics and intervention, organizational and political decision making, artificial intelligence knowledge based systems and neurocomputers, automatic control systems and similar devices for aiding people in the problem-solving process. In this paper, a heuristic framework for those non-conscious ways of reasoning is presented based on neurocognitive representations, heuristics, and fuzzy sets.

Consciousness, accessibility, and the mesh between psychology and neuroscience.

Science.gov (United States)

Block, Ned

2007-12-01

How can we disentangle the neural basis of phenomenal consciousness from the neural machinery of the cognitive access that underlies reports of phenomenal consciousness? We see the problem in stark form if we ask how we can tell whether representations inside a Fodorian module are phenomenally conscious. The methodology would seem straightforward: Find the neural natural kinds that are the basis of phenomenal consciousness in clear cases--when subjects are completely confident and we have no reason to doubt their authority--and look to see whether those neural natural kinds exist within Fodorian modules. But a puzzle arises: Do we include the machinery underlying reportability within the neural natural kinds of the clear cases? If the answer is "Yes," then there can be no phenomenally conscious representations in Fodorian modules. But how can we know if the answer is "Yes"? The suggested methodology requires an answer to the question it was supposed to answer! This target article argues for an abstract solution to the problem and exhibits a source of empirical data that is relevant, data that show that in a certain sense phenomenal consciousness overflows cognitive accessibility. I argue that we can find a neural realizer of this overflow if we assume that the neural basis of phenomenal consciousness does not include the neural basis of cognitive accessibility and that this assumption is justified (other things being equal) by the explanations it allows.

Neural correlates of processing "self-conscious" vs. "basic" emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilead, Michael; Katzir, Maayan; Eyal, Tal; Liberman, Nira

2016-01-29

Self-conscious emotions are prevalent in our daily lives and play an important role in both normal and pathological behavior. Despite their immense significance, the neural substrates that are involved in the processing of such emotions are surprisingly under-studied. In light of this, we conducted an fMRI study in which participants thought of various personal events which elicited feelings of negative and positive self-conscious (i.e., guilt, pride) or basic (i.e., anger, joy) emotions. We performed a conjunction analysis to investigate the neural correlates associated with processing events that are related to self-conscious vs. basic emotions, irrespective of valence. The results show that processing self-conscious emotions resulted in activation within frontal areas associated with self-processing and self-control, namely, the mPFC extending to the dACC, and within the lateral-dorsal prefrontal cortex. Processing basic emotions resulted in activation throughout relatively phylogenetically-ancient regions of the cortex, namely in visual and tactile processing areas and in the insular cortex. Furthermore, self-conscious emotions differentially activated the mPFC such that the negative self-conscious emotion (guilt) was associated with a more dorsal activation, and the positive self-conscious emotion (pride) was associated with a more ventral activation. We discuss how these results shed light on the nature of mental representations and neural systems involved in self-reflective and affective processing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abnormal corticospinal excitability in patients with disorders of consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Lapitskaya, Natallia; Gosseries, Olivia; De Pasqua, Victor; Pedersen, Asger Roer; Nielsen, Joergen Feldbaek; de Noordhout, Alain Maertens; Laureys, Steven

2013-07-01

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been frequently used to explore changes in the human motor cortex in different conditions, while the extent of motor cortex reorganization in patients in vegetative state (VS) (now known as unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, UWS) and minimally conscious (MCS) states due to severe brain damage remains largely unknown. It was hypothesized that cortical motor excitability would be decreased and would correlate to the level of consciousness in patients with disorders of consciousness. Corticospinal excitability was assessed in 47 patients (24 VS/UWS and 23 MCS) and 14 healthy controls. The test parameters included maximal peak-to-peak M-wave (Mmax), F-wave persistence, peripheral and central motor conduction times, sensory (SEP) and motor evoked (MEP) potential latencies and amplitudes, resting motor threshold (RMT), stimulus/response curves, and short latency afferent inhibition (SAI). TMS measurements were correlated to the level of consciousness (assessed using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised). On average, the patient group had lower Mmax, lower MEP and SEP amplitudes, higher RMTs, narrower stimulus/response curves, and reduced SAI compared to the healthy controls (P < 0.05). The SAI alterations were correlated to the level of consciousness (P < 0.05). The findings demonstrated the impairment of the cortical inhibitory circuits in patients with disorders of consciousness. Moreover, the significant relationship was found between cortical inhibition and clinical consciousness dysfunction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Mental Processes Represented in Models of Artificial Consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luana Folchini da Costa

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The Artificial Consciousness concept has been used in the engineering area as being an evolution of the Artificial Intelligence. However, consciousness is a complex subject and often used without formalism. As a main contribution, in this work one proposes an analysis of four recent models of artificial consciousness published in the engineering area. The mental processes represented by these models are highlighted and correlations with the theoretical perspective of cognitive psychology are made. Finally, considerations about consciousness in such models are discussed.

Using brain stimulation to disentangle neural correlates of conscious vision.

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de Graaf, Tom A; Sack, Alexander T

2014-01-01

Research into the neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs) has blossomed, due to the advent of new and increasingly sophisticated brain research tools. Neuroimaging has uncovered a variety of brain processes that relate to conscious perception, obtained in a range of experimental paradigms. But methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging or electroencephalography do not always afford inference on the functional role these brain processes play in conscious vision. Such empirical NCCs could reflect neural prerequisites, neural consequences, or neural substrates of a conscious experience. Here, we take a closer look at the use of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques in this context. We discuss and review how NIBS methodology can enlighten our understanding of brain mechanisms underlying conscious vision by disentangling the empirical NCCs.

Volitional components of consciousness vary across wakefulness, dreaming and lucid dreaming

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Martin eDresler

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Consciousness is a multifaceted concept; its different aspects vary across species, vigilance states or health conditions. While basal aspects of consciousness like perceptions and emotions are present in many states and species, higher-order aspects like reflective or volitional capabilities seem to be most pronounced in awake humans. Here we assess the experience of volition across different states of consciousness: 10 frequent lucid dreamers rated different aspects of volition according to the Volitional Components Questionnaire for phases of normal dreaming, lucid dreaming and wakefulness. Overall, experienced volition was comparable for lucid dreaming and wakefulness, and rated significantly higher for both states compared to non-lucid dreaming. However, three subscales showed specific differences across states of consciousness: planning ability was most pronounced during wakefulness, intention enactment most pronounced during lucid dreaming, and self-determination most pronounced during both wakefulness and lucid dreaming. Our data confirm the multifaceted nature of consciousness: different higher-order aspects of consciousness are differentially expressed across different conscious states.

Volitional components of consciousness vary across wakefulness, dreaming and lucid dreaming.

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Dresler, Martin; Eibl, Leandra; Fischer, Christian F J; Wehrle, Renate; Spoormaker, Victor I; Steiger, Axel; Czisch, Michael; Pawlowski, Marcel

2014-01-01

Consciousness is a multifaceted concept; its different aspects vary across species, vigilance states, or health conditions. While basal aspects of consciousness like perceptions and emotions are present in many states and species, higher-order aspects like reflective or volitional capabilities seem to be most pronounced in awake humans. Here we assess the experience of volition across different states of consciousness: 10 frequent lucid dreamers rated different aspects of volition according to the Volitional Components Questionnaire for phases of normal dreaming, lucid dreaming, and wakefulness. Overall, experienced volition was comparable for lucid dreaming and wakefulness, and rated significantly higher for both states compared to non-lucid dreaming. However, three subscales showed specific differences across states of consciousness: planning ability was most pronounced during wakefulness, intention enactment most pronounced during lucid dreaming, and self-determination most pronounced during both wakefulness and lucid dreaming. Our data confirm the multifaceted nature of consciousness: different higher-order aspects of consciousness are differentially expressed across different conscious states.

Subliminal unconscious conflict alpha power inhibits supraliminal conscious symptom experience.

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Shevrin, Howard; Snodgrass, Michael; Brakel, Linda A W; Kushwaha, Ramesh; Kalaida, Natalia L; Bazan, Ariane

2013-01-01

Our approach is based on a tri-partite method of integrating psychodynamic hypotheses, cognitive subliminal processes, and psychophysiological alpha power measures. We present ten social phobic subjects with three individually selected groups of words representing unconscious conflict, conscious symptom experience, and Osgood Semantic negative valence words used as a control word group. The unconscious conflict and conscious symptom words, presented subliminally and supraliminally, act as primes preceding the conscious symptom and control words presented as supraliminal targets. With alpha power as a marker of inhibitory brain activity, we show that unconscious conflict primes, only when presented subliminally, have a unique inhibitory effect on conscious symptom targets. This effect is absent when the unconscious conflict primes are presented supraliminally, or when the target is the control words. Unconscious conflict prime effects were found to correlate with a measure of repressiveness in a similar previous study (Shevrin et al., 1992, 1996). Conscious symptom primes have no inhibitory effect when presented subliminally. Inhibitory effects with conscious symptom primes are present, but only when the primes are supraliminal, and they did not correlate with repressiveness in a previous study (Shevrin et al., 1992, 1996). We conclude that while the inhibition following supraliminal conscious symptom primes is due to conscious threat bias, the inhibition following subliminal unconscious conflict primes provides a neurological blueprint for dynamic repression: it is only activated subliminally by an individual's unconscious conflict and has an inhibitory effect specific only to the conscious symptom. These novel findings constitute neuroscientific evidence for the psychoanalytic concepts of unconscious conflict and repression, while extending neuroscience theory and methods into the realm of personal, psychological meaning.

Subliminal unconscious conflict alpha power inhibits supraliminal conscious symptom experience

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Howard eShevrin

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Our approach is based on a tri-partite method of integrating psychodynamic hypotheses, cognitive subliminal processes, and psychophysiological alpha power measures. We present ten social phobic subjects with three individually selected groups of words representing unconscious conflict, conscious symptom experience, and Osgood Semantic negative valence words used as a control word group. The unconscious conflict and conscious symptom words, presented subliminally and supraliminally, act as primes preceding the conscious symptom and control words presented as supraliminal targets. With alpha power as a marker of inhibitory brain activity, we show that unconscious conflict primes, only when presented subliminally, have a unique inhibitory effect on conscious symptom targets. This effect is absent when the unconscious conflict primes are presented supraliminally, or when the target is the control words. Unconscious conflict prime effects were found to correlate with a measure of repressiveness in a similar previous study (Shevrin et al., 1992, 1996. Conscious symptom primes have no inhibitory effect when presented subliminally. Inhibitory effects with conscious symptom primes are present, but only when the primes are supraliminal, and they did not correlate with repressiveness in a previous study (Shevrin, et al., 1992, 1996. We conclude that while the inhibition following supraliminal conscious symptom primes is due to conscious threat bias, the inhibition following subliminal unconscious conflict primes provides a neurological blueprint for dynamic repression: it is only activated subliminally by an individual’s unconscious conflict and has an inhibitory effect specific only to the conscious symptom. These novel findings constitute neuroscientific evidence for the psychoanalytic concepts of unconscious conflict and repression, while extending neuroscience theory and methods into the realm of personal, psychological meaning.

Dreams and the temporality of consciousness.

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MacDuffie, Katherine; Mashour, George A

2010-01-01

Understanding dreams has long been considered fundamental to the development of a theory of consciousness. Evidence from neurobiology and neuroimaging research has paved the way for new theories of dreaming that are empirically supported. In this article we argue that dreaming is a unique state of consciousness that incorporates 3 temporal dimensions: experience of the present, processing of the past, and preparation for the future. The temporal complexity of dreams is made possible in part by the unique neurobiological environment of sleep, in which stimuli are internally generated and many of the restrictions associated with waking thought are absent. Because dream consciousness is not determined by sensory stimuli, a flexible integration of past experiences and the forging of novel connections are possible. We argue that disparate dream theories may not be mutually exclusive but rather relate to different temporal domains of the dream state.

The impact of gender images in commercials on the self-consciousness of adolescents.

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Lopukhova O.G.

2015-03-01

contrast to the cognitive level, we observed stronger dynamics of the changes in selfconsciousness (enhancement of gender differentiation and enhancement of identification with images of ideals and parental images. The results clearly showed the quite high plasticity of self-consciousness structures and their susceptibility to externally designated images. We concluded that, in their direct perception, features of gender images in TV commercials have specific effects on the consciousness of adolescents: they reinforce already-formed gender categories and self-identification. We consider this research a pilot study, and we are planning to check the results on a more representative sample with different age groups.

Construction and Validation of the Self-Conscious Emotions at Work Scale

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Hans Groenvynck

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The present study reports on the construction and validation of a new assessment instrument for self-conscious emotions in the work context, namely the Self-Conscious Emotions at Work Scale (SCEWS. In eight typical self-conscious work scenarios respondents have to indicate their emotional reaction in terms of 20 appraisals, subjective experiences, and action tendencies that are relevant and representative for the domain of self-conscious emotions. In total 512 students and 467 working adults completed the SCEWS and reported the frequency of positive emotions, anger, anxiety and sadness. In both samples a three-factorial structure emerged with a guilt, a shame/humiliation, and an anger in self-conscious situations factor. These three self-conscious emotion factors correlated differentially and in a predicted way with the frequency of emotions. Guilt-proneness was predicted to be psychologically constructive and correlated to the frequency of positive emotions. The proneness to shame/humiliation was expected to relate to internalising psychopathological tendencies, and positively correlated to a frequency of anxiety and sadness. Proneness to anger in self-conscious situations was expected to relate to externalising psychopathological tendencies and correlated with the frequency of anger in general. The present study demonstrates that self-conscious emotions can be validly measured in the work context. The new instrument allows for the systematic study of the role of self-conscious emotions in work and organisational behaviour.

Edmund Husserl’s Transcendence of the Early Buddhist Theory of Consciousness

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Saman Pushpakumara

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Edmund Husserl, the founding father of western philosophical movement known as phenomenology, formulated a theory of consciousness writing Logical Investigations (1900. The Gautama the Buddha, as far back as the 6th century B.C., had provided an analysis of the conscious phenomena. Many scholars who trace parallels between the Buddhist view of consciousness and Husserl’s phenomenology of the structures of consciousness deal mostly with the similarities between the two, and such a comparison could also be regarded as a worthwhile contribution to the field of comparative philosophy.This paper argues that Husserl's analysis of consciousness, despite its limitations, as elaborated by Derrida, (and also by Heidegger, is more advanced than the Buddha's formulation. Husserl articulated his phenomenology of consciousness as a result of his encounter with Cartesian cogito, (or the Cartesian psychology on the one hand and the positivistic foundation of empirical sciences on the other. Husserl’s notion of phenomenological consciousness was situated within an industrially advanced capitalist society and nurtured by scientific epistemology, despite his criticism of its underlying positivism, which set the basis for his philosophy of internal consciousness. He lived in a controversial era, the rise of National Socialism in Germany, which has to be taken seriously when assessing his philosophy of consciousness.  The Buddha, in contrast, theorized his notion of consciousness within a backward, slow-moving, agricultural and feudal setting .He developed his notion of consciousness as a normative concept as a basis for achieving the spiritual objective he envisaged. While acknowledging the fact that no other philosophy that existed during the Buddha’s time had articulated such a meticulous and in depth analysis of the phenomenology of consciousness, his analysis seems to be less advanced when assessed and compared with the twentieth century phenomenology of

Maintenance of non-consciously presented information engages the prefrontal cortex

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Fredrik eBergström

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Conscious processing is generally seen as required for flexible and willful actions, as well as for tasks that require durable information maintenance. Here we present research that questions the assumption that only consciously perceived information is durable (> 500 ms. Using the attentional blink phenomenon, we rendered otherwise relatively clearly perceived letters non-conscious. In a first experiment we systematically manipulated the delay between stimulus presentation and response, for the purpose of estimating the durability of non-conscious perceptual representations. For items reported not seen, we found that behavioral performance was better than chance across intervals up to 15 seconds. In a second experiment we used fMRI to investigate the neural correlates underlying the maintenance of non-conscious perceptual representations. Critically, the relatively long delay period demonstrated in experiment 1 enabled isolation of the signal change specifically related to the maintenance period, separate from stimulus presentation and response. We found sustained BOLD signal change in the right mid-lateral prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and crus II of the cerebellum during maintenance of non-consciously perceived information. These findings are consistent with the controversial claim that working-memory mechanisms are involved in the short-term maintenance of non-conscious perceptual representations.

Insights on consciousness from taste memory research.

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Gallo, Milagros

2016-01-01

Taste research in rodents supports the relevance of memory in order to determine the content of consciousness by modifying both taste perception and later action. Associated with this issue is the fact that taste and visual modalities share anatomical circuits traditionally related to conscious memory. This challenges the view of taste memory as a type of non-declarative unconscious memory.

No-Report Paradigms: Extracting the True Neural Correlates of Consciousness.

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Tsuchiya, Naotsugu; Wilke, Melanie; Frässle, Stefan; Lamme, Victor A F

2015-12-01

The goal of consciousness research is to reveal the neural basis of phenomenal experience. To study phenomenology, experimenters seem obliged to ask reports from the subjects to ascertain what they experience. However, we argue that the requirement of reports has biased the search for the neural correlates of consciousness over the past decades. More recent studies attempt to dissociate neural activity that gives rise to consciousness from the activity that enables the report; in particular, no-report paradigms have been utilized to study conscious experience in the full absence of any report. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of report-based and no-report paradigms, and ask how these jointly bring us closer to understanding the true neural basis of consciousness. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Islam and Environmental Consciousness: A New Scale Development.

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Emari, Hossein; Vazifehdoust, Hossein; Nikoomaram, Hashem

2017-04-01

This research proposed a new construct, Islamic environmental consciousness (IEC), and developed a measurement scale to support this construct. Churchill's (J Mark Res 16(1):64-73, 1979) paradigm, adapted by Negra and Mzoughi (Internet Res 22(4):426-442, 2012), was utilized. A total of 32 items were generated based on the verses of the Qur'an from nine interviews with teachers in an Islamic seminary. This set of items was reduced to 19 after dropping redundant or non-representative items. In a pilot study, factor analysis of the 19-item scale yielded a two-factor structure scale of seven items with a reliability ranging from 0.7 to 0.8. The Islamic environmental consciousness scale (IECS) was statistically confirmed and validated in a subsequent investigation. The proposed measurement scale warrants further exploratory study. Future research should assess the IECS's validity across different Muslim countries, locales, and various Islamic schools of thought and practice. IEC is proposed as a new construct that focuses primarily on the Qur'an and seeks to achieve acceptance by both Sunni and Shia denominations. In this study, both cognitive attitudes and behavioral aspects were considered in the design of the IECS.

A theory of working memory without consciousness or sustained activity

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Trübutschek, Darinka; Marti, Sébastien; Ojeda, Andrés; King, Jean-Rémi; Mi, Yuanyuan; Tsodyks, Misha; Dehaene, Stanislas

2017-01-01

Working memory and conscious perception are thought to share similar brain mechanisms, yet recent reports of non-conscious working memory challenge this view. Combining visual masking with magnetoencephalography, we investigate the reality of non-conscious working memory and dissect its neural mechanisms. In a spatial delayed-response task, participants reported the location of a subjectively unseen target above chance-level after several seconds. Conscious perception and conscious working memory were characterized by similar signatures: a sustained desynchronization in the alpha/beta band over frontal cortex, and a decodable representation of target location in posterior sensors. During non-conscious working memory, such activity vanished. Our findings contradict models that identify working memory with sustained neural firing, but are compatible with recent proposals of ‘activity-silent’ working memory. We present a theoretical framework and simulations showing how slowly decaying synaptic changes allow cell assemblies to go dormant during the delay, yet be retrieved above chance-level after several seconds. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.23871.001 PMID:28718763

Creative Consciousness

OpenAIRE

Ashok Natarajan

2013-01-01

Consciousness is creative. That creativity expresses in myriad ways – as moments in time in which decades of progress can be achieved overnight, as organizational innovations of immense power for social accomplishment; as creative social values that further influence the evolution of organizations and society; as the creativity of individuality in the leader, genius, artist and inventor; as social creativity that converts raw human experience into civilization; as cultural creativity that tra...

Increased dopamine tone during meditation-induced change of consciousness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjaer, Troels W; Bertelsen, Camilla; Piccini, Paola

2002-01-01

This is the first in vivo demonstration of an association between endogenous neurotransmitter release and conscious experience. Using 11C-raclopride PET we demonstrated increased endogenous dopamine release in the ventral striatum during Yoga Nidra meditation. Yoga Nidra is characterized by a dep......This is the first in vivo demonstration of an association between endogenous neurotransmitter release and conscious experience. Using 11C-raclopride PET we demonstrated increased endogenous dopamine release in the ventral striatum during Yoga Nidra meditation. Yoga Nidra is characterized...... the frontal cortex to striatal neurons, which in turn project back to the frontal cortex via the pallidum and ventral thalamus. The present study was designed to investigate whether endogenous dopamine release increases during loss of executive control in meditation. Participants underwent two 11C......-raclopride PET scans: one while attending to speech with eyes closed, and one during active meditation. The tracer competes with endogenous dopamine for access to dopamine D2 receptors predominantly found in the basal ganglia. During meditation, 11C-raclopride binding in ventral striatum decreased by 7...

The Role of Gender Consciousness in Challenging Patriarchy.

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Bierema, Laura L.

2003-01-01

In an action research project, eight women explored their development of gender consciousness, finding that a hidden curriculum taught subordination to the patriarchal system. Connected learning fostered gender consciousness and led to connected action. Action included teaching others about gender issues, making the invisible visible, and adopting…

THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS BETWEEN PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

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Guilherme Gil da Silva

2011-02-01

Full Text Available This text address the phenomenon of consciousness of individuals, performing a brief overview of the key elements to understand the process of political consciousness of Physical Education teachers. This is a larger study, which analyzes how is the teachers formation and political engagement, and in the limits of this article, we present the elements for the understanding of expressions of their political consciousness. It seeks to recover the "movement" of consciousness, since it believes that this is not something given and gravel, which can be seen without relating it to their development process, embedded in the history of its formation.

Understanding visual consciousness in autism spectrum disorders.

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Yatziv, Tal; Jacobson, Hilla

2015-01-01

The paper focuses on the question of what the (visual) perceptual differences are between individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing (TD) individuals. We argue against the view that autistic subjects have a deficiency in the most basic form of perceptual consciousness-namely, phenomenal consciousness. Instead, we maintain, the perceptual atypicality of individuals with autism is of a more conceptual and cognitive sort-their perceptual experiences share crucial aspects with TD individuals. Our starting point is Ben Shalom's (2005, 2009) three-level processing framework for explaining atypicality in several domains of processing among autistics, which we compare with two other tripartite models of perception-Jackendoff's (1987) and Prinz's (2000, 2005a, 2007) Intermediate Level Hypothesis and Lamme's (2004, 2006, 2010) neural account of consciousness. According to these models, whereas the second level of processing is concerned with viewer-centered visual representations of basic visual properties and incorporates some early forms of integration, the third level is more cognitive and conceptual. We argue that the data suggest that the atypicality in autism is restricted mainly to the third level. More specifically, second-level integration, which is the mark of phenomenal consciousness, is typical, yet third-level integration of perceptual objects and concepts is atypical. Thus, the basic experiences of individuals with autism are likely to be similar to typical subjects' experiences; the main difference lies in the sort of cognitive access the subjects have to their experiences. We conclude by discussing implications of the suggested analysis of experience in autism for conceptions of phenomenal consciousness.

Environmental Consciousness in Daily Activities Measured by Negative Prompts

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Ai Hiramatsu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The gap between people’s attitude and action as regards environmental issues has been pointed out even while surveys registered an increase in people’s environmental awareness. Among the possible reasons is that people tend to automatically answer “yes”, as most surveys on environmental consciousness use positively-phrased questions or prompts. To remove the “yes-bias” in previous surveys, this present study conducted in Japan a large-scale questionnaire survey on environmental consciousness using negative prompts and free-answered prompts on which behaviors people feel good/bad/uncertain for the environment. This study also investigated peoples’ psychological factors and concrete pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs in daily life. The results of the questionnaire with negative prompts showed that the rate of people’s consciousness to the environment was lower compared with other surveys. Through factor analysis, five psychological factors were extracted as the explanatory factors of environmental attitude. Demographic effects on the consciousness and PEBs were also observed. Comparison of free-answers on concrete daily behaviors among five different environmentally conscious groups showed there were certain phases in the perception of PEBs based on consciousness level. Similar common behaviors were highly ranked as both PEB and doubtful behaviors, indicating that people were worried about actions that involve a trade-off relationship from diversified standpoints.

Different Signal Enhancement Pathways of Attention and Consciousness Underlie Perception in Humans.

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van Boxtel, Jeroen J A

2017-06-14

It is not yet known whether attention and consciousness operate through similar or largely different mechanisms. Visual processing mechanisms are routinely characterized by measuring contrast response functions (CRFs). In this report, behavioral CRFs were obtained in humans (both males and females) by measuring afterimage durations over the entire range of inducer stimulus contrasts to reveal visual mechanisms behind attention and consciousness. Deviations relative to the standard CRF, i.e., gain functions, describe the strength of signal enhancement, which were assessed for both changes due to attentional task and conscious perception. It was found that attention displayed a response-gain function, whereas consciousness displayed a contrast-gain function. Through model comparisons, which only included contrast-gain modulations, both contrast-gain and response-gain effects can be explained with a two-level normalization model, in which consciousness affects only the first level and attention affects only the second level. These results demonstrate that attention and consciousness can effectively show different gain functions because they operate through different signal enhancement mechanisms. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The relationship between attention and consciousness is still debated. Mapping contrast response functions (CRFs) has allowed (neuro)scientists to gain important insights into the mechanistic underpinnings of visual processing. Here, the influence of both attention and consciousness on these functions were measured and they displayed a strong dissociation. First, attention lowered CRFs, whereas consciousness raised them. Second, attention manifests itself as a response-gain function, whereas consciousness manifests itself as a contrast-gain function. Extensive model comparisons show that these results are best explained in a two-level normalization model in which consciousness affects only the first level, whereas attention affects only the second level

Consciousness, Cognition and the Cognitive Apparatus in the Vedānta Tradition

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Balasubramanian, R.

2011-01-01

A human being is a complex entity consisting of the Self (also known as Consciousness), mind, senses and the body. The Vedānta tradition holds that the mind, the senses and the body are essentially different from the Self or Consciousness. It is through consciousness that we are able to know the things of the world, making use of the medium of the mind and the senses. Furthermore, the mind, though material, is able to reveal things, borrowing the light from consciousness. From the phenomenological point of view, we have to answer the following questions: how does one know the mind/the mental operations/the cogitations of the mind? Does the mind know itself? Is it possible? There is, again, the problem of the intentionality of consciousness. Is consciousness intentional? According to Vedānta, consciousness by its very nature is not intentional, but it becomes intentional through the mind. The mind or the ego is not part of the consciousness; on the contrary, it is transcendent to consciousness. It is difficult to spell out the relation between consciousness and the mind. How does consciousness, which is totally different from the mind, get related to the mind in such a way that it makes the latter capable of comprehending the things of the world? The Vedānta tradition provides the answer to this question in terms of the knower-known relation. Consciousness is pure light, self-luminous by its very nature, that is, although it reveals other objects, it is not revealed by anything else. When Sartre describes it as nothingness, bereft of even ego, it is to show that it is pure light revealing objects outside it. PMID:21694962

GREEN TOWERS AND ICONIC DESIGN: Cases from Three Continents

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Kheir M Al-Kodmany

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Recently, massive urbanization, increasingly denser cities and environmental consciousness are pushing architects to build “green” skyscraper. This paper examines the emergence of a notable type of skyscrapers which depart from purely image-driven structures, and emphasizes functionality and energy efficiency. It argues that breathtaking green design and practical clean technology are merged to give birth to green architectural aesthetics. Upon reviewing over 30 towers from various parts of the world, the paper identifies salient green design strategies that provide new iconicity including: structural efficiencies, renewable energy, façade technology, greeneries, and bioclimatic design. Findings suggest that a dynamic synergy among innovative green design strategies, new architectural languages and exciting aesthetics has constituted a trend that is more likely to prevail in the 21st Century.

Loss of Consciousness Induced by a Single Dose Flurbiprofen

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Bulent Yıldız

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Loss of consciousness after the administration of flurbiprofen has not been reported. In this case report, we describe loss of consciousness due to the administration of one oral dosage of flurbiprofen. A 17 year-old girl without a remarkable neurologic and atopic medical history had an loss of consciousness after ingestion of flurbiprofen mg 100 mg tablet. Patient was treated successfully. This report emphasies that this complication may be seen with flurobiprofen and underlying mechanisms and therapeutic approach are discussed.

Stigma Consciousness in the case of Romanian Roma Activists

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Laura SURDU

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Roma people are often stigmatized by the members of the out-groups, the process of stigmatization being enforced through a selection of stereotypically assigned characteristics of the group. In the last two decades, the stigmatization of Roma was contributed by scientists, policy makers and mass media. Stigma is a basis for social exclusion of Roma people and it is transferred from the whole group to the individual level. The negative labelling of the entire Roma group affects identity and stigma consciousness for each individual Roma. This paper addresses ethnic stigma consciousness in a sample of 96 Roma activists, women and men. The results show that stigma consciousness is highly present among Roma participants from the sample, although there are not significant differences between Roma women and Roma men regarding ethnic stigma consciousness.

On the quantum mechanics of consciousness, with application to anomalous phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jahn, R.G.; Dunne, B.J.

1986-01-01

Theoretical explication of a growing body of empirical data on consciousness-related anomalous phenomena is unlikely to be achieved in terms of known physical processes. Rather, it will first be necessary to formulate the basic role of consciousness in the definition of reality before such anomalous experience can adequately be represented. This paper takes the position that reality is constituted only in the interaction of consciousness with its environment, and therefore that any scheme of conceptual organization developed to represent that reality must reflect the processes of consciousness as well as those of its environment. In this spirit, the concepts and formalisms of elementary quantum mechanics, as originally proposed to explain anomalous atomic-scale physical phenomena, are appropriated via metaphor to represent the general characteristics of consciousness interacting with any environment. More specifically, if consciousness is represented by a quantum mechanical wave function, and its environment by an appropriate potential profile, Schrodinger wave mechanics defines eigenfunctions and eigenvalues that can be associated with the cognitive and emotional experiences of that consciousness in that environment. To articulate this metaphor it is necessary to associate certain aspects of the formalism, such as the coordinate system, the quantum numbers, and even the metric itself, with various impressionistic descriptors of consciousness, such as its intensity, perspective, approach/avoidance attitude, balance between cognitive and emotional activity, and receptive/assertive disposition

Gender Consciousness among Urban Adolescents in Osun State ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study attempted to find out whether adolescents express their consciousness about the two dimensions of gender (public and private) and to determine the level ofmanifestations of gender consciousness among early and late adolescents. For the purpose of this study, 100(M=56, F=44) were randomly selected from ...

Reactor and process design in sustainable energy technology

CERN Document Server

Shi, Fan

2014-01-01

Reactor Process Design in Sustainable Energy Technology compiles and explains current developments in reactor and process design in sustainable energy technologies, including optimization and scale-up methodologies and numerical methods. Sustainable energy technologies that require more efficient means of converting and utilizing energy can help provide for burgeoning global energy demand while reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions associated with energy production. The book, contributed by an international team of academic and industry experts in the field, brings numerous reactor design cases to readers based on their valuable experience from lab R&D scale to industry levels. It is the first to emphasize reactor engineering in sustainable energy technology discussing design. It provides comprehensive tools and information to help engineers and energy professionals learn, design, and specify chemical reactors and processes confidently. Emphasis on reactor engineering in sustainable energy techn...

The interpersonal work of dental conscious sedation: A qualitative analysis.

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Woolley, Stephen M; Chadwick, Barbara; Pugsley, Lesley

2017-08-01

Whilst there is a considerable body of literature examining the pharmacology of conscious sedation, the social tasks required to successfully provide conscious sedation have not been reported. This paper discusses data regarding the interpersonal work integral to effective conscious sedation provision, from a larger qualitative study exploring how patients and clinicians engage with secondary care conscious sedation provided within the UK. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 conscious sedation providers and nine patients within UK-based secondary care sedation settings. Digital audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and subsequently analysed using a constant comparative method within NVivo Data Analysis Software. Four main themes of interpersonal work were reported by participants: displaying care, containing emotions, demonstrating competence and maximizing the effect. This study shows that performing conscious sedation requires more than technical delivery, and involves the projection of attributes in a literal "performance." The importance of managing outward emotional appearance reflects previous dental research. The need to manage outward appearance, and the emotional impact this has, is of relevance to all clinicians. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Temporal neural mechanisms underlying conscious access to different levels of facial stimulus contents.

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Hsu, Shen-Mou; Yang, Yu-Fang

2018-04-01

An important issue facing the empirical study of consciousness concerns how the contents of incoming stimuli gain access to conscious processing. According to classic theories, facial stimuli are processed in a hierarchical manner. However, it remains unclear how the brain determines which level of stimulus content is consciously accessible when facing an incoming facial stimulus. Accordingly, with a magnetoencephalography technique, this study aims to investigate the temporal dynamics of the neural mechanism mediating which level of stimulus content is consciously accessible. Participants were instructed to view masked target faces at threshold so that, according to behavioral responses, their perceptual awareness alternated from consciously accessing facial identity in some trials to being able to consciously access facial configuration features but not facial identity in other trials. Conscious access at these two levels of facial contents were associated with a series of differential neural events. Before target presentation, different patterns of phase angle adjustment were observed between the two types of conscious access. This effect was followed by stronger phase clustering for awareness of facial identity immediately during stimulus presentation. After target onset, conscious access to facial identity, as opposed to facial configural features, was able to elicit more robust late positivity. In conclusion, we suggest that the stages of neural events, ranging from prestimulus to stimulus-related activities, may operate in combination to determine which level of stimulus contents is consciously accessed. Conscious access may thus be better construed as comprising various forms that depend on the level of stimulus contents accessed. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The present study investigates how the brain determines which level of stimulus contents is consciously accessible when facing an incoming facial stimulus. Using magnetoencephalography, we show that prestimulus

There Is an ‘Unconscious,’ but It May Well Be Conscious

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Bernardo Kastrup

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Depth psychology finds empirical validation today in a variety of observations that suggest the presence of causally effective mental processes outside conscious experience. I submit that this is due to misinterpretation of the observations: the subset of consciousness called “meta-consciousness” in the literature is often mistaken for consciousness proper, thereby artificially creating space for an “unconscious.” The implied hypothesis is that all mental processes may in fact be conscious, the appearance of unconsciousness arising from our dependence on self-reflective introspection for gauging awareness. After re-interpreting the empirical data according to a philosophically rigorous definition of consciousness, I show that two well-known phenomena corroborate this hypothesis: (a experiences that, despite being conscious, aren’t re-represented during introspection; and (b dissociated experiences inaccessible to the executive ego. If consciousness is inherent to all mentation, it may be fundamental in nature, as opposed to a product of particular types of brain function.

Consciousness Indexing and Outcome Prediction with Resting-State EEG in Severe Disorders of Consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Stefan, Sabina; Schorr, Barbara; Lopez-Rolon, Alex; Kolassa, Iris-Tatjana; Shock, Jonathan P; Rosenfelder, Martin; Heck, Suzette; Bender, Andreas

2018-04-17

We applied the following methods to resting-state EEG data from patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) for consciousness indexing and outcome prediction: microstates, entropy (i.e. approximate, permutation), power in alpha and delta frequency bands, and connectivity (i.e. weighted symbolic mutual information, symbolic transfer entropy, complex network analysis). Patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) and patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS) were classified into these two categories by fitting and testing a generalised linear model. We aimed subsequently to develop an automated system for outcome prediction in severe DOC by selecting an optimal subset of features using sequential floating forward selection (SFFS). The two outcome categories were defined as UWS or dead, and MCS or emerged from MCS. Percentage of time spent in microstate D in the alpha frequency band performed best at distinguishing MCS from UWS patients. The average clustering coefficient obtained from thresholding beta coherence performed best at predicting outcome. The optimal subset of features selected with SFFS consisted of the frequency of microstate A in the 2-20 Hz frequency band, path length obtained from thresholding alpha coherence, and average path length obtained from thresholding alpha coherence. Combining these features seemed to afford high prediction power. Python and MATLAB toolboxes for the above calculations are freely available under the GNU public license for non-commercial use ( https://qeeg.wordpress.com ).

Self-consciousness concept and assessment in self-report measures

Science.gov (United States)

DaSilveira, Amanda; DeSouza, Mariane L.; Gomes, William B.

2015-01-01

This study examines how self-consciousness is defined and assessed using self-report questionnaires (Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS), Self-Reflection and Insight Scale, Self-Absorption Scale, Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire, and Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale). Authors of self-report measures suggest that self-consciousness can be distinguished by its private/public aspects, its adaptive/maladaptive applied characteristics, and present/past experiences. We examined these claims in a study using 602 young adults to whom the aforementioned scales were administered. Data were analyzed as follows: (1) correlation analysis to find simple associations between the measures; (2) factorial analysis using Oblimin rotation of total scores provided from the scales; and (3) factorial analysis considering the 102 items of the scales all together. It aimed to clarify relational patterns found in the correlations between SCSs, and to identify possible latent constructs behind these scales. Results support the adaptive/maladaptive aspects of self-consciousness, as well as distinguish to some extent public aspects from private ones. However, some scales that claimed to be theoretically derived from the concept of Private Self-Consciousness correlated with some of its public self-aspects. Overall, our findings suggest that while self-reflection measures tend to tap into past experiences and judged concepts that were already processed by the participants’ inner speech and thoughts, the Awareness measure derived from Mindfulness Scale seems to be related to a construct associated with present experiences in which one is aware of without any further judgment or logical/rational symbolization. This sub-scale seems to emphasize the role that present experiences have in self-consciousness, and it is argued that such a concept refers to what has been studied by phenomenology and psychology over more than 100 years: the concept of pre-reflective self-conscious. PMID:26191030

Consciousness, Representation, Action : The Importance of Being Goal-Directed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pennartz, C.M.A.

2018-01-01

Recent years have witnessed fierce debates on the dependence of consciousness on interactions between a subject and the environment. Reviewing neuroscientific, computational, and clinical evidence, I will address three questions. First, does conscious experience necessarily depend on acute

50% Advanced Energy Design Guides: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bonnema, E.; Leach, M.; Pless, S.; Liu, B.; Wang, W.; Thornton, B.; Williams, J.

2012-07-01

This paper presents the process, methodology, and assumptions for the development of the 50% Energy Savings Advanced Energy Design Guides (AEDGs), a design guidance document that provides specific recommendations for achieving 50% energy savings above the requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 in four building types: (1) Small to medium office buildings, (2) K-12 school buildings, (3) Medium to big box retail buildings, (4) Large hospital buildings.

Contemplative Neuroscience as an Approach to Volitional Consciousness

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Evan

This chapter presents a methodological approach to volitional consciousness for cognitive neuroscience based on studying the voluntary self-generation and self-regulation of mental states in meditation. Called contemplative neuroscience, this approach views attention, awareness, and emotion regulation as flexible and trainable skills, and works with experimental participants who have undergone training in contemplative practices designed to hone these skills. Drawing from research on the dynamical neural correlates of contemplative mental states and theories of large-scale neural coordination dynamics, I argue for the importance of global system causation in brain activity and present an "interventionist" approach to intentional causation.

Design and installation of earth energy systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loggia, S; Adragna, M; Coyle, S; Foley, C; Hawryn, S; Martin, A; McConnell, J [eds.

2002-07-01

This first edition of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Standard C448 Series, replaces CSA Standards CAN/CSA-C445-M92 entitled Design and Installation of Earth Energy Heat Pump Systems for Residential and Other Small Buildings, as well as C447-94 entitled Design and Installation of Earth Energy Heat Pump Systems for Commercial and Institutional Buildings. This standard document consists of three parts: (C448.1) Design and installation of earth energy systems for commercial and institutional buildings; (C448.2) Design and installation of earth energy systems for residential and small buildings; and, (C448.3) Design and installation of underground thermal energy storage systems for commercial and institutional buildings. In C448.1, the requirements applicable to any system falling within the scope of the C448 series were included. Alternative requirements for houses and small buildings were added in C448.2. It was noted that either standard may be implemented. The standards applicable to the intentional storage of energy in the earth for later use were presented in C448.3. This latter section includes a brief introduction on underground thermal energy storage (UTES). tabs.

Brain Endogenous Feedback and Degrees of Consciousness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carrara-Augustenborg, Claudia; Pereira Jr., Alfredo

2012-01-01

dependent on the previous state of their interaction domain. We also explain complex processes occurring below the threshold of awareness as those that deploy the brain’s computational resources, although without producing resonant states of sufficient magnitude to determine the individual´s overt...... acknowledgment. Finally, our model affords a plausible account of phenomenal and self-consciousness which, by resting at the outskirts of reportable cognitive activity, traditionally compound the 'hard problem' of consciousness....

Characteristics of environmentally conscious production behaviour in agricultural waste management

OpenAIRE

Kormosne-Koch, Krisztina

2008-01-01

When measuring environmentally conscious behaviour and determining its variables, focus often lies only on consumers, but environmental conservation requires not only the consumers’ but also the producers’ input. After defining environmentally conscious behaviour, I utilized the market research method to determine how participating in agri-environmental programs and subsidies affects producers’ environmental consciousness and waste management behaviour. The research result indicates tha...

Global workspace dynamics: Cortical "binding and propagation enables conscious contents.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernard J Baars

2013-05-01

Full Text Available A global workspace is a hub of binding and propagation in a population of loosely coupled signaling elements. Global workspace (GW architectures recruit many distributed, specialized agents to help resolve focal ambiguities. In the brain, conscious experiences may reflect a global workspace function. For animals the natural world is full of fitness-related ambiguities, suggesting a general adaptive pressure for brains to resolve focal ambiguities quickly and accurately. In humans and related species the cortico-thalamic (C-T core is believed to underlie conscious aspects of perception, thinking, learning, feelings of knowing, emotions, imagery, working memory and executive control. The C-T core has many anatomical hubs, but conscious percepts are unitary and internally consistent at any given moment. The repertoire of conscious contents is a large, open set. These points suggest that a brain-based GW capacity cannot be localized in a single anatomical hub. Rather, it should be sought in a dynamic capacity for adaptive binding and propagation of neural signals over multi-hub networks. We refer to this as dynamic global workspace theory (dGW. In this view, conscious contents can arise in any region of the C-T core when multiple signal streams settle on a winner-take-all equilibrium. The resulting bound gestalt may ignite an any-to-many broadcast, lasting ~100-200 ms, and trigger widespread adaptation in established networks. Binding and broadcasting may involve theta/gamma or alpha/gamma phase coupling. Conscious contents (qualia may reflect their sources in cortex. Sensory percepts may bind and broadcast from posterior regions, while non-sensory feelings of knowing (FOKs may be frontotemporal. The small focal capacity of conscious contents may be the biological price to pay for global access. We propose that in the intact brain the hippocampal/rhinal complex may support conscious event organization as well as episodic memory coding.

Integrated Energy Design in Master Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strømann-Andersen, Jakob Bjørn

This PhD thesis considers urban structure and buildings in an energy correlation and use the knowledge to design energy- and comfort-optimized cities and buildings. The parameters are: the structure of nature, the city and the landscape, both in terms of geometry and interrelationships and in terms...... in character as daylight is taken into account. Furthermore the results suggest that there are limits to urban densification (200-300%) as an energy optimization strategy. The solar energy and daylight potential should be considered, and indeed protected, as a common resource in urban design. The most...

The Split-Brain Phenomenon Revisited: A Single Conscious Agent with Split Perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto, Yair; de Haan, Edward H F; Lamme, Victor A F

2017-11-01

The split-brain phenomenon is caused by the surgical severing of the corpus callosum, the main route of communication between the cerebral hemispheres. The classical view of this syndrome asserts that conscious unity is abolished. The left hemisphere consciously experiences and functions independently of the right hemisphere. This view is a cornerstone of current consciousness research. In this review, we first discuss the evidence for the classical view. We then propose an alternative, the 'conscious unity, split perception' model. This model asserts that a split brain produces one conscious agent who experiences two parallel, unintegrated streams of information. In addition to changing our view of the split-brain phenomenon, this new model also poses a serious challenge for current dominant theories of consciousness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Steps to Design a Household Energy Game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Dirk Fijnheer

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Research where gamification is used to influence household energy consumption is an emerging field. This paper reviews the design and effectiveness of ten games that aim to influence household energy consumption and presents a novel gamification approach in which real world activities are implemented in a game design. From the review suggestions for the design of a new game have been identified, such as including real life missions in order to optimize the transfer between the game world and the real world, feedback from monitoring the electricity meter, the presence of a strong storyline, personalized game characters, social interaction, etc. Based on this comparative analysis, the new game 'Powersaver Game' focused on reducing energy consumption has been designed and its prototype is described. In the next stage of iterative design, end-users evaluated the match between in-game scenes and household energy saving activities. This considerate user-centered design process should allow us to build a serious game that is potentially effective in reducing household energy consumption. 

The Consciousness and the role of valorization. How and why the Self-awareness subjectively administers consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciocan Tudor Cosmin

2017-05-01

Full Text Available It is most likely for anyone to ask himself at least once if it would be possible to live in a dream? Questioning the fabric of “reality” we live in consciously was one of the main doubts man ever had. It is so likely for us to answer positively to it due to so many factors; starting from the many and various facets of reality each individual envision the world, from the enormous differences we all have while perceiving and defining the reality, etc. That is why, at the conscious level, life seems almost like a dream in a dream, always hoping to wake up from the negative, unwanted version of it. That is why my assertion here, based on latest theories on consciousness and AI (artificial intelligence, aim to say that we live in between reality and dream, being “conscious” of ourselves, but not really wanting to be “aware” of what is really going on with us. Living as a human is not a path towards improvement in the way of getting rid of subjectiveness and valorization because these so-called errors make the most of human living.

Alternative Natural Energy Sources in Building Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Albert J.; Schubert, Robert P.

This publication provides a discussion of various energy conserving building systems and design alternatives. The information presented here covers alternative space and water heating systems, and energy conserving building designs incorporating these systems and other energy conserving techniques. Besides water, wind, solar, and bio conversion…

The Problem of Consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Crick, Francis; Koch, Christof

1992-01-01

Discusses approaches to the problem presented in understanding consciousness as a yet undiscovered process of interacting neuron activity. Presents the historical context of research in the area of human awareness and identifies research necessary to scientifically explain how the brain relates to the mind. (MCO)

Avian reflex and electroencephalogram responses in different states of consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandercock, Dale A; Auckburally, Adam; Flaherty, Derek; Sandilands, Victoria; McKeegan, Dorothy E F

2014-06-22

Defining states of clinical consciousness in animals is important in veterinary anaesthesia and in studies of euthanasia and welfare assessment at slaughter. The aim of this study was to validate readily observable reflex responses in relation to different conscious states, as confirmed by EEG analysis, in two species of birds under laboratory conditions (35-week-old layer hens (n=12) and 11-week-old turkeys (n=10)). We evaluated clinical reflexes and characterised electroencephalograph (EEG) activity (as a measure of brain function) using spectral analyses in four different clinical states of consciousness: conscious (fully awake), semi-conscious (sedated), unconscious-optimal (general anaesthesia), unconscious-sub optimal (deep hypnotic state), as well as assessment immediately following euthanasia. Jaw or neck muscle tone was the most reliable reflex measure distinguishing between conscious and unconscious states. Pupillary reflex was consistently observed until respiratory arrest. Nictitating membrane reflex persisted for a short time (power (PTOT) significantly increased, whereas median (F50) and spectral edge (F95) frequencies significantly decreased. This study demonstrates that EEG analysis can differentiate between clinical states (and loss of brain function at death) in birds and provides a unique integration of reflex responses and EEG activity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Divergent neural responses to narrative speech in disorders of consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Iotzov, Ivan; Fidali, Brian C; Petroni, Agustin; Conte, Mary M; Schiff, Nicholas D; Parra, Lucas C

2017-11-01

Clinical assessment of auditory attention in patients with disorders of consciousness is often limited by motor impairment. Here, we employ intersubject correlations among electroencephalography responses to naturalistic speech in order to assay auditory attention among patients and healthy controls. Electroencephalographic data were recorded from 20 subjects with disorders of consciousness and 14 healthy controls during of two narrative audio stimuli, presented both forwards and time-reversed. Intersubject correlation of evoked electroencephalography signals were calculated, comparing responses of both groups to those of the healthy control subjects. This analysis was performed blinded and subsequently compared to the diagnostic status of each patient based on the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised. Subjects with disorders of consciousness exhibit significantly lower intersubject correlation than healthy controls during narrative speech. Additionally, while healthy subjects had higher intersubject correlation values in forwards versus backwards presentation, neural responses did not vary significantly with the direction of playback in subjects with disorders of consciousness. Increased intersubject correlation values in the backward speech condition were noted with improving disorder of consciousness diagnosis, both in cross-sectional analysis and in a subset of patients with longitudinal data. Intersubject correlation of neural responses to narrative speech audition differentiates healthy controls from patients and appears to index clinical diagnoses in disorders of consciousness.

[An existential-phenomenological approach to consciousness].

Science.gov (United States)

Langle, A

2014-01-01

The human beings are characterized as subjects. Their essence is understood as Person. A treatment which does not consider the subjective and the Person would not correspond their essence. For a feeling and autonomous being, consciousness plays a role but cannot fully correspond the being a person. This has a therapeutic impact on the treatment of unconscious patients and gives the treatment a specific access. Some instructions for the therapeutic application of the phenomenological-existential concept and the phenomenological attitude towards unconscious or brain traumatized patients are given. The role of consciousness for being human is briefly reflected from an existential perspective.

Simulation and Representation of Body, Emotion, and Core Consciousness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosse, T.; Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.; Henderson-Sellers, B.; Winikoff, M.

2005-01-01

This paper contributes an analysis and formalisation of Damasio's theory on core consciousness. Three important concepts in this theory are 'emotion', 'feeling', and 'feeling a feeling' (or core consciousness). In particular, a simulation model is described of the neural dynamics leading via emotion

A philosophical theory on human communication and modern physics: e(,2)c(,2)H('2)T energy-exchange and consciousness-change toward humanism, healing, and transformation

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins-Tate, Marnishia Laverne

This dissertation addresses the need for a body of human communication theory that can be useful toward advancing personal and social transformation. Of the humanistic genre, it suggests that there is a need to promote humanism, healing, and personal transformation in the non-clinical settings of everyday living. Three questions guide the effort. First, it asks: what kind of human communication theory might describe some of the underlying dynamics of human interaction, while also suggesting ways to improve the quality of interactions of any related philosophical theory be grounded by some scientific discipline? Then finally, it asks: how might these proposed concepts be captured in a manner that can be useful to human beings in everyday human interaction? Extending the work of modern physics to the realm of human communication, the theory integrates conceptual aspects of quantum theory, relativity theory, communication accommodation theory, and various nonverbal communication theory. Then, it proposes the philosophical framework for a new body of theory which it calls the energy-exchange theory of human communication. Treating human beings as living forms of matter, it suggests that ``energy'' is the life-force that sustains all human beings, and that ``consciousness'' is that qualitative level of development at which energy manifests itself in the human experience. It proposes that human beings have the capacity to exchange energy and influence consciousness during the human communication process, and that these interactions can advance humanism, healing, and transformation-which it proposes are the higher states and levels of human consciousness. Thus, this research effort sought to know and to describe a phenomenon that is the interactive human being; and to suggest useful ways that this volitional being can know and transform itself through human interaction. With verisimilitude as a driving factor in describing human beings as communicators, the research is

LEGAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF YOUTH IN CONDITIONS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. R. Kalinina

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Goal: to study peculiarities of legal consciousness among youth in conditions of vocational education in legal and non-legal fields.Methods and practices: empirical (Assessing moral development: dilemmas by L. Kohlberg, Practice of self-analysis diagnostics by A.V. Karpov, Test on legal and civic consciousness by L.A. Yasyukova, “Level of Subjective Control” methodology by E.F. Bazhin et al. and mathematical and statistical methods (descriptive, comparative, and cluster analyses.Result: Peculiarities of contents in legal consciousness and its regulatory function in students of legal and non-legal programs were identified. Three types of students were determined: those with non-formed legal consciousness, with formed legal consciousness and with formal legal consciousness; main directions for psychological and pedagogical work in the university to develop adequate legal consciousness in students of various fields were set.Applicability of results: results of the research can be applied when developing elective courses, extracurricular activities, strategy for character-building work of the university, both in training lawyers and other professionals.

Predictable Internal Brain Dynamics in EEG and Its Relation to Conscious States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaewook eYoo

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Consciousness is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon defying scientific explanation. Part of the reason why this is the case is due to its subjective nature. In our previous computational experiments, to avoid such a subjective trap, we took a strategy to investigate objective necessary conditions of consciousness. Our basic hypothesis was that predictive internal dynamics serves as such a condition. This is in line with theories of consciousness that treat retention (memory, protention (anticipation, and primary impression as the tripartite temporal structure of consciousness. To test our hypothesis, we analyzed publicly available sleep and awake electroencephalogram (EEG data. Our results show that EEG signals from awake or rapid eye movement (REM sleep states have more predictable dynamics compared to those from slow-wave sleep (SWS. Since awakeness and REM sleep are associated with conscious states and SWS with unconscious or less consciousness states, these results support our hypothesis. The results suggest an intricate relationship among prediction, consciousness, and time, with potential applications to time perception and neurorobotics.

Initial studies using the RatCAP conscious animal PET tomograph

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woody, C. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States)]. E-mail: woody@bnl.gov; Vaska, P. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Schlyer, D. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Pratte, J.-F. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Junnarkar, S. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Park, S.-J. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Stoll, S. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Purschke, M. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Southekal, S. [Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); Kriplani, A. [Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); Krishnamoorthy, S. [Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); Maramraju, S. [Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); Lee, D. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Schiffer, W. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Dewey, S. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Neill, J. [Long Island University, Brookville, NY (United States); Kandasamy, A. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); O' Connor, P. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Radeka, V. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Fontaine, R. [Sherbrooke University, Sherbrooke, Que. (Canada); Lecomte, R. [Sherbrooke University, Sherbrooke, Que. (Canada)

2007-02-01

The RatCAP is a small, head-mounted PET tomograph designed to image the brain of a conscious rat without the use of anesthesia. The detector is a complete, high-performance 3D tomograph consisting of a 3.8 cm inside-diameter ring containing 12 block detectors, each of which is comprised of a 4x8 array of 2.2x2.2x5 mm{sup 3} LSO crystals readout with a matching APD array and custom ASIC, and has a 1.8 cm axial field of view. Construction of the first working prototype detector has been completed and its performance characteristics have been measured. The results show an intrinsic spatial resolution of 2.1 mm, a time resolution of {approx}14 ns FWHM, and a sensitivity of 0.7% at an energy threshold of 150 keV. First preliminary images have been obtained using {sup 18}F-FDG and {sup 11}C-methamphetamine, which show comparable image quality to those obtained from a commercial MicroPET R4 scanner. Initial studies have also been carried out to study stress levels in rats wearing the RatCAP.

Initial studies using the RatCAP conscious animal PET tomograph

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woody, C.; Vaska, P.; Schlyer, D.; Pratte, J.-F.; Junnarkar, S.; Park, S.-J.; Stoll, S.; Purschke, M.; Southekal, S.; Kriplani, A.; Krishnamoorthy, S.; Maramraju, S.; Lee, D.; Schiffer, W.; Dewey, S.; Neill, J.; Kandasamy, A.; O'Connor, P.; Radeka, V.; Fontaine, R.; Lecomte, R.

2007-01-01

The RatCAP is a small, head-mounted PET tomograph designed to image the brain of a conscious rat without the use of anesthesia. The detector is a complete, high-performance 3D tomograph consisting of a 3.8 cm inside-diameter ring containing 12 block detectors, each of which is comprised of a 4x8 array of 2.2x2.2x5 mm 3 LSO crystals readout with a matching APD array and custom ASIC, and has a 1.8 cm axial field of view. Construction of the first working prototype detector has been completed and its performance characteristics have been measured. The results show an intrinsic spatial resolution of 2.1 mm, a time resolution of ∼14 ns FWHM, and a sensitivity of 0.7% at an energy threshold of 150 keV. First preliminary images have been obtained using 18 F-FDG and 11 C-methamphetamine, which show comparable image quality to those obtained from a commercial MicroPET R4 scanner. Initial studies have also been carried out to study stress levels in rats wearing the RatCAP

Consciousness, Religion and Being. On the Way Towards Nonscientific and Nonanthropological Understanding of Consciousnes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ihor Karivets

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In this article the author proposes nonscientific and nonanthropological resolution of “the prob- lem of consciousness” and denies the possibility to explain the nature of consciousness with the help of physics, neuroscience, cognitive science and also analytic philosophy. The author stresses that 1 consciousness transcends Me (selfhood and does not belong to it, 2 consciousness perceives being; being is consciousness. “The problem of consciousness” is not theoretical problem at all. In order to know what consciousness is, it is necessary to work with consciousness. Therefore, we do not theo- rize about consciousness. It is a practical task of a human being. The author argues that meditation, as a kind of practice, is the best way to work with consciousness and enter into it.

Ego and Self: A Synthesis of Theories of Consciousness and Personality.

Science.gov (United States)

Tatzel, Miriam

Ego and self refer to two ways of being. They are related on the one hand to neurosis and health and on the other hand to rational and intuitive modes of consciousness. The author in this article considers consciousness as it pertains to knowing oneself. She examines how ego, the rational consciousness as applied to oneself, can obstruct…

Social Class Dialogues and the Fostering of Class Consciousness

Science.gov (United States)

Madden, Meredith

2015-01-01

How do critical pedagogies promote undergraduate students' awareness of social class, social class identity, and social class inequalities in education? How do undergraduate students experience class consciousness-raising in the intergroup dialogue classroom? This qualitative study explores undergraduate students' class consciousness-raising in an…

Myth in the structure of national consciousness | Gizatova | Journal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... multiethnic state, the problem of scientific definition of nations, ethnic groups, national and ethnic consciousness has a special practical significance. In Russia and the post-Soviet space, the activation of mythological thinking has its own specifics. Keywords: Nations, Ethnicity, National consciousness, Myth, Globalization ...

Daylight prediction techniques in energy design tools

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Milne, M.; Zurick, J. [California Univ., Los Angeles, Dept. of Architecture, CA (United States)

1998-09-01

Four different whole-building energy design tool systems that calculate energy savings from daylighting and that display annual performance on an-hour-by-hour basis, have been tested. The nature of design tools, the sources of hourly outdoor illuminance data, the ways of predicting indoor illumination, the assumptions of each tool, and the resulting energy savings of the design tools tested are discussed. The tests were carried out with the essential criteria for evaluating whole-building daylighting and energy design tools in mind. These have been identified as user confidence, accuracy, response time, and the amount of detail. Results of the tests, all four of them run on a single elementary school classroom for the sake of comparability, were provided. 9 refs., 2 figs.

Autonoetic Consciousness in Autobiographical Memories after Medial Temporal Lobe Resection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Noulhiane

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This study aims to investigate autonoetic consciousness associated with episodic autobiographical memory in patients who had undergone unilateral medial temporal lobe resection for intractable epilepsy. Autonoetic consciousness, defined as the conscious feeling of mentally travelling back in time to relive a specific event, was assessed using the Remember/Know (R/K paradigm across different time periods as proposed in the autobiographical memory task developed by Piolino et al. (TEMPau task. Results revealed that the two patient groups (left and right temporal resection gave reduced sense of reliving (R responses and more familiarity (K responses than healthy controls. This poor autonoetic consciousness was highlighted when patients were asked to justify their Remember responses by recalling sensory-perceptive, affective or spatiotemporal specific details across all life periods. These results support the bilateral MTL contribution to episodic autobiographical memory covering the entire lifespan, which is consistent with the multiple trace theory of MTL function [7,9]. This study also demonstrates the bilateral involvement of MTL structures in recalling specific details of personal events characterized by autonoetic consciousness.

Autonoetic Consciousness in Autobiographical Memories after Medial Temporal Lobe Resection

Science.gov (United States)

Noulhiane, M.; Piolino, P.; Hasboun, D.; Clemenceau, S.; Baulac, M.; Samson, S.

2008-01-01

This study aims to investigate autonoetic consciousness associated with episodic autobiographical memory in patients who had undergone unilateral medial temporal lobe resection for intractable epilepsy. Autonoetic consciousness, defined as the conscious feeling of mentally travelling back in time to relive a specific event, was assessed using the Remember/Know (R/K) paradigm across different time periods as proposed in the autobiographical memory task developed by Piolino et al. (TEMPau task). Results revealed that the two patient groups (left and right temporal resection) gave reduced sense of reliving (R) responses and more familiarity (K) responses than healthy controls. This poor autonoetic consciousness was highlighted when patients were asked to justify their Remember responses by recalling sensory-perceptive, affective or spatiotemporal specific details across all life periods. These results support the bilateral MTL contribution to episodic autobiographical memory covering the entire lifespan, which is consistent with the multiple trace theory of MTL function [7,9]. This study also demonstrates the bilateral involvement of MTL structures in recalling specific details of personal events characterized by autonoetic consciousness. PMID:18413911

The Attention Schema Theory: A Foundation for Engineering Artificial Consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael S. A. Graziano

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the attention schema theory is to explain how an information-processing device, the brain, arrives at the claim that it possesses a non-physical, subjective awareness and assigns a high degree of certainty to that extraordinary claim. The theory does not address how the brain might actually possess a non-physical essence. It is not a theory that deals in the non-physical. It is about the computations that cause a machine to make a claim and to assign a high degree of certainty to the claim. The theory is offered as a possible starting point for building artificial consciousness. Given current technology, it should be possible to build a machine that contains a rich internal model of what consciousness is, attributes that property of consciousness to itself and to the people it interacts with, and uses that attribution to make predictions about human behavior. Such a machine would “believe” it is conscious and act like it is conscious, in the same sense that the human machine believes and acts.

Mental states, processes, and conscious intent in Libet's experiments

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The meaning and significance of Benjamin Libet's studies on the timing of conscious will have been widely discussed, especially by those wishing to draw sceptical conclusions about conscious agency and free will. However, certain important correctives for thinking about mental states and processes undermine the ...

Functional brain imaging in the clinical assessment of consciousness.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael S Rafii

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Recent findings suggest that functional brain imaging might be used to identify consciousness in patients diagnosed with persistent vegetative state and minimally conscious state. Michael Rafii and James Brewer discuss the potential for fMRI's wider implementation in clinical practice, and associated caveats.

Nurses Use of Critical Care Pain Observational Tool in Patients with Low Consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad-Ali Asadi-Noghabi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The diagnosis of pain in patients with low consciousness is a major challenge in the intensive care unit (ICU. Therefore, the use of behavioral tools for pain assessment could be an effective tool to manage pain in this group of patients. The aim of this study was to determine the effects on pain management by nurses using a critical care pain observational tool in patients with a decreased level of consciousness. Methods: Our research used a before and after design to evaluate the ability of nurses to manage pain in patients with low consciousness. A total of 106 ICU nurses were included in the study. The study was divided into three phases: pre-implementation, implementation, and post-implementation. The researchers first observed the nurses management of pain in their patients; this was done three times using a checklist following tracheal suctioning and position change procedures. The nurses were then taught how to apply the critical-care pain observational tool (CPOT. Post-implementation of the tool, the researchers re-evaluated trained the nurses’ pain management. Results: Performance scores after training improved with relation to the nurses diagnosis of pain, pharmacological and nonpharmacological actions, reassessment of pain, and re-relieving of any pain. However, use of the tool did not improve the recording of the patient’s pain and the relief measures used. Conclusion: Use of the CPOT can increase nurse’s sensitivity to pain in non-conscious patients and drive them to track and perform pain management.

Towards a cognitive neuroscience of consciousness: basic evidence and a workspace framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Dehaene, S; Naccache, L

2001-04-01

This introductory chapter attempts to clarify the philosophical, empirical, and theoretical bases on which a cognitive neuroscience approach to consciousness can be founded. We isolate three major empirical observations that any theory of consciousness should incorporate, namely (1) a considerable amount of processing is possible without consciousness, (2) attention is a prerequisite of consciousness, and (3) consciousness is required for some specific cognitive tasks, including those that require durable information maintenance, novel combinations of operations, or the spontaneous generation of intentional behavior. We then propose a theoretical framework that synthesizes those facts: the hypothesis of a global neuronal workspace. This framework postulates that, at any given time, many modular cerebral networks are active in parallel and process information in an unconscious manner. An information becomes conscious, however, if the neural population that represents it is mobilized by top-down attentional amplification into a brain-scale state of coherent activity that involves many neurons distributed throughout the brain. The long-distance connectivity of these 'workspace neurons' can, when they are active for a minimal duration, make the information available to a variety of processes including perceptual categorization, long-term memorization, evaluation, and intentional action. We postulate that this global availability of information through the workspace is what we subjectively experience as a conscious state. A complete theory of consciousness should explain why some cognitive and cerebral representations can be permanently or temporarily inaccessible to consciousness, what is the range of possible conscious contents, how they map onto specific cerebral circuits, and whether a generic neuronal mechanism underlies all of them. We confront the workspace model with those issues and identify novel experimental predictions. Neurophysiological, anatomical, and

Imaging neural signatures of consciousness: 'what', 'when', 'where' and 'how' does it work?

Science.gov (United States)

Sergent, C; Naccache, L

2012-01-01

'What' do we call consciousness? 'When' and 'Where' in the brain do conscious states occur, and 'How' conscious processing and conscious access to a given content work? In the present paper, we present a non-exhaustive overview of each of these 4 major issues, we provide the reader with a brief description of the major difficulties related to these issues, we highlight the current theoretical points of debate, and we advocate for the explanatory power of the "global workspace" model of consciousness (Baars 1989; Dehaene and Naccache 2001; Dehaene, Changeux et al. 2006) which can accommodate for a fairly large proportion of current experimental findings, and which can be used to reinterpret apparent contradictory findings within a single theoretical framework. Most notably, we emphasize the crucial importance to distinguish genuine neural signatures of conscious access from neural events correlated with consciousness but occurring either before ('upstream') or after ('downstream').

Technology-based assessment in patients with disorders of consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carol Di Perri

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction. A number of studies highlight the difficulty in forming a diagnosis for patients with disorders of consciousness when this is established merely on behavioral assessments. Background. Positron emission tomography (PET, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI, and electroencephalography combined with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS-EEG techniques are promoting the clinical characterization of this challenging population. With such technology-based "objective" tools, patients are also differentially able to follow simple commands and in some cases even communicate through modified brain activity. Consequently, the vegetative state and minimally conscious state have been revised and new nosologies have been proposed, namely the unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, the minimally conscious state plus and minus, and the functional locked-in syndrome. Aim. To our mind, an integration of different technical modalities is important to gain a holistic vision of the underlying pathophysiology of disorders of consciousness in general and to promote single-patient medical management in particular.

Concept of consciousness in the context of quantum mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menskii, Mikhail B

2005-01-01

Conceptual problems of the quantum theory of measurement are considered, which are embodied in well-known paradoxes and in Bell's inequalities. Arguments are advanced in favor of the viewpoint that these problems may hardly be solved without direct inclusion of the observer's consciousness in the theoretical description of a quantum measurement. Discussed in this connection is the so-called many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics proposed by Everett, as is the extension of Everett's concept, which consists in the assumption that separating the quantum state components corresponding to alternative measurements is not only associated with the observer's consciousness but is completely identified with it. This approach is shown to open up qualitatively new avenues for the unification of physics and psychology and, more broadly, of the sciences and the humanities. This may lead to an extension of the theory of consciousness and shed light on significant and previously misunderstood phenomena in the sphere of consciousness. (reviews of topical problems)

Short- and Long-Term Effects of Conscious, Minimally Conscious and Unconscious Brand Logos

Science.gov (United States)

Gordts, Sarah; Soetens, Eric; Van den Bussche, Eva

2013-01-01

Unconsciously presented information can influence our behavior in an experimental context. However, whether these effects can be translated to a daily life context, such as advertising, is strongly debated. What hampers this translation is the widely accepted notion of the short-livedness of unconscious representations. The effect of unconscious information on behavior is assumed to rapidly vanish within a few hundreds of milliseconds. Using highly familiar brand logos (e.g., the logo of McDonald's) as subliminal and supraliminal primes in two priming experiments, we assessed whether these logos were able to elicit behavioral effects after a short (e.g., 350 ms), a medium (e.g., 1000 ms), and a long (e.g., 5000 ms) interval. Our results demonstrate that when real-life information is presented minimally consciously or even unconsciously, it can influence our subsequent behavior, even when more than five seconds pass between the presentation of the minimally conscious or unconscious information and the behavior on which it exerts its influence. PMID:23658681

Short- and long-term effects of conscious, minimally conscious and unconscious brand logos.

Science.gov (United States)

Muscarella, Charlotte; Brintazzoli, Gigliola; Gordts, Sarah; Soetens, Eric; Van den Bussche, Eva

2013-01-01

Unconsciously presented information can influence our behavior in an experimental context. However, whether these effects can be translated to a daily life context, such as advertising, is strongly debated. What hampers this translation is the widely accepted notion of the short-livedness of unconscious representations. The effect of unconscious information on behavior is assumed to rapidly vanish within a few hundreds of milliseconds. Using highly familiar brand logos (e.g., the logo of McDonald's) as subliminal and supraliminal primes in two priming experiments, we assessed whether these logos were able to elicit behavioral effects after a short (e.g., 350 ms), a medium (e.g., 1000 ms), and a long (e.g., 5000 ms) interval. Our results demonstrate that when real-life information is presented minimally consciously or even unconsciously, it can influence our subsequent behavior, even when more than five seconds pass between the presentation of the minimally conscious or unconscious information and the behavior on which it exerts its influence.

Short- and long-term effects of conscious, minimally conscious and unconscious brand logos.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charlotte Muscarella

Full Text Available Unconsciously presented information can influence our behavior in an experimental context. However, whether these effects can be translated to a daily life context, such as advertising, is strongly debated. What hampers this translation is the widely accepted notion of the short-livedness of unconscious representations. The effect of unconscious information on behavior is assumed to rapidly vanish within a few hundreds of milliseconds. Using highly familiar brand logos (e.g., the logo of McDonald's as subliminal and supraliminal primes in two priming experiments, we assessed whether these logos were able to elicit behavioral effects after a short (e.g., 350 ms, a medium (e.g., 1000 ms, and a long (e.g., 5000 ms interval. Our results demonstrate that when real-life information is presented minimally consciously or even unconsciously, it can influence our subsequent behavior, even when more than five seconds pass between the presentation of the minimally conscious or unconscious information and the behavior on which it exerts its influence.

Defining The Energy Saving Potential of Architectural Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Naboni, Emanuele; Malcangi, Antonio; Zhang, Yi

2015-01-01

Designers, in response to codes or voluntary " green building " programs, are increasingly concerned with building energy demand reduction, but they are not fully aware of the energy saving potential of architectural design. According to literature, building form, construction and material choices...... on sustainable design: " Design With Climate " by Olgyay (1963), which discussed strategies for climate-adapted architecture, and Lechner´s " Heating, Cooling and Lighting " (1991), on how to reduce building energy needs by as much as 60 – 80 percent with proper architectural design decisions. Both books used...... behaviour. The research shows the best solution for each of the climates and compares them with Olgyay´s findings. Finally, for each climate the energy saving potential is defined and then compared to Lechner's conclusions. Defining The Energy Saving Potential of Architectural Design (PDF Download Available...

Consciousness of Unification: The Mind-Matter Phallacy Bites the Dust

Science.gov (United States)

Beichler, James E.

A complete theoretical model of how consciousness arises in neural nets can be developed based on a mixed quantum/classical basis. Both mind and consciousness are multi-leveled scalar and vector electromagnetic complexity patterns, respectively, which emerge within all living organisms through the process of evolution. Like life, the mind and consciousness patterns extend throughout living organisms (bodies), but the neural nets and higher level groupings that distinguish higher levels of consciousness only exist in the brain so mind and consciousness have been traditionally associated with the brain alone. A close study of neurons and neural nets in the brain shows that the microtubules within axons are classical bio-magnetic inductors that emit and absorb electromagnetic pulses from each other. These pulses establish interference patterns that influence the quantized vector potential patterns of interstitial water molecules within the neurons as well as create the coherence within neurons and neural nets that scientists normally associate with more complex memories, thought processes and streams of thought. Memory storage and recall are guided by the microtubules and the actual memory patterns are stored as magnetic vector potential complexity patterns in the points of space at the quantum level occupied by the water molecules. This model also accounts for the plasticity of the brain and implies that mind and consciousness, like life itself, are the result of evolutionary processes. However, consciousness can evolve independent of an organism's birth genetics once it has evolved by normal bottom-up genetic processes and thus force a new type of top-down evolution on living organisms and species as a whole that can be explained by expanding the laws of thermodynamics to include orderly systems.

Study of Black Consciousness in A Raisin in The Sun

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Rehana Kousar

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This work explores Black Consciousness in A Raisin in the Sun by Hansberry. Black Consciousness elaborates an awareness of and pride in one’s identity as a black person. It analyzes A Raisin in the Sun by applying the theory of Black Consciousness under the perspective of Fanon. This study analysis the drama at three levels: sense of pride on black culture and identity, struggle against Apartheid and Blacks’ resolution to accept the challenges of White Community.

Energy Design Plugin: An EnergyPlus Plugin for SketchUp; Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ellis, P. G.; Torcellini, P. A.; Crawley, D. B.

2008-08-01

This paper describes the Energy Design Plugin, a new software plugin that aims to integrate simulation as a tool during the earliest phases of the design process. The plugin couples the EnergyPlus whole-building simulation engine to the Google SketchUp drawing program.

Experience with Conscious sedation for Oocyte Retrieval in Nigeria

African Journals Online (AJOL)

elearning

The aim of this study was to assess clients' pain experience, acceptance of conscious sedation and correlates of pain during oocyte retrieval ... Conscious sedation and analgesia are one of several methods used to relieve pain during oocyte retrieval in. IVF procedures. .... relieves anxiety and reduces the patient's memory.

ASEAN-USAID buildings energy conservation project. Volume 1, Energy standards: Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levine, M.D.; Busch, J.F. [eds.][Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States); Deringer, J.J. [Deringer Group, Riva, MD (United States)

1992-06-01

Mandatory or voluntary energy-efficiency standards for new or existing buildings can play an important role in a national program aimed at promoting energy conservation. Building codes and standards can provide a degree of control over design and building practices throughout the construction process, and encourage awareness of energy-conscious design. Studies in developed countries indicate that efficiency standards can produce energy reductions on the order of 20 to 40% or more. Within ASEAN, analyses of the savings potential from the proposed standards suggest that if implemented, these standards would produce savings over current new design practice of 19% to 24%. In this volume we provide an overview of the ASEAN-USAID project aimed at promulgating standards for energy efficiency in commercial buildings. The process of developing and implementing energy-efficiency standards for buildings can be subdivided into two key components: policy development; and technical and economic analysis. Each of these involves a number of steps and processes, as outlined in Figure 1-1. This volume describes the technical and economic analyses used to develop the proposed energy efficiency standards for four countries (Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia), and to refine an energy standard existing in Singapore since 1979. Though oriented toward the ASEAN region, the analysis methods described here are applicable in a range of settings, provided appropriate modifications are made for local building construction, climatic, economic, and political conditions. Implementation issues are not specifically addressed here; rather this volume is oriented towards the analytical work needed to establish or revise an energy standard for buildings.

Self-conscious emotions and criminal offending.

Science.gov (United States)

Tibbetts, Stephen G

2003-08-01

This study examined the relation of personality traits--shame-proneness, guilt-proneness, and pride--on offending behavior. Using survey data from a sample of 224 college students, the construct and criterion-related validity of scales of the Shame Proneness Scale, the Test of Self-conscious Affect, and the Personality Feelings Questionnaire-2 were assessed. Regression analyses showed that self-conscious emotions are important in the etiology of criminal offending. Specifically, rated pride was positively correlated with self-reported criminal activity, whereas ratings of guilt were negatively associated with offending. The relation of shame with criminality varied depending on the type of measure used to indicate proneness to shame.

Activity in part of the neural correlates of consciousness reflects integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksson, Johan

2017-10-01

Integration is commonly viewed as a key process for generating conscious experiences. Accordingly, there should be increased activity within the neural correlates of consciousness when demands on integration increase. We used fMRI and "informational masking" to isolate the neural correlates of consciousness and measured how the associated brain activity changed as a function of required integration. Integration was manipulated by comparing the experience of hearing simple reoccurring tones to hearing harmonic tone triplets. The neural correlates of auditory consciousness included superior temporal gyrus, lateral and medial frontal regions, cerebellum, and also parietal cortex. Critically, only activity in left parietal cortex increased significantly as a function of increasing demands on integration. We conclude that integration can explain part of the neural activity associated with the generation conscious experiences, but that much of associated brain activity apparently reflects other processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neural correlates of consciousness

African Journals Online (AJOL)

neural cells.1 Under this approach, consciousness is believed to be a product of the ... possible only when the 40 Hz electrical hum is sustained among the brain circuits, ... expect the brain stem ascending reticular activating system. (ARAS) and the ... related synchrony of cortical neurons.11 Indeed, stimulation of brainstem ...

The sensory timecourses associated with conscious visual item memory and source memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Thakral, Preston P; Slotnick, Scott D

2015-09-01

Previous event-related potential (ERP) findings have suggested that during visual item and source memory, nonconscious and conscious sensory (occipital-temporal) activity onsets may be restricted to early (0-800 ms) and late (800-1600 ms) temporal epochs, respectively. In an ERP experiment, we tested this hypothesis by separately assessing whether the onset of conscious sensory activity was restricted to the late epoch during source (location) memory and item (shape) memory. We found that conscious sensory activity had a late (>800 ms) onset during source memory and an early (memory. In a follow-up fMRI experiment, conscious sensory activity was localized to BA17, BA18, and BA19. Of primary importance, the distinct source memory and item memory ERP onsets contradict the hypothesis that there is a fixed temporal boundary separating nonconscious and conscious processing during all forms of visual conscious retrieval. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Energy Conservation of the Designated Government Buildings in Thailand

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Wangskarn Prapat

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The designated government buildings have implemented and administered energy program under the energy development and promotion Act 2007 for many years continuously until 2015. Appointment person responsible for energy, performing energy management and implementing the energy conservation work plan and measures are legal requirements for the designated buildings. Therefore, the ministry of Energy has launched the project to support the implementation of energy management. The aim of the project was to create the energy management system in the designated government buildings, and to reduce energy consumption. In this paper, the evaluation of the project has been presented from the achievements of 839 designated government buildings. The energy saving is more than 440 ktoe/year. This is about 3% of energy consumptions of buildings.

Consciousness and the prefrontal parietal network: insights from attention, working memory, and chunking.

Science.gov (United States)

Bor, Daniel; Seth, Anil K

2012-01-01

Consciousness has of late become a "hot topic" in neuroscience. Empirical work has centered on identifying potential neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs), with a converging view that the prefrontal parietal network (PPN) is closely associated with this process. Theoretical work has primarily sought to explain how informational properties of this cortical network could account for phenomenal properties of consciousness. However, both empirical and theoretical research has given less focus to the psychological features that may account for the NCCs. The PPN has also been heavily linked with cognitive processes, such as attention. We describe how this literature is under-appreciated in consciousness science, in part due to the increasingly entrenched assumption of a strong dissociation between attention and consciousness. We argue instead that there is more common ground between attention and consciousness than is usually emphasized: although objects can under certain circumstances be attended to in the absence of conscious access, attention as a content selection and boosting mechanism is an important and necessary aspect of consciousness. Like attention, working memory and executive control involve the interlinking of multiple mental objects and have also been closely associated with the PPN. We propose that this set of cognitive functions, in concert with attention, make up the core psychological components of consciousness. One related process, chunking, exploits logical or mnemonic redundancies in a dataset so that it can be recoded and a given task optimized. Chunking has been shown to activate PPN particularly robustly, even compared with other cognitively demanding tasks, such as working memory or mental arithmetic. It is therefore possible that chunking, as a tool to detect useful patterns within an integrated set of intensely processed (attended) information, has a central role to play in consciousness. Following on from this, we suggest that a key

Consciousness and the prefrontal parietal network: Insights from attention, working memory and chunking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel eBor

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Consciousness has of late become a hot topic in neuroscience. Empirical work has centred on identifying potential neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs, with a converging view that the prefrontal parietal network (PPN is closely associated with this process. Theoretical work has primarily sought to explain how informational properties of this cortical network could account for phenomenal properties of consciousness. However, both empirical and theoretical research has given less focus to the psychological features that may account for the NCCs. The PPN has also been heavily linked with cognitive processes, such as attention. We describe how this literature is under-appreciated in consciousness science, in part due to the increasingly entrenched assumption of a strong dissociation between attention and consciousness. We argue instead that there is more common ground between attention and consciousness than is usually emphasized: although objects can under certain circumstances be attended to in the absence of conscious access, attention as a content selection and boosting mechanism is an important and necessary aspect of consciousness. Like attention, working memory and executive control involve the interlinking of multiple mental objects and have also been closely associated with the PPN. We propose that this set of cognitive functions, in concert with attention, make up the core psychological components of consciousness. One related process, chunking, has been shown to activate PPN particularly robustly, even compared with other cognitively demanding tasks, such as working memory or mental arithmetic. It is therefore possible that chunking, as a tool to detect useful patterns within an integrated set of intensely processed (attended information, has a central role to play in consciousness. Following on from this, we suggest that the main evolutionary purpose of consciousness may be to provide innovative solutions to complex or novel problems.

The Radical Plasticity Thesis: How the Brain Learns to be Conscious.

Science.gov (United States)

Cleeremans, Axel

2011-01-01

In this paper, I explore the idea that consciousness is something that the brain learns to do rather than an intrinsic property of certain neural states and not others. Starting from the idea that neural activity is inherently unconscious, the question thus becomes: How does the brain learn to be conscious? I suggest that consciousness arises as a result of the brain's continuous attempts at predicting not only the consequences of its actions on the world and on other agents, but also the consequences of activity in one cerebral region on activity in other regions. By this account, the brain continuously and unconsciously learns to redescribe its own activity to itself, so developing systems of meta-representations that characterize and qualify the target first-order representations. Such learned redescriptions, enriched by the emotional value associated with them, form the basis of conscious experience. Learning and plasticity are thus central to consciousness, to the extent that experiences only occur in experiencers that have learned to know they possess certain first-order states and that have learned to care more about certain states than about others. This is what I call the "Radical Plasticity Thesis." In a sense thus, this is the enactive perspective, but turned both inwards and (further) outwards. Consciousness involves "signal detection on the mind"; the conscious mind is the brain's (non-conceptual, implicit) theory about itself. I illustrate these ideas through neural network models that simulate the relationships between performance and awareness in different tasks.

Human Consciousness: Where Is It From and What Is It for

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boris Kotchoubey

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Consciousness is not a process in the brain but a kind of behavior that, of course, is controlled by the brain like any other behavior. Human consciousness emerges on the interface between three components of animal behavior: communication, play, and the use of tools. These three components interact on the basis of anticipatory behavioral control, which is common for all complex forms of animal life. All three do not exclusively distinguish our close relatives, i.e., primates, but are broadly presented among various species of mammals, birds, and even cephalopods; however, their particular combination in humans is unique. The interaction between communication and play yields symbolic games, most importantly language; the interaction between symbols and tools results in human praxis. Taken together, this gives rise to a mechanism that allows a creature, instead of performing controlling actions overtly, to play forward the corresponding behavioral options in a “second reality” of objectively (by means of tools grounded symbolic systems. The theory possesses the following properties: (1 It is anti-reductionist and anti-eliminativist, and yet, human consciousness is considered as a purely natural (biological phenomenon. (2 It avoids epiphenomenalism and indicates in which conditions human consciousness has evolutionary advantages, and in which it may even be disadvantageous. (3 It allows to easily explain the most typical features of consciousness, such as objectivity, seriality and limited resources, the relationship between consciousness and explicit memory, the feeling of conscious agency, etc.

BIPV design study for Renewable Energy Centre and Eco-Energy House

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Riffat, S.B.; Wilson, R.; Omer, S. [University of Nottingham (United Kingdom). School of the Built Environment

2000-07-01

The aim of this project was to monitor performance of PV systems on the Renewable Energy Centre and the Eco-Energy House at the School of Built Environment, University of Nottingham. The Renewable Energy Centre was constructed using a cash donation from Beacon Energy Limited, while construction of the Eco-Energy House was funded by David Wilson Homes Ltd. The primary role of these facilities is to assist in renewable energy technology transfer. Both buildings were designed to be thermally efficient and utilize a range of renewable energy systems. They will be used to attract and educate visitors from local government, schools and collages, and the general public. This report documents the design process for Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) systems on the two buildings. The buildings are significantly different in both construction and occupancy but are sited close to each other and share similar weather conditions. The rationale behind the BIPV designs is explained and detail is provided on the final solutions for each building. A number of methods were used to assist in the selection of appropriate PV systems to integrate into each building. These included energy analysis using PVSYST3 software, CAD modelling for aesthetics assessment, architectural and construction considerations and economic justification. The design chosen for Renewable Energy Centre was a vertical wall PV facade system using thin film technology, while a roof integrated system using monocrystalline PV roofing slates was chosen for the Eco-Energy House. In terms of economic justification, both systems cannot be said to be cost effective at the current market price for energy, however, the aim was to bring the technology to the attention of a wide audience and demonstrate the potential of the systems for reducing CO{sub 2} emission to the environment.

Global Consciousness and Pillars of Sustainable Development: A Study on Self-Perceptions of the First-Year University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Savelyeva, Tamara; Douglas, William

2017-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to provide data on the self-perceived state of sustainability consciousness of first-year Hong Kong students. Design/methodology/approach: Within a mixed-method research design framework, the authors conducted 787 questionnaires and collected 989 reflective narratives of first-year students of a university in Hong Kong,…

Virtual reality and consciousness inference in dreaming.

Science.gov (United States)

Hobson, J Allan; Hong, Charles C-H; Friston, Karl J

2014-01-01

This article explores the notion that the brain is genetically endowed with an innate virtual reality generator that - through experience-dependent plasticity - becomes a generative or predictive model of the world. This model, which is most clearly revealed in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep dreaming, may provide the theater for conscious experience. Functional neuroimaging evidence for brain activations that are time-locked to rapid eye movements (REMs) endorses the view that waking consciousness emerges from REM sleep - and dreaming lays the foundations for waking perception. In this view, the brain is equipped with a virtual model of the world that generates predictions of its sensations. This model is continually updated and entrained by sensory prediction errors in wakefulness to ensure veridical perception, but not in dreaming. In contrast, dreaming plays an essential role in maintaining and enhancing the capacity to model the world by minimizing model complexity and thereby maximizing both statistical and thermodynamic efficiency. This perspective suggests that consciousness corresponds to the embodied process of inference, realized through the generation of virtual realities (in both sleep and wakefulness). In short, our premise or hypothesis is that the waking brain engages with the world to predict the causes of sensations, while in sleep the brain's generative model is actively refined so that it generates more efficient predictions during waking. We review the evidence in support of this hypothesis - evidence that grounds consciousness in biophysical computations whose neuronal and neurochemical infrastructure has been disclosed by sleep research.

A design guide for energy-efficient research laboratories

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wishner, N.; Chen, A.; Cook, L. [eds.; Bell, G.C.; Mills, E.; Sartor, D.; Avery, D.; Siminovitch, M.; Piette, M.A.

1996-09-24

This document--A Design Guide for Energy-Efficient Research Laboratories--provides a detailed and holistic framework to assist designers and energy managers in identifying and applying advanced energy-efficiency features in laboratory-type environments. The Guide fills an important void in the general literature and compliments existing in-depth technical manuals. Considerable information is available pertaining to overall laboratory design issues, but no single document focuses comprehensively on energy issues in these highly specialized environments. Furthermore, practitioners may utilize many antiquated rules of thumb, which often inadvertently cause energy inefficiency. The Guide helps its user to: introduce energy decision-making into the earliest phases of the design process, access the literature of pertinent issues, and become aware of debates and issues on related topics. The Guide does focus on individual technologies, as well as control systems, and important operational factors such as building commissioning. However, most importantly, the Guide is intended to foster a systems perspective (e.g. right sizing) and to present current leading-edge, energy-efficient design practices and principles.

Energy Design Guides for Army Barracks: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deru, M.; Zhivov, A.; Herron, D.

2008-08-01

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and NREL are developing target energy budgets and design guides to achieve 30% energy savings. This paper focuses the design guide for one type of barracks called unaccompanied enlisted personal housing.

A perturbational approach for evaluating the brain's capacity for consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Massimini, Marcello; Boly, Melanie; Casali, Adenauer; Rosanova, Mario; Tononi, Giulio

2009-01-01

How do we evaluate a brain's capacity to sustain conscious experience if the subject does not manifest purposeful behaviour and does not respond to questions and commands? What should we measure in this case? An emerging idea in theoretical neuroscience is that what really matters for consciousness in the brain is not activity levels, access to sensory inputs or neural synchronization per se, but rather the ability of different areas of the thalamocortical system to interact causally with each other to form an integrated whole. In particular, the information integration theory of consciousness (IITC) argues that consciousness is integrated information and that the brain should be able to generate consciousness to the extent that it has a large repertoire of available states (information), yet it cannot be decomposed into a collection of causally independent subsystems (integration). To evaluate the ability to integrate information among distributed cortical regions, it may not be sufficient to observe the brain in action. Instead, it is useful to employ a perturbational approach and examine to what extent different regions of the thalamocortical system can interact causally (integration) and produce specific responses (information). Thanks to a recently developed technique, transcranial magnetic stimulation and high-density electroencephalography (TMS/hd-EEG), one can record the immediate reaction of the entire thalamocortical system to controlled perturbations of different cortical areas. In this chapter, using sleep as a model of unconsciousness, we show that TMS/hd-EEG can detect clear-cut changes in the ability of the thalamocortical system to integrate information when the level of consciousness fluctuates across the sleep-wake cycle. Based on these results, we discuss the potential applications of this novel technique to evaluate objectively the brain's capacity for consciousness at the bedside of brain-injured patients.

Alteration of consciousness in focal epilepsy: the global workspace alteration theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartolomei, Fabrice; McGonigal, Aileen; Naccache, Lionel

2014-01-01

Alteration of consciousness (AOC) is an important clinical manifestation of partial seizures that greatly impacts the quality of life of patients with epilepsy. Several theories have been proposed in the last fifty years. An emerging concept in neurology is the global workspace (GW) theory that postulates that access to consciousness (from several sensorial modalities) requires transient coordinated activity from associative cortices, in particular the prefrontal cortex and the posterior parietal associative cortex. Several lines of evidence support the view that partial seizures alter consciousness through disturbance of the GW. In particular, a nonlinear relation has been shown between excess of synchronization in the GW regions and the degree of AOC. Changes in thalamocortical synchrony occurring during the spreading of the ictal activity seem particularly involved in the mechanism of altered consciousness. This link between abnormal synchrony and AOC offers new perspectives in the treatment of the AOC since means of decreasing consciousness alteration in seizures could improve patients' quality of life. © 2013.

Boosting Cognition With Music in Patients With Disorders of Consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Castro, Maïté; Tillmann, Barbara; Luauté, Jacques; Corneyllie, Alexandra; Dailler, Frédéric; André-Obadia, Nathalie; Perrin, Fabien

2015-09-01

Music listening conveys beneficial effects on cognitive processes in both normal and pathologic cerebral functioning. Surprisingly, no quantitative study has evaluated the potential effects of music on cognition and consciousness in patients with disorders of consciousness. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of music on cerebral processing in patients with disorders of consciousness. Using bedside electroencephalographic recording, we acquired in 13 patients with disorders of consciousness event-related potentials to the patient's first name after either an excerpt of the patient's preferred music (music condition) or a continuous sound (control condition). The cerebral response to the patient's first name was more often observed in the music condition, than in the control condition. Furthermore, the presence or absence of a discriminative response in the music condition seemed to be associated with a favorable or unfavorable outcome, respectively. These findings demonstrate for the first time that music has a beneficial effect on cognitive processes of patients with disorders of consciousness. The autobiographical characteristics of music, that is, its emotional and personal relevance, probably increase arousal and/or awareness. © The Author(s) 2015.

Consciousness: The flipside of anaesthesia

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Adele

This option includes “perfect” simulation of conscious- ness, without it actually ... in particular, the search for molecular mechanisms has been greatly hindered by our .... q-bits in a distributed array of cytoskeletal proteins through- out the cell.

Epileptic consciousness: concept and meaning of aura.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez-Silva, Sergio; Alvarez-Silva, Iria; Alvarez-Rodriguez, Javier; Perez-Echeverria, M J; Campayo-Martinez, Antonio; Rodriguez-Fernandez, F L

2006-05-01

This research is based on previous publications that have analyzed certain neuropsychological phenomena that always have the same characteristic clinical features: a vivid experience of sudden onset and automatic development, accompanied by an intense sensation of strangeness. When these automatisms are accompanied by only mental symptoms, the designation paroxysmal psychic automatisms (PPAs) is proposed, and they should be interpreted as partial seizures (PSs) with a psychic content whenever they clearly exhibit the four features of suddenness, passivity, intensity, and strangeness. This interpretation is based on the existence of a wealth of scientific literature indicating an overlap between PPAs and PSs; moreover, bibliographic reviews indicate that the clinical signs just defined as characterizing PPAs are precisely those defining the epileptic consciousness.

How Consciousness-Raising Affects Intonation and Facilitates Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Shariati, Mohammad

2007-01-01

This paper reports on an investigation about the relation between a student's conscious awareness of the structure of a sentence and the degree of his/her intonation accuracy as well as his/her reading comprehension. The research was done based on the hypothesis that: "if the students are made conscious of the infrastructure of lengthy…

Dental anxiety and personality: investigating the relationship between dental anxiety and self-consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Economou, George C

2003-09-01

This study investigated whether personality plays a role in a condition called dental anxiety. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between dental anxiety (the negative response to the stress elicited from a dental interaction) and self-consciousness (the tendency to evaluate aspects of oneself that are subject to private and public display). The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics possessed by dentally anxious individuals who face potential health risks because of their avoidance. Sixty York University undergraduate students were recruited by convenience sampling to participate. These subjects completed Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale and the Self-Consciousness Scale. The Self-Consciousness Scale consists of three subscales, including private self-consciousness, public self-consciousness, and social anxiety. Results indicated an 0.54 significant correlation between dental anxiety and self-consciousness. The public self-consciousness and social anxiety subscales correlated the most with dental anxiety. Furthermore, the data did not indicate a significant moderating relationship for gender between the two aforementioned variables. These results contribute to the establishment of personality characteristics as one of the dimensions determining dental anxiety.

Towards an integrative theory of consciousness: part 2 (an anthology of various other models).

Science.gov (United States)

De Sousa, Avinash

2013-01-01

The study of consciousness has today moved beyond neurobiology and cognitive models. In the past few years, there has been a surge of research into various newer areas. The present article looks at the non-neurobiological and non-cognitive theories regarding this complex phenomenon, especially ones that self-psychology, self-theory, artificial intelligence, quantum physics, visual cognitive science and philosophy have to offer. Self-psychology has proposed the need to understand the self and its development, and the ramifications of the self for morality and empathy, which will help us understand consciousness better. There have been inroads made from the fields of computer science, machine technology and artificial intelligence, including robotics, into understanding the consciousness of these machines and their implications for human consciousness. These areas are explored. Visual cortex and emotional theories along with their implications are discussed. The phylogeny and evolution of the phenomenon of consciousness is also highlighted, with theories on the emergence of consciousness in fetal and neonatal life. Quantum physics and its insights into the mind, along with the implications of consciousness and physics and their interface are debated. The role of neurophilosophy to understand human consciousness, the functions of such a concept, embodiment, the dark side of consciousness, future research needs and limitations of a scientific theory of consciousness complete the review. The importance and salient features of each theory are discussed along with certain pitfalls, if present. A need for the integration of various theories to understand consciousness from a holistic perspective is stressed.

Utilization of renewable energy in architectural design

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

TIAN Lei; QIN Youguo

2007-01-01

Renewable energy does not simply equal to using a photovoltaic (PV) board.In addition to heating,ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) engineering considerations,the design approaches of architects are crucial to the utilization condition and methods of renewable energy.Through profound comprehension of the relationship between renewable energy utilization and design approaches,we can achieve a dual-standard of building environment performance and esthetics.

An energy systems engineering approach to the optimal design of energy systems in commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Pei; Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N. [Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE), Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Li, Zheng [Department of Thermal Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2010-08-15

Energy consumption in commercial buildings accounts for a significant proportion of worldwide energy consumption. Any increase in the energy efficiency of the energy systems for commercial buildings would lead to significant energy savings and emissions reductions. In this work, we introduce an energy systems engineering framework towards the optimal design of such energy systems with improved energy efficiency and environmental performance. The framework features a superstructure representation of the various energy technology alternatives, a mixed-integer optimization formulation of the energy systems design problem, and a multi-objective design optimization solution strategy, where economic and environmental criteria are simultaneously considered and properly traded off. A case study of a supermarket energy systems design is presented to illustrate the key steps and potential of the proposed energy systems engineering approach. (author)

An energy systems engineering approach to the optimal design of energy systems in commercial buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Pei; Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N.; Li Zheng

2010-01-01

Energy consumption in commercial buildings accounts for a significant proportion of worldwide energy consumption. Any increase in the energy efficiency of the energy systems for commercial buildings would lead to significant energy savings and emissions reductions. In this work, we introduce an energy systems engineering framework towards the optimal design of such energy systems with improved energy efficiency and environmental performance. The framework features a superstructure representation of the various energy technology alternatives, a mixed-integer optimization formulation of the energy systems design problem, and a multi-objective design optimization solution strategy, where economic and environmental criteria are simultaneously considered and properly traded off. A case study of a supermarket energy systems design is presented to illustrate the key steps and potential of the proposed energy systems engineering approach.

An energy systems engineering approach to the optimal design of energy systems in commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Pei [Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE), Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N., E-mail: e.pistikopoulos@imperial.ac.u [Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE), Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Li Zheng [Department of Thermal Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2010-08-15

Energy consumption in commercial buildings accounts for a significant proportion of worldwide energy consumption. Any increase in the energy efficiency of the energy systems for commercial buildings would lead to significant energy savings and emissions reductions. In this work, we introduce an energy systems engineering framework towards the optimal design of such energy systems with improved energy efficiency and environmental performance. The framework features a superstructure representation of the various energy technology alternatives, a mixed-integer optimization formulation of the energy systems design problem, and a multi-objective design optimization solution strategy, where economic and environmental criteria are simultaneously considered and properly traded off. A case study of a supermarket energy systems design is presented to illustrate the key steps and potential of the proposed energy systems engineering approach.

The Radical Plasticity Thesis: How the Brain Learns to be Conscious

Science.gov (United States)

Cleeremans, Axel

2011-01-01

In this paper, I explore the idea that consciousness is something that the brain learns to do rather than an intrinsic property of certain neural states and not others. Starting from the idea that neural activity is inherently unconscious, the question thus becomes: How does the brain learn to be conscious? I suggest that consciousness arises as a result of the brain's continuous attempts at predicting not only the consequences of its actions on the world and on other agents, but also the consequences of activity in one cerebral region on activity in other regions. By this account, the brain continuously and unconsciously learns to redescribe its own activity to itself, so developing systems of meta-representations that characterize and qualify the target first-order representations. Such learned redescriptions, enriched by the emotional value associated with them, form the basis of conscious experience. Learning and plasticity are thus central to consciousness, to the extent that experiences only occur in experiencers that have learned to know they possess certain first-order states and that have learned to care more about certain states than about others. This is what I call the “Radical Plasticity Thesis.” In a sense thus, this is the enactive perspective, but turned both inwards and (further) outwards. Consciousness involves “signal detection on the mind”; the conscious mind is the brain's (non-conceptual, implicit) theory about itself. I illustrate these ideas through neural network models that simulate the relationships between performance and awareness in different tasks. PMID:21687455

Does increased postural threat lead to more conscious control of posture?

Science.gov (United States)

Huffman, J L; Horslen, B C; Carpenter, M G; Adkin, A L

2009-11-01

Although it is well established that postural threat modifies postural control, little is known regarding the underlying mechanism(s) responsible for these changes. It is possible that changes in postural control under conditions of elevated postural threat result from a shift to a more conscious control of posture. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of elevated postural threat on conscious control of posture and to determine the relationship between conscious control and postural control measures. Forty-eight healthy young adults stood on a force plate at two different surface heights: ground level (LOW) and 3.2-m above ground level (HIGH). Centre of pressure measures calculated in the anterior-posterior (AP) direction were mean position (AP-MP), root mean square (AP-RMS) and mean power frequency (AP-MPF). A modified state-specific version of the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale was used to measure conscious motor processing (CMP) and movement self-consciousness (MSC). Balance confidence, fear of falling, perceived stability, and perceived and actual anxiety indicators were also collected. A significant effect of postural threat was found for movement reinvestment as participants reported more conscious control and a greater concern about their posture at the HIGH height. Significant correlations between CMP and MSC with AP-MP were observed as participants who consciously controlled and were more concerned for their posture leaned further away from the platform edge. It is possible that changes in movement reinvestment can influence specific aspects of posture (leaning) but other aspects may be immune to these changes (amplitude and frequency).

Narrating consciousness: language, media and embodiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayles, N Katherine; Pulizzi, James J

2010-01-01

Although there has long been a division in studies of consciousness between a focus on neuronal processes or conversely an emphasis on the ruminations of a conscious self, the long-standing split between mechanism and meaning within the brain was mirrored by a split without, between information as a technical term and the meanings that messages are commonly thought to convey. How to heal this breach has posed formidable problems to researchers. Working through the history of cybernetics, one of the historical sites where Claude Shannon's information theory quickly became received doctrine, we argue that the cybernetic program as it developed through second-order cybernetics and autopoietic theory remains incomplete. In this article, we return to fundamental questions about pattern and noise, context and meaning, to forge connections between consciousness, narrative and media. The thrust of our project is to reintroduce context and narrative as crucial factors in the processes of meaning-making. The project proceeds along two fronts: advancing a theoretical framework within which context plays its property central role; and demonstrating the importance of context by analyzing two fictions, Stanislaw Lem's "His Master's Voice" and Joseph McElroy's "Plus," in which context has been deformed by being wrenched away from normal human environments, with radical consequences for processes of meaning-making.

Healing Through States of Consciousness: Animal Sacrifice and Christian Prayer Among the Kachin in Southwest China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wenyi

2016-01-01

Healing rituals can be understood in terms of configurations of two states of consciousness-a culturally elaborated everyday waking consciousness, and an enhanced and culturally elaborated state of consciousness. Two healing rituals performed by the ethnic Kachin in Southwest China differentiate these two states of consciousness in their theories of life and death. The first ritual, animal sacrifice, employs the ordinary consciousness, including will and expectation, of participants through the enhanced state of consciousness of the ritual officiant. The second, Christian prayer, utilizes the enhanced consciousness of Christian Congregation to achieve psychic transformation. These two rituals maneuver different configurations of the two states of consciousness in achieving healing efficacy.

The role of instruction for spelling performance and spelling consciousness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cordewener, K.A.H.; Hasselman, F.W.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.; Bosman, A.M.T.

2018-01-01

This study examined the role of instruction for spelling performance and spelling consciousness in the Dutch language. Spelling consciousness is the ability to reflect on one's spelling and correct errors. A sample of 115 third-grade spellers was assigned to a strategy-instruction,

Using brain stimulation to disentangle neural correlates of conscious vision

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Graaf, T.A.; Sack, A.T.

2014-01-01

Research into the neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs) has blossomed, due to the advent of new and increasingly sophisticated brain research tools. Neuroimaging has uncovered a variety of brain processes that relate to conscious perception, obtained in a range of experimental paradigms. But

Designing Holistic Zero Energy Homes in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bejder, Anne Kirkegaard; Knudstrup, Mary-Ann

2016-01-01

Designing zero-energy buildings (ZEB) is a complex but not an impossible task, which has also been illustrated through demonstration projects, including houses that produce as much energy as they use on a yearly basis. Over the last years an increased interest for ZEBs is also seen in practice......, however, designing ZEBs is still challenging. In order to gain further currency, we need to collect new knowledge and communicate it in an easy applicable way for the building industry. This paper presents the development and objectives of a publication entitled “Zero Energy Buildings – Design Principles...

Level of consciousness in dying patients. The role of palliative sedation: a longitudinal prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Claessens, Patricia; Menten, Johan; Schotsmans, Paul; Broeckaert, Bert

2012-05-01

Patients suffering from a terminal illness often are confronted with severe symptoms during the last phase of their lives. Palliative sedation, although one of the options of last resort, remains a much debated and controversial issue and is often referred to as a form of slow euthanasia or euthanasia in disguise. A prospective longitudinal and descriptive design was used. Each patient admitted in one of the 8 participating units was included if they met the inclusion criteria and gave written informed consent. 266 patients were included. The incidence of palliative sedation was 7;5%. For the group of sedated patients results show that 90% entered the palliative care unit being fully conscious. Two patients were comatose upon arrival. 90% of the patients remained fully conscious up to the day palliative sedation was started. When looking at the effect of palliative sedation on the level of consciousness the analysis strongly suggest that the palliative sedation - as expected- has an impact on the GCS score. Irrespective of the dichotomization of the score the probability of having a lower GCS increases substantially once sedation is initiated. Additionally, results show that once palliative sedation is administered, the level of consciousness gradually goes down up until the day of death. Palliative sedation is nor slow euthanasia nor an ambivalent practice. It is an intentional medical treatment which is administered in a proportional way when refractory suffering occurs. It occurs in extraordinary situations and at the very end of the dying process.

Developing an energy design tool: Phase 1 report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heidell, J.A.; Deringer, J.D.

1987-02-01

This report documents the planning phase of a proposed four-phase project for creating computer software to provide energy expertise in a manageable form to architects and engineers - thereby decreasing energy use in new buildings. The government sponsored software would be integrated with commercially developed software for use in the design of buildings. The result would be an integrated software package to aid the designer in the building design process and to provide expert insight into the energy related implications of a proposed design.

Anthropomorphic Networks as Representatives of Global Consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergii Yahodzinskyi

2018-02-01

Full Text Available There has been analyzed a phenomenon of global consciousness, and its cultural and historical, civilizational dimensions have been substantiated. There has been demonstrated that the concept of planetary consciousness, global thinking, noosphere was described for the first time in the philosophy of cosmism. However, in modern conditions ideas of representatives of the naturalistic philosophical direction of cosmism have not lost their heuristic potential. They can be reconsidered in a new fashion within the context of emerging anthropomorphic (human dimension networks. There has been proved that global consciousness is a component of the social and cultural potential of global information networks defining vectors to prospects of humanity progress in the 21st century. Relying on methodology of the structural and functional analysis, the author arrives at a conclusion about global networks obtaining the status of representatives of global consciousness. This is the area of networks where all relevant information is concentrated – from statistical data to scientific and technical information. Access to these data is limited by human abilities and is realized in the form of discrete requests with using heuristic algorithms of information procession. A suggestion is introduced considering the fact that modern society being a self-organized system seeks to gain stable condition. Anthropomorphic networks are means of decreasing social entropy, which is growing as a result of any kind of human intervention into social processes. Thus, for the first time a human is challenged by their intellect, ability to create, discover and control.

VIRTUAL REALITY IN WAKING AND DREAMING CONSCIOUSNESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allan eHobson

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This article explores the notion that the brain is genetically endowed with an innate virtual reality generator that – through experience-dependent plasticity –becomes a generative or predictive model of the world. This model, which is most clearly revealed in rapid eye movement (REM sleep dreaming, may provide the theatre for conscious experience. Functional neuroimaging evidence for brain activations that are time-locked to rapid eye movements endorses the view that waking consciousness emerges from REM sleep – and dreaming lays the foundations for waking perception. In this view, the brain is equipped with a virtual model of the world that generates predictions of its sensations. This model is continually updated and entrained by sensory prediction errors in wakefulness to ensure veridical perception, but not in dreaming. In contrast, dreaming plays an essential role in maintaining and enhancing the capacity to model the world by minimizing model complexity and thereby maximizing both statistical and thermodynamic efficiency. This perspective suggests that consciousness corresponds to the embodied process of inference, realized through the generation of virtual realities (in both sleep and wakefulness. In short, our premise or hypothesis is that the waking brain engages with the sensorium to predict the causes of sensations, while in sleep the brain's generative model is actively refined so that it generates more efficient predictions during waking. We review the evidence in support of this hypothesis – evidence that grounds consciousness in biophysical computations whose neuronal and neurochemical infrastructure has been disclosed by sleep research.

Optimized design of low energy buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rudbeck, Claus Christian; Esbensen, Peter Kjær; Svendsen, Sv Aa Højgaard

1999-01-01

concern which can be seen during the construction of new buildings. People want energy-friendly solutions, but they should be economical optimized. An exonomical optimized building design with respect to energy consumption is the design with the lowest total cost (investment plus operational cost over its...... to evaluate different separate solutions when they interact in the building.When trying to optimize several parameters there is a need for a method, which will show the correct price-performance of each part of a building under design. The problem with not having such a method will first be showed...

Behavioral Methods in Consciousness Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

that the research literature has expanded greatly, particularly in cognitive neuroscience and cognitive science. Interestingly, this scientific work has made use of a wide variety of different methods without much consensus on how one might in fact measure subjective consciousness. This situation makes...

Narcissism: its function in modulating self-conscious emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Uji, Masayo; Nagata, Toshiaki; Kitamura, Toshinori

2012-01-01

This study focused on the functional aspects of narcissism in regulating self-conscious emotions (guilt, shame, hubristic pride, and achievement-oriented pride) as well as two other attribution styles (externalization and detachment). The authors investigated Japanese university students (N = 452) with regard to their self-conscious emotions using the Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 (TOSCA-3) and their narcissistic personality using the short version of Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-S). Structural equation modeling was used for the analysis. The authors found that narcissism led individuals to feel achievement-oriented pride, hubristic pride, externalization, and detachment, but inhibited feelings of shame. It did not have a significant effect on guilt. Shame-proneness prompted hubristic pride and externalization. Guilt-proneness inclined an individual toward achievement-oriented pride, but deterred externalization. In this article, the authors present and interpret these results in detail and then discuss how they can be utilized in psychotherapy.

Research report for fiscal 1998. Research of feasibility of energy supply/demand structure overseas improvement (research of feasibility of more effective energy use for Russian energy consuming industries); 1998 nendo kaigai energy jukyu kozo kodoka jisshi kanosei chosa. Roshia no energy tashohi sangyo ni okeru energy yuko riyo nado jigyo jisshi kanosei chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-03-01

A report is made outlining the economic situation and industrial policies in Russia and the actual state of energy consuming industries (thermoelectric power generation, oil refining, and iron making) in that country. In Russia, energy efficiency is much lower than in advanced countries in the West, and the improvement of energy efficiency is a serious task to solve in the Russian fuel energy department. Cited to explain the poor efficiency are facilities growing antiquated, delay in the introduction of new technologies and instruments, insufficient maintenance, and the weak consciousness of energy saving. Although the electric power circle and energy related departments are conscious of the need of endeavors for improving energy efficiency, yet it is too difficult for corporations themselves to invest heavily in facilities. When Japan implements a model project for saving energy in Russia, it will be greatly contributing to the improvement of energy supply/demand in Russia, to the stabilization of social and economic states in that country, and to the prevention of global warming. (NEDO)

Making sense of self-conscious emotion: linking theory of mind and emotion in children with autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Heerey, Erin A; Keltner, Dacher; Capps, Lisa M

2003-12-01

Self-conscious emotions such as embarrassment and shame are associated with 2 aspects of theory of mind (ToM): (a) the ability to understand that behavior has social consequences in the eyes of others and (b) an understanding of social norms violations. The present study aimed to link ToM with the recognition of self-conscious emotion. Children with and without autism identified facial expressions conscious of self-conscious and non-self-conscious emotions from photographs. ToM was also measured. Children with autism performed more poorly than comparison children at identifying self-conscious emotions, though they did not differ in the recognition of non-self-conscious emotions. When ToM ability was statistically controlled, group differences in the recognition of self-conscious emotion disappeared. Discussion focused on the links between ToM and self-conscious emotion.

Groundwater Energy Designer (GED); Groundwater Energy Designer (GED). Computergestuetztes Auslegungstool zur Waerme- und Kaeltenutzung von Grundwasser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poppei, J.; Mayer, G.; Schwarz, R.

2006-07-01

This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) takes a look at a computer-aided dimensioning tool (Groundwater Energy Designer, GED) for use in the calculation work involved in designing systems for the thermal use of groundwater. The interactive tool is designed to support those involved in the analysis of heating and cooling demands and the direct use of groundwater to help meet such needs. The program and its user interface in German and French are described in detail, as are the basic models and data used in the calculations. Simulation aspects and the verification of the software are also discussed. Results of tests made are presented and discussed.

Humanoid Cognitive Robots That Learn by Imitating: Implications for Consciousness Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James A. Reggia

2018-01-01

Full Text Available While the concept of a conscious machine is intriguing, producing such a machine remains controversial and challenging. Here, we describe how our work on creating a humanoid cognitive robot that learns to perform tasks via imitation learning relates to this issue. Our discussion is divided into three parts. First, we summarize our previous framework for advancing the understanding of the nature of phenomenal consciousness. This framework is based on identifying computational correlates of consciousness. Second, we describe a cognitive robotic system that we recently developed that learns to perform tasks by imitating human-provided demonstrations. This humanoid robot uses cause–effect reasoning to infer a demonstrator’s intentions in performing a task, rather than just imitating the observed actions verbatim. In particular, its cognitive components center on top-down control of a working memory that retains the explanatory interpretations that the robot constructs during learning. Finally, we describe our ongoing work that is focused on converting our robot’s imitation learning cognitive system into purely neurocomputational form, including both its low-level cognitive neuromotor components, its use of working memory, and its causal reasoning mechanisms. Based on our initial results, we argue that the top-down cognitive control of working memory, and in particular its gating mechanisms, is an important potential computational correlate of consciousness in humanoid robots. We conclude that developing high-level neurocognitive control systems for cognitive robots and using them to search for computational correlates of consciousness provides an important approach to advancing our understanding of consciousness, and that it provides a credible and achievable route to ultimately developing a phenomenally conscious machine.

Visual anticipation biases conscious perception but not bottom-up visual processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul F.M.J. Verschure

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Theories of consciousness can be grouped with respect to their stance on embodiment, sensori-motor contingencies, prediction and integration. In this list prediction plays a key role and it is not clear which aspects of prediction are most prominent in the conscious scene. An evolving view on the brain is that it can be seen as a prediction machine that optimizes its ability to predict states of the world and the self through the top-down propagation of predictions and the bottom-up presentation of prediction errors. There are competing views though on whether prediction or prediction errors dominate the conscious scene. Yet, due to the lack of efficient indirect measures, the dynamic effects of prediction on perception, decision making and consciousness have been difficult to assess and to model. We propose a novel mathematical framework and psychophysical paradigm that allows us to assess both the hierarchical structuring of perceptual consciousness, its content and the impact of predictions and / or errors on the conscious scene. Using a displacement detection task combined with reverse correlation we reveal signatures of the usage of prediction at three different levels of perception: bottom-up early saccades, top-down driven late saccades and conscious decisions. Our results suggest that the brain employs multiple parallel mechanisms at different levels of information processing to restrict the sensory field using predictions. We observe that cognitive load has a quantifiable effect on this dissociation of the bottom-up sensory and top-down predictive processes. We propose a probabilistic data association model from dynamical systems theory to model this predictive bias in different information processing levels.

Structural qualia: a solution to the hard problem of consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Loorits, Kristjan

2014-01-01

The hard problem of consciousness has been often claimed to be unsolvable by the methods of traditional empirical sciences. It has been argued that all the objects of empirical sciences can be fully analyzed in structural terms but that consciousness is (or has) something over and above its structure. However, modern neuroscience has introduced a theoretical framework in which also the apparently non-structural aspects of consciousness, namely the so called qualia or qualitative properties, can be analyzed in structural terms. That framework allows us to see qualia as something compositional with internal structures that fully determine their qualitative nature. Moreover, those internal structures can be identified which certain neural patterns. Thus consciousness as a whole can be seen as a complex neural pattern that misperceives some of its own highly complex structural properties as monadic and qualitative. Such neural pattern is analyzable in fully structural terms and thereby the hard problem is solved.

Structural qualia: a solution to the hard problem of consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristjan eLoorits

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The hard problem of consciousness has been often claimed to be unsolvable by the methods of traditional empirical sciences. It has been argued that all the objects of empirical sciences can be fully analyzed in structural terms but that consciousness is (or has something over and above its structure. However, modern neuroscience has introduced a theoretical framework in which also the apparently non-structural aspects of consciousness, namely the so called qualia or qualitative properties, can be analyzed in structural terms. That framework allows us to see qualia as something compositional with internal structures that fully determine their qualitative nature. Moreover, those internal structures can be identified which certain neural patterns. Thus consciousness as a whole can be seen as a complex neural pattern that misperceives some of its own highly complex structural properties as monadic and qualitative. Such neural pattern is analyzable in fully structural terms and thereby the hard problem is solved.

Is conscious perception gradual or dichotomous? A comparison of report methodologies during a visual task

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Overgaard, M; Rote, J; Mouridsen, K

2006-01-01

conscious and unconscious perception. This idea is opposed to theoretical arguments that we should think of conscious perception as a continuum of clarity, with e.g., fringe conscious states [Mangan, B. (2001). Sensation's ghost-the non-sensory "fringe" of consciousness, Psyche, 7, 18]. In the experimental...

EEG and EMG responses to emotion-evoking stimuli processed without conscious awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Wexler, B E; Warrenburg, S; Schwartz, G E; Janer, L D

1992-12-01

Dichotic stimulus pairs were constructed with one word that was emotionally neutral and another that evoked either negative or positive feelings. Temporal and spectral overlap between the members of each pair was so great that the two words fused into a single auditory percept. Subjects were consciously aware of hearing only one word from most pairs; sometimes the emotion-evoking word was heard consciously, other times the neutral word was heard consciously. Subjects were instructed to let their thoughts wander in response to the word they heard, during which time EEG alpha activity over left and right frontal regions, and muscle activity (EMG) in the corrugator ("frowning") and zygomatic ("smiling") regions were recorded. Both EEG and EMG provided evidence of emotion-specific responses to stimuli that were processed without conscious awareness. Moreover both suggested relatively greater right hemisphere activity with unconscious rather than conscious processing.

Perceptual integration without conscious access

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fahrenfort, Johannes J.; Van Leeuwen, Jonathan; Olivers, Christian N.L.; Hogendoorn, Hinze

2017-01-01

The visual system has the remarkable ability to integrate fragmentary visual input into a perceptually organized collection of surfaces and objects, a process we refer to as perceptual integration. Despite a long tradition of perception research, it is not known whether access to consciousness is

Searle's New Mystery, or, How not to Solve the Problem of Consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saulo de Freitas Araujo

2013-01-01

Full Text Available John Searle repeatedly claims to have offered a solution to the mind-brain problem, especially as regards the mystery of consciousness. The aim of this paper is to present and analyse Searle’s theory of biological naturalism, from its earliest expression in the 1980s to his most recent works. Our analysis shows that Searle’s biological naturalism suffers from many theoretical difficulties and logical inconsistencies, which disqualify it as a sound explanation for consciousness and the mind-brain problem. We conclude that, far from offering a solution to the problem of consciousness, Searle ended up creating a new mystery of consciousness.

FY 2000 Project report on survey for drawing district energy-saving visions for City of Ginowan; 2000 nendo Ginowan-shi sho energy vision sakutei chosa hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-02-01

The Ginowan municipal energy-saving vision drawing committee is established. It is responsible for drawing the energy-saving visions for the city, to study the basic guidelines and promotion measures for energy saving and promote the energy-saving measures suitable for the local characteristics. The studied items include background of and basic guidelines for the plans, analysis of energy consumption, survey on energy-saving consciousness and actual situations, prediction of potentially saved energy, drawing of the basic plans for energy saving and plan implementation programs, and surveys on preceding examples. The action plans include green planning for and revamping of public facilities, green purchasing, energy-saving diagnosis, drawing the design guidelines for energy saving and environmental considerations in public facilities, introduction of low-pollution local transportation systems, drawing the environment-related technology lists, including energy saving, and promotion of clean energy vehicles. (NEDO)

States of consciousness experimental insights into meditation, waking, sleep and dreams

CERN Document Server

Cvetkovic, Dean

2011-01-01

In this accessible overview of current knowledge, an expert team of editors and authors describe experimental approaches to consciousness. These approaches are shedding light on some of the hitherto unknown aspects of the distinct states of human consciousness, including the waking state, different states of sleep and dreaming, meditation and more. The book presents the latest research studies by the contributing authors, whose specialities span neuroscience, neurology, biomedical engineering, clinical psychology and psychophysiology, psychosocial medicine and anthropology. Overall this anthology provides the reader with a clear picture of how different states of consciousness can be defined, experimentally measured and analysed. A future byproduct of this knowledge may be anticipated in the development of systematic corrective treatments for many disorders and pathological problems of consciousness.

The possibility of a science of consciousness Critical reflections on ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The opposite goes for Merleau-Ponty whose first-person ontology does not account for third-person epistemology. The question is ultimately how far a science of consciousness is really possible. This paper enquires about the possibility of an approach that allows a scientific account of consciousness, specifically qualia, ...

Changes in brain activation induced by visual stimulus during and after propofol conscious sedation: a functional MRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shinohe, Yutaka; Higuchi, Satomi; Sasaki, Makoto; Sato, Masahito; Noda, Mamoru; Joh, Shigeharu; Satoh, Kenichi

2016-12-07

Conscious sedation with propofol sometimes causes amnesia while keeping the patient awake. However, it remains unknown how propofol compromises the memory function. Therefore, we investigated the changes in brain activation induced by visual stimulation during and after conscious sedation with propofol using serial functional MRI. Healthy volunteers received a target-controlled infusion of propofol, and underwent functional MRI scans with a block-design paradigm of visual stimulus before, during, and after conscious sedation. Random-effect model analyses were performed using Statistical Parametric Mapping software. Among the areas showing significant activation in response to the visual stimulus, the visual cortex and fusiform gyrus were significantly suppressed in the sedation session and tended to recover in the early-recovery session of ∼20 min (Psedation and early-recovery sessions (Psedation with propofol may cause prolonged suppression of the activation of memory-related structures, such as the hippocampus, during the early-recovery period, which may lead to transient amnesia.

Design for energy efficiency: Energy efficient industrialized housing research program. Progress report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kellett, R.; Berg, R.; Paz, A.; Brown, G.Z.

1991-03-01

Since 1989, the U.S. Department of Energy has sponsored the Energy Efficient Industrialized Housing research program (EEIH) to improve the energy efficiency of industrialized housing. Two research centers share responsibility for this program: The Center for Housing Innovation at the University of Oregon and the Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central Florida. Additional funding is provided through the participation of private industry, state governments and utilities. The program is guided by a steering committee comprised of industry and government representatives. This report summarizes Fiscal Year (FY) 1990 activities and progress, and proposed activities for FY 1991 in Task 2.1 Design for Energy Efficiency. This task establishes a vision of energy conservation opportunities in critical regions, market segments, climate zones and manufacturing strategies significant to industrialized housing in the 21st Century. In early FY 1990, four problem statements were developed to define future housing demand scenarios inclusive of issues of energy efficiency, housing design and manufacturing. Literature surveys were completed to assess seven areas of influence for industrialized housing and energy conservation in the future. Fifty-five future trends were identified in computing and design process; manufacturing process; construction materials, components and systems; energy and environment; demographic context; economic context; and planning policy and regulatory context.

Design and optimization of zero-energy-consumption based solar energy residential building systems

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, D. L.; Yu, L. J.; Tan, H. W.

2017-11-01

Energy consumption of residential buildings has grown fast in recent years, thus raising a challenge on zero energy residential building (ZERB) systems, which aim at substantially reducing energy consumption of residential buildings. Thus, how to facilitate ZERB has become a hot but difficult topic. In the paper, we put forward the overall design principle of ZERB based on analysis of the systems’ energy demand. In particular, the architecture for both schematic design and passive technology is optimized and both energy simulation analysis and energy balancing analysis are implemented, followed by committing the selection of high-efficiency appliance and renewable energy sources for ZERB residential building. In addition, Chinese classical residential building has been investigated in the proposed case, in which several critical aspects such as building optimization, passive design, PV panel and HVAC system integrated with solar water heater, Phase change materials, natural ventilation, etc., have been taken into consideration.

Publication trends in neuroimaging of minimally conscious states

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Garnett

2013-09-01

Full Text Available We used existing and customized bibliometric and scientometric methods to analyze publication trends in neuroimaging research of minimally conscious states and describe the domain in terms of its geographic, contributor, and content features. We considered publication rates for the years 2002–2011, author interconnections, the rate at which new authors are added, and the domains that inform the work of author contributors. We also provided a content analysis of clinical and ethical themes within the relevant literature. We found a 27% growth in the number of papers over the period of study, professional diversity among a wide range of peripheral author contributors but only few authors who dominate the field, and few new technical paradigms and clinical themes that would fundamentally expand the landscape. The results inform both the science of consciousness as well as parallel ethics and policy studies of the potential for translational challenges of neuroimaging in research and health care of people with disordered states of consciousness.

The conscious life - the dream we live in

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciocan Tudor Cosmin

2017-05-01

Full Text Available It is most likely for anyone to ask himself at least once if it would be possible to live in a dream? Questioning the fabric of “reality” we live in consciously was one of the main doubts man ever had. It is so likely for us to answer positive to it due to so many factors; starting from the many and various facets of reality each individual envision the world, from the enormous differences we all have while perceiving and defining the reality, etc. That is why, at the conscious level, life seems almost like a dream in a dream, always hoping to wake up from the negative, unwanted version of it. That is why my assertion here, based on latest theories on consciousness and AI (artificial intelligence, aim to say that we live in between reality and dream, being “conscious” of ourselves, but not really wanting to be “aware” of what is really going on with us.

Problem of consciousness in learning systems and environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. F. Sergeev

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the problems that arise when a human is involved into a complexly training systems and the environment. A theoretical analysis of the infl uence of consciousness on the training mechanisms within the framework of post non-classical conceptions of human psyche functioning was conceived. We argue that consciousness is not intended to refl ect the objective reality and acquire knowledge, and solves the problem of the construction of the subjective world, which is the sum of compromises between the subject and the dynamic environments of his experience. In contrast, consciousness selects and harmonizes the information useful for human life.The role of consciousness in training is largely contradictory and confusing. It is also the source of the new information. The information is distorted in order to create a world view, which tends to objectively contradictive to the outside observer and consistent for refl ective being. We stressed the important role of human’s multimodal sensory experience in the process of interaction between conscious and unconscious forms of knowledge creation and processing. We consider the qualitative difference between physical reality and the model presented in the subjective world. We postulated the existence in the mind of a human dynamic virtual model. According to this model, the natural world is delimited by person and opposed to it being a source of events that make up the content of his life. The border which was built in the consciousness divides constructed reality into the inner and outer worlds. These worlds have different significance for the subject, defining the nature of its activities.We analyzed models the structure of reality and reality as a world’s refl ection offered by Karl Popper, K. K. Kolin, R. Redfield, G. Roth. The attention was paid to the neurobiological model of subjective reality by V. Sergin, which proposed a hypothesis of automatic identification postulating a

The Role of Instruction for Spelling Performance and Spelling Consciousness

Science.gov (United States)

Cordewener, Kim A. H.; Hasselman, Fred; Verhoeven, Ludo; Bosman, Anna M. T.

2018-01-01

This study examined the role of instruction for spelling performance and spelling consciousness in the Dutch language. Spelling consciousness is the ability to reflect on one's spelling and correct errors. A sample of 115 third-grade spellers was assigned to a strategy-instruction, strategic-monitoring, self-monitoring, or control condition…

Historical Consciousness in Youth. Theoretical and Exemplary Empirical Analyses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Kölbl

2001-09-01

Full Text Available The thesis that historical consciousness is an anthropological competence and category is called into question. A concept of modern historical consciousness is outlined which from then on serves as a working concept. This kind of historical consciousness, it is argued, is not a universal anthropological fact, but a result of the development of occidental cultures and societies. Long since a great number of groups and individuals have been deeply affected by this development in which the establishment of a scientific world view and methodical thinking played a major role. Their historical consciousness is modern since it refers to a radically temporalized and dynamic world and since it ties partial representations of this world to (implicit criteria of validity. Moreover it is closely connected with the possibility of self-critical reflections which are grounded in the historically mediated encounter with strangers. After a concise overview of the important questions and the state of the art in different disciplines, selected results of a broader qualitative-empirical study are presented. In the group discussions which were carried out with young people—only results from a discussion with thirteen to fourteen year old grammar-school pupils (Gymnasiasten are presented here—the analysis revealed clear indicators of a specifically modern historical consciousness. Looked at closely this consciousness is committed in a surprisingly high degree to scientific-methodical standards of rationality. One may welcome this as a successful implementation of a life form oriented towards rationality into young people's everyday life or deplore it as a symptom of the distortion of pragmatic orientations for activity and living by scientific standards: first of all it is a fact that the commitment to tie the reconstruction of past realities, historical events and contexts to an operation of knowledge which is intersubjectively transparent and rationally

Visual anticipation biases conscious decision making but not bottom-up visual processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathews, Zenon; Cetnarski, Ryszard; Verschure, Paul F M J

2014-01-01

Prediction plays a key role in control of attention but it is not clear which aspects of prediction are most prominent in conscious experience. An evolving view on the brain is that it can be seen as a prediction machine that optimizes its ability to predict states of the world and the self through the top-down propagation of predictions and the bottom-up presentation of prediction errors. There are competing views though on whether prediction or prediction errors dominate the formation of conscious experience. Yet, the dynamic effects of prediction on perception, decision making and consciousness have been difficult to assess and to model. We propose a novel mathematical framework and a psychophysical paradigm that allows us to assess both the hierarchical structuring of perceptual consciousness, its content and the impact of predictions and/or errors on conscious experience, attention and decision-making. Using a displacement detection task combined with reverse correlation, we reveal signatures of the usage of prediction at three different levels of perceptual processing: bottom-up fast saccades, top-down driven slow saccades and consciousnes decisions. Our results suggest that the brain employs multiple parallel mechanism at different levels of perceptual processing in order to shape effective sensory consciousness within a predicted perceptual scene. We further observe that bottom-up sensory and top-down predictive processes can be dissociated through cognitive load. We propose a probabilistic data association model from dynamical systems theory to model the predictive multi-scale bias in perceptual processing that we observe and its role in the formation of conscious experience. We propose that these results support the hypothesis that consciousness provides a time-delayed description of a task that is used to prospectively optimize real time control structures, rather than being engaged in the real-time control of behavior itself.

Near-death experience: arising from the borderlands of consciousness in crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Kevin R

2014-11-01

Brain activity explains the essential features of near-death experience, including the perceptions of envelopment by light, out-of-body, and meeting deceased loved ones or spiritual beings. To achieve their fullest expression, such near-death experiences require a confluence of events and draw upon more than a single physiological or biochemical system, or one anatomical structure. During impaired cerebral blood flow from syncope or cardiac arrest that commonly precedes near-death, the boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness is often indistinct and a person may enter a borderland and be far more aware than is appreciated by others. Consciousness can also come and go if blood flow rises and falls across a crucial threshold. During crisis the brain's prime biologic purpose to keep itself alive lies at the heart of many spiritual experiences and inextricably binds them to the primal brain. Brain ischemia can disrupt the physiological balance between conscious states by leading the brainstem to blend rapid eye movement (REM) and waking into another borderland of consciousness during near-death. Evidence converges from many points to support this notion, including the observation that the majority of people with a near-death experience possess brains predisposed to fusing REM and waking consciousness into an unfamiliar reality, and are as likely to have out-of-body experience while blending REM and waking consciousness as they are to have out-of-body experience during near-death. © 2014 New York Academy of Sciences.

Subliminally and consciously induced cognitive conflicts interact at several processing levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Friedrich, Julia; Beste, Christian

2016-12-01

Controlled behavior is susceptible to conflicts that can emerge from subliminal or consciously processed information. While research suggests that both sources of conflicting information may interact in their modulation of controlled behavior, it has remained unclear which cognitive sub-processes involved in controlled behavior are affected by this interaction; i.e., at which processing level subliminally and consciously induced response conflicts interact in modulating controlled behavior. Moreover, we investigated whether this interaction of subliminally and consciously induced response conflicts was due to a nexus between the two types of conflict like a common cognitive process or factor. For this, n = 38 healthy young subjects completed a paradigm which combines subliminal primes and consciously perceived flankers while an electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. We show that the interaction of subliminal and conscious sources of conflict is not restricted to the response selection level (N2) but can already be shown at the earliest stages of perceptual and attentional processing (P1). While the degree of early attentional processing of subliminal information seems to depend on the absence of consciously perceived response conflicts, conflicts during the stage of response selection may be either reduced or enhanced by subliminal priming. Moreover, the results showed that even though the two different sources of conflict interact at the response selection level, they clearly originate from two distinct processes that interact before they detrimentally affect cognitive control. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The structure of conscious bodily self-perception during full-body illusions.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobricki, Martin; de la Rosa, Stephan

2013-01-01

Previous research suggests that bodily self-identification, bodily self-localization, agency, and the sense of being present in space are critical aspects of conscious full-body self-perception. However, none of the existing studies have investigated the relationship of these aspects to each other, i.e., whether they can be identified to be distinguishable components of the structure of conscious full-body self-perception. Therefore, the objective of the present investigation is to elucidate the structure of conscious full-body self-perception. We performed two studies in which we stroked the back of healthy individuals for three minutes while they watched the back of a distant virtual body being synchronously stroked with a virtual stick. After visuo-tactile stimulation, participants assessed changes in their bodily self-perception with a custom made self-report questionnaire. In the first study, we investigated the structure of conscious full-body self-perception by analyzing the responses to the questionnaire by means of multidimensional scaling combined with cluster analysis. In the second study, we then extended the questionnaire and validated the stability of the structure of conscious full-body self-perception found in the first study within a larger sample of individuals by performing a principle components analysis of the questionnaire responses. The results of the two studies converge in suggesting that the structure of conscious full-body self-perception consists of the following three distinct components: bodily self-identification, space-related self-perception (spatial presence), and agency.

Consciousness and quantum mechanics life in parallel worlds

CERN Document Server

Mensky, Michael B

2010-01-01

The phenomenon of consciousness includes mysterious aspects providing a basis for many spiritual doctrines (including religions) and psychological practices. These directions of human knowledge are usually considered to contradict the laws of science. However, quantum mechanics - in a sense, the mysterious direction of science - allows us to include the phenomena of consciousness and life as well as the relevant phenomena in the sphere of science. Wolfgang Pauli, one of the pioneers of quantum mechanics, together with great psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, guessed about the relation between quan

Requirements of Integrated Design Teams While Evaluating Advanced Energy Retrofit Design Options in Immersive Virtual Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xue Yang

2015-12-01

Full Text Available One of the significant ways to save energy use in buildings is to implement advanced energy retrofits in existing buildings. Improving energy performance of buildings through advanced energy retrofitting requires a clear understanding of the cost and energy implications of design alternatives from various engineering disciplines when different retrofit options are considered. The communication of retrofit design alternatives and their energy implications is essential in the decision-making process, as it affects the final retrofit selections and hence the energy efficiency of the retrofitted buildings. The objective of the research presented here was to identify a generic list of information requirements that are needed to be shared and collectively analyzed by integrated design teams during advanced energy retrofit design review meetings held in immersive settings. While identifying such requirements, the authors used an immersive environment based iterative requirements elicitation approach. The technology was used as a means to better identify the information requirements of integrated design teams to be analyzed as a group. This paper provides findings on information requirements of integrated design teams when evaluating retrofit options in immersive virtual environments. The information requirements were identified through interactions with sixteen experts in design and energy modeling domain, and validated with another group of participants consisting of six design experts who were experienced in integrated design processes. Industry practitioners can use the findings in deciding on what information to share with integrated design team members during design review meetings that utilize immersive virtual environments.

Analysis of public consciousness structure and consideration of information supply against the nuclear power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimooka, Hiroshi

2001-01-01

The Energy Engineering Research Institute carried out six times of questionnaire on analysis of public consciousness structure for fiscal years for 1986 to 1999, to obtain a lot of informations on public recognition against the nuclear power generation. In recent, as a feasibility on change of consciousness against the power generation was supposed by occurrence of the JCO critical accident forming the first victim in Japan on September, 1999 after investigation in fiscal year 1998, by carrying out the same questionnaire as one in previous fiscal year to the same objects after the accident, to analyze how evaluation, behavior determining factor and so forth on the power generation changed by the accident. In this paper, on referring to results of past questionnaires, were introduced on the questionnaire results and their analysis carried out before and after the JCO critical accident, to consider on information supply referred by them. (G.K.)

Ethical consciousness in auditing : a comparison of students and employees

OpenAIRE

Rong, Stine Mari Hilmarsen

2011-01-01

The purpose of this thesis has been to examine the difference in the level of consciousness towards ethics in auditing between students and employees, and further examine if the level of ethical consciousness comply with auditing standards. To examine the level of the different groups, a survey was conducted and distributed. The survey ...

Dissociative stupor mimicking consciousness disorder in an advanced lung cancer patient.

Science.gov (United States)

Tada, Yukio; Okano, Tetsuya; Kaga, Akiko; Yamazaki, Susumu; Kawada, Satoshi; Ishida, Mayumi; Kobayashi, Kunihiko; Onishi, Hideki

2012-06-01

Although there are three kinds of stupor in psychiatry, dissociative stupor is the most commonly recognized. In psychiatric clinics or emergency rooms, dissociative stupor is common, but in an oncology setting it is hardly known. Therefore, distinguishing dissociative stupor from consciousness disorder is occasionally difficult, especially in the advanced or terminal phase. We report an advanced lung cancer patient who presented dissociative stupor mimicking consciousness disorder. It is necessary to distinguish between consciousness disorder and dissociative stupor. In addition, consultation with a psychiatrist should be taken into consideration.

Intentionality, consciousness, and creating community.

Science.gov (United States)

Malinski, Violet M

2009-01-01

Intentionality is briefly explored from the perspective of seminal written works on therapeutic touch and recorded conversations with Martha E. Rogers. This overview hints at possible interrelationships among intentionality, consciousness, and creating community, along with conceptual ambiguities, which are explored in detail by Zahourek and Larkin in this column.

Identifying phenomenal consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Schier, Elizabeth

2009-03-01

This paper examines the possibility of finding evidence that phenomenal consciousness is independent of access. The suggestion reviewed is that we should look for isomorphisms between phenomenal and neural activation spaces. It is argued that the fact that phenomenal spaces are mapped via verbal report is no problem for this methodology. The fact that activation and phenomenal space are mapped via different means does not mean that they cannot be identified. The paper finishes by examining how data addressing this theoretical question could be obtained.

Study of Consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel Lee

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The human brain is a powerful organ that controls most of the body. Researchers around the world have long tried to uncover how the brain operates, how memories are formed and stored. Our understanding of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease has been rapidly improving, yet much remains to be done. In this work, we attempt to study changes in intracranial pressure (ICP for a 12-hour period and discuss whether the resulting estimates could be used as a measure of consciousness.

Volitional components of consciousness vary across wakefulness, dreaming and lucid dreaming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dresler, M.; Eibl, L.; Fischer, C.F.; Wehrle, R.; Spoormaker, V.I.; Steiger, A.; Czisch, M.; Pawlowski, M.

2014-01-01

Consciousness is a multifaceted concept; its different aspects vary across species, vigilance states, or health conditions. While basal aspects of consciousness like perceptions and emotions are present in many states and species, higher-order aspects like reflective or volitional capabilities seem

Medical Education to Enhance Critical Consciousness: Facilitators' Experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaidi, Zareen; Vyas, Rashmi; Verstegen, Danielle; Morahan, Page; Dornan, Tim

2017-11-01

To analyze educators' experiences of facilitating cultural discussions in two global health professions education programs and what these experiences had taught them about critical consciousness. A multicultural research team conducted in-depth interviews with 16 faculty who had extensive experience facilitating cultural discussions. They analyzed transcripts of the interviews thematically, drawing sensitizing insights from Gramsci's theory of cultural hegemony. Collaboration and conversation helped the team self-consciously examine their positions toward the data set and be critically reflexive. Participant faculty used their prior experience facilitating cultural discussions to create a "safe space" in which learners could develop critical consciousness. During multicultural interactions they recognized and explicitly addressed issues related to power differentials, racism, implicit bias, and gender bias. They noted the need to be "facile in attending to pain" as learners brought up traumatic experiences and other sensitive issues including racism and the impact of power dynamics. They built relationships with learners by juxtaposing and exploring the sometimes-conflicting norms of different cultures. Participants were reflective about their own understanding and tendency to be biased. They aimed to break free of such biases while role modeling how to have the courage to speak up. Experience had given facilitators in multicultural programs an understanding of their responsibility to promote critical consciousness and social justice. How faculty without prior experience or expertise could develop those values and skills is a topic for future research.

Building Performance Simulation tools for planning of energy efficiency retrofits

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mondrup, Thomas Fænø; Karlshøj, Jan; Vestergaard, Flemming

2014-01-01

Designing energy efficiency retrofits for existing buildings will bring environmental, economic, social, and health benefits. However, selecting specific retrofit strategies is complex and requires careful planning. In this study, we describe a methodology for adopting Building Performance...... to energy efficiency retrofits in social housing. To generate energy savings, we focus on optimizing the building envelope. We evaluate alternative building envelope actions using procedural solar radiation and daylight simulations. In addition, we identify the digital information flow and the information...... Simulation (BPS) tools as energy and environmentally conscious decision-making aids. The methodology has been developed to screen buildings for potential improvements and to support the development of retrofit strategies. We present a case study of a Danish renovation project, implementing BPS approaches...

Internally Generated Conscious Contents: Interactions between Sustained Mental Imagery and Involuntary Subvocalizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyein eCho

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The conscious field includes not only representations about external stimuli (e.g., percepts, but also conscious contents associated with internal states, such as action-related intentions (e.g., urges. Although understudied, the latter may provide unique insights into the nature of consciousness. To illuminate these phenomena, in a new experimental paradigm (Reflexive Imagery Task [RIT], participants were instructed to not subvocalize the names of visually-presented objects. Each object was presented for 10 s on a screen. Participants indicated whenever they involuntarily subvocalized the object name. Research has revealed that it is difficult to suppress such subvocalizations, which occur on over 80% of the trials. Can the effect survive if one intentionally generates a competing (internally-generated conscious content? If so, this would suggest that intentional and unintentional contents can co-exist simultaneously in consciousness in interesting ways. To investigate this possibility, in one condition, participants were instructed to reiteratively subvocalize a speech sound (da, da, da throughout the trial. This internally generated content is self-generated and intentional. Involuntary subvocalizations of object names still arose on over 80% of the trials. One could hypothesize that subvocalizations occurred because of the pauses between the intended speech sounds, but this is inconsistent with the observation that comparable results arose even when participants subvocalized a continuous, unbroken hum (daaa…. throughout the trial. Regarding inter-content interactions, the continuous hum and object name seem to co-exist simultaneously in consciousness. This intriguing datum requires further investigation. We discuss the implications of this new paradigm for the study of internally-generated conscious contents.

Restructuring Consciousness –the Psychedelic State in Light of Integrated Information Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Robert Gallimore

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The psychological state elicited by the classic psychedelics drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin, is one of the most fascinating and yet least understood states of consciousness. However, with the advent of modern functional neuroimaging techniques, the effect of these drugs on neural activity is now being revealed, although many of the varied phenomenological features of the psychedelic state remain challenging to explain. Integrated information theory (IIT is one of the foremost contemporary theories of consciousness, providing a mathematical formalization of both the quantity and quality of conscious experience. This theory can be applied to all known states of consciousness, including the psychedelic state. Using the results of functional neuroimaging data on the psychedelic state, the effects of psychedelic drugs on both the level and structure of consciousness can be explained in terms of the conceptual framework of IIT. This new IIT-based model of the psychedelic state provides an explanation for many of its phenomenological features, including unconstrained cognition, alterations in the structure and meaning of concepts and a sense of expanded awareness. This model also suggests that whilst cognitive flexibility, creativity, and imagination are enhanced during the psychedelic state, this occurs at the expense of cause-effect information, as well as degrading the brain’s ability to organize, categorize, and differentiate the constituents of conscious experience. Furthermore, the model generates specific predictions that can be tested using a combination of functional imaging techniques, as has been applied to the study of levels of consciousness during anesthesia and following brain injury.

On the Science of Consciousness: Epistemological Reflections and Clinical Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Facco, Enrico; Lucangeli, Daniela; Tressoldi, Patrizio

Consciousness has been one of the most important and tantalizing issues ever since the origin of philosophy and medicine. The concept of consciousness and the so-called "hard problem" (i.e., the mind-brain relationship) are highly complex topics that have yet to be elucidated, involving the realms of both science and philosophy with profound epistemological implications. In the lively debate on the foundations of the science of consciousness there are several potential biases of an essentially philosophical nature, such as those related to the paradigm and axioms adopted, and the ostensible logical contradiction between monism and dualism. Their origin dates back largely to Descartes' thinking and the birth of the new sciences as a compromise with the Inquisition, but they have been handed down through the Enlightenment and Positivism. A proper investigation of consciousness and the world of subjectivity demands a careful reflection on the paradigm of scientific medicine to identify possible flaws and overcome the limits of the mechanistic-reductionist approach. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Clinical standard of neurosurgical disorder. (9) Disturbance of consciousness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohta, Tomio

2009-01-01

Functional diagnosis of consciousness disturbance (CD) in acute and chronic stages is becoming more important along with the progress of morphological diagnosis by CT and MRI at the stroke and brain lesion. Here described and discussed are the definition of consciousness and unconsciousness, cause and scoring of CD by various scaling and clinical significance of the scale for therapy. The author's definition for consciousness is based on patients' self identity and orientation. The above CD is essentially caused by the increased intracranial pressure, which is evaluable by imaging as the increase is derived from the herniation by tumor or edema mainly through transtentorial (uncal, hippocampal) and/or foraminal (cerebellar tonsillar) pathways. Scaling of CD stands on three factors of validity, reliability and feasibility, of which standards of JCS (Japan coma scale) and GCS (Glasgow coma scale) have been widely employed. In discussion of merit/demerit of JCS and GCS, the author et al. have proposed a new scale ECS (emergency coma scale) with 3 levels of digit code for patient's response and behavior under CD. Therapeutic outcome is greatly affected by acute CD levels evaluable by scaling, in which awakening/alertness relates with mortality, and local symptom/consciousness, with morbidity. ECS is now globally getting around. (K.T.)

Consciousness, intentionality, and community: Unitary perspectives and research.

Science.gov (United States)

Zahourek, Rothlyn P; Larkin, Dorothy M

2009-01-01

Consciousness and intentionality often have been related and studied together. These concepts also are readily viewed and understood for practice, research, and education in a unitary paradigm. How these ideas relate to community is less known. Considering the expansion of our capacity for communication through the World Wide Web and other technologic advances and appreciating recent research on the nonlocal character of intentionality and consciousness, it is more apparent how concepts of community can be seen in the same unitary context. The authors address these issues and review relevant nursing research.

Is There a Relationship between Consciousness and Epilepsy?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhittin Bayram

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to describe the relationship between consciousness and epilepsy. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder which can be seen all over the world. It can be diagnosed by the brain’s electrical activity (EEG. The determination of epileptic attacks by EEG signals is quite common in both clinical and research fields. During epileptic seizures, the brain dynamics that make up the graph consist of abnormalities in EEG signals. In this study, the relation between epilepsy and consciousness will be investigated by using wavelet entropy and artificial neural networks.

Timing of the brain events underlying access to consciousness during the attentional blink.

Science.gov (United States)

Sergent, Claire; Baillet, Sylvain; Dehaene, Stanislas

2005-10-01

In the phenomenon of attentional blink, identical visual stimuli are sometimes fully perceived and sometimes not detected at all. This phenomenon thus provides an optimal situation to study the fate of stimuli not consciously perceived and the differences between conscious and nonconscious processing. We correlated behavioral visibility ratings and recordings of event-related potentials to study the temporal dynamics of access to consciousness. Intact early potentials (P1 and N1) were evoked by unseen words, suggesting that these brain events are not the primary correlates of conscious perception. However, we observed a rapid divergence around 270 ms, after which several brain events were evoked solely by seen words. Thus, we suggest that the transition toward access to consciousness relates to the optional triggering of a late wave of activation that spreads through a distributed network of cortical association areas.

Technology Learning Activities. Design Brief--Measuring Inaccessible Distances. Alternative Energy Sources: Designing a Wind Powered Generator. Alternative Energy Sources: Designing a Hot Dog Heater Using Solar Energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Technology Teacher, 1991

1991-01-01

These three learning activities are on measuring accessible distances, designing a wind powered generator, and designing a hot dog heater using solar energy. Each activity includes description of context, objectives, list of materials and equipment, challenge to students, and evaluation questions. (SK)

Advanced Energy Design Guide K-12: Next Generation of School Design and Operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torcellini, Paul A [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Pless, Shanti [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2018-01-01

Driven by energy efficiency advances and renewable energy cost reductions, zero energy buildings are popping up all around the country. Although zero energy represents a bold paradigm shift - from buildings that consume energy to buildings that produce enough energy to meet their energy needs on an annual basis - it isn't a sudden shift. Zero energy buildings are the result of steady, incremental progress by researchers and building professionals working together to improve building energy performance. ASHRAE is taking the lead by publishing - in partnership with the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) - a new series of advanced energy design guides (AEDGs) focused on zero energy buildings. The recently completed Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 School Buildings: Achieving Zero Energy (K-12 ZE AEDG) is the first in this series.

BUILDING DESIGN INFLUENCE ON THE ENERGY PERFORMANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moga Ligia

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Energy efficient design is a high priority in the national energy strategy of European countries considering the latest requirements of the European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings. The residential sector is responsible for a significant quantity of energy consumptions from the total amount of consumptions on a worldwide level. In residential building most of the energy consumptions are given mainly by heating, domestic hot water and lighting. Retrofitting the existing building stock offers great opportunities for reducing global energy consumptions and greenhouse gas emissions. The first part of the paper will address the need of thermal and energy retrofit of existing buildings. The second part will provide an overview on how various variables can influence the energy performance of a building that is placed in all four climatic zones from Romania. The paper is useful for specialist and designers from the construction field in understanding that buildings behave differently from the energy point of view in different climatic regions, even if the building characteristic remain the same.

The Relationship of Self-Esteem and Self-Consciousness in High School Students

OpenAIRE

柴田, 雄企; 吉戒, 聡美

2015-01-01

In order to clarify the relationship of self-esteem and self-consciousness in high school students, I performed the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES), the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSEI) and self-onsciousness scale. 161 high school students (98 boys and 63 girls) were assessed based on these scales. It was found that there were negative correlations between self-consciousness and self-rejection of CSEI in boys and there were negative correlations between self-consciousness and self-...

Exploring Cultural Differences in the Recognition of the Self-Conscious Emotions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanne M Chung

Full Text Available Recent research suggests that the self-conscious emotions of embarrassment, shame, and pride have distinct, nonverbal expressions that can be recognized in the United States at above-chance levels. However, few studies have examined the recognition of these emotions in other cultures, and little research has been conducted in Asia. Consequently the cross-cultural generalizability of self-conscious emotions has not been firmly established. Additionally, there is no research that examines cultural variability in the recognition of the self-conscious emotions. Cultural values and exposure to Western culture have been identified as contributors to variability in recognition rates for the basic emotions; we sought to examine this for the self-conscious emotions using the University of California, Davis Set of Emotion Expressions (UCDSEE. The present research examined recognition of the self-conscious emotion expressions in South Korean college students and found that recognition rates were very high for pride, low but above chance for shame, and near zero for embarrassment. To examine what might be underlying the recognition rates we found in South Korea, recognition of self-conscious emotions and several cultural values were examined in a U.S. college student sample of European Americans, Asian Americans, and Asian-born individuals. Emotion recognition rates were generally similar between the European Americans and Asian Americans, and higher than emotion recognition rates for Asian-born individuals. These differences were not explained by cultural values in an interpretable manner, suggesting that exposure to Western culture is a more important mediator than values.

Exploring Cultural Differences in the Recognition of the Self-Conscious Emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Joanne M; Robins, Richard W

2015-01-01

Recent research suggests that the self-conscious emotions of embarrassment, shame, and pride have distinct, nonverbal expressions that can be recognized in the United States at above-chance levels. However, few studies have examined the recognition of these emotions in other cultures, and little research has been conducted in Asia. Consequently the cross-cultural generalizability of self-conscious emotions has not been firmly established. Additionally, there is no research that examines cultural variability in the recognition of the self-conscious emotions. Cultural values and exposure to Western culture have been identified as contributors to variability in recognition rates for the basic emotions; we sought to examine this for the self-conscious emotions using the University of California, Davis Set of Emotion Expressions (UCDSEE). The present research examined recognition of the self-conscious emotion expressions in South Korean college students and found that recognition rates were very high for pride, low but above chance for shame, and near zero for embarrassment. To examine what might be underlying the recognition rates we found in South Korea, recognition of self-conscious emotions and several cultural values were examined in a U.S. college student sample of European Americans, Asian Americans, and Asian-born individuals. Emotion recognition rates were generally similar between the European Americans and Asian Americans, and higher than emotion recognition rates for Asian-born individuals. These differences were not explained by cultural values in an interpretable manner, suggesting that exposure to Western culture is a more important mediator than values.

The Radical Plasticity Thesis: How the brain learns to be conscious

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Axel eCleeremans

2011-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, I explore the idea that consciousness is something that the brain learns to do rather than an intrinsic property of certain neural states and not others. Starting from the idea that neural activity is inherently unconscious, the question thus becomes: How does the brain learn to be conscious? I suggest that consciousness arises as a result of the brain's continuous attempts at predicting not only the consequences of its actions on the world and on other agents, but also the consequences of activity in one cerebral region on activity in other regions. By this account, the brain continuously and unconsciously learns to redescribe its own activity to itself, so developing systems of meta-representations that characterise and qualify the target first-order representations. Such learned redescriptions, enriched by the emotional value associated with them, form the basis of conscious experience. Learning and plasticity are thus central to consciousness, to the extent that experiences only occur in experiencers that have learned to know they possess certain first-order states and that have learned to care more about certain states than about others. This is what I call the Radical Plasticity Thesis. In a sense thus, this is the enactive perspective, but turned both inwards and (further outwards. Consciousness involves signal detection on the mind; the mind is the brain's (non-conceptual, implicit theory about itself. I illustrate these ideas through neural network models that simulate the relationships between performance and awareness in different tasks.

Exploring Cultural Differences in the Recognition of the Self-Conscious Emotions

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Joanne M.; Robins, Richard W.

2015-01-01

Recent research suggests that the self-conscious emotions of embarrassment, shame, and pride have distinct, nonverbal expressions that can be recognized in the United States at above-chance levels. However, few studies have examined the recognition of these emotions in other cultures, and little research has been conducted in Asia. Consequently the cross-cultural generalizability of self-conscious emotions has not been firmly established. Additionally, there is no research that examines cultural variability in the recognition of the self-conscious emotions. Cultural values and exposure to Western culture have been identified as contributors to variability in recognition rates for the basic emotions; we sought to examine this for the self-conscious emotions using the University of California, Davis Set of Emotion Expressions (UCDSEE). The present research examined recognition of the self-conscious emotion expressions in South Korean college students and found that recognition rates were very high for pride, low but above chance for shame, and near zero for embarrassment. To examine what might be underlying the recognition rates we found in South Korea, recognition of self-conscious emotions and several cultural values were examined in a U.S. college student sample of European Americans, Asian Americans, and Asian-born individuals. Emotion recognition rates were generally similar between the European Americans and Asian Americans, and higher than emotion recognition rates for Asian-born individuals. These differences were not explained by cultural values in an interpretable manner, suggesting that exposure to Western culture is a more important mediator than values. PMID:26309215

Meditation and Dance in Creative Society: Contemplative Consciousness in Daoism, Zen and Argentine Tango

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnieška Juzefovič

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the particularly relevant topic in the contemporary society – Asian meditative practices and methods of self-development. The first chapter deals with the notion of contemplative, enlightened consciousness in Daoism and Zen. The second chapter shows how meditative consciousness could be achieved through social tango. Six theses are argued as appropriate for both Daoism and Zen as well as tango: 1 contemplative, purified consciousness is empty of disturbing thoughts and focused toward the essence; 2 contemplative, purified consciousness is not only empty but also brimming full; 3 contemplative, purified consciousness is identical with everyday mind; 4 contemplative mind is functioning according to the principles of non-action and naturalness; 5 meditation leads toward the unity and integrity of consciousness and body, consciousness and outside world; 6 active meditation is an effective way to obtain aims mentioned above. The argumentation of such thesis helps to show that tango is akin to various meditative practices. So it could not only be successfully used as a form of entertainment but also as a meditative practice, leading toward aims, similar to those of Zen meditations.

Attention versus consciousness in the visual brain: differences in conception, phenomenology, behavior, neuroanatomy, and physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Baars, B J

1999-07-01

A common confound between consciousness and attention makes it difficult to think clearly about recent advances in the understanding of the visual brain. Visual consciousness involves phenomenal experience of the visual world, but visual attention is more plausibly treated as a function that selects and maintains the selection of potential conscious contents, often unconsciously. In the same sense, eye movements select conscious visual events, which are not the same as conscious visual experience. According to common sense, visual experience is consciousness, and selective processes are labeled as attention. The distinction is reflected in very different behavioral measures and in very different brain anatomy and physiology. Visual consciousness tends to be associated with the "what" stream of visual feature neurons in the ventral temporal lobe. In contrast, attentional selection and maintenance are mediated by other brain regions, ranging from superior colliculi to thalamus, prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate. The author applied the common-sense distinction between attention and consciousness to the theoretical positions of M. I. Posner (1992, 1994) and D. LaBerge (1997, 1998) to show how it helps to clarify the evidence. He concluded that clarity of thought is served by calling a thing by its proper name.

Impact of aphasia on consciousness assessment: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schnakers, Caroline; Bessou, Helene; Rubi-Fessen, Ilona; Hartmann, Alexander; Fink, Gereon R; Meister, Ingo; Giacino, Joseph T; Laureys, Steven; Majerus, Steve

2015-01-01

Previous findings suggest that language disorders may occur in severely brain-injured patients and could interfere with behavioral assessments of consciousness. However, no study investigated to what extent language impairment could affect patients' behavioral responses. Objective. To estimate the impact of receptive and/or productive language impairments on consciousness assessment. Twenty-four acute and subacute stroke patients with different types of aphasia (global, n = 11; Broca, n = 4; Wernicke, n = 3; anomic, n = 4; mixed, n = 2) were recruited in neurology and neurosurgery units as well as in rehabilitation centers. The Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) was administered. We observed that 25% (6 out of 24) of stroke patients with a diagnosis of aphasia and 54% (6 out of 11) of patients with a diagnosis of global aphasia did not reach the maximal CRS-R total score of 23. An underestimation of the consciousness level was observed in 3 patients with global aphasia who could have been misdiagnosed as being in a minimally conscious state, even in the absence of any documented period of coma. More precisely, lower subscores were observed on the communication, motor, oromotor, and arousal subscales. Consciousness assessment may be complicated by the co-occurrence of severe language deficits. This stresses the importance of developing new tools or identifying items in existing scales, which may allow the detection of language impairment in severely brain-injured patients. © The Author(s) 2014.

Consciousness isn't all-or-none: Evidence for partial awareness during the attentional blink.

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, James C; Baird, Benjamin; Giesbrecht, Barry

2016-02-01

Alternative views of the nature of consciousness posit that awareness of an object is either an all-or-none phenomenon or that awareness can be partial, occurring independently for different levels of representation. The all-or-none hypothesis predicts that when one feature of an object is identified, all other features should be consciously accessible. The partial awareness hypothesis predicts that one feature may reach consciousness while others do not. These competing predictions were tested in two experiments that presented two targets within a central stream of letters. We used the attentional blink evoked by the first target to assess consciousness for two different features of the second target. The results provide evidence that there can be a severe impairment in conscious access to one feature even when another feature is accurately reported. This behavioral evidence supports the partial awareness hypothesis, showing that consciousness of different features of the same object can be dissociated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Consciousness in the universe: a review of the 'Orch OR' theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Hameroff, Stuart; Penrose, Roger

2014-03-01

The nature of consciousness, the mechanism by which it occurs in the brain, and its ultimate place in the universe are unknown. We proposed in the mid 1990's that consciousness depends on biologically 'orchestrated' coherent quantum processes in collections of microtubules within brain neurons, that these quantum processes correlate with, and regulate, neuronal synaptic and membrane activity, and that the continuous Schrödinger evolution of each such process terminates in accordance with the specific Diósi-Penrose (DP) scheme of 'objective reduction' ('OR') of the quantum state. This orchestrated OR activity ('Orch OR') is taken to result in moments of conscious awareness and/or choice. The DP form of OR is related to the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and space-time geometry, so Orch OR suggests that there is a connection between the brain's biomolecular processes and the basic structure of the universe. Here we review Orch OR in light of criticisms and developments in quantum biology, neuroscience, physics and cosmology. We also introduce a novel suggestion of 'beat frequencies' of faster microtubule vibrations as a possible source of the observed electro-encephalographic ('EEG') correlates of consciousness. We conclude that consciousness plays an intrinsic role in the universe. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Consciousness in humans and non-human animals: recent advances and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Boly, Melanie; Seth, Anil K; Wilke, Melanie; Ingmundson, Paul; Baars, Bernard; Laureys, Steven; Edelman, David B; Tsuchiya, Naotsugu

2013-10-31

This joint article reflects the authors' personal views regarding noteworthy advances in the neuroscience of consciousness in the last 10 years, and suggests what we feel may be promising future directions. It is based on a small conference at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine, USA, in July of 2012, organized by the Mind Science Foundation of San Antonio, Texas. Here, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of subjectivity in humans and other animals, including empirical, applied, technical, and conceptual insights. These include the evidence for the importance of fronto-parietal connectivity and of "top-down" processes, both of which enable information to travel across distant cortical areas effectively, as well as numerous dissociations between consciousness and cognitive functions, such as attention, in humans. In addition, we describe the development of mental imagery paradigms, which made it possible to identify covert awareness in non-responsive subjects. Non-human animal consciousness research has also witnessed substantial advances on the specific role of cortical areas and higher order thalamus for consciousness, thanks to important technological enhancements. In addition, much progress has been made in the understanding of non-vertebrate cognition relevant to possible conscious states. Finally, major advances have been made in theories of consciousness, and also in their comparison with the available evidence. Along with reviewing these findings, each author suggests future avenues for research in their field of investigation.

Akratic Feelings, Empathy and Self-Consciousness

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Dina Mendonça

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The present article is an analysis of the role of akratic feelings on empathy and self-consciousness. It argues that akratic feelings create a meta-emotional platform that allows the installation of a type of empathic process, which simultaneously contributes for self-consciousness. The article shows in what way akratic feelings are crucial to further understand both ourselves and others.The article begins by describing the nature of akratic feelings and the way in which we can find them at various emotional levels. The second part points out how akratic feelings contribute to empathetic processes and their role in the formation of a meta-emotional platform in which people recognize their opacity. Finally, the article points out how this also contributes for self-awareness, and ultimately for a better understanding of emotional processes.

Technical Design of Flexible Sustainable Energy Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Henrik

2003-01-01

The paper presents technical designs of potential future flexible energy systems in Denmark, which will be able both to balance production and demand and to secure voltage and frequency requirements on the grid.......The paper presents technical designs of potential future flexible energy systems in Denmark, which will be able both to balance production and demand and to secure voltage and frequency requirements on the grid....

Raising consciousness about the nuclear threat through music

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ungerleider, J.H.

1987-01-01

This dissertation examines the use of music, in particular topical collaborative group song writing, as a tool for raising consciousness about the threat of nuclear war. Consciousness raising is one way to overcome the phenomenon of denial and to increase discussion and social action in response to the nuclear threat. This dissertation measures the impact of a group song writing workshop on developing critical problem-solving in adult groups; it reviews how music is applied in psychological research and clinical work, has been used historically as a tool in social-change movements in America, and is used in the contemporary field of peace education. The perspectives of several theorists who discuss the potential of music to contribute to social change are presented. It is concluded that consciousness about the nuclear threat - in terms of naming and analyzing - can be raised by working with music's potential for developing affective, expressive, and collaborative capabilities in individuals and groups. Potential applications of the group song writing workshop are in schools, with peace organizations, music groups, and in relation to other social issues.

Teaching Sustainable Design Using BIM and Project-Based Energy Simulations

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Zhigang Shen

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The cross-disciplinary nature of energy-efficient building design has created many challenges for architecture, engineering and construction instructors. One of the technical challenges in teaching sustainable building design is enabling students to quantitatively understand how different building designs affect a building’s energy performance. Concept based instructional methods fall short in evaluating the impact of different design choices on a buildings’ energy consumption. Building Information Modeling (BIM with energy performance software provides a feasible tool to evaluate building design parameters. One notable advantage of this tool is its ability to couple 3D visualization of the structure with energy performance analysis without requiring detailed mathematical and thermodynamic calculations. Project-based Learning (PBL utilizing BIM tools coupled with energy analysis software was incorporated into a senior level undergraduate class. Student perceptions and feedback were analyzed to gauge the effectiveness of these techniques as instructional tools. The findings indicated that BIM-PBL can be used to effectively teach energy-efficient building design and construction.

Present status of design, research and development of nuclear fusion reactors and problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-04-01

Seven years have elapsed since the publication of ''Progress of nuclear fusion research and perspective toward the development of power reactors'' by the Atomic Energy Society of Japan in August, 1976. During this period, the research and development of nuclear fusion have changed from plasma physics to reactor technology, being conscious of the realization of fusion reactors. There are the R project in the Institute of Plasma Physics, Nagoya University, and the design and construction of JT-60 in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, to put it concretely. Now the research and development taking the economical efficiency into account are adopted. However, the type of fusion reactors is not reduced to tokamak type, accordingly the research and development to meet the diverse possibilities are forwarded. The progress of tokamak reactor research, core plasma design, nuclear design and shielding design, thermal structure design, the design of superconducting magnets, disassembling and repair, safety, economical efficiency, the conceptual design of other types than tokamak and others are reported. (Kako, I.)

Waking and dreaming consciousness: Neurobiological and functional considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Hobson, J.A.; Friston, K.J.

2012-01-01

This paper presents a theoretical review of rapid eye movement sleep with a special focus on pontine-geniculate-occipital waves and what they might tell us about the functional anatomy of sleep and consciousness. In particular, we review established ideas about the nature and purpose of sleep in terms of protoconsciousness and free energy minimization. By combining these theoretical perspectives, we discover answers to some fundamental questions about sleep: for example, why is homeothermy suspended during sleep? Why is sleep necessary? Why are we not surprised by our dreams? What is the role of synaptic regression in sleep? The imperatives for sleep that emerge also allow us to speculate about the functional role of PGO waves and make some empirical predictions that can, in principle, be tested using recent advances in the modeling of electrophysiological data. PMID:22609044

Safety of Conscious Sedation In Interventional Radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arepally, Aravind; Oechsle, Denise; Kirkwood, Sharon; Savader, Scott J.

2001-01-01

Purpose: To identify rates of adverse events associated with the use of conscious sedation in interventional radiology.Methods: In a 5-month period, prospective data were collected on patients undergoing conscious sedation for interventional radiology procedures (n = 594). Adverse events were categorized as respiratory, sedative, or major adverse events. Respiratory adverse events were those that required oral airway placement, ambu bag, or jaw thrust. Sedation adverse events were unresponsiveness, oxygen saturation less than 90%, use of flumazenil/naloxone, or agitation. Major adverse events were hypotension, intubation, CPR, or cardiac arrest. The frequency of adverse events for the five most common radiology procedures were determined.Results: The five most common procedures (total n = 541) were biliary tube placement/exchange (n = 182), tunneled catheter placement (n 135), diagnostic arteriography (n = 125), vascular interventions (n = 52), and other catheter insertions (n = 46). Rates for respiratory, sedation, and major adverse events were 4.7%, 4.2%, and 2.0%, respectively. The most frequent major adverse event was hypotension (2.0%). Biliary procedures had the highest rate of total adverse events (p < .05) and respiratory adverse events (p < .05).Conclusion: The frequency of adverse events is low with the use of conscious sedation during interventional procedures. The highest rates occurred during biliary interventions

Split brain: divided perception but undivided consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto, Yair; Neville, David A; Otten, Marte; Corballis, Paul M; Lamme, Victor A F; de Haan, Edward H F; Foschi, Nicoletta; Fabri, Mara

2017-05-01

In extensive studies with two split-brain patients we replicate the standard finding that stimuli cannot be compared across visual half-fields, indicating that each hemisphere processes information independently of the other. Yet, crucially, we show that the canonical textbook findings that a split-brain patient can only respond to stimuli in the left visual half-field with the left hand, and to stimuli in the right visual half-field with the right hand and verbally, are not universally true. Across a wide variety of tasks, split-brain patients with a complete and radiologically confirmed transection of the corpus callosum showed full awareness of presence, and well above chance-level recognition of location, orientation and identity of stimuli throughout the entire visual field, irrespective of response type (left hand, right hand, or verbally). Crucially, we used confidence ratings to assess conscious awareness. This revealed that also on high confidence trials, indicative of conscious perception, response type did not affect performance. These findings suggest that severing the cortical connections between hemispheres splits visual perception, but does not create two independent conscious perceivers within one brain. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Energy Analysis of a Student-Designed Solar House

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Samantha Wermager

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the findings from an undergraduate research project concerning the energy efficiency, consumption, and generation of a 1000 ft2 (92.9 m2 solar house. The results were compared to a home of similar size and layout, built using traditional construction methods. The solar house was modeled after the Chameleon House: Missouri University of Science and Technology’s 2013 entry in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. The efficiency of the design was analyzed using Energy-10 Version 1.8 software. For this comparison, a fictional American couple was created and a breakdown of their energy-use habits was recorded to accurately depict the magnitude of energy consumption. A 71% energy savings was forecasted using the Energy-10 software through the incorporation of various energy-conserving strategies in the home’s design. In addition, if a 9.1 kW photovoltaic array is also installed on a home of this size, it is possible to fully offset the energy consumption of the home. The forecasted energy usage and production detailed in this report shall be used for analyzing the integrity of the design of the Chameleon House as well as future solar houses constructed by the Missouri S&T Solar House Team.

Consciousness and the brain deciphering how the brain codes our thoughts

CERN Document Server

Dehaene, Stanislas

2014-01-01

How does our brain generate a conscious thought? And why does so much of our knowledge remain unconscious? Thanks to clever psychological and brain-imaging experiments, scientists are closer to cracking this mystery than ever before. In this lively book, Stanislas Dehaene describes the pioneering work his lab and the labs of other cognitive neuroscientists worldwide have accomplished in defining, testing, and explaining the brain events behind a conscious state. We can now pin down the neurons that fire when a person reports becoming aware of a piece of information and understand the crucial role unconscious computations play in how we make decisions. The emerging theory enables a test of consciousness in animals, babies, and those with severe brain injuries. A joyous exploration of the mind and its thrilling complexities, Consciousness and the Brain will excite anyone interested in cutting-edge science and technology and the vast philosophical, personal, and ethical implications of finally quantifying cons...

Conscious Willing and the Emerging Sciences of Brain and Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Timothy

Recent studies within neuroscience and cognitive psychology have explored the place of conscious willing in the generation of purposive action. Some have argued that certain findings indicate that the commonsensical view that we con trol many of our actions through conscious willing is largely or wholly illusory. I rebut such arguments, contending that they typically rest on a conflation of distinct phenomena. Nevertheless, I also suggest that traditional philosophical accounts of the will need to be revised: a raft of studies indicate that control over one's own will among human beings is limited, fragile, and - insofar as control depends to an extent on conscious knowledge - admitting of degrees. I briefly sketch several dimensions along which freedom of the will may vary over time and across agents.

SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER AND THE PSYCHOBIOLOGY OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan J Stein

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD are characterized by fear or anxiety about social situations, but also by important alterations in self-referential processing. Given advances in our understanding of the neurocircuitry and neurochemistry of SAD, the question arises of the relationship between this research and an emergent literature on the psychobiology of self and self-consciousness. A number of investigations of SAD have highlighted altered activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (involved in self-representation, insula (involved in interoceptive processing, and other structures that play a role in bodily self-consciousness, as well as the potential value of interventions such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and self-focused reappraisal in normalizing such changes. Future studies to more closely investigate associations between psychobiological alterations and changes in self-related processing in SAD, may be useful in shedding additional light on both SAD and self-consciousness.

True sacrifice on Hegel’s presentation of self-consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kobe Zdravko

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The paper provides a modest reading of Hegel’s treatment of self-consciousness in his Phenomenology of Spirit and tries to present it as an integral part of the overall project of the experience of consciousness leading from understanding to reason. Its immediate objective is, it is argued, to think the independence and dependence, that is the pure and empirical I within the same unity of self-consciousness. This implies a double movement of finding a proper existence for the pure I and at the same time a breaking down of the empirical I’s attachment to particularity. It is argued that the Hegelian struggle for recognition intends to show how the access to reason demands the subject’s renunciation of its attachment to particularity, that is to sacrifice not only its bare life but every thing indeed, including its particular identity, and yet, to go on living.

Conscious wireless electroretinogram and visual evoked potentials in rats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason Charng

Full Text Available The electroretinogram (ERG, retina and visual evoked potential (VEP, brain are widely used in vivo tools assaying the integrity of the visual pathway. Current recordings in preclinical models are conducted under anesthesia, which alters neural physiology and contaminates responses. We describe a conscious wireless ERG and VEP recording platform in rats. Using a novel surgical technique to chronically implant electrodes subconjunctivally on the eye and epidurally over the visual cortex, we are able to record stable and repeatable conscious ERG and VEP signals over at least 1 month. We show that the use of anaesthetics, necessary for conventional ERG and VEP measurements, alters electrophysiology recordings. Conscious visual electrophysiology improves the viability of longitudinal studies by eliminating complications associated with repeated anaesthesia. It will also enable uncontaminated assessment of drug effects, allowing the eye to be used as an effective biomarker of the central nervous system.

Causal role of prefrontal cortex in the threshold for access to consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Del Cul, A; Dehaene, S; Reyes, P; Bravo, E; Slachevsky, A

2009-09-01

What neural mechanisms support our conscious perception of briefly presented stimuli? Some theories of conscious access postulate a key role of top-down amplification loops involving prefrontal cortex (PFC). To test this issue, we measured the visual backward masking threshold in patients with focal prefrontal lesions, using both objective and subjective measures while controlling for putative attention deficits. In all conditions of temporal or spatial attention cueing, the threshold for access to consciousness was systematically shifted in patients, particular after a lesion of the left anterior PFC. The deficit affected subjective reports more than objective performance, and objective performance conditioned on subjective visibility was essentially normal. We conclude that PFC makes a causal contribution to conscious visual perception of masked stimuli, and outline a dual-route signal detection theory of objective and subjective decision making.

Images of History through the Prism of National Consciousness

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Gulnaz K. Gizatova

2017-11-01

Full Text Available One’s people history is one of the most important sources that reproduce resources for the formation of ethnic subjectness. An appeal to history is accompanied by the formation of a certain image, both of a given ethnic community and of its historical development. Reconstruction of the experience of the previous development of an ethnos is accompanied by the construction of a special discourse in which the ethnic characteristics of this community, the system of its values, all the events of its historical past, often begin to be determined by subjective modality. The latter in its turn is determined by a variety of functions needed within the given discourse to construct this image. The image of history of people existing in the national consciousness, representing a unity of the objective and subjective, can also be viewed as a unity of continuity and, at the same time, development of the self-consciousness of the ethnos, since the past and history are the most important conditions for construction of the present and the future of the nation. The image of the history of a given nation existing in the national consciousness, representing a unity of the objective and subjective, can also be viewed as the unity of continuity and at the same time as the development of the self-consciousness of the ethnos, since the past and history are the most important conditions for the construction of the present and the future of the nation. Reproducing the national memory in the image of history, the ethnic community preserves the core of its culture, its spiritual wealth and at the same time creates internal sources of dynamics for its further development. At the same time, the image of history performs various functions in the structure of the national consciousness.

Energy Design Guidelines for High Performance Schools: Tropical Island Climates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2004-11-01

The Energy Design Guidelines for High Performance Schools--Tropical Island Climates provides school boards, administrators, and design staff with guidance to help them make informed decisions about energy and environmental issues important to school systems and communities. These design guidelines outline high performance principles for the new or retrofit design of your K-12 school in tropical island climates. By incorporating energy improvements into their construction or renovation plans, schools can significantly reduce energy consumption and costs.

Religious bias among religiously conscious black christians in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Camp, Debbie; Sloan, Lloyd Ren; Elbassiouny, Amanda

2014-01-01

Research with White participants has demonstrated religious intergroup bias; however, religious identity may be different for Black Americans. Only religiously conscious Black Christians demonstrated a preference for Christian targets over Muslim and Atheist targets. Future research should consider what factors result in a person becoming conscious of other's religion.

Ego consciousness in the Japanese psyche: culture, myth and disaster.

Science.gov (United States)

Yama, Megumi

2013-02-01

With globalization, modern Western consciousness has spread across the world. This influx has affected the Japanese culture but ego consciousness has emerged through a long history and different course from that of the West. At a personal level, I have been interested in the establishment of a subject in a culture that values homogeneity and to understand this, I reflect on my own history of living in both the East and the West and on my experience practising psychotherapy. To show Japanese collective functioning at its best, I describe the human inter-connectedness and collaboration during the 2011 disaster. I explore the 'Nothing' at the centre of the Japanese psyche, through a reading of Japanese myth, especially the most originary and almost pre-human stories that come before the anthropomorphized 'First Parents'. A retelling of this founding story, reveals the multiple iterations over time that manifest in embodied being; this gradual emergence of consciousness is contrasted with Western myths of origin that are more clear and specific. This study attempts to bring awareness of the value and meaning of Eastern consciousness and its centre in the 'Nothing'. © 2013, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

Ethnocentrism, Religiosity, Environmental and Health Consciousness: Motivators for Anti-Consumers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramazan KAYNAK

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This paper covers highlighting the importance of anti-consumer groups in today’s markets and several outstanding factors shaping their reaction against consumption, which are ethnocentrism, religiosity, environmental and health consciousness. A conceptual model is presented which examines the explaining power of ethnocentrism, religiosity, environmental and health consciousness upon voluntary simplifiers and global impact consumers. Data were collected through an e-questionnaire by sending posts to the anti-consumer websites. A total of 503 useable responses were retained for analysis. The analysis reveals that ethnocentrism, environmental and health consciousness have significant impacts upon anti-consumers. In addition, religiosity has a negative impact upon global impact consumers’ anti-consumption behavior. Raising sensitiveness to environmental and health consciousness and ethnocentrism with regards to dealing with anti-consumers enables companies to have sustainable competitive power. These consumers’ growing satisfaction contributes to consumer loyalty in addition to an increase in market share. Researches related to anti-consumers have traditionally emphasized their impacts upon companies’ profits and reputation. On the contrary, this study reveals the main motivations behind voluntary simplifiers and global impact consumers and puts forth a new perspective by presenting the findings related to anti-consumers in Turkey.

Stream of consciousness: Quantum and biochemical assumptions regarding psychopathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonello, Lucio; Cocchi, Massimo; Gabrielli, Fabio; Tuszynski, Jack A

2017-04-01

The accepted paradigms of mainstream neuropsychiatry appear to be incompletely adequate and in various cases offer equivocal analyses. However, a growing number of new approaches are being proposed that suggest the emergence of paradigm shifts in this area. In particular, quantum theories of mind, brain and consciousness seem to offer a profound change to the current approaches. Unfortunately these quantum paradigms harbor at least two serious problems. First, they are simply models, theories, and assumptions, with no convincing experiments supporting their claims. Second, they deviate from contemporary mainstream views of psychiatric illness and do so in revolutionary ways. We suggest a possible way to integrate experimental neuroscience with quantum models in order to address outstanding issues in psychopathology. A key role is played by the phenomenon called the "stream of consciousness", which can be linked to the so-called "Gamma Synchrony" (GS), which is clearly demonstrated by EEG data. In our novel proposal, a unipolar depressed patient could be seen as a subject with an altered stream of consciousness. In particular, some clues suggest that depression is linked to an "increased power" stream of consciousness. It is additionally suggested that such an approach to depression might be extended to psychopathology in general with potential benefits to diagnostics and therapeutics in neuropsychiatry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relations between emotion and conscious recollection of true and false autobiographical memories: an investigation using lorazepam as a pharmacological tool.