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.

Consciousness across Sleep and Wake: Discontinuity and Continuity of Memory Experiences As a Reflection of Consolidation Processes

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Caroline L. Horton

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The continuity hypothesis (1 posits that there is continuity, of some form, between waking and dreaming mentation. A recent body of work has provided convincing evidence for different aspects of continuity, for instance that some salient experiences from waking life seem to feature in dreams over others, with a particular role for emotional arousal as accompanying these experiences, both during waking and while asleep. However, discontinuities have been somewhat dismissed as being either a product of activation-synthesis, an error within the consciousness binding process during sleep, a methodological anomaly, or simply as yet unexplained. This paper presents an overview of discontinuity within dreaming and waking cognition, arguing that disruptions of consciousness are as common a feature of waking cognition as of dreaming cognition, and that processes of sleep-dependent memory consolidation of autobiographical experiences can in part account for some of the discontinuities of sleeping cognition in a functional way. By drawing upon evidence of the incorporation, fragmentation, and reorganization of memories within dreams, this paper proposes a model of discontinuity whereby the fragmentation of autobiographical and episodic memories during sleep, as part of the consolidation process, render salient aspects of those memories subsequently available for retrieval in isolation from their contextual features. As such discontinuity of consciousness in sleep is functional and normal.

Mind-life continuity: A qualitative study of conscious experience.

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Hipólito, Inês; Martins, Jorge

2017-12-01

There are two fundamental models to understanding the phenomenon of natural life. One is the computational model, which is based on the symbolic thinking paradigm. The other is the biological organism model. The common difficulty attributed to these paradigms is that their reductive tools allow the phenomenological aspects of experience to remain hidden behind yes/no responses (behavioral tests), or brain 'pictures' (neuroimaging). Hence, one of the problems regards how to overcome methodological difficulties towards a non-reductive investigation of conscious experience. It is our aim in this paper to show how cooperation between Eastern and Western traditions may shed light for a non-reductive study of mind and life. This study focuses on the first-person experience associated with cognitive and mental events. We studied phenomenal data as a crucial fact for the domain of living beings, which, we expect, can provide the ground for a subsequent third-person study. The intervention with Jhana meditation, and its qualitative assessment, provided us with experiential profiles based upon subjects' evaluations of their own conscious experiences. The overall results should move towards an integrated or global perspective on mind where neither experience nor external mechanisms have the final word. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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

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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.

Alterations of consciousness and mystical-type experiences after acute LSD in humans.

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Liechti, Matthias E; Dolder, Patrick C; Schmid, Yasmin

2017-05-01

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is used recreationally and in clinical research. Acute mystical-type experiences that are acutely induced by hallucinogens are thought to contribute to their potential therapeutic effects. However, no data have been reported on LSD-induced mystical experiences and their relationship to alterations of consciousness. Additionally, LSD dose- and concentration-response functions with regard to alterations of consciousness are lacking. We conducted two placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over studies using oral administration of 100 and 200 μg LSD in 24 and 16 subjects, respectively. Acute effects of LSD were assessed using the 5 Dimensions of Altered States of Consciousness (5D-ASC) scale after both doses and the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ) after 200 μg. On the MEQ, 200 μg LSD induced mystical experiences that were comparable to those in patients who underwent LSD-assisted psychotherapy but were fewer than those reported for psilocybin in healthy subjects or patients. On the 5D-ASC scale, LSD produced higher ratings of blissful state, insightfulness, and changed meaning of percepts after 200 μg compared with 100 μg. Plasma levels of LSD were not positively correlated with its effects, with the exception of ego dissolution at 100 μg. Mystical-type experiences were infrequent after LSD, possibly because of the set and setting used in the present study. LSD may produce greater or different alterations of consciousness at 200 μg (i.e., a dose that is currently used in psychotherapy in Switzerland) compared with 100 μg (i.e., a dose used in imaging studies). Ego dissolution may reflect plasma levels of LSD, whereas more robustly induced effects of LSD may not result in such associations.

Consciousness cannot be separated from function.

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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.

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.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

[Recovery of consciousness: process-oriented approach].

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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.

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.

The Neurogenetic Correlates of Consciousness

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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.

Neuroimaging of consciousness

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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

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, 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…

Emotional consciousness: a neural model of how cognitive appraisal and somatic perception interact to produce qualitative experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Thagard, Paul; Aubie, Brandon

2008-09-01

This paper proposes a theory of how conscious emotional experience is produced by the brain as the result of many interacting brain areas coordinated in working memory. These brain areas integrate perceptions of bodily states of an organism with cognitive appraisals of its current situation. Emotions are neural processes that represent the overall cognitive and somatic state of the organism. Conscious experience arises when neural representations achieve high activation as part of working memory. This theory explains numerous phenomena concerning emotional consciousness, including differentiation, integration, intensity, valence, and change.

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 ...

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,

Organizational consciousness.

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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.

High-risk respiratory patients' experiences of bronchoscopy with conscious sedation and analgesia: A qualitative study.

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Saxon, Catherine; Fulbrook, Paul; Fong, Kwun M; Ski, Chantal F

2017-10-20

To understand the experiences of high-risk respiratory patients undergoing bronchoscopy with conscious sedation. Due to possible complications, high-risk respiratory patients are usually given smaller, cautious doses of sedation and analgesia for bronchoscopy. Described as "conscious sedation," this facilitates depression of the patient's consciousness without causing respiratory compromise. Previously, studies have investigated patient experience using quantitative methods. This is the first study that has explored the patient experience during bronchoscopy from a qualitative perspective. Qualitative, phenomenological approach as described by Van Manen. The setting was an endoscopy unit within an Australian tertiary hospital. Unstructured interviews were conducted with 13 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who underwent day-case bronchoscopy. All participants received conscious sedation. They were interviewed twice, within a week, postprocedure. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Van Manen's interpretive approach. Participants had varying experiences. Five themes emerged from the analysis: Frustration and fear; Comfort and safety; Choking and coughing; Being aware; and Consequences. Whilst not all participants experienced procedural awareness or remembered it, for those who did it was a significant event. Overall, experiences were found to be negative; however, participants accepted and tolerated them, perceiving them as necessary to obtain a diagnostic result. The findings demonstrate that often patients are aware during the procedure and their experience may be uncomfortable and distressing. These findings have implications for patient preparation pre- and post-bronchoscopy in terms of what they might expect, and to discuss what has happened after the procedure. Some practices of the bronchoscopy team during the procedure may need modification. For example, in anticipation of the possibility that the patient may be aware

Consciousness and the Invention of Morel

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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.

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.

Evidence that logical reasoning depends on conscious processing.

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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.

Psychotherapy, consciousness, and brain plasticity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

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...

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....

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.

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 ...

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.

Arousal in Nocturnal Consciousness: How Dream- and Sleep-Experiences May Inform Us of Poor Sleep Quality, Stress, and Psychopathology.

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Soffer-Dudek, Nirit

2017-01-01

The term "sleep experiences," coined by Watson (2001), denotes an array of unusual nocturnal consciousness phenomena; for example, nightmares, vivid or recurrent dreams, hypnagogic hallucinations, dreams of falling or flying, confusional arousals, and lucid dreams. Excluding the latter, these experiences reflect a single factor of atypical oneiric cognitions ("general sleep experiences"). The current study is an opinionated mini-review on the associations of this factor-measured with the Iowa sleep experiences survey (ISES, Watson, 2001)-with psychopathological symptoms and stress. Findings support a strong relation between psychological distress and general sleep experiences. It is suggested that that they should be viewed as a sleep disturbance; they seem to represent involuntary intrusions of wakefulness into sleep, resulting in aroused sleep. These intrusions may stem from excessively thin boundaries between consciousness states (e.g., "transliminality"), or, conversely, they may follow an attempt at disconnecting mental elements (e.g., dissociation), which paradoxically results in a "rebound effect." The extent to which unusual dreaming is experienced as intrusive, rather than controlled, may explain why general sleep experiences are related to psychopathology, whereas lucid dreams are related to psychological resilience. In conclusion, the exploration of the interplay between psychopathology and sleep should be expanded from focusing almost exclusively on quantitative aspects (e.g., sleep efficiency, latency) to including qualitative conscious experiences which may reflect poor sleep quality. Taking into account nocturnal consciousness-including unusual dreaming and permeable sleep-wake boundaries-may unveil rich information on night-time emotional states and broaden our definition of poor sleep quality.

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.

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....

Do out-of-body and near-death experiences point towards the reality of nonlocal consciousness? A critical evaluation

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Pieter Craffert

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In recent years there was a steady flow of academic studies claiming that the mind or consciousness can function independently from a working brain. Such research is presented with great confidence as a scientific breakthrough and one that will alter received views on both humanity and the meaning of life as well as medical science in general and neuroscience in particular. In this article the three major streams of evidence for the existence of nonlocal consciousness are critically evaluated. Neither the testimonies of thousands of experients nor research on cardiac arrest patients or experimental research on veridical perception during out-of-body experiences at this stage provide sufficient evidence for such claims about nonlocal consciousness. Extraordinary claims about paradigm chances in the scientific world should be supported by uncontroversial and high quality evidence, which is currently not available.

The conscious access hypothesis: Explaining the consciousness.

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Prakash, Ravi

2008-01-01

The phenomenon of conscious awareness or consciousness is complicated but fascinating. Although this concept has intrigued the mankind since antiquity, exploration of consciousness from scientific perspectives is not very old. Among myriad of theories regarding nature, functions and mechanism of consciousness, off late, cognitive theories have received wider acceptance. One of the most exciting hypotheses in recent times has been the "conscious access hypotheses" based on the "global workspace model of consciousness". It underscores an important property of consciousness, the global access of information in cerebral cortex. Present article reviews the "conscious access hypothesis" in terms of its theoretical underpinnings as well as experimental supports it has received.

Agential Self-consciousness : beyond conscious agency

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Bos, G.H.

2013-01-01

Although we perform many of our actions without much consciousness of these, occasionally we are explicitly conscious that we are doing something for a reason. Such consciousness I call ‘agential self-consciousness’. Since ages we have understood such agential self-consciousness in terms of the

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.

[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

Consciousness, biology and quantum hypotheses.

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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

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.

Consciousness: a neural capacity for objectivity, especially pronounced in humans

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Dijker, Anton J. M.

2014-01-01

Consciousness tends to be viewed either as subjective experience of sensations and feelings, or as perception and internal representation of objects. This paper argues that neither view sufficiently acknowledges that consciousness may refer to the brain’s most adaptive property: its capacity to produce states of objectivity. It is proposed that this capacity relies on multiple sensorimotor networks for internally representing objects and their properties in terms of expectancies, as well as on motivational and motor mechanisms involved in exploration, play, and care for vulnerable living and non-living objects. States of objectivity are associated with a very special phenomenal aspect; the experience that subjective aspects are absent and one is “just looking” at the world as it really is and can be. However, these states are normally closely preceded and followed by (and tend to be combined or fused with) sensations and feelings which are caused by activation of sensory and motivational mechanisms. A capacity for objectivity may have evolved in different species and can be conceived as a common basis for other elusive psychological properties such as intelligence, conscience, and esthetic experience; all three linked to crucial behaviors in human evolution such as tool making, cooperation, and art. The brain’s pervasive tendency to objectify may be responsible for wrongly equating consciousness with feelings and wrongly opposing it to well-learned or habitual (“unconscious”) patterns of perception and behavior. PMID:24672506

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

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.

Predicting the conscious experience of other people

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandberg, Kristian; Bahrami, Bahador; Kanai, Ryota

it has not been shown possible to generalize the decoding of brain signals from one individual to another. This limits the potential utility of such approaches. Here we used a different approach that circumvented these difficulties by using magnetoencephalographic (MEG) signals to decode the contents......There has been considerable interest recently in using multivariate decoding techniques applied to functional MRI signals in order to decode the contents of a person’s consciousness. The use of such signals has inherent disadvantages due to the delay of the hemodynamic response. Moreover to date...... of consciousness, and to test whether such correlates generalized reliably across individuals. We used a 274 channel MEG system to record signals from 8 healthy participants while they viewed an intermittently presented binocular rivalry stimulus consisting of a face and a grating. Using a leave-one-out cross...

The conscious access hypothesis: Explaining the consciousness

OpenAIRE

Prakash, Ravi

2008-01-01

The phenomenon of conscious awareness or consciousness is complicated but fascinating. Although this concept has intrigued the mankind since antiquity, exploration of consciousness from scientific perspectives is not very old. Among myriad of theories regarding nature, functions and mechanism of consciousness, off late, cognitive theories have received wider acceptance. One of the most exciting hypotheses in recent times has been the ?conscious access hypotheses? based on the ?global workspac...

[Consciousness and the electroencephalogram].

Science.gov (United States)

Faber, J; Vladyka, V; Subrt, O

1991-08-01

. The rational or emotional aspect of behaviour is described as "type" of consciousness. Under normal conditions the states of consciousness alternate periodically and are sharply defined, the types of consciousness are closely linked and are difficult to separate. Under pathological conditions the "states" of consciousness differ less markedly and the "types" of consciousness are in dissociation. Thus obnubilation, depersonalization, illusions, pathic affects etc. develop, as a rule as part of the epileptiform or psychotiform syndrome.

Conscious sensation, conscious perception and sensorimotor theories of consciousness

OpenAIRE

Gamez, David

2014-01-01

This article explores the hypothesis that the differences between our conscious sensations (color, sound, smell, etc.) could be linked to the different ways in which our senses process and structure information. It is also proposed that the organization of our conscious sensations into a conscious perception of a three-dimensional world could be linked to our mastery of sensorimotor contingencies. These hypotheses are supported by a number of observations, including the appearance of consciou...

The Emerging Physics of Consciousness

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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...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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

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.

Phenomenal and access consciousness in olfaction.

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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.

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...

Non-Conscious vs. Deliberate Dynamic Decision-Making—A Pilot Experiment

OpenAIRE

Andreas Größler; Etiënne Rouwette; Jac Vennix

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of non-conscious vs. deliberate ways of making decisions in a dynamic decision-making task. An experimental setting is used to study this question; three experimental groups are distinguished: immediate decision-making (only very limited time for deliberate cognitive processing), considerate decision-making (relatively long time for deliberate cognitive processing), and distracted decision-making (time for non-conscious cognitive processing ...

Non-conscious vs. deliberate dynamic decision-making—a pilot experiment

OpenAIRE

Grössler, A.; Rouwette, E.A.J.A.; Vennix, J.A.M.; Größler, A.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of non-conscious vs. deliberate ways of making decisions in a dynamic decision-making task. An experimental setting is used to study this question; three experimental groups are distinguished: immediate decision-making (only very limited time for deliberate cognitive processing), considerate decision-making (relatively long time for deliberate cognitive processing), and distracted decision-making (time for non-conscious cognitive processing ...

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

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

Visual perception from the perspective of a representational, non-reductionistic, level-dependent account of perception and conscious awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Overgaard, Morten; Mogensen, Jesper

2014-01-01

This article proposes a new model to interpret seemingly conflicting evidence concerning the correlation of consciousness and neural processes. Based on an analysis of research of blindsight and subliminal perception, the reorganization of elementary functions and consciousness framework suggests that mental representations consist of functions at several different levels of analysis, including truly localized perceptual elementary functions and perceptual algorithmic modules, which are interconnections of the elementary functions. We suggest that conscious content relates to the ‘top level’ of analysis in a ‘situational algorithmic strategy’ that reflects the general state of an individual. We argue that conscious experience is intrinsically related to representations that are available to guide behaviour. From this perspective, we find that blindsight and subliminal perception can be explained partly by too coarse-grained methodology, and partly by top-down enhancing of representations that normally would not be relevant to action. PMID:24639581

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.

The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs

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Carhart-Harris, Robin L.; Leech, Robert; Hellyer, Peter J.; Shanahan, Murray; Feilding, Amanda; Tagliazucchi, Enzo; Chialvo, Dante R.; Nutt, David

2014-01-01

Entropy is a dimensionless quantity that is used for measuring uncertainty about the state of a system but it can also imply physical qualities, where high entropy is synonymous with high disorder. Entropy is applied here in the context of states of consciousness and their associated neurodynamics, with a particular focus on the psychedelic state. The psychedelic state is considered an exemplar of a primitive or primary state of consciousness that preceded the development of modern, adult, human, normal waking consciousness. Based on neuroimaging data with psilocybin, a classic psychedelic drug, it is argued that the defining feature of “primary states” is elevated entropy in certain aspects of brain function, such as the repertoire of functional connectivity motifs that form and fragment across time. Indeed, since there is a greater repertoire of connectivity motifs in the psychedelic state than in normal waking consciousness, this implies that primary states may exhibit “criticality,” i.e., the property of being poised at a “critical” point in a transition zone between order and disorder where certain phenomena such as power-law scaling appear. Moreover, if primary states are critical, then this suggests that entropy is suppressed in normal waking consciousness, meaning that the brain operates just below criticality. It is argued that this entropy suppression furnishes normal waking consciousness with a constrained quality and associated metacognitive functions, including reality-testing and self-awareness. It is also proposed that entry into primary states depends on a collapse of the normally highly organized activity within the default-mode network (DMN) and a decoupling between the DMN and the medial temporal lobes (which are normally significantly coupled). These hypotheses can be tested by examining brain activity and associated cognition in other candidate primary states such as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and early psychosis and comparing

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.

Arousal in Nocturnal Consciousness: How Dream- and Sleep-Experiences May Inform Us of Poor Sleep Quality, Stress, and Psychopathology

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Soffer-Dudek, Nirit

2017-01-01

The term “sleep experiences,” coined by Watson (2001), denotes an array of unusual nocturnal consciousness phenomena; for example, nightmares, vivid or recurrent dreams, hypnagogic hallucinations, dreams of falling or flying, confusional arousals, and lucid dreams. Excluding the latter, these experiences reflect a single factor of atypical oneiric cognitions (“general sleep experiences”). The current study is an opinionated mini-review on the associations of this factor—measured with the Iowa sleep experiences survey (ISES, Watson, 2001)—with psychopathological symptoms and stress. Findings support a strong relation between psychological distress and general sleep experiences. It is suggested that that they should be viewed as a sleep disturbance; they seem to represent involuntary intrusions of wakefulness into sleep, resulting in aroused sleep. These intrusions may stem from excessively thin boundaries between consciousness states (e.g., “transliminality”), or, conversely, they may follow an attempt at disconnecting mental elements (e.g., dissociation), which paradoxically results in a “rebound effect.” The extent to which unusual dreaming is experienced as intrusive, rather than controlled, may explain why general sleep experiences are related to psychopathology, whereas lucid dreams are related to psychological resilience. In conclusion, the exploration of the interplay between psychopathology and sleep should be expanded from focusing almost exclusively on quantitative aspects (e.g., sleep efficiency, latency) to including qualitative conscious experiences which may reflect poor sleep quality. Taking into account nocturnal consciousness—including unusual dreaming and permeable sleep-wake boundaries—may unveil rich information on night-time emotional states and broaden our definition of poor sleep quality. PMID:28539902

Arousal in Nocturnal Consciousness: How Dream- and Sleep-Experiences May Inform Us of Poor Sleep Quality, Stress, and Psychopathology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nirit Soffer-Dudek

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The term “sleep experiences,” coined by Watson (2001, denotes an array of unusual nocturnal consciousness phenomena; for example, nightmares, vivid or recurrent dreams, hypnagogic hallucinations, dreams of falling or flying, confusional arousals, and lucid dreams. Excluding the latter, these experiences reflect a single factor of atypical oneiric cognitions (“general sleep experiences”. The current study is an opinionated mini-review on the associations of this factor—measured with the Iowa sleep experiences survey (ISES, Watson, 2001—with psychopathological symptoms and stress. Findings support a strong relation between psychological distress and general sleep experiences. It is suggested that that they should be viewed as a sleep disturbance; they seem to represent involuntary intrusions of wakefulness into sleep, resulting in aroused sleep. These intrusions may stem from excessively thin boundaries between consciousness states (e.g., “transliminality”, or, conversely, they may follow an attempt at disconnecting mental elements (e.g., dissociation, which paradoxically results in a “rebound effect.” The extent to which unusual dreaming is experienced as intrusive, rather than controlled, may explain why general sleep experiences are related to psychopathology, whereas lucid dreams are related to psychological resilience. In conclusion, the exploration of the interplay between psychopathology and sleep should be expanded from focusing almost exclusively on quantitative aspects (e.g., sleep efficiency, latency to including qualitative conscious experiences which may reflect poor sleep quality. Taking into account nocturnal consciousness—including unusual dreaming and permeable sleep-wake boundaries—may unveil rich information on night-time emotional states and broaden our definition of poor sleep quality.

Homing in on consciousness: Why is a dream conscious?

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Porte, Helene Sophrin

2016-01-01

Morsella et al. argue convincingly that consciousness is for adaptive voluntary action. What, then, is consciousness in a dream for? Two prior questions present themselves. In a dream, how do contents get into the conscious field? What are the properties of consciousness in a dream?

Preserved consciousness in vegetative and minimal conscious states

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kondziella, Daniel; Nielsen, Christian Thomas Friberg; Frokjaer, Vibe G

2016-01-01

Active, passive and resting state paradigms using functional MRI (fMRI) or EEG may reveal consciousness in the vegetative (VS) and the minimal conscious state (MCS). A meta-analysis was performed to assess the prevalence of preserved consciousness in VS and MCS as revealed by fMRI and EEG.......0001)) and to show preserved functional cortical connectivity during passive paradigms (55% vs 26%; OR 3.53 (95% CI 2.49 to 4.99; ppreserved consciousness more often than active paradigms (38% vs 24%; OR 1.98 (95% CI 1.54 to 2.54; p... were insufficient for statistical evaluation. In conclusion, active paradigms may underestimate the degree of consciousness as compared to passive paradigms. While MCS patients show signs of preserved consciousness more frequently in both paradigms, roughly 15% of patients with a clinical diagnosis...

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.

Consciousness.

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Sejnowski, Terrence J

2015-01-01

No one did more to draw neuroscientists' attention to the problem of consciousness in the twentieth century than Francis Crick, who may be better known as the co-discoverer (with James Watson) of the structure of DNA. Crick focused his research on visual awareness and based his analysis on the progress made over the last fifty years in uncovering the neural mechanisms underlying visual perception. Because much of what happens in our brains occurs below the level of consciousness and many of our intuitions about unconscious processing are misleading, consciousness remains an elusive problem. In the end, when all of the brain mechanisms that underlie consciousness have been identified, will we still be asking: "What is consciousness?" Or will the question shift, just as the question "What is life?" is no longer the same as it was before Francis Crick?

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

Self-consciousness concept and assessment in self-report measures

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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

William James on a phenomenological psychology of immediate experience: the true foundation for a science of consciousness?

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Taylor, Eugene

2010-01-01

Throughout his career, William James defended personal consciousness. In his "Principles of Psychology" (1890), he declared that psychology is the scientific study of states of consciousness as such and that he intended to presume from the outset that the thinker was the thought. But while writing it, he had been investigating a dynamic psychology of the subconscious, which found a major place in his Gifford Lectures, published as "The Varieties of Religious Experience" in 1902. This was the clearest statement James was able to make before he died with regard to his developing tripartite metaphysics of pragmatism, pluralism and radical empiricism, which essentially asked "Is a science of consciousness actually possible?" James's lineage in this regard, was inherited from an intuitive psychology of character formation that had been cast within a context of spiritual self-realization by the Swedenborgians and Transcendentalists of New England. Chief among these was his father, Henry James, Sr., and his godfather, Ralph Waldo Emerson. However, james was forced to square these ideas with the more rigorous scientific dictates of his day, which have endured to the present. As such, his ideas remain alive and vibrant, particularly among those arguing for the fusion of phenomenology, embodiment and cognitive neuroscience in the renewed search for a science of consciousness.

Opposing effects of attention and consciousness on afterimages.

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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.

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

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.

Normalization for triple-target microarray experiments

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Magniette Frederic

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Most microarray studies are made using labelling with one or two dyes which allows the hybridization of one or two samples on the same slide. In such experiments, the most frequently used dyes are Cy3 and Cy5. Recent improvements in the technology (dye-labelling, scanner and, image analysis allow hybridization up to four samples simultaneously. The two additional dyes are Alexa488 and Alexa494. The triple-target or four-target technology is very promising, since it allows more flexibility in the design of experiments, an increase in the statistical power when comparing gene expressions induced by different conditions and a scaled down number of slides. However, there have been few methods proposed for statistical analysis of such data. Moreover the lowess correction of the global dye effect is available for only two-color experiments, and even if its application can be derived, it does not allow simultaneous correction of the raw data. Results We propose a two-step normalization procedure for triple-target experiments. First the dye bleeding is evaluated and corrected if necessary. Then the signal in each channel is normalized using a generalized lowess procedure to correct a global dye bias. The normalization procedure is validated using triple-self experiments and by comparing the results of triple-target and two-color experiments. Although the focus is on triple-target microarrays, the proposed method can be used to normalize p differently labelled targets co-hybridized on a same array, for any value of p greater than 2. Conclusion The proposed normalization procedure is effective: the technical biases are reduced, the number of false positives is under control in the analysis of differentially expressed genes, and the triple-target experiments are more powerful than the corresponding two-color experiments. There is room for improving the microarray experiments by simultaneously hybridizing more than two samples.

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

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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.

Logical Evaluation of Consciousness: For Incorporating Consciousness into Machine Architecture

OpenAIRE

Padhy, C. N.; Panda, R. R.

2010-01-01

Machine Consciousness is the study of consciousness in a biological, philosophical, mathematical and physical perspective and designing a model that can fit into a programmable system architecture. Prime objective of the study is to make the system architecture behave consciously like a biological model does. Present work has developed a feasible definition of consciousness, that characterizes consciousness with four parameters i.e., parasitic, symbiotic, self referral and reproduction. Prese...

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

How rich is consciousness? The partial awareness hypothesis.

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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.

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.

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.

The entropic brain:A theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs

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Robin Lester Carhart-Harris

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Entropy is a dimensionless quantity that is used for measuring uncertainty about the state of a system but it can also imply physical qualities, where high entropy is synonymous with high disorder. Entropy is applied here in the context of states of consciousness and their associated neural dynamics, with a particular focus on the psychedelic state. The psychedelic state is considered an exemplar of a primitive or primary state of consciousness that preceded the development of modern, adult, human, normal waking consciousness. Based on neuroimaging data with psilocybin, a classic psychedelic drug, it is argued that the defining feature of ‘primary states’ is elevated entropy in certain aspects of brain function, such as the repertoire of functional connectivity motifs that form and fragment across time. It is noted that elevated entropy in this sense, is a characteristic of systems exhibiting ‘self-organised criticality’, i.e., a property of systems that gravitate towards a ‘critical’ point in a transition zone between order and disorder in which certain phenomena such as power-law scaling appear. This implies that entropy is suppressed in normal waking consciousness, meaning that the brain operates just below criticality. It is argued that this entropy suppression furnishes consciousness with a constrained quality and associated metacognitive functions, including reality-testing and self-awareness. It is also proposed that entry into primary states depends on a collapse of the normally highly organised activity within the default-mode network (DMN and a decoupling between the DMN and the medial temporal lobes (which are normally significantly coupled. These hypotheses can be tested by examining brain activity and associated cognition in other candidate primary states such as REM sleep and early psychosis and comparing these with non-primary states such as normal waking consciousness and the anaesthetised state.

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.

Artificial consciousness and the consciousness-attention dissociation.

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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.

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...

Social Class Dialogues and the Fostering of Class Consciousness

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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…

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.

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.

Unifying the concept of consciousness across the disciplines: A concept-based, cross-cultural approach

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Jones, Peter N.

The majority of studies concerning consciousness have examined and modeled the concept of consciousness in terms of particular lines of inquiry, a process that has circumscribed the general applicability of any results from such approaches. The purpose of this dissertation was to study consciousness from a concept-based, cross-cultural approach and to attempt to unify the concept across the cultures examined. The 4 cultures are the academic disciplines of philosophy, physics, psychology, and anthropology. Consciousness was examined in terms of how the concept is framed and where the major limitations in each line of inquiry occur. The rationale for examining consciousness as a concept across 4 cultures was to determine whether there was any common component in each line's framing that could be used to unify the concept. The study found that experience itself was the primary unifying factor in each field's framing and that experience was treated as a nonreducible property within each line of inquiry. By taking experience itself (but not subjective experience) as a fundamental property, each culture's concept of consciousness becomes tractable. As such, this dissertation argues that experience should be taken as a fundamental property of the concept. The significance of this analysis is that by taking experience as a fundamental property, it becomes possible to unify the concept across the 4 cultures. This unification is presented as a unity thesis, which is a theory arguing for unification of the concept based on the fundamental of experience. Following this theoretical examination, this paper discusses several key implications of the unity thesis, including implications of the unity thesis for the current status of altered states of consciousness and for the so-called hard and easy problems associated with the concept (at least within Occidental ontology). It is argued that the so-called hard problem does not exist when experience is taken as a fundamental property

Philosophy Iceberg of the Universe Consciousness Energy (The Theory of the Universe Consciousness Energy Expression

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Georgii Chuzhyk

2017-02-01

Full Text Available We offer an evolutionary and alternative solution to the problem of the Universe. The theory involves the formation of the Universe by means of all the sequences of energies and energy of consciousness with gradual structural wrapping by energy shells recording and accumulating them; formation of the core dispatch centers performing energetic and informational communication with a single rhythm among all space objects that form civilizations. We outline a way of human consciousness formation. The theory explains how the first objectively appeared sparks of human consciousness energy were evolving, accumulating and being recorded, formed the Earth’s noosphere in its core dispatch center. The consciousness energy structure has not yet been discovered and that inhibits the science, which is wary of those who define it as a stream of multi-super large reflection objectively reflecting the highest degree of manifestation of civilization collective creativity, named by John Wheeler as a substance of the information — “It from Bit.” Core dispatching centers of all cosmic objects consciousness energies such as the Earth are combined into the Universe core dispatcher center of which called the Cosmic Consciousness. Many hundreds of billions of years the Cosmic Consciousness absorbed and only recorded the sequences, experience of which ended strictly following the laws of nature, formed a unique quality — for each new sequence by its energetic and informational signal it can highlight, express from its archive the evolution of similar Roadmap, which had been already passed by a similar sequence. The Cosmic Consciousness indirectly provides the most important thing in the Universe — not interfering, it retains all its evolutionary integrity and harmony. All of them constantly and continuously follow and check it through bioinformational communication, without deviation move toward their goal. Life of the Earth civilization is also moving

Seeing and feeling architecture: how bodily self-consciousness alters architectonic experience and affects the perception of interiors

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Isabella ePasqualini

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Over the centuries architectural theory evolved several notions of embodiment, proposing in the 19th and 20th century that architectonic experience is related to physiological responses of the observer. Recent advances in the cognitive neuroscience of embodiment (or bodily self-consciousness enable empirical studies of architectonic embodiment. Here, we investigated how architecture modulates bodily self-consciousness by adapting a video-based virtual reality setup previously used to investigate visuo-tactile mechanisms of bodily self-consciousness. While standing in two different interiors, participants were filmed from behind and watched their own virtual body online on a head-mounted display. Visuo-tactile strokes were applied in synchronous or asynchronous mode to the participants and their virtual body. Two interiors were simulated in the laboratory by placing the sidewalls either far or near from the participants, generating a large and narrow room. We tested if bodily self-consciousness was differently modulated when participants were exposed to both rooms and whether these changes depend on visuo-tactile stimulation. We measured illusory touch, self-identification and performed length estimations. Our data show that synchronous stroking of the physical and the virtual body induces illusory touch and self-identification with the virtual body, independent of room-size. Moreover, in the narrow room we observed weak feelings of illusory touch with the sidewalls and of approaching walls. These subjective changes were complemented by a stroking-dependent modulation of length estimation only in the narrow room with participants judging the room-size more accurately during conditions of illusory self-identification. We discuss our findings and previous notions of architectonic embodiment in the context of the cognitive neuroscience of bodily self-consciousness and propose an empirical framework grounded in architecture, cognitive neuroscience

"Seeing" and "feeling" architecture: how bodily self-consciousness alters architectonic experience and affects the perception of interiors.

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Pasqualini, Isabella; Llobera, Joan; Blanke, Olaf

2013-01-01

Over the centuries architectural theory evolved several notions of embodiment, proposing in the nineteenth and twentieth century that architectonic experience is related to physiological responses of the observer. Recent advances in the cognitive neuroscience of embodiment (or bodily self-consciousness) enable empirical studies of architectonic embodiment. Here, we investigated how architecture modulates bodily self-consciousness by adapting a video-based virtual reality (VR) setup previously used to investigate visuo-tactile mechanisms of bodily self-consciousness. While standing in two different interiors, participants were filmed from behind and watched their own virtual body online on a head-mounted display (HMD). Visuo-tactile strokes were applied in synchronous or asynchronous mode to the participants and their virtual body. Two interiors were simulated in the laboratory by placing the sidewalls either far or near from the participants, generating a large and narrow room. We tested if bodily self-consciousness was differently modulated when participants were exposed to both rooms and whether these changes depend on visuo-tactile stimulation. We measured illusory touch, self-identification, and performed length estimations. Our data show that synchronous stroking of the physical and the virtual body induces illusory touch and self-identification with the virtual body, independent of room-size. Moreover, in the narrow room we observed weak feelings of illusory touch with the sidewalls and of approaching walls. These subjective changes were complemented by a stroking-dependent modulation of length estimation only in the narrow room with participants judging the room-size more accurately during conditions of illusory self-identification. We discuss our findings and previous notions of architectonic embodiment in the context of the cognitive neuroscience of bodily self-consciousness and propose an empirical framework grounded in architecture, cognitive

Transpersonal psychology. The experience of transpersonal development and consciousness

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Oleshko T.I.

2017-02-01

Full Text Available the authors of this article have analyzed different points of view about methods of effect on consciousness and have made a conclusion that it is important to implement some esoteric practices. The work describes the method of holotropic breathing.

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

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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.

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

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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

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

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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.

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

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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.

What Explains Consciousness? Or…What Consciousness Explains?

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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

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

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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.

The merit of synesthesia for consciousness research

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Leeuwen, T.M. van; Singer, W.; Nikolic, D.

2015-01-01

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

Does unconscious thought outperform conscious thought on complex decisions? A further examination

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Todd J. Thorsteinson

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Two experiments examined the benefits of unconscious thought on complex decisions (Dijksterhuis, 2004. Experiment 1 attempted to replicate and extend past research by examining the effect of providing reasons prior to rating the options. Results indicated no significant differences between the conditions. Experiment 2 attempted to replicate the findings of Dijksterhuis, Bos, Nordgren, and van Baaren (2006 and determine if a memory aid could overcome the limitations of conscious thought on complex tasks. Results revealed that a memory aid improved decisions compared to the conscious thought condition. Participants in the unconscious thought condition did not perform significantly better than did participants in the conscious thought condition.

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

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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.

Conscious Belief

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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.

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.

[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.

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

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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.

Kafka, Borges, and the creation of consciousness, Part I: Kafka--dark ironies of the "gift" of consciousness.

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Ogden, Thomas H

2009-04-01

The ways in which Franz Kafka and Jorge Luis Borges struggled with the creation of consciousness in their lives and in their literary works are explored in this two-part essay. In Part I, the author juxtaposes a biographical sketch of Kafka with a close reading of his story "A Hunger Artist" (1924), in which a character (whose personality holds much in common with that of Kafka) spends his life in a quasi-delusional state starving himself in public performances. The hunger artist's self-awareness (of having lived a life devoid of the experience of love and mutual recognition) is achieved in the context of an interpersonal experience in which he has, in fact, found/created "the food [he] liked," that is, an experience of loving and being loved, of seeing and being seen, of being aware of and alive to his own imminent death. This fragile, paradoxical state of consciousness is sustained for only a moment before it is attacked, but not entirely destroyed.

Dissociating Measures of Consciousness from Measures of Short-Term Memory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Thomas Alrik; Ásgeirsson, Árni Gunnar; Staugaard, Camilla Funch

Often, the contents of consciousness are equated with the contents of short-term memory (or working memory), sometimes to a point where they are treated as identical entities. In the present study we aimed to investigate whether they may be modulated independently and thus dissociated from each...... if conscious content simply can be reduced to a cognitive process like short-term memory. In two experiments, we combined two different measures of short-term memory capacity to investigate how manipulations of set-size affect performance in observers with the Perceptual Awareness Scale (PAS) to measure...... conscious experience of the stimulus in every trial (Ramsøy & Overgaard, 2004; Overgaard & Sørensen, 2004). We trained observers to report their experience of a visual target stimulus on the four-point PAS scale; ranging from “no experience” to “clear experience”. To measure short-term memory we used...

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

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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.

Conscious visual memory with minimal attention.

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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).

Boosting Cognition With Music in Patients With Disorders of Consciousness.

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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.

Knowledge by Experience. Or Why Physicalism Should not be our Default Position in Consciousness Studies

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Alfredo Tomasetta

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Current philosophical and scientific approaches to consciousness are very often characterised by a strong background presupposition: whatever the precise details of a theory of consciousness may be, a physicalist – or materialist – view of consciousness itself must be correct. I believe, however, that this conviction, pervasive though it may be, is not really justified. In particular, I think (1 that the arguments offered in favour of the materialist presupposition are weak and unconvincing, and (2 that there is a very strong prima facie case for rejecting physicalism regarding phenomenal consciousness. In a previous article of mine I have already discussed the first point; the present paper is devoted to elaborating the second, presenting a common-sense-based argument against physicalism.

The Effects of Price and Health Consciousness and Satisfaction on the Medical Tourism Experience.

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Park, JungKun; Ahn, Jiseon; Yoo, Weon Sang

The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of price and health consciousness on medical tourism. Accordingly, we explore the utility of the theory of planned behavior for assessing the relationships between several variables and explain consumers' intentions to be repeat medical tourists. A 26-item questionnaire was developed, and data were collected from 407 patients who visited South Korea for medical purposes. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The results indicate that medical tourists' price consciousness was significant with respect to their satisfaction with medical and travel services. However, health consciousness also influenced their decision-making process. The study results reveal that health consciousness did not have a significant effect on tourists' satisfaction with medical travel services. Although this study was conducted in South Korea, the findings may be relevant elsewhere. When developing products and services for the medical tourism industry, policymakers and service providers should focus on the importance of cost-effectiveness.

Trauma-related altered states of consciousness in women with BPD with or without co-occurring PTSD

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Paul Frewen

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Background: A “4-D model” was recently described as a theoretical framework for categorizing trauma-related symptoms into four phenomenological dimensions (the experience of time, thought, body, and emotion that can present either in the form of normal waking consciousness (NWC or as dissociative experiences, that is, trauma-related altered states of consciousness (TRASC. Methods: The present study examined the predictions of the 4-D model in 258 persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD with (n=126 versus without (n=132 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD. Results: As measured by the Borderline Symptom List, consistent with the predictions of the 4-D model, in comparison with symptom endorsements theorized to be associated with NWC, measures of TRASC were less frequent, and more strongly correlated with both Dissociative Experience Scale scores and severity of childhood emotional neglect, particularly in persons with both BPD and PTSD. Our prediction that symptoms of TRASC would be less intercorrelated in comparison with distress associated with NWC symptoms, however, was not supported. Conclusions: Findings are discussed as they pertain to the symptomatology of BPD, PTSD, and dissociation.

Nonneurocognitive Extended Consciousness

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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…

Simulation Experiments with the Model of Information-Psychological Influences on Mass Consciousness

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Vladimir A. Minaev

2017-06-01

which system- dynamic models are based are systems of differential equations. The authors of the article constructed an imitation model that makes it possible to identify the interrelationships between factors that effect the dynamics of information and psychological influences on mass consciousness, and its implementation has been carried out in the Anylogic software environment. This environment is one of the most promising environments for simulation. Temporal graphs reflecting the dynamics of the number of persons capable of adopting the idea of information and psychological influence, the number of persons who adopted the idea of information and psychological influences, and graphs reflecting the distribution in time of the number of persons who adopted the idea of information and psychological influences under certain initial conditions are given. Simulation experiments related to variations of the model parameters in which the dependence of increasing rate of person’s number who adopted the idea of information and psychological effects on the frequency of person’s contacts sharing these ideas is studied.

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.

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

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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.

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.

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.

The neural subjective frame: from bodily signals to perceptual consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hyeong-Dong; Tallon-Baudry, Catherine

2014-05-05

The report 'I saw the stimulus' operationally defines visual consciousness, but where does the 'I' come from? To account for the subjective dimension of perceptual experience, we introduce the concept of the neural subjective frame. The neural subjective frame would be based on the constantly updated neural maps of the internal state of the body and constitute a neural referential from which first person experience can be created. We propose to root the neural subjective frame in the neural representation of visceral information which is transmitted through multiple anatomical pathways to a number of target sites, including posterior insula, ventral anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala and somatosensory cortex. We review existing experimental evidence showing that the processing of external stimuli can interact with visceral function. The neural subjective frame is a low-level building block of subjective experience which is not explicitly experienced by itself which is necessary but not sufficient for perceptual experience. It could also underlie other types of subjective experiences such as self-consciousness and emotional feelings. Because the neural subjective frame is tightly linked to homeostatic regulations involved in vigilance, it could also make a link between state and content consciousness.

Dreaming as an Extension of Waking Conscious Experience and a Tractable Problem for Cognitive Neuroscience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erin J. Wamsley

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Even when we are ostensibly doing nothing – as during states of rest, sleep, and reverie – the brain continues to process information. In resting wakefulness, the mind generates thoughts, plans for the future, and imagines fictitious scenarios. In sleep, when the demands of sensory input are reduced, our experience turns to the thoughts and images we call dreaming. Far from being a meaningless distraction, the content of these subjective experiences provides an important and unique source of information about the activities of the resting mind and brain. In both wakefulness and sleep, spontaneous experience combines recent and remote memory fragments into novel scenarios. These conscious experiences may reflect the consolidation of recent memory into long-term storage, an adaptive process that functions to extract general knowledge about the world and adaptively respond to future events. Recent examples from psychology and neuroscience demonstrate that the use of subjective report can provide clues to the function(s of rest and sleep.

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.

“Seeing” and “feeling” architecture: how bodily self-consciousness alters architectonic experience and affects the perception of interiors

Science.gov (United States)

Pasqualini, Isabella; Llobera, Joan; Blanke, Olaf

2013-01-01

Over the centuries architectural theory evolved several notions of embodiment, proposing in the nineteenth and twentieth century that architectonic experience is related to physiological responses of the observer. Recent advances in the cognitive neuroscience of embodiment (or bodily self-consciousness) enable empirical studies of architectonic embodiment. Here, we investigated how architecture modulates bodily self-consciousness by adapting a video-based virtual reality (VR) setup previously used to investigate visuo-tactile mechanisms of bodily self-consciousness. While standing in two different interiors, participants were filmed from behind and watched their own virtual body online on a head-mounted display (HMD). Visuo-tactile strokes were applied in synchronous or asynchronous mode to the participants and their virtual body. Two interiors were simulated in the laboratory by placing the sidewalls either far or near from the participants, generating a large and narrow room. We tested if bodily self-consciousness was differently modulated when participants were exposed to both rooms and whether these changes depend on visuo-tactile stimulation. We measured illusory touch, self-identification, and performed length estimations. Our data show that synchronous stroking of the physical and the virtual body induces illusory touch and self-identification with the virtual body, independent of room-size. Moreover, in the narrow room we observed weak feelings of illusory touch with the sidewalls and of approaching walls. These subjective changes were complemented by a stroking-dependent modulation of length estimation only in the narrow room with participants judging the room-size more accurately during conditions of illusory self-identification. We discuss our findings and previous notions of architectonic embodiment in the context of the cognitive neuroscience of bodily self-consciousness and propose an empirical framework grounded in architecture, cognitive

Non-conscious vs. deliberate dynamic decision-making—a pilot experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grössler, A.; Rouwette, E.A.J.A.; Vennix, J.A.M.; Größler, A.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of non-conscious vs. deliberate ways of making decisions in a dynamic decision-making task. An experimental setting is used to study this question; three experimental groups are distinguished: immediate decision-making (only very limited time for

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

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.

Paediatric conscious sedation: views and experience of specialists in paediatric dentistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Woolley, S M; Hingston, E J; Shah, J; Chadwick, B L

2009-09-26

The objectives were three-fold: to investigate the level of conscious sedation training received prior to and during specialist training in paediatric dentistry; to establish the use of conscious sedation during and following specialisation; and to determine the attitudes of specialists in paediatric dentistry to conscious sedation. A self-administered postal questionnaire was sent to all specialists in paediatric dentistry registered with the General Dental Council in January 2008. Non-responders were contacted again after a four-week period. A response rate of 60% was achieved. Of the 122 respondents, 67 (55%) had received sedation training as an undergraduate; 89 (75%) had been trained during specialisation. All respondents performed dental treatment under sedation as a trainee and the majority used nitrous oxide inhalation sedation (NOIS). Over 90% of respondents felt that NOIS should be available to all children, both in appropriate primary care settings and in hospitals. One hundred and twenty-one (99%) respondents thought that all trainees in paediatric dentistry should have sedation training. The most popular form of sedation amongst specialists in paediatric dentistry was NOIS. However, some of the respondents felt that children should have access to other forms of sedation in both the primary care and hospital settings. Additional research on other forms of sedation is required to evaluate their effectiveness and safety.

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

Investigating the Relationship between Ethnic Consciousness, Racial Discrimination and Self-Rated Health in New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Ricci; Cormack, Donna; Stanley, James; Rameka, Ruruhira

2015-01-01

In this study, we examine race/ethnic consciousness and its associations with experiences of racial discrimination and health in New Zealand. Racism is an important determinant of health and cause of ethnic inequities. However, conceptualising the mechanisms by which racism impacts on health requires racism to be contextualised within the broader social environment. Race/ethnic consciousness (how often people think about their race or ethnicity) is understood as part of a broader assessment of the ‘racial climate’. Higher race/ethnic consciousness has been demonstrated among non-dominant racial/ethnic groups and linked to adverse health outcomes in a limited number of studies. We analysed data from the 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey, a national population-based survey of New Zealand adults, to examine the distribution of ethnic consciousness by ethnicity, and its association with individual experiences of racial discrimination and self-rated health. Findings showed that European respondents were least likely to report thinking about their ethnicity, with people from non-European ethnic groupings all reporting relatively higher ethnic consciousness. Higher ethnic consciousness was associated with an increased likelihood of reporting experience of racial discrimination for all ethnic groupings and was also associated with fair/poor self-rated health after adjusting for age, sex and ethnicity. However, this difference in health was no longer evident after further adjustment for socioeconomic position and individual experience of racial discrimination. Our study suggests different experiences of racialised social environments by ethnicity in New Zealand and that, at an individual level, ethnic consciousness is related to experiences of racial discrimination. However, the relationship with health is less clear and needs further investigation with research to better understand the racialised social relations that create and maintain ethnic inequities in health in

The brain’s representational power : on consciousness and the integration of modalities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pennartz, C.M.A.

2015-01-01

Although science has made considerable progress in discovering the neural basis of cognitive processes, how consciousness arises remains elusive. In this book, Cyriel Pennartz analyzes which aspects of conscious experience can be peeled away to access its core: the "hardest" aspect, the relationship

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.

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.

Good Old-Fashioned Artificial Consciousness and the Intermediate Level Fallacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

Gender differences in self-conscious emotional experience: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Else-Quest, Nicole M; Higgins, Ashley; Allison, Carlie; Morton, Lindsay C

2012-09-01

The self-conscious emotions (SCE) of guilt, shame, pride, and embarrassment are moral emotions, which motivate adherence to social norms and personal standards and emerge in early childhood following the development of self-awareness. Gender stereotypes of emotion maintain that women experience more guilt, shame, and embarrassment but that men experience more pride. To estimate the magnitude of gender differences in SCE experience and to determine the circumstances under which these gender differences vary, we meta-analyzed 697 effect sizes representing 236,304 individual ratings of SCE states and traits from 382 journal articles, dissertations, and unpublished data sets. Guilt (d = -0.27) and shame (d = -0.29) displayed small gender differences, whereas embarrassment (d = -0.08), authentic pride (d = -0.01), and hubristic pride (d = 0.09) showed gender similarities. Similar to previous findings of ethnic variations in gender differences in other psychological variables, gender differences in shame and guilt were significant only for White samples or samples with unspecified ethnicity. We found larger gender gaps in shame with trait (vs. state) scales, and in guilt and shame with situation- and scenario-based (vs. adjective- and statement-based) items, consistent with predictions that such scales and items tend to tap into global, nonspecific assessments of the self and thus reflect self-stereotyping and gender role assimilative effects. Gender differences in SCE about domains such as the body, sex, and food or eating tended to be larger than gender differences in SCE about other domains. These findings contribute to the literature demonstrating that blanket stereotypes about women's greater emotionality are inaccurate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Prevailing theories of consciousness are challenged by novel cross-modal associations acquired between subliminal stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Ryan B; Samaha, Jason; Chrisley, Ron; Dienes, Zoltan

2018-06-01

While theories of consciousness differ substantially, the 'conscious access hypothesis', which aligns consciousness with the global accessibility of information across cortical regions, is present in many of the prevailing frameworks. This account holds that consciousness is necessary to integrate information arising from independent functions such as the specialist processing required by different senses. We directly tested this account by evaluating the potential for associative learning between novel pairs of subliminal stimuli presented in different sensory modalities. First, pairs of subliminal stimuli were presented and then their association assessed by examining the ability of the first stimulus to prime classification of the second. In Experiments 1-4 the stimuli were word-pairs consisting of a male name preceding either a creative or uncreative profession. Participants were subliminally exposed to two name-profession pairs where one name was paired with a creative profession and the other an uncreative profession. A supraliminal task followed requiring the timed classification of one of those two professions. The target profession was preceded by either the name with which it had been subliminally paired (concordant) or the alternate name (discordant). Experiment 1 presented stimuli auditorily, Experiment 2 visually, and Experiment 3 presented names auditorily and professions visually. All three experiments revealed the same inverse priming effect with concordant test pairs associated with significantly slower classification judgements. Experiment 4 sought to establish if learning would be more efficient with supraliminal stimuli and found evidence that a different strategy is adopted when stimuli are consciously perceived. Finally, Experiment 5 replicated the unconscious cross-modal association achieved in Experiment 3 utilising non-linguistic stimuli. The results demonstrate the acquisition of novel cross-modal associations between stimuli which are not

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...

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.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

Non-Conscious vs. Deliberate Dynamic Decision-Making—A Pilot Experiment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Größler

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of non-conscious vs. deliberate ways of making decisions in a dynamic decision-making task. An experimental setting is used to study this question; three experimental groups are distinguished: immediate decision-making (only very limited time for deliberate cognitive processing, considerate decision-making (relatively long time for deliberate cognitive processing, and distracted decision-making (time for non-conscious cognitive processing only. As experimental stimulus, a simulator based on the Kaibab Plateau model was employed. With a sample size of more than 100 experimental participants, group differences are not significant for most data examined. Implications comprise the formulation of a framework to guide further research. The value of this paper lies in the fact that it connects to a recent discussion in psychology and transfers it to a domain in the core interest of the system community: decision-making in situations with dynamic complexity. Furthermore, it offers a range of improvement points for potential follow-up studies.

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.

Science.gov (United States)

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

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.

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.

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

Quantum-holographic and classical Hopfield-like associative nnets: implications for modeling two cognitive modes of consciousness

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Rakovic, D.; Dugic, M.

2005-05-01

Quantum bases of consciousness are considered with psychosomatic implications of three front lines of psychosomatic medicine (hesychastic spirituality, holistic Eastern medicine, and symptomatic Western medicine), as well as cognitive implications of two modes of individual consciousness (quantum-coherent transitional and altered states, and classically reduced normal states) alongside with conditions of transformations of one mode into another (considering consciousness quantum-coherence/classical-decoherence acupuncture system/nervous system interaction, direct and reverse, with and without threshold limits, respectively) - by using theoretical methods of associative neural networks and quantum neural holography combined with quantum decoherence theory.

Memory Systems Do Not Divide on Consciousness: Reinterpreting Memory in Terms of Activation and Binding

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Reder, Lynne M.; Park, Heekyeong; Kieffaber, Paul D.

2009-01-01

There is a popular hypothesis that performance on implicit and explicit memory tasks reflects 2 distinct memory systems. Explicit memory is said to store those experiences that can be consciously recollected, and implicit memory is said to store experiences and affect subsequent behavior but to be unavailable to conscious awareness. Although this…

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.

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

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.

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.

Bridging consciousness and cognition in memory and perception: evidence for both state and strength processes.

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Aly, Mariam; Yonelinas, Andrew P

2012-01-01

Subjective experience indicates that mental states are discrete, in the sense that memories and perceptions readily come to mind in some cases, but are entirely unavailable to awareness in others. However, a long history of psychophysical research has indicated that the discrete nature of mental states is largely epiphenomenal and that mental processes vary continuously in strength. We used a novel combination of behavioral methodologies to examine the processes underlying perception of complex images: (1) analysis of receiver operating characteristics (ROCs), (2) a modification of the change-detection flicker paradigm, and (3) subjective reports of conscious experience. These methods yielded converging results showing that perceptual judgments reflect the combined, yet functionally independent, contributions of two processes available to conscious experience: a state process of conscious perception and a strength process of knowing; processes that correspond to recollection and familiarity in long-term memory. In addition, insights from the perception experiments led to the discovery of a new recollection phenomenon in a long-term memory change detection paradigm. The apparent incompatibility between subjective experience and theories of cognition can be understood within a unified state-strength framework that links consciousness to cognition across the domains of perception and memory.

Consciousness extended

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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.

How Gender Conscious Pedagogy in Higher Education Can Stimulate Actions of Social Justice in Society

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Ann-Katrin Witt; Marta Cuesta

2014-01-01

In order to reflect about methods that can generate social justice and democratization, this article emphasises on practical implementations, connected to gender conscious pedagogy. Gender conscious pedagogy aims at overcoming the myth of objectivity, and by questioning through teaching what is considered as common sense and "normal". This entails acting and reflecting on breakthroughs, for example about an understanding of how gender codes influence everyday instances as well as working life...

Intentionality and Consciousness

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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

Brain-mind dyad, human experience, the consciousness tetrad and lattice of mental operations: and further, the need to integrate knowledge from diverse disciplines.

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Singh, Ajai R; Singh, Shakuntala A

2011-01-01

Brain, Mind and Consciousness are the research concerns of psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, cognitive neuroscientists and philosophers. All of them are working in different and important ways to understand the workings of the brain, the mysteries of the mind and to grasp that elusive concept called consciousness. Although they are all justified in forwarding their respective researches, it is also necessary to integrate these diverse appearing understandings and try and get a comprehensive perspective that is, hopefully, more than the sum of their parts. There is also the need to understand what each one is doing, and by the other, to understand each other's basic and fundamental ideological and foundational underpinnings. This must be followed by a comprehensive and critical dialogue between the respective disciplines. Moreover, the concept of mind and consciousness in Indian thought needs careful delineation and critical/evidential enquiry to make it internationally relevant. The brain-mind dyad must be understood, with brain as the structural correlate of the mind, and mind as the functional correlate of the brain. To understand human experience, we need a triad of external environment, internal environment and a consciousness that makes sense of both. We need to evolve a consensus on the definition of consciousness, for which a working definition in the form of a Consciousness Tetrad of Default, Aware, Operational and Evolved Consciousness is presented. It is equally necessary to understand the connection between physical changes in the brain and mental operations, and thereby untangle and comprehend the lattice of mental operations. Interdisciplinary work and knowledge sharing, in an atmosphere of healthy give and take of ideas, and with a view to understand the significance of each other's work, and also to critically evaluate the present corpus of knowledge from these diverse appearing fields, and then carry forward from there in a spirit of

A study of structure of phenomenology of consciousness in meditative and non-meditative states.

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Venkatesh, S; Raju, T R; Shivani, Y; Tompkins, G; Meti, B L

1997-04-01

Twelve senior Kundalini (Chakra) meditators were assessed during meditation session and non-meditation or control session using Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory. The data has been analyzed using structural analysis to measure the altered state of consciousness and the identity state by comparing meditative state with non-meditative state. The structural analysis of pattern of consciousness during the meditative state revealed altered experience in perception (percentile rank PR = 90), meaning (PR = 82) and time sense (PR = 87), while positive affect dimension showed increased joy (PR = 73) and love (PR = 67). The imagery vividness (PR = 72), self-awareness (PR = 77), rationality (PR = 73) and arousal (PR = 69) were found to be structurally different from the ordinary state. With regards to identity state meditative experience was found to produce statistically significant changes in terms of intensity in meaning (P < 0.05), time sense (P < 0.05), joy (P < 0.05), love (P < 0.05) and state of awareness (P < 0.01). Our results indicate that long term practice of meditation appears to produce structural as well as intensity changes in phenomenological experiences of consciousness.

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.

Objects of consciousness

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Donald David Hoffman

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Current models of visual perception typically assume that human vision estimates true properties of physical objects, properties that exist even if unperceived. However, recent studies of perceptual evolution, using evolutionary games and genetic algorithms, reveal that natural selection often drives true perceptions to extinction when they compete with perceptions tuned to fitness rather than truth: Perception guides adaptive behavior; it does not estimate a preexisting physical truth. Moreover, shifting from evolutionary biology to quantum physics, there is reason to disbelieve in preexist-ing physical truths: Certain interpretations of quantum theory deny that dynamical properties of physical objects have defi-nite values when unobserved. In some of these interpretations the observer is fundamental, and wave functions are com-pendia of subjective probabilities, not preexisting elements of physical reality. These two considerations, from evolutionary biology and quantum physics, suggest that current models of object perception require fundamental reformulation. Here we begin such a reformulation, starting with a formal model of consciousness that we call a conscious agent. We develop the dynamics of interacting conscious agents, and study how the perception of objects and space-time can emerge from such dynamics. We show that one particular object, the quantum free particle, has a wave function that is identical in form to the harmonic functions that characterize the asymptotic dynamics of conscious agents; particles are vibrations not of strings but of interacting conscious agents. This allows us to reinterpret physical properties such as position, momentum, and energy as properties of interacting conscious agents, rather than as preexisting physical truths. We sketch how this approach might extend to the perception of relativistic quantum objects, and to classical objects of macroscopic scale.

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

Safety and predictability of conscious sedation in dentistry -- a multi-centre regional audit: South and West Wales experience.

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Muthukrishnan, A; McGregor, J; Thompson, S

2013-10-01

There are no previously published reports of audits in conscious sedation from a group comprising the general dental services (GDS), community dental services (CDS) and hospital dental services (HDS). The main aim of this audit was to assess current practice within the group in relation to the safety and predictability of dental treatment undertaken with the aid of conscious sedation. A total of nine centres collected data prospectively on 1,037 sedation episodes over the course of one year. Audit standards were locally agreed based on current evidence and local experience. They were set at a completion rate of 90% and an adverse incident rate of 2% or less. Based on the data collected, a completion rate of 92% and a minor adverse incident rate of 2.6% were recorded. The participating centres met the standards set locally for this audit. Current practice in the participating centres was found to be safe and predictable. The audit tool is being refined to improve the quality of data collection. Further research and service evaluation is recommended.

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 ...

SPET brain perfusion imaging in mild traumatic brain injury without loss of consciousness and normal computed tomography.

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Abu-Judeh, H H; Parker, R; Singh, M; el-Zeftawy, H; Atay, S; Kumar, M; Naddaf, S; Aleksic, S; Abdel-Dayem, H M

1999-06-01

We present SPET brain perfusion findings in 32 patients who suffered mild traumatic brain injury without loss of consciousness and normal computed tomography. None of the patients had previous traumatic brain injury, CVA, HIV, psychiatric disorders or a history of alcohol or drug abuse. Their ages ranged from 11 to 61 years (mean = 42). The study was performed in 20 patients (62%) within 3 months of the date of injury and in 12 (38%) patients more than 3 months post-injury. Nineteen patients (60%) were involved in a motor vehicle accident, 10 patients (31%) sustained a fall and three patients (9%) received a blow to the head. The most common complaints were headaches in 26 patients (81%), memory deficits in 15 (47%), dizziness in 13 (41%) and sleep disorders in eight (25%). The studies were acquired approximately 2 h after an intravenous injection of 740 MBq (20.0 mCi) of 99Tcm-HMPAO. All images were acquired on a triple-headed gamma camera. The data were displayed on a 10-grade colour scale, with 2-pixel thickness (7.4 mm), and were reviewed blind to the patient's history of symptoms. The cerebellum was used as the reference site (100% maximum value). Any decrease in cerebral perfusion in the cortex or basal ganglia less than 70%, or less than 50% in the medial temporal lobe, compared to the cerebellar reference was considered abnormal. The results show that 13 (41%) had normal studies and 19 (59%) were abnormal (13 studies performed within 3 months of the date of injury and six studies performed more than 3 months post-injury). Analysis of the abnormal studies revealed that 17 showed 48 focal lesions and two showed diffuse supratentorial hypoperfusion (one from each of the early and delayed imaging groups). The 12 abnormal studies performed early had 37 focal lesions and averaged 3.1 lesions per patient, whereas there was a reduction to--an average of 2.2 lesions per patient in the five studies (total 11 lesions) performed more than 3 months post-injury. In the

An adaptive workspace hypothesis about the neural correlates of consciousness: insights from neuroscience and meditation studies.

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Raffone, Antonino; Srinivasan, Narayanan

2009-01-01

While enormous progress has been made to identify neural correlates of consciousness (NCC), crucial NCC aspects are still very controversial. A major hurdle is the lack of an adequate definition and characterization of different aspects of conscious experience and also its relationship to attention and metacognitive processes like monitoring. In this paper, we therefore attempt to develop a unitary theoretical framework for NCC, with an interdependent characterization of endogenous attention, access consciousness, phenomenal awareness, metacognitive consciousness, and a non-referential form of unified consciousness. We advance an adaptive workspace hypothesis about the NCC based on the global workspace model emphasizing transient resonant neurodynamics and prefrontal cortex function, as well as meditation-related characterizations of conscious experiences. In this hypothesis, transient dynamic links within an adaptive coding net in prefrontal cortex, especially in anterior prefrontal cortex, and between it and the rest of the brain, in terms of ongoing intrinsic and long-range signal exchanges, flexibly regulate the interplay between endogenous attention, access consciousness, phenomenal awareness, and metacognitive consciousness processes. Such processes are established in terms of complementary aspects of an ongoing transition between context-sensitive global workspace assemblies, modulated moment-to-moment by body and environment states. Brain regions associated to momentary interoceptive and exteroceptive self-awareness, or first-person experiential perspective as emphasized in open monitoring meditation, play an important modulatory role in adaptive workspace transitions.

Information matching the content of visual working memory is prioritized for conscious access.

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Gayet, Surya; Paffen, Chris L E; Van der Stigchel, Stefan

2013-12-01

Visual working memory (VWM) is used to retain relevant information for imminent goal-directed behavior. In the experiments reported here, we found that VWM helps to prioritize relevant information that is not yet available for conscious experience. In five experiments, we demonstrated that information matching VWM content reaches visual awareness faster than does information not matching VWM content. Our findings suggest a functional link between VWM and visual awareness: The content of VWM is recruited to funnel down the vast amount of sensory input to that which is relevant for subsequent behavior and therefore requires conscious access.

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.

The conscious mind and its emergent properties; an analysis based on decision theory.

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Morris, James A

2011-08-01

The process of conscious and unconscious decision making is analyzed using decision theory. An essential part of an optimum decision strategy is the assessment of values and costs associated with correct and incorrect decisions. In the case of unconscious decisions this involves an automatic process akin to computation using numerical values. But for conscious decisions the conscious mind must experience the outcome of the decision as pleasure or pain. It is suggested that the rules of behavior are programmed in our genes but modified by experience of the society in which we are reared. Our unconscious then uses the rules to reward or punish our conscious mind for the decisions it makes. This is relevant to concepts of altruism and religion in society. It is consistent with the observation that we prefer beauty to utility. The decision theory equations also explain the paradox that a single index of happiness can be applied in society. The symptoms of mental illness can be due to appropriate or inappropriate action by the unconscious. The former indicates a psychological conflict between conscious and unconscious decision making. Inappropriate action indicates that a pathological process has switched on genetic networks that should be switched off. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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.

A sensorimotor account of vision and visual consciousness.

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O'Regan, J K; Noë, A

2001-10-01

Many current neurophysiological, psychophysical, and psychological approaches to vision rest on the idea that when we see, the brain produces an internal representation of the world. The activation of this internal representation is assumed to give rise to the experience of seeing. The problem with this kind of approach is that it leaves unexplained how the existence of such a detailed internal representation might produce visual consciousness. An alternative proposal is made here. We propose that seeing is a way of acting. It is a particular way of exploring the environment. Activity in internal representations does not generate the experience of seeing. The outside world serves as its own, external, representation. The experience of seeing occurs when the organism masters what we call the governing laws of sensorimotor contingency. The advantage of this approach is that it provides a natural and principled way of accounting for visual consciousness, and for the differences in the perceived quality of sensory experience in the different sensory modalities. Several lines of empirical evidence are brought forward in support of the theory, in particular: evidence from experiments in sensorimotor adaptation, visual "filling in," visual stability despite eye movements, change blindness, sensory substitution, and color perception.

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

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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.

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

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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

Stigma Consciousness, Social Constraints, and Lesbian Well-Being

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Lewis, Robin J.; Derlega, Valerian J.; Clarke, Eva G.; Kuang, Jenny C.

2006-01-01

Stigma consciousness, the expectation of prejudice and discrimination, has been associated with negative psychological outcomes for lesbians. This research examined the moderating role of social constraints or difficulty lesbians experience in talking with others about sexual orientation-related issues. One hundred five, predominantly out,…

Perceptual consciousness overflows cognitive access.

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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.

Translation and cultural adaptation of the States of Consciousness Questionnaire (SOCQ and statistical validation of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30 in Brazilian Portuguese

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EDUARDO EKMAN SCHENBERG

Full Text Available Abstract Background The States of Consciousness Questionnaire (SOCQ was developed to assess the occurrence features of the change in consciousness induced by psilocybin, and includes the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ, developed to assess the ocurrence of mystical experiences in altered states of consciousness. Objective To translate the SOCQ to Brazilian Portuguese and validate the 30-item MEQ. Methods The SOCQ was translated to Brazilian Portuguese and backtranslated into English. The two English versions were compared and differences corrected, resulting in a Brazilian translation. Using an internet-survey, 1504 Portuguese-speaking subjects answered the translated version of the SOCQ. The 4-factor version of MEQ30 was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis. Results A Brazilian Portuguese version of the SOCQ was made available. Goodness-of-fit indexes indicated that data met the factorial structure proposed for the English MEQ30. Factors presented excellent to acceptable reliability according to Cronbach’s alpha: mystical (0.95; positive mood (0.71; transcendence of time/space (0.83; and ineffability (0.81. Discussion The Brazilian Portuguese version of the MEQ30 is validated and it fits in the factorial structure performed on the original English version. The SOCQ is also available to the Brazilian Portuguese speaking population, allowing studies in different languages to be conducted and compared systematically.

Animal Mind and Consciousness

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Richterová, Klaudie

2017-01-01

Název diplomové práce: Mysl a vědomí u zvířat Vedoucí práce: prof. Karel Thein, Ph.D. Vypracovala: Bc. Klaudie Richterová Abstract This thesis examines the issue of cognition, mind and consciousness of living beings other than humans. It starts with the attitudes of two contemporary thinkers: Thomas Nagel and Daniel C. Dennett. In connection with their opinions, this thesis examines a certain number of questions: Might there be something like a subjective experience of life or being? How can ...

True sacrifice on Hegel’s presentation of self-consciousness

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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.

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

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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.

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.

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.

Demystifying Consciousness With Mysticism? Cognitive Science and Mystical Traditions

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Sebastjan Vörös

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The article considers whether, and how, current scientific studies of consciousness might benefit from insights of mystical traditions. Although considerable effort has been expanded towards introducing mysticism into mainstream cognitive science, the topic is still controversial, not least because of the multifariousness of meaning associated with the term (from “illogical thinking” through “visions” and “raptures” to “paranormal” and “psychopathological phenomena”. In the context of the present article, mysticism is defined as a set of practices, beliefs, values etc. developed within a given religious tradition to help the practitioner realize the experiential and existential transformations associated with mystical experiences, i.e. experiences characterized by the breakdown of the subject-object dichotomy. It is then examined in which areas mysticism so defined might provide beneficial for consciousness studies; broadly, three such areas are identified: phenomenological research (mysticism as a repository of unique experiential material and practical know-how for rigorous phenomenological analyses, the problem of the self (mysticism as a repository of experiential-existential insights into one’s fundamental selflessness, and the so-called hard problem of consciousness (mysticism as a unique experiential-existential answer to the mind-body problem. It is contended that, contrary to popular belief, cognitive science could benefit from insights and practices found in mystical traditions, especially by way of grounding its findings in the lived experience and thereby (potentially demystifying some of its self-imposed abstract conundrums.

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

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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.

Volitional action as perceptual detection: predictors of conscious intention in adolescents with tic disorders.

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Ganos, Christos; Asmuss, Luisa; Bongert, Jens; Brandt, Valerie; Münchau, Alexander; Haggard, Patrick

2015-03-01

Voluntary actions are accompanied by a distinctive subjective experience, so that they feel quite different from physically similar involuntary movements. However, the nature and origin of this experience of volition remain unclear. Voluntary actions emerge during early childhood, in parallel with reduction of involuntary movements. However, the available markers of the experience of volition, notably Libet's mental chronometry of intention, cannot readily be used in young children. In Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS), however, involuntary tic movements may coexist with voluntary control into adulthood. Therefore, adolescents with GTS could potentially confuse the two classes of movement. We have measured the temporal experience of voluntary action in a well-characterised group of adolescents with GTS, and age-matched controls. We replicated previous reports of a conscious intention occurring a few hundred milliseconds prior to voluntary keypress actions. Multiple regression across 25 patients' results showed that age and trait tic severity did not influence the experience of conscious intention. However, patients with stronger premonitory urges prior to tics showed significantly later conscious intentions, suggesting that the anticipatory experience of one's own volition involves a perceptual discrimination between potentially competing pre-movement signals. Patients who were more able to voluntarily suppress their tics showed significantly earlier conscious intention, suggesting that the perceptual discrimination between different action classes may also contribute to voluntary control of tics. We suggest that the brain learns voluntary control by perceptually discriminating a special class of internal 'intentional' signals, allowing them to emerge from motor noise. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Paradigm shift in consciousness research: the child's self-awareness and abnormalities in autism, ADHD and schizophrenia.

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Lou, Hans C

2012-02-01

Self-awareness is a pivotal component of any conscious experience and conscious self-regulation of behaviour. A paralimbic network is active, specific and causal in self-awareness. Its regions interact by gamma synchrony. Gamma synchrony develops throughout infancy, childhood and adolescence into adulthood and is regulated by dopamine and other neurotransmitters via GABA interneurons. Major derailments of this network and self-awareness occur in developmental disorders of conscious self-regulation like autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia. Recent research on conscious experience is no longer limited to the study of neural 'correlations' but is increasingly lending itself to the study of causality. This paradigm shift opens new perspectives for understanding the neural mechanisms of the developing self and the causal effects of their disturbance in developmental disorders. © 2011 The Author(s)/Acta Paediatrica © 2011 Foundation Acta Paediatrica.

Consciousness and the brain deciphering how the brain codes our thoughts

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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...

Early visual responses predict conscious face perception within and between subjects during binocular rivalry

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Sandberg, Kristian; Bahrami, Bahador; Kanai, Ryota

2013-01-01

Previous studies indicate that conscious face perception may be related to neural activity in a large time window around 170–800 msec after stimulus presentation, yet in the majority of these studies changes in conscious experience are confounded with changes in physical stimulation. Using...... multivariate classification on MEG data recorded when participants reported changes in conscious perception evoked by binocular rivalry between a face and a grating, we showed that only MEG signals in the 120–320 msec time range, peaking at the M170 around 180 msec and the P2m at around 260 msec, reliably...... activity associated with conscious face perception generalized from one participant to another around the times of maximum prediction accuracy. Our work thus demonstrates that the neural correlates of particular conscious contents (here, faces) are highly consistent in time and space within individuals...

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

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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

Neurobiology of consciousness: an overview.

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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.

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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.

Exploring Online Shopping Behaviour within the Context of Online Advertisement, Customer Service Experience Consciousness and Price Comparison Websites: Perspectives from Young Female Shoppers in the Zlínský Region

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Christian Nedu Osakwe

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Online shopping behaviour within the context of price comparison websites presents an interesting area of consumer behaviour, yet very little research has been done in this area. Hence, the focus of this paper was to critically explore the impact of online advertisement and customer service experience consciousness on young female shoppers’ intention to use price comparison websites as a purchase decision-making tool within the online retail environment. Our sample consisted of 123 female respondents of the Tomas Bata University students in Zlín, Czech Republic. From the sample, we found out using the Partial Least Square approach to Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM that both online advertisement (Ads and customer service experience consciousness are directly and positively related to online shoppers’ intention to use price comparison websites. Hence, our two stated hypotheses were supported based on the outcome of the structural model. Apparently, customer service experience consciousness is a better predictor of female shoppers’ intention to use price comparison websites compared to online advertising. Nonetheless, we have highlighted the need for a further research based on the study’s limitations.

Perceptual integration without conscious access.

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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 Regained: Disentangling Mechanisms, Brain Systems, and Behavioral Responses

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Storm, J.F.; Boly, M.; Casali, A.G.; Massimini, M.; Olcese, U.; Pennartz, C.M.A.; Wilke, M.

2017-01-01

How consciousness (experience) arises from and relates to material brain processes (the "mind-body problem") has been pondered by thinkers for centuries, and is regarded as among the deepest unsolved problems in science, with wide-ranging theoretical, clinical, and ethical implications. Until the

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

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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.

The mystery of consciousness

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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...

Science of consciousness and the hard problem

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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.

Problem of consciousness in learning systems and environments

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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

Cortical response tracking the conscious experience of threshold duration visual stimuli indicates visual perception is all or none

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Sekar, Krithiga; Findley, William M.; Poeppel, David; Llinás, Rodolfo R.

2013-01-01

At perceptual threshold, some stimuli are available for conscious access whereas others are not. Such threshold inputs are useful tools for investigating the events that separate conscious awareness from unconscious stimulus processing. Here, viewing unmasked, threshold-duration images was combined with recording magnetoencephalography to quantify differences among perceptual states, ranging from no awareness to ambiguity to robust perception. A four-choice scale was used to assess awareness: “didn’t see” (no awareness), “couldn’t identify” (awareness without identification), “unsure” (awareness with low certainty identification), and “sure” (awareness with high certainty identification). Stimulus-evoked neuromagnetic signals were grouped according to behavioral response choices. Three main cortical responses were elicited. The earliest response, peaking at ∼100 ms after stimulus presentation, showed no significant correlation with stimulus perception. A late response (∼290 ms) showed moderate correlation with stimulus awareness but could not adequately differentiate conscious access from its absence. By contrast, an intermediate response peaking at ∼240 ms was observed only for trials in which stimuli were consciously detected. That this signal was similar for all conditions in which awareness was reported is consistent with the hypothesis that conscious visual access is relatively sharply demarcated. PMID:23509248

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.

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.

Information matching the content of visual working memory is prioritized for conscious access.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gayet, S.; Paffen, C.L.E.; van der Stigchel, S.

2013-01-01

Visual working memory (VWM) is used to retain relevant information for imminent goal-directed behavior. In the experiments reported here, we found that VWM helps to prioritize relevant information that is not yet available for conscious experience. In five experiments, we demonstrated that

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.

Conscious and subconscious attitudes towards English Imports in the Nordic countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristiansen, Tore

2010-01-01

The article reports on how the present-day influence from English is perceived and assessed in seven Nordic communities. The focus is on comparison, between the seven communities, and between two data sets obtained under different conditions of consciousness. The comparisons show...... that the populations reproduce the “purism level” of their own community’s official language policy in their consciously offered responses to questions in a telephone survey, while the purism–laissez-faire ranking of the communities is turned upside down in a subconsciously offered data set obtained in a speaker...... evaluation experiment based on the matched-guise technique. In the same way, analyses of how the evaluative reactions correlate with social-group divisions show reproduction and non-reproduction of the stereotypically expected correlations, in the conscious and subconscious conditions respectively....

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

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

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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.

Toward a computational theory of conscious processing.

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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.

[The use of conscious sedation versus general anesthesia in modern dentistry: rising ethical dilemmas].

Science.gov (United States)

Ayalon, S; Gozal, Y; Kaufman, E

2004-10-01

Conscious sedation and general anesthesia have been in the use of the dental profession since the first half of the 19th century. Although seemingly appealing to use due to alleviation of pain and anxiety induced by the dental treatment, the alteration of consciousness level of dental patients is not without risk. Morbidity and mortality due to dental treatment performed under general anesthesia were investigated at the last decades of the 20th century. The mortality rates found in these investigations were surprisingly high comparing to researches of morbidity and mortality due to other medical procedures, performed under general anesthesia. Therefore, although general anesthesia is sometimes the only way to treat certain patients, maintaining strict indications for dental treatment under general anesthesia is necessary. Conscious sedation was found as a safer alternative for achieving a level of consciousness enabling dental treatment in those patients who are unable to receive treatment in normal dental clinic settings. We therefore believe that conscious sedation should be the golden standard for the treatment of those patients. The practicing of dentistry in patients who have need of dental treatment under special settings such as general anesthesia and sedation raises ethical dilemmas to the caregiver. The following review will summarize the available data on morbidity and mortality due to dental treatment given under general anesthesia and conscious sedation. The ethical questions arising from their practicing will be discussed and some answers shall be proposed.

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.

The signatures of conscious access and its phenomenology are consistent with large-scale brain communication at criticality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tagliazucchi, E.

Conscious awareness refers to information processing in the brain that is accompanied by subjective, reportable experiences. Current models of conscious access propose that sufficiently strong sensory stimuli ignite a global network of regions allowing further processing. The immense number of

Consciousness and Attention: On sufficiency and necessity

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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.

The Union of Spirit and Matter: Science, Consciousness, and a Life Divine

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Lynda Lester

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The once unbridgeable chasm between spirit and matter is closing. While the scientific method and scientific materialism have brought untold benefits to humanity, quantum physics has changed our view of matter as solid, objective, and obvious to a view that is more complex and which includes the possibility that consciousness has a part in manifesting reality. This shift mirrors Sri Aurobindo’s integral philosophy, which states that the universe is a manifestation of consciousness. This manifestation occurs through a process of involution followed by evolution, the next step of which is the emergence of a suprahumanity whose native state of consciousness will be supramental. Interestingly, some of Mother Mirra Alfassa’s experiences in bringing supramental consciousness into her body bear similarities to the discoveries of quantum physics. Unlike previous spiritual realizations, the supramental realization has the power to unify spirit and matter and usher in a life divine on earth.

Clinical Experiences and Mediational Activities in Urban Teacher Preparation: Learning and Critical Consciousness

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Craig Willey

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In a longitudinal design experiment conducted within an urban teacher preparation program, we employed ethnographic and auto-ethnographic methods to investigate the following questions: 1 In what ways do clinical experiences (CEs support prospective teachers’ (PTs development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for urban teaching? 2 How is it determined that adjustments need to be made to the design and facilitation of CEs, and what did these adjustments yield in terms of student learning outcomes? The program centers and leverages CEs in order for PTs to connect theory and practice, particularly an awareness of, and skills associated with, equitable teaching practices. In our two-year field-based program, CEs included community explorations, one-on-one and small group work with children, two student teaching practicums, and various school-community events. We describe the process undertaken to maximize the benefits yielded from CEs. After working with three cohorts of PTs for their entire professional training, we found that: 1 focusing attention on the intentional design and assessment of the mediational activities coupled with CEs leads to more nuanced understandings and enactments of culturally relevant teaching among PTs; and 2 CEs afford PTs abundant opportunities to shape complex identities as urban teachers. Specifically, we found that clinical experiences and corresponding mediational activities support PTs’ understanding of families of color, allow them to recognize and address problematic schooling practices, and strengthen PTs’ otherwise fragile critical consciousness. We conclude that strategic interventions can provide clarity for PTs around what has been learned, and what is left to be developed

Cross-modal prediction changes the timing of conscious access during the motion-induced blindness.

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Chang, Acer Y C; Kanai, Ryota; Seth, Anil K

2015-01-01

Despite accumulating evidence that perceptual predictions influence perceptual content, the relations between these predictions and conscious contents remain unclear, especially for cross-modal predictions. We examined whether predictions of visual events by auditory cues can facilitate conscious access to the visual stimuli. We trained participants to learn associations between auditory cues and colour changes. We then asked whether congruency between auditory cues and target colours would speed access to consciousness. We did this by rendering a visual target subjectively invisible using motion-induced blindness and then gradually changing its colour while presenting congruent or incongruent auditory cues. Results showed that the visual target gained access to consciousness faster in congruent than in incongruent trials; control experiments excluded potentially confounding effects of attention and motor response. The expectation effect was gradually established over blocks suggesting a role for extensive training. Overall, our findings show that predictions learned through cross-modal training can facilitate conscious access to visual stimuli. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gestalt isomorphism and the primacy of subjective conscious experience: a Gestalt Bubble model.

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Lehar, Steven

2003-08-01

A serious crisis is identified in theories of neurocomputation, marked by a persistent disparity between the phenomenological or experiential account of visual perception and the neurophysiological level of description of the visual system. In particular, conventional concepts of neural processing offer no explanation for the holistic global aspects of perception identified by Gestalt theory. The problem is paradigmatic and can be traced to contemporary concepts of the functional role of the neural cell, known as the Neuron Doctrine. In the absence of an alternative neurophysiologically plausible model, I propose a perceptual modeling approach, to model the percept as experienced subjectively, rather than modeling the objective neurophysiological state of the visual system that supposedly subserves that experience. A Gestalt Bubble model is presented to demonstrate how the elusive Gestalt principles of emergence, reification, and invariance can be expressed in a quantitative model of the subjective experience of visual consciousness. That model in turn reveals a unique computational strategy underlying visual processing, which is unlike any algorithm devised by man, and certainly unlike the atomistic feed-forward model of neurocomputation offered by the Neuron Doctrine paradigm. The perceptual modeling approach reveals the primary function of perception as that of generating a fully spatial virtual-reality replica of the external world in an internal representation. The common objections to this "picture-in-the-head" concept of perceptual representation are shown to be ill founded.

A narrative method for consciousness research

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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.

Should a Few Null Findings Falsify Prefrontal Theories of Conscious Perception?

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Odegaard, Brian; Knight, Robert T; Lau, Hakwan

2017-10-04

Is activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC) critical for conscious perception? Major theories of consciousness make distinct predictions about the role of PFC, providing an opportunity to arbitrate between these views empirically. Here we address three common misconceptions: (1) PFC lesions do not affect subjective perception; (2) PFC activity does not reflect specific perceptual content; and (3) PFC involvement in studies of perceptual awareness is solely driven by the need to make reports required by the experimental tasks rather than subjective experience per se. These claims are incompatible with empirical findings, unless one focuses only on studies using methods with limited sensitivity. The literature highlights PFC's essential role in enabling the subjective experience in perception, contra the objective capacity to perform visual tasks; conflating the two can also be a source of confusion. Dual Perspectives Companion Paper: Are the Neural Correlates of Consciousness in the Front or in the Back of the Cerebral Cortex? Clinical and Neuroimaging Evidence, by Melanie Boly, Marcello Massimini, Naotsugu Tsuchiya, Bradley R. Postle, Christof Koch, and Giulio Tononi. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/379593-10$15.00/0.

A Peculiar Sensation: Double Consciousness and the Lived Experiences of African American Art Historians at Predominately White Institutions

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Swaidan, Christina Michelle

2010-01-01

Double consciousness is the identity conflict of being Black and being an American (Du Bois, 1903). Double consciousness leads to "identity confusion and inherent contradictions in the collective psyche of people of African descent" (Benjamin, 2005, p. 21.). This study employed grounded theory to collect and analyze the data that emerged from the…

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

Evidence for consciousness-related anomalies in random physical systems

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Radin, Dean I.; Nelson, Roger D.

1989-12-01

Speculations about the role of consciousness in physical systems are frequently observed in the literature concerned with the interpretation of quantum mechanics. While only three experimental investigations can be found on this topic in physics journals, more than 800 relevant experiments have been reported in the literature of parapsychology. A well-defined body of empirical evidence from this domain was reviewed using meta-analytic techniques to assess methodological quality and overall effect size. Results showed effects conforming to chance expectation in control conditions and unequivocal non-chance effects in experimental conditions. This quantitative literature review agrees with the findings of two earlier reviews, suggesting the existence of some form of consciousness-related anomaly in random physical systems.

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.

Body conscious? Interoceptive awareness, measured by heartbeat perception, is negatively correlated with self-objectification.

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Ainley, Vivien; Tsakiris, Manos

2013-01-01

'Self-objectification' is the tendency to experience one's body principally as an object, to be evaluated for its appearance rather than for its effectiveness. Within objectification theory, it has been proposed that self-objectification accounts for the poorer interoceptive awareness observed in women, as measured by heartbeat perception. Our study is, we believe, the first specifically to test this relationship. Using a well-validated and reliable heartbeat perception task, we measured interoceptive awareness in women and compared this with their scores on the Self-Objectification Questionnaire, the Self-Consciousness Scale and the Body Consciousness Questionnaire. Interoceptive awareness was negatively correlated with self-objectification. Interoceptive awareness, public body consciousness and private body consciousness together explained 31% of the variance in self-objectification. However, private body consciousness was not significantly correlated with interoceptive awareness, which may explain the many nonsignificant results in self-objectification studies that have used private body consciousness as a measure of body awareness. We propose interoceptive awareness, assessed by heartbeat perception, as a measure of body awareness in self-objectification studies. Our findings have implications for those clinical conditions, in women, which are characterised by self-objectification and low interoceptive awareness, such as eating disorders.

Stream of consciousness: Quantum and biochemical assumptions regarding psychopathology.

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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.

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

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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.

Unconscious integration of multisensory bodily inputs in the peripersonal space shapes bodily self-consciousness.

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Salomon, Roy; Noel, Jean-Paul; Łukowska, Marta; Faivre, Nathan; Metzinger, Thomas; Serino, Andrea; Blanke, Olaf

2017-09-01

Recent studies have highlighted the role of multisensory integration as a key mechanism of self-consciousness. In particular, integration of bodily signals within the peripersonal space (PPS) underlies the experience of the self in a body we own (self-identification) and that is experienced as occupying a specific location in space (self-location), two main components of bodily self-consciousness (BSC). Experiments investigating the effects of multisensory integration on BSC have typically employed supra-threshold sensory stimuli, neglecting the role of unconscious sensory signals in BSC, as tested in other consciousness research. Here, we used psychophysical techniques to test whether multisensory integration of bodily stimuli underlying BSC also occurs for multisensory inputs presented below the threshold of conscious perception. Our results indicate that visual stimuli rendered invisible through continuous flash suppression boost processing of tactile stimuli on the body (Exp. 1), and enhance the perception of near-threshold tactile stimuli (Exp. 2), only once they entered PPS. We then employed unconscious multisensory stimulation to manipulate BSC. Participants were presented with tactile stimulation on their body and with visual stimuli on a virtual body, seen at a distance, which were either visible or rendered invisible. We found that participants reported higher self-identification with the virtual body in the synchronous visuo-tactile stimulation (as compared to asynchronous stimulation; Exp. 3), and shifted their self-location toward the virtual body (Exp.4), even if stimuli were fully invisible. Our results indicate that multisensory inputs, even outside of awareness, are integrated and affect the phenomenological content of self-consciousness, grounding BSC firmly in the field of psychophysical consciousness studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

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 Elixir of Visiting: A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Conscious Mechanically Ventilated Patients in Intensive Care Units Regarding Visiting Family Members

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Fatemeh Hajiabadi

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Visiting family members is one of the basic human needs; however, there is contradictory evidence about the advantages and disadvantages of the existing visiting systems.  Therefore, the investigation of patients’ preferences for the visiting strategies, and achievement of their authentic experiences can significantly contribute to decision-making about the type of acceptable and approved policies in this domain. Aim: The aim of this study was to explain the experiences of conscious patients undergoing mechanical ventilation in Intensive Care Units regarding their visits with their family members. Method: This qualitative study was conducted on 15 conscious mechanically ventilated patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit in Iran in 2017. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and observations. The sampling was performed through purposive sampling technique, which was continued until data saturation to select the individuals with rich experiences about the subject under investigation. The data were analyzed through the conventional type of qualitative content analysis. Results: Out of the initial 385 codes, 11 subthemes and 5 main themes were extracted during the analysis process, all of which were placed under the general concept of “the elixir of visiting”. The five main themes included visiting as a healing agent, visiting as an agent for the enhancement of perceived support, visiting as an agent for gaining hope, visiting as the patient’s urgent need, and preference for planed visiting. Implications for Practice: The results of the present study showed that visiting was like an elixir for the conscious patients undergoing mechanical ventilation in the Intensive Care Units. This practice could allay lots of their pains and lead to numerous valuable effects, such as elimination of loneliness and sadness, increased hope for survival and recovery, and enhancement of a sense of support. Therefore, nursing

Modulating Conscious Movement Intention by Noninvasive Brain Stimulation and the Underlying Neural Mechanisms

OpenAIRE

Douglas, Zachary H.; Maniscalco, Brian; Hallett, Mark; Wassermann, Eric M.; He, Biyu J.

2015-01-01

Conscious intention is a fundamental aspect of the human experience. Despite long-standing interest in the basis and implications of intention, its underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using high-definition transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS), we observed that enhancing spontaneous neuronal excitability in both the angular gyrus and the primary motor cortex caused the reported time of conscious movement intention to be ∼60–70 ms earlier. Slow brain waves recorded ∼2–...

Is Schizophrenia a Disorder of Consciousness? Experimental and Phenomenological Support for Anomalous Unconscious Processing

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Anne Giersch

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Decades ago, several authors have proposed that disorders in automatic processing lead to intrusive symptoms or abnormal contents in the consciousness of people with schizophrenia. However, since then, studies have mainly highlighted difficulties in patients’ conscious experiencing and processing but rarely explored how unconscious and conscious mechanisms may interact in producing this experience. We report three lines of research, focusing on the processing of spatial frequencies, unpleasant information, and time-event structure that suggest that impairments occur at both the unconscious and conscious level. We argue that focusing on unconscious, physiological and automatic processing of information in patients, while contrasting that processing with conscious processing, is a first required step before understanding how distortions or other impairments emerge at the conscious level. We then indicate that the phenomenological tradition of psychiatry supports a similar claim and provides a theoretical framework helping to understand the relationship between the impairments and clinical symptoms. We base our argument on the presence of disorders in the minimal self in patients with schizophrenia. The minimal self is tacit and non-verbal and refers to the sense of bodily presence. We argue this sense is shaped by unconscious processes, whose alteration may thus affect the feeling of being a unique individual. This justifies a focus on unconscious mechanisms and a distinction from those associated with consciousness.

Clinical Experiences and Mediational Activities in Urban Teacher Preparation: Learning and Critical Consciousness

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Craig Willey

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In a longitudinal design experiment conducted within an urban teacher preparation program, we employed ethnographic and auto-ethnographic methods to investigate the following research questions: 1 In what ways do clinical experiences (CEs support prospective teachers’ (PTs development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for urban teaching? 2 How is it determined that adjustments need to be made to the design and facilitation of CEs, and what did these adjustments yield in terms of student learning outcomes? The program centers and leverages CEs in order for PTs to connect theory and practice, particularly an awareness of, and skills associated with, equitable teaching practices. In our two-year field-based program, CEs include community explorations, one-on-one and small group work with children, two student teaching practicums, and various school-community events. We describe the iterative design process undertaken to maximize the benefits yielded from CEs. After working with three cohorts of PTs for their entire professional training, we found that: 1 focusing attention on the intentional design and assessment of the mediational activities coupled with CEs leads to more nuanced understandings and enactments of culturally relevant teaching among PTs; and 2 CEs afford PTs abundant opportunities to shape complex identities as urban teachers. Specifically, we found that clinical experiences and corresponding mediational activities support PTs’ understanding of families of color, allow them to recognize and address problematic schooling practices, and strengthen PTs’ otherwise fragile critical consciousness. We conclude that strategic interventions can provide clarity for PTs around what has, indeed, been learned at particular intervals in the program, and what is left to be developed in the final practicum and beyond.

Environmentally conscious patent histories

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Conscious Thought Does Not Guide Moment-to-Moment Actions – It Serves Social and Cultural Functions

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E. J. eMasicampo

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Humans enjoy a private, mental life that is richer and more vivid than that of any other animal. Yet as central as the conscious experience is to human life, numerous disciplines have long struggled to explain it. The present paper reviews the latest theories and evidence from psychology that addresses what conscious thought is and how it affects human behavior. We suggest that conscious thought adapts human behavior to life in complex society and culture. First, we review research challenging the common notion that conscious thought directly guides and controls action. Second, we present an alternative view—that conscious thought processes actions and events that are typically removed from the here and now, and that it indirectly shapes action to favor culturally adaptive responses. Third, we summarize recent empirical work on conscious thought, which generally supports this alternative view. We see conscious thought as the place where the unconscious mind assembles ideas so as to reach new conclusions about how best to behave, or what outcomes to pursue or avoid. Rather than directly controlling action, conscious thought provides the input from these kinds of mental simulations to the executive. Conscious thought offers insights about the past and future, socially shared information, and cultural rules. Without it, the complex forms of social and cultural coordination that define human life would not be possible.

Functional neuroanatomy of disorders of consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Involuntary conscious memory facilitates cued recall performance: further evidence that chaining occurs during voluntary recall.

Science.gov (United States)

Mace, John H

2009-01-01

Recent studies have shown that conscious recollection of the past occurs spontaneously when subjects voluntarily recall their own past experiences or a list of previously studied words. Naturalistic diary studies and laboratory studies of this phenomenon, often called involuntary conscious memory (ICM), show that it occurs in 2 ways. One is direct ICM retrieval, which occurs when a cue spontaneously triggers a conscious memory; the other is chained ICM retrieval, which occurs when a retrieved conscious memory spontaneously triggers another. Laboratory studies investigating ICM show that chained ICM retrieval occurs on voluntary autobiographical memory tasks. The present results show that chained ICM retrieval also occurs on a voluntary word list memory task (cued recall). These results are among a handful suggesting that ICM retrieval routinely occurs during voluntary recall.

Embodied mind and phenomenal consciousness

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Maria VENIERI

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In recent years, a central debate in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science concerns the role of the body in perception and cognition. For many contemporary philosophers, not only cognition but also perception is connected mainly with the brain, where the processing of input from the senses takes place; whereas for the proponents of ‘embodied cognition’ other aspects of the body beyond the brain, including the environment, play a constitutive role in cognitive processes. In terms of perception, a new theory has emerged which stresses percep‑ tion’s active character and claims that the embodied subject and the environment, with which it interacts, form a dynamic system. Supporters of ‘enactive perception’ such as Susan Hurley and Alva Noë maintain that the physical substrate or the supervenience basis of perceptual experience and phenomenal consciousness may include besides the brain and the nervous system other bodily and environmental features. Yet, it will be argued in this paper that the interaction between the subject and the environment forms a system of causal relations, so we can theoretically interfere in the causal chains and create hallucinations, which cannot be distinguished from veridical perception, or a virtual reality as in the film Matrix (1999. This kind of argument and its related thought experiments aim to stress the primacy of the brain in determining phenomenal states, and show that the body and certain interactions with the environment have a causal, but not a constitutive or essential role, in forming phenomenal consciousness.

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

Disorders of Consciousness: Painless or Painful Conditions?—Evidence from Neuroimaging Studies

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Francesca Pistoia

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The experience of pain in disorders of consciousness is still debated. Neuroimaging studies, using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI, Positron Emission Tomography (PET, multichannel electroencephalography (EEG and laser-evoked potentials, suggest that the perception of pain increases with the level of consciousness. Brain activation in response to noxious stimuli has been observed in patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS, which is also referred to as a vegetative state (VS, as well as those in a minimally conscious state (MCS. However, all of these techniques suggest that pain-related brain activation patterns of patients in MCS more closely resemble those of healthy subjects. This is further supported by fMRI findings showing a much greater functional connectivity within the structures of the so-called pain matrix in MCS as compared to UWS/VS patients. Nonetheless, when interpreting the results, a distinction is necessary between autonomic responses to potentially harmful stimuli and conscious experience of the unpleasantness of pain. Even more so if we consider that the degree of residual functioning and cortical connectivity necessary for the somatosensory, affective and cognitive-evaluative components of pain processing are not yet clear. Although procedurally challenging, the particular value of the aforementioned techniques in the assessment of pain in disorders of consciousness has been clearly demonstrated. The study of pain-related brain activation and functioning can contribute to a better understanding of the networks underlying pain perception while addressing clinical and ethical questions concerning patient care. Further development of technology and methods should aim to increase the availability of neuroimaging, objective assessment of functional connectivity and analysis at the level of individual cases as well as group comparisons. This will enable neuroimaging to truly become a clinical tool to

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 ...

Body conscious? Interoceptive awareness, measured by heartbeat perception, is negatively correlated with self-objectification.

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Vivien Ainley

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: 'Self-objectification' is the tendency to experience one's body principally as an object, to be evaluated for its appearance rather than for its effectiveness. Within objectification theory, it has been proposed that self-objectification accounts for the poorer interoceptive awareness observed in women, as measured by heartbeat perception. Our study is, we believe, the first specifically to test this relationship. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a well-validated and reliable heartbeat perception task, we measured interoceptive awareness in women and compared this with their scores on the Self-Objectification Questionnaire, the Self-Consciousness Scale and the Body Consciousness Questionnaire. Interoceptive awareness was negatively correlated with self-objectification. Interoceptive awareness, public body consciousness and private body consciousness together explained 31% of the variance in self-objectification. However, private body consciousness was not significantly correlated with interoceptive awareness, which may explain the many nonsignificant results in self-objectification studies that have used private body consciousness as a measure of body awareness. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We propose interoceptive awareness, assessed by heartbeat perception, as a measure of body awareness in self-objectification studies. Our findings have implications for those clinical conditions, in women, which are characterised by self-objectification and low interoceptive awareness, such as eating disorders.

Dissociative Functions in the Normal Mourning Process.

Science.gov (United States)

Kauffman, Jeffrey

1994-01-01

Sees dissociative functions in mourning process as occurring in conjunction with integrative trends. Considers initial shock reaction in mourning as model of normal dissociation in mourning process. Dissociation is understood to be related to traumatic significance of death in human consciousness. Discerns four psychological categories of…

Regulation of Arterial Pressure By The Paraventricular Nucleus in Conscious Rats: Interactions Among Glutamate, GABA, and Nitric Oxide

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Marli Cardoso Martins-Pinge

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The paraventricular nucleus (PVN of the hypothalamus is an important site for autonomic and neuroendocrine regulation. Experiments in anesthetized animals and in vitro indicate an interaction among gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA, nitric oxide (NO and glutamate in the PVN. The cardiovascular role of the PVN and interactions of these neurotransmitters in conscious animals have not been evaluated fully. In chronically instrumented conscious rats, mean arterial pressure (MAP and heart rate (HR responses to microinjections (100 nl in the region of the PVN were tested. Bilateral blockade of ionotropic excitatory amino acid (EAA receptors (kynurenic acid, Kyn in the PVN produced small but significant decreases in MAP and HR. GABAA receptor blockade (bicuculline, Bic, and inhibition of NO synthase (N-(G-monomethyl-L-arginine, L-NMMA each increased MAP and HR. The NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP produced depressor responses that were attenuated by Bic. NO synthase inhibition potentiated both pressor responses to the selective EAA agonist, N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA, and depressor responses to Kyn. Increases in MAP and HR due to Bic were blunted by prior blockade of EAA receptors. Thus, pressor responses to GABA blockade require EAA receptors and GABA neurotransmission contributes to NO inhibition. Tonic excitatory effects of glutamate in the PVN are tonically attenuated by NO. These data demonstrate that, in the PVN of conscious rats, GABA, glutamate and NO interact in a complex fashion to regulate arterial pressure and heart rate under normal conditions.

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.

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...

Decreased electrophysiological activity represents the conscious state of emptiness in meditation

Science.gov (United States)

Hinterberger, Thilo; Schmidt, Stephanie; Kamei, Tsutomu; Walach, Harald

2014-01-01

Many neuroscientific theories explain consciousness with higher order information processing corresponding to an activation of specific brain areas and processes. In contrast, most forms of meditation ask for a down-regulation of certain mental processing activities while remaining fully conscious. To identify the physiological properties of conscious states with decreased mental and cognitive processing, the electrical brain activity (64 channels of EEG) of 50 participants of various meditation proficiencies was measured during distinct and idiosyncratic meditative tasks. The tasks comprised a wakeful “thoughtless emptiness (TE),” a “focused attention,” and an “open monitoring” task asking for mindful presence in the moment and in the environment without attachment to distracting thoughts. Our analysis mainly focused on 30 highly experienced meditators with at least 5 years and 1000 h of meditation experience. Spectral EEG power comparisons of the TE state with the resting state or other forms of meditation showed decreased activities in specific frequency bands. In contrast to a focused attention task the TE task showed significant central and parietal gamma decreases (p meditation practice did not present those differences significantly. Our findings indicate that a conscious state of TE reached by experienced meditators is characterized by reduced high-frequency brain processing with simultaneous reduction of the low frequencies. This suggests that such a state of meditative conscious awareness might be different from higher cognitive and mentally focused states but also from states of sleep and drowsiness. PMID:24596562

Detecting number processing and mental calculation in patients with disorders of consciousness using a hybrid brain-computer interface system.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yuanqing; Pan, Jiahui; He, Yanbin; Wang, Fei; Laureys, Steven; Xie, Qiuyou; Yu, Ronghao

2015-12-15

For patients with disorders of consciousness such as coma, a vegetative state or a minimally conscious state, one challenge is to detect and assess the residual cognitive functions in their brains. Number processing and mental calculation are important brain functions but are difficult to detect in patients with disorders of consciousness using motor response-based clinical assessment scales such as the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised due to the patients' motor impairments and inability to provide sufficient motor responses for number- and calculation-based communication. In this study, we presented a hybrid brain-computer interface that combines P300 and steady state visual evoked potentials to detect number processing and mental calculation in Han Chinese patients with disorders of consciousness. Eleven patients with disorders of consciousness who were in a vegetative state (n = 6) or in a minimally conscious state (n = 3) or who emerged from a minimally conscious state (n = 2) participated in the brain-computer interface-based experiment. During the experiment, the patients with disorders of consciousness were instructed to perform three tasks, i.e., number recognition, number comparison, and mental calculation, including addition and subtraction. In each experimental trial, an arithmetic problem was first presented. Next, two number buttons, only one of which was the correct answer to the problem, flickered at different frequencies to evoke steady state visual evoked potentials, while the frames of the two buttons flashed in a random order to evoke P300 potentials. The patients needed to focus on the target number button (the correct answer). Finally, the brain-computer interface system detected P300 and steady state visual evoked potentials to determine the button to which the patients attended, further presenting the results as feedback. Two of the six patients who were in a vegetative state, one of the three patients who were in a minimally conscious state, and

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

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.

A further problem of the hard problem of consciousness | Gbenga ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Justifying this assertion is identified as the further problem of the hard problem of consciousness. This shows that assertions about phenomenal properties of mental experiences are wholly epistemological. Hence, the problem of explaining phenomenal properties of a mental state is not a metaphysical problem, and what is ...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

[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.

The neuroscience of observing consciousness & mirror neurons in therapeutic hypnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossi, Ernest L; Rossi, Kathryn L

2006-04-01

Neuroscience documents the activity of "mirror neurons" in the human brain as a mechanism whereby we experience empathy and recognize the intentions of others by observing their behavior and automatically matching their brain activity. This neural basis of empathy finds support in research on dysfunctions in the mirror systems of humans with autism and fMRI research on normal subjects designed to assess intentionality, emotions, and complex cognition. Such empathy research now appears to be consistent with the historical and research literature on hypnotic induction, rapport, and many of the classical phenomena of suggestion. A preliminary outline of how mirror neurons may function as a rapport zone mediating between observing consciousness, the gene expression/protein synthesis cycle, and brain plasticity in therapeutic hypnosis and psychosomatic medicine is proposed. Brain plasticity is generalized in the theory, research, and practice of utilizing mirror neurons as an explanatory framework in developing and training new skill sets for facilitating an activity-dependent approach to creative problem solving, mind-body healing, and rehabilitation with therapeutic hypnosis.

Links of Consciousness, Perception and Memory by Means of Delta Oscillations of Brain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erol eBaşar

2016-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTThe aim of this report is threefold: 1.First, we accomplish a survey integrating the description of consciousness, perception, and memory according to the views of descriptions of Hermann Helmholtz, Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson, and Gustav Jung. 2.In the second step, we present experimental results for defining the machineries of sensation and perception: (a electrical responses of isolated ganglion of Helix pomatia were measured upon odor stimuli that elicited varied degrees of responses. Such a model may give an idea of the control of sensation in the preconscious state of a living tissue. (b We also describe experiments at the human hearing threshold level. (c Further, the omission of working memory will be shown with the attenuation of delta response in Alzheimer’s subjects in P300 measurements. (d Finally, the measurement of auditory evoked potentials during slow-wave sleep in the cat brain explains the auditory responses that are not heard at this level of consciousness. 3.In the third step, we aim to provide a synopsis related to integration of perception, memory, and consciousness. By using concepts of important scientists as S. Freud on consciousness, we also tentatively discuss the boundaries of the transition of unconsciousness states to conscious states.

Modulating conscious movement intention by noninvasive brain stimulation and the underlying neural mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Zachary H; Maniscalco, Brian; Hallett, Mark; Wassermann, Eric M; He, Biyu J

2015-05-06

Conscious intention is a fundamental aspect of the human experience. Despite long-standing interest in the basis and implications of intention, its underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using high-definition transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS), we observed that enhancing spontaneous neuronal excitability in both the angular gyrus and the primary motor cortex caused the reported time of conscious movement intention to be ∼60-70 ms earlier. Slow brain waves recorded ∼2-3 s before movement onset, as well as hundreds of milliseconds after movement onset, independently correlated with the modulation of conscious intention by brain stimulation. These brain activities together accounted for 81% of interindividual variability in the modulation of movement intention by brain stimulation. A computational model using coupled leaky integrator units with biophysically plausible assumptions about the effect of tDCS captured the effects of stimulation on both neural activity and behavior. These results reveal a temporally extended brain process underlying conscious movement intention that spans seconds around movement commencement. Copyright © 2015 Douglas et al.

The concept of revelation in terms of the evolution of consciousness

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Klaus Nürnberger

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Following Paul’s injunction in 1 Corinthians 9:19–23 we have to ‘become scientists’ to a scientifically informed audience. While theology cannot agree with the naturalist denial of transcendence, it can adopt the experiential-realist approach typical for the sciences in its description of the Christian faith as an immanent part of cosmic evolution, albeit at a higher level of emergence. The article begins with my understanding of evolutionary theory (big bang cosmology, entropy, emergence, neural networks as infrastructure of consciousness, evolution and differentiation, sequences of past, present and future, contingency etc. It then describes God consciousness as the intuition, perception or conceptualisation of the transcendent Source and Destiny of experienced reality and locates God consciousness in the evolutionary process. Biblical God consciousness displays two distinct characteristics: God’s creative power is experienced in reality, while God’s benevolent intentionality is proclaimed on the basis of a religious tradition. The evolutionary trajectory of biblical God consciousness, culminating in the Christ-event, is sketched and the God consciousness of Jesus is deduced from its religious embeddedness, its social-environmental relationships and its religious impact. Implications of an experiential-realist approach are (1 a dynamic, rather than ontological Christology and (2 the cosmic significance of the sacrifice of God in Christ. On this basis revelation is described first in experiential-realist and then in theological terms. The tension between the experience of God’s creative power and the proclamation of God’s benevolence leads to a dynamic, rather than ontological rendering of the Trinity. Finally, traditional eschatological assumptions are reconceptualised as God’s dynamic vision of comprehensive well-being operating like a horizon that moves on as we approach it and displays ever new vistas, challenges and

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.

The neural correlates of consciousness: new experimental approaches needed?

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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.

Visual perception from the perspective of a representational, non-reductionistic, level-dependent account of perception and conscious awareness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Overgaard, Morten; Mogensen, Jesper

2014-01-01

This article proposes a new model to interpret seemingly conflicting evidence concerning the correlation of consciousness and neural processes. Based on an analysis of research of blindsight and subliminal perception, the reorganization of elementary functions and consciousness framework suggests......’ of analysis in a ‘situational algorithmic strategy’ that reflects the general state of an individual. We argue that conscious experience is intrinsically related to representations that are available to guide behaviour. From this perspective, we find that blindsight and subliminal perception can be explained...

The cognitive approach to conscious machines

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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-

Fish do not feel pain and its implications for understanding phenomenal consciousness.

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Key, Brian

Phenomenal consciousness or the subjective experience of feeling sensory stimuli is fundamental to human existence. Because of the ubiquity of their subjective experiences, humans seem to readily accept the anthropomorphic extension of these mental states to other animals. Humans will typically extrapolate feelings of pain to animals if they respond physiologically and behaviourally to noxious stimuli. The alternative view that fish instead respond to noxious stimuli reflexly and with a limited behavioural repertoire is defended within the context of our current understanding of the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of mental states. Consequently, a set of fundamental properties of neural tissue necessary for feeling pain or experiencing affective states in vertebrates is proposed. While mammals and birds possess the prerequisite neural architecture for phenomenal consciousness, it is concluded that fish lack these essential characteristics and hence do not feel pain.

Deep brain stimulation for the early treatment of the minimally conscious state and vegetative state: experience in 14 patients.

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Chudy, Darko; Deletis, Vedran; Almahariq, Fadi; Marčinković, Petar; Škrlin, Jasenka; Paradžik, Veronika

2018-04-01

OBJECTIVE An effective treatment of patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS) or vegetative state (VS) caused by hypoxic encephalopathy or traumatic brain injury (TBI) is not yet available. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the thalamic reticular nuclei has been attempted as a therapeutic procedure mainly in patients with TBI. The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic use of DBS for patients in VS or MCS. METHODS Fourteen of 49 patients in VS or MCS qualified for inclusion in this study and underwent DBS. Of these 14 patients, 4 were in MCS and 10 were in VS. The etiology of VS or MCS was TBI in 4 cases and hypoxic encephalopathy due to cardiac arrest in 10. The selection criteria for DBS, evaluating the status of the cerebral cortex and thalamocortical reticular formation, included: neurological evaluation, electrophysiological evaluation, and the results of positron emission tomography (PET) and MRI examinations. The target for DBS was the centromedian-parafascicular (CM-pf) complex. The duration of follow-up ranged from 38 to 60 months. RESULTS Two MCS patients regained consciousness and regained their ability to walk, speak fluently, and live independently. One MCS patient reached the level of consciousness, but was still in a wheelchair at the time the article was written. One VS patient (who had suffered a cerebral ischemic lesion) improved to the level of consciousness and currently responds to simple commands. Three VS patients died of respiratory infection, sepsis, or cerebrovascular insult (1 of each). The other 7 patients remained without substantial improvement of consciousness. CONCLUSIONS Spontaneous recovery from MCS/VS to the level of consciousness with no or minimal need for assistance in everyday life is very rare. Therefore, if a patient in VS or MCS fulfills the selection criteria (presence of somatosensory evoked potentials from upper extremities, motor and brainstem auditory evoked potentials, with cerebral glucose

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.

Loss of consciousness is related to hyper-correlated gamma-band activity in anesthetized macaques and sleeping humans.

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Bola, Michał; Barrett, Adam B; Pigorini, Andrea; Nobili, Lino; Seth, Anil K; Marchewka, Artur

2018-02-15

Loss of consciousness can result from a wide range of causes, including natural sleep and pharmacologically induced anesthesia. Important insights might thus come from identifying neuronal mechanisms of loss and re-emergence of consciousness independent of a specific manipulation. Therefore, to seek neuronal signatures of loss of consciousness common to sleep and anesthesia we analyzed spontaneous electrophysiological activity recorded in two experiments. First, electrocorticography (ECoG) acquired from 4 macaque monkeys anesthetized with different anesthetic agents (ketamine, medetomidine, propofol) and, second, stereo-electroencephalography (sEEG) from 10 epilepsy patients in different wake-sleep stages (wakefulness, NREM, REM). Specifically, we investigated co-activation patterns among brain areas, defined as correlations between local amplitudes of gamma-band activity. We found that resting wakefulness was associated with intermediate levels of gamma-band coupling, indicating neither complete dependence, nor full independence among brain regions. In contrast, loss of consciousness during NREM sleep and propofol anesthesia was associated with excessively correlated brain activity, as indicated by a robust increase of number and strength of positive correlations. However, such excessively correlated brain signals were not observed during REM sleep, and were present only to a limited extent during ketamine anesthesia. This might be related to the fact that, despite suppression of behavioral responsiveness, REM sleep and ketamine anesthesia often involve presence of dream-like conscious experiences. We conclude that hyper-correlated gamma-band activity might be a signature of loss of consciousness common across various manipulations and independent of behavioral responsiveness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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 […

Neurophenomenology of an Altered State of Consciousness: An fMRI Case Study.

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Modestino, Edward J

2016-01-01

A research participant came to our lab with self-proclaimed, ecstatic, Kundalini meditative experiences. Using neurophenomenology and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we were able to identify brain activation in the left prefrontal cortex [primarily in left Brodmann׳s areas (BAs) 46 and 10, but also extending into BAs 11, 47, and 45] associated with this experience. The Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory provided evidence that this was a perceived altered state of consciousness. Additionally, the Physio-Kundalini Syndrome Index strongly suggested that what he was experiencing was indeed Kundalini. The feelings of joy, happiness and the left prefrontal brain region found in this study are consistent with many published neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies of meditation. This case study suggests that using first-person subjective experience within a phenomenological reduction process can be combined with neuroimaging to divulge objective brain regions associated with such experiences. Furthermore, this provides evidence that at least in this participant, the Kundalini experience is associated with brain activation in the left prefrontal cortex. Future research is needed to confirm these results in a large group study, perhaps contrasting brain activation of those who experience spontaneously emerging Kundalini with trained Kundalini practitioners. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

A neuroscientific account of how vestibular disorders impair bodily self-consciousness

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Christophe eLopez

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The consequences of vestibular disorders on balance, oculomotor control and self-motion perception have been extensively described in humans and animals. More recently, vestibular disorders have been related to cognitive deficits in spatial navigation and memory tasks. Less frequently, abnormal bodily perceptions have been described in patients with vestibular disorders. Altered forms of bodily self-consciousness include distorted body image and body schema, disembodied self-location (out-of-body experience, altered sense of agency, as well as more complex experiences of dissociation and detachment from the self (depersonalization. In this article, I suggest that vestibular disorders create sensory conflict or mismatch in multisensory brain regions, producing perceptual incoherence and abnormal body and self perceptions. This hypothesis is based on recent functional mapping of the human vestibular cortex, showing vestibular projections to the primary and secondary somatosensory cortex and in several multisensory areas found to be crucial for bodily self-consciousness.

Consciousness and Attention: On sufficiency and necessity

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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...

Inner Sound: Altered States of Consciousness in Electronic Music and Audio-Visual Media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weinel, Jonathan

Over the last century, developments in electronic music and art have enabled new possibilities for creating audio and audio-visual artworks. With this new potential has come the possibility for representing subjective internal conscious states, such as the experience of hallucinations, using...... the creative influence of ASCs, from Amazonian chicha festivals to the synaesthetic assaults of neon raves; and from an immersive outdoor electroacoustic performance on an Athenian hilltop to a mushroom trip on a tropical island in virtual reality. Beginning with a discussion of consciousness, the book...... explores how our subjective realities may change during states of dream, psychedelic experience, meditation, and trance. Taking a broad view across a wide range of genres, Inner Sound draws connections between shamanic art and music, and the modern technoshamanism of psychedelic rock, electronic dance...

The claustrum’s proposed role in consciousness is supported by the effect and target localization of Salvia Divinorum

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Klaus M Stiefel

2014-02-01

Full Text Available This article brings together three findings and ideas relevant for the understanding of human consciousness: (I Crick's and Koch's theory that the claustrum is a conductor of consciousness center crucial for subjective conscious experience. (II Subjective reports of the consciousness-altering effects the plant Salvia divinorum, whose primary active ingredient is salvinorin A, a -opioid receptor agonist. (III The high density of -opioid receptors in the claustrum. Fact III suggests that the consciousness-altering effects of salvinorin A are due to a κ-opioid receptor mediated inhibition of primarily the claustrum and, additionally, the deep layers of the cortex, mainly in prefrontal areas. Consistent with Crick & Koch’s theory that the claustrum plays a key role in consciousness, our analysis of the subjective effects of Salvia divinorum finds that salvia disrupts certain facets of consciousness much more than the largely-serotonergic hallucinogen LSD. Based on this data and on the relevant literature, we suggest that the claustrum does indeed serve as a conductor for certain aspects of higher-order integration of brain activity, while integration of auditory and visual signals mostly relies on coordination by other areas including parietal cortex and the pulvinar.

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.

Diretrizes metodológicas para investigar estados alterados de consciência e experiências anômalas Methodological guidelines to explore altered states of consciousness and anomalous experiences

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Alexander Moreira de Almeida

2003-01-01

Full Text Available As experiências anômalas (EA (vivências incomuns ou que se acredita diferentes do habitual e das explicações usualmente aceitas como realidade: alucinações, sinestesia e vivências interpretadas como telepáticas... e os estados alterados de consciência (EAC são descritos em todas as civilizações de todas as eras, constituindo-se elementos importantes na história das sociedades. Apesar disso, têm recebido pouca atenção da comunidade científica, ou são abordados de forma pouco rigorosa. As EA e os EAC podem ser estudados sem que se compartilhem as crenças envolvidas, sendo possível investigá-los enquanto experiências subjetivas e, como tais, correlacionados com quaisquer outros dados. Neste artigo, procurou-se apresentar algumas diretrizes metodológicas para um estudo rigoroso do tema, entre elas: evitar uma abordagem preconceituosa e a "patologização" do diferente, a necessidade de uma teoria e de uma revisão exaustiva da literatura existente, utilizar diversos critérios de normalidade e patologia, investigar populações clínicas e não clínicas, desenvolvimento de instrumentos adequados para avaliação, cuidados na escolha dos termos e no estabelecimento de nexos causais, distinguir entre a experiência vivenciada e suas interpretações, considerar o papel da cultura, avaliar a confiabilidade e a validade dos relatos, por fim, o desafio gerado pela necessidade de criatividade e diversidade na escolha dos métodos.Anomalous experiences (AE (uncommon experiences or one that is believed to deviate from the usually accepted explanations of reality: hallucinations, synesthesia, experiences interpreted as telepathic... and altered states of consciousness (ASC are described in all societies of all ages. Even so, the scientists have long neglected the studies on this theme. To study AE and ASC is not necessary to share the believes we discuss, they can be investigated as subjective experiences and correlated like any

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

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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 in the Study of Human Life and Experience: "Higher Aspects" and Their Nature

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Witz, Klaus G.; Lee, Hyunju; Huang, Wanju

2010-01-01

This article deals with the consciousness in a person when one tries to understand her more deeply and as a whole, as is done in studies using the "Participant as Ally-Essentialist Portraiture" approach, and focuses on "higher aspects" or moral-ethical, metaphysical, social and religious ideals, values, commitments, or inspiration in a person. The…

Baseline brain energy supports the state of consciousness.

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Shulman, Robert G; Hyder, Fahmeed; Rothman, Douglas L

2009-07-07

An individual, human or animal, is defined to be in a conscious state empirically by the behavioral ability to respond meaningfully to stimuli, whereas the loss of consciousness is defined by unresponsiveness. PET measurements of glucose or oxygen consumption show a widespread approximately 45% reduction in cerebral energy consumption with anesthesia-induced loss of consciousness. Because baseline brain energy consumption has been shown by (13)C magnetic resonance spectroscopy to be almost exclusively dedicated to neuronal signaling, we propose that the high level of brain energy is a necessary property of the conscious state. Two additional neuronal properties of the conscious state change with anesthesia. The delocalized fMRI activity patterns in rat brain during sensory stimulation at a higher energy state (close to the awake) collapse to a contralateral somatosensory response at lower energy state (deep anesthesia). Firing rates of an ensemble of neurons in the rat somatosensory cortex shift from the gamma-band range (20-40 Hz) at higher energy state to energy state. With the conscious state defined by the individual's behavior and maintained by high cerebral energy, measurable properties of that state are the widespread fMRI patterns and high frequency neuronal activity, both of which support the extensive interregional communication characteristic of consciousness. This usage of high brain energies when the person is in the "state" of consciousness differs from most studies, which attend the smaller energy increments observed during the stimulations that form the "contents" of that state.

Magnetic correlates in electromagnetic consciousness.

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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 access is linked to ongoing brain state: electrophysiological evidence from the attentional blink.

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Pincham, Hannah L; Szucs, Dénes

2012-10-01

Neuroscience explanations of conscious access focus on neural events elicited by stimuli. In contrast, here, we used the attentional blink paradigm in combination with event-related brain potentials to examine whether the ongoing state of the brain before a stimulus can determine both conscious access and the poststimulus neural events associated with consciousness. Participants were required to detect 2 target letters from digit distractors while their brain activity was being recorded. Trials were classified based on whether the secondcritical target (T2) was detected. We found that T2-detection was predetermined by brain activity prior to the onset of the stimulation stream. Specifically, T2-detected trials were predicated by a frontocentral positive going deflection that started more than 200 ms before the stream began. Accurate T2 detection was also accompanied by enhanced poststimulus neural activity, as reflected by a larger P3b component. Furthermore, prestimulus and poststimulus markers of T2-detection were highly correlated with one another. We therefore argue that conscious experiences are shaped by potentially random fluctuations in neural activity. Overall, the results reveal that conscious access is underpinned by an important relationship involving predictive prestimulus neural activity and responsive poststimulus brain activity.

Brain electrical activity and subjective experience during altered states of consciousness: ganzfeld and hypnagogic states.

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Wackermann, Jiri; Pütz, Peter; Büchi, Simone; Strauch, Inge; Lehmann, Dietrich

2002-11-01

Manifestations of experimentally induced altered states of consciousness in the brain's electrical activity as well as in subjective experience were explored via the hypnagogic state at sleep onset, and the state induced by exposure to an unstructured perceptual field (ganzfeld). Twelve female paid volunteers participated in sessions involving sleep onset, ganzfeld, and eyes-closed relaxed waking, and were repeatedly prompted for recall of their momentary mentation, according to a predefined schedule. Nineteen channel EEG, two channels EOG and EMG were recorded simultaneously. The mentation reports were followed by the subjects' ratings of their experience on a number of ordinal scales. Two-hundred and forty-one mentation reports were collected. EEG epochs immediately preceding the mentation reports were FFT-analysed and the spectra compared between states. The ganzfeld EEG spectrum, showing no signs of decreased vigilance, was very similar to the EEG spectrum of waking states, even showed a minor acceleration of alpha activity. The subjective experience data were reduced to four principal components: Factor I represented the subjective vigilance dimension, as confirmed by correlations with EEG spectral indices. Only Factor IV, the 'absorption' dimension, differentiated between the ganzfeld state (more absorption) and other states. In waking states and in ganzfeld, the subjects estimated elapsed time periods significantly shorter than in states at sleep onset. The results did not support the assumption of a hypnagogic nature of the ganzfeld imagery. Dream-like imagery can occur in various global functional states of the brain; hypnagogic and ganzfeld-induced states should be conceived as special cases of a broader class of 'hypnagoid' phenomena.

Identification and integration of sensory modalities: Neural basis and relation to consciousness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pennartz, C.M.A.

2009-01-01

A key question in studying consciousness is how neural operations in the brain can identify streams of sensory input as belonging to distinct modalities, which contributes to the representation of qualitatively different experiences. The basis for identification of modalities is proposed to be

Effects of U.S. Navy Diver Training on Physiological Parameters, Time of Useful Consciousness and Cognitive Performance During Periods of Normobaric Hypoxia

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2014-04-01

TRAINING ON PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS, TIME OF USEFULL CONSCIOUSNESS, AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE DURING PERIODS OF NORMOBARIC HYPOXIA...Sato, Y. Watanabe, "Time of Usefull Consciousness Determination in Aircrew Members with Rerference to Prior Altitude Chamber Experience and Age

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.

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

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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.

A global workspace model for phenomenal and access consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Industrial Application Of Environmentally Conscious Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McAloone, Timothy Charles

in the design process is key to environmentally conscious design;- the environmental profile of a product is affected the most in the very early stages of the design process, particularly in the pre-specification stage, where tools for environmentally conscious design decision-making are lacking...... when companies have integrated environmental considerations into the design process.In the context of advanced practitioners of environmentally conscious design in the Western European and North American electrical/electronics industry sector, it is shown that:- the timing of environmental decisions...... into their product development processes. This starts with motivation, leading to widening communication and information flows and finally to whole-life thinking....

Conceptualizing Mind and Consciousness: Using Constructivist Ideas to Transcend the Physical Bind

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Joe

2008-01-01

Philosophers and scientists seeking to conceptualize consciousness, and subjective experience in particular, have focused on sensation and perception, and have emphasized binding--how a percept holds together. Building on a constructivist approach to conception centered on separistic-holistic complexes incorporating multiple levels of abstraction,…

A framework for consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Midazolam administration at a department of pediatric radiology: Conscious sedation for diagnostic imaging studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madzik, J.; Marcinski, A.; Brzewski, M.; Jakubowska, A.; Roik, D.; Majkowska, Z.; Biejat, A.; Krzemien, G.

2006-01-01

The aims of the study were to evaluate the usefulness of midazolam administration for sedation prior to some diagnostic examinations in children and to present the requirements and rules for sedation in departments of pediatric radiology. From Oct. 2001 to Aug. 2005, two hundred children were investigated after conscious sedation with midazolam. The examinations were: voiding cystourethrography (129), voiding sonocystography (64), barium enema (3), ultrasonography (1), urography (1), X-ray of facial bone (1), and brain CT (1). The children's age-range was 4 months to 13 years 9 months. The decision for sedation was based on conversation with the child and/or parents, their experience with previous examinations, emotional status of the child, and exclusion of contraindications (renal insufficiency, hepatic failure, respiratory/circulatory insufficiency, allergy to benzodiazepines in anamnesis). Midazolam was given orally in a dose of 0.5 mg/kg body weight, 15-20 minutes before examination (already at the department of pediatric radiology). The parents were informed of the possible side effects and what to do after the procedure. All diagnostic procedures with conscious sedation were well tolerated by the children and accepted by the parents. The parents with experience from previous diagnostic procedures indicated that they would want their child to have midazolam again if the examination needed to be repeated. No significant complications were observed in the children receiving midazolam and few adverse effect on voiding during cystourethrography. In three children (2.5, 3, and 5 years old), paradoxical reactions occurred (psychomotor agitation) which disappeared spontaneously after some minutes and had no influence on the procedure. Application of midazolam for conscious sedation diminished anxiety and discomfort from diagnostic procedures and short anterograde amnesia protected the child's mind from painful experience. Conscious sedation should be widely used in

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.

Science of the conscious mind.

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Ascoli, Giorgio A; Samsonovich, Alexei V

2008-12-01

Human beings have direct access to their own mental states, but can only indirectly observe cosmic radiation and enzyme kinetics. Why then can we measure the temperature of far away galaxies and the activation constant of kinases to the third digit, yet we only gauge our happiness on a scale from 1 to 7? Here we propose a radical research paradigm shift to embrace the subjective conscious mind into the realm of objective empirical science. Key steps are the axiomatic acceptance of first-person experiences as scientific observables; the definition of a quantitative, reliable metric system based on natural language; and the careful distinction of subjective mental states (e.g., interpretation and intent) from physically measurable sensory and motor behaviors (input and output). Using this approach, we propose a series of reproducible experiments that may help define a still largely unexplored branch of science. We speculate that the development of this new discipline will be initially parallel to, and eventually converging with, neurobiology and physics.

Motor consciousness during intention-based and stimulus-based actions: modulating attention resources through Mindfulness meditation

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Yvonne Nathalie Delevoye-Turrell

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction meditation (MBSR may offer optimal performance through heightened attention for increased body consciousness. To test this hypothesis, MBSR effects were assessed on the simple task of lifting an object. A dual task paradigm was included to assess the opposite effect of a limited amount of attention on motor consciousness. In a stimulus-based condition, the subjects’ task was to lift an object that was hefted with weights. In an intentional-based condition, subjects were required to lift a light object while imagining that the object was virtually heavier and thus, adjust their grip voluntarily. The degree of motor consciousness was evaluated by calculating correlation factors for each participant between the grip force level used during the lift trial (lift the object and that used during its associated reproduce trial (without lifting, indicate the force you think you used in the previous trial. Under dual task condition, motor consciousness decreased for intention- and stimulus-based actions, revealing the importance of top-down attention for building the motor representation that guides action planning. For MBSR-experts, heightened attention provided stronger levels of motor consciousness; this was true for both intention and stimulus-based actions. For controls, heightened attention decreased the capacity to reproduce force levels, suggesting that voluntary top-down attention interfered with the automatic bottom-up emergence of body sensations.Our results provide strong arguments for involvement of two types of attention for the emergence of motor consciousness. Bottom-up attention would serve as an amplifier of motor-sensory afferences; Top down attention would help transfer the motor-sensory content from a pre-conscious to a conscious state of processing. MBSR would be a specific state for which both types of attention are optimally combined to provide experts with total experiences of their body in

The vestibular component in out-of-body experiences: a computational approach

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Lars Schwabe

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Neurological evidence suggests that disturbed vestibular processing may play a key role in triggering out-of-body experiences (OBEs. Little is known about the brain mechanisms during such pathological conditions, despite recent experimental evidence that the scientific study of such experiences may facilitate the development of neurobiological models of a crucial aspect of self-consciousness: embodied self-location. Here we apply Bayesian modeling to vestibular processing and show that OBEs and the reported illusory changes of self-location and translation can be explained as the result of a mislead Bayesian inference, in the sense that ambiguous bottom-up signals from the vestibular otholiths in the supine body position are integrated with a top-down prior for the upright body position, which we measure during natural head movements. Our findings have relevance for self-location and translation under normal conditions and suggest novel ways to induce and study experimentally both aspects of bodily self-consciousness in healthy subjects.

Mixed Couples and Islamic Family Law in Egypt: Legal Consciousness in Transnational Social Space

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Friso Kulk

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Studies on legal consciousness tend to focus on law at the local or national level. This raises the question how legal consciousness is shaped in a transnational context. This paper explores the concept of legal consciousness from the perspective of Dutch-Egyptian families and their everyday experiences with family law. Taking the work of Patricia Ewick and Susan Silbey on legal consciousness as a starting point, the main question that will be addressed is what the study of transnational migrants’ encounters with law can add to the theorising of legal consciousness. It will be argued that this can add to our understanding of legal consciousness in at least two ways. Firstly, transnational social space can offer a site for exploring the way personal experiences with law connect to larger patterns of meaning. Secondly, the shifts in societal and legal positions as a consequence of migration offer the opportunity to examine legal consciousness as a dynamic process. Los estudios sobre la conciencia jurídica tienden a centrarse en la ley a nivel local o nacional. Esto plantea la cuestión de cómo la conciencia jurídica se forma en un contexto transnacional. En este trabajo se explora el concepto de la conciencia jurídica desde la perspectiva de familias holandesas-marroquíes y holandesas-egipcias y sus experiencias cotidianas con el derecho de familia. Tomando como punto de partida el trabajo de Patricia Ewick y Susan Silbey en materia de conciencia jurídica, la pregunta principal que se aborda es lo que puede aportar a la teorización de la conciencia jurídica el estudio de los enfrentamientos de los emigrantes transnacionales con la ley. Se argumenta que esto puede contribuir a nuestra comprensión de la conciencia jurídica en al menos dos formas. En primer lugar, el espacio social transnacional puede ofrecer un lugar para explorar el modo de experiencias personales con la ley conectadas con patrones más grandes de significado. Y en

Conscious knowledge influences decision-making differently in substance abusers with and without co-morbid antisocial personality disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Mellentin, Angelina I; Skøt, Lotte; Teasdale, Thomas W; Habekost, Thomas

2013-08-01

Decision-making impairment, as measured by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), is a consistent finding among individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). We studied how this impairment is influenced by co-morbid antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and conscious knowledge of the task. Three groups were investigated: SUD individuals without co-morbid ASPD (n = 30), SUD individuals with co-morbid ASPD (n = 16), and healthy controls (n = 17). Both SUD and SUD+ASPD participants had poor overall IGT performance. A block-by-block analysis revealed that SUD participants exhibited slow but steady improvement across the IGT, whereas SUD+ASPD participants exhibited initial normal improvement, but dropped off during the last 40 trials. Conscious knowledge of the task was significantly correlated to performance for controls and SUD participants, but not for SUD+ASPD participants. Our findings suggest that decision-making proceeds differently in SUD and SUD+ASPD individuals due to differences in acquisition and application of conscious knowledge. © 2013 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Consciousness and working memory: Current trends and research perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Concentration and mindfulness meditations: unique forms of consciousness?

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Dunn, B R; Hartigan, J A; Mikulas, W L

1999-09-01

Electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings from 19 scalp recording sites were used to differentiate among two posited unique forms of mediation, concentration and mindfulness, and a normal relaxation control condition. Analyzes of all traditional frequency bandwidth data (i.e., delta 1-3 Hz; theta, 4-7 Hz; alpha, 8-12 Hz; beta 1, 13-25 Hz; beta 2, 26-32 Hz) showed strong mean amplitude frequency differences between the two meditation conditions and relaxation over numerous cortical sites. Furthermore, significant differences were obtained between concentration and mindfulness states at all bandwidths. Taken together, our results suggest that concentration and mindfulness "meditations" may be unique forms of consciousness and are not merely degrees of a state of relaxation.

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.

Fish do not feel pain and its implications for understanding phenomenal consciousness

OpenAIRE

Key, Brian

2014-01-01

Phenomenal consciousness or the subjective experience of feeling sensory stimuli is fundamental to human existence. Because of the ubiquity of their subjective experiences, humans seem to readily accept the anthropomorphic extension of these mental states to other animals. Humans will typically extrapolate feelings of pain to animals if they respond physiologically and behaviourally to noxious stimuli. The alternative view that fish instead respond to noxious stimuli reflexly and with a limit...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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…

The spirituality of human consciousness: a Catholic evaluation of some current neuro-scientific interpretations.

Science.gov (United States)

McGoldrick, Terence A

2012-09-01

Catholic theology's traditional understanding of the spiritual nature of the human person begins with the idea of a rational soul and human mind that is made manifest in free will--the spiritual experience of the act of consciousness and cause of all human arts. The rationale for this religion-based idea of personhood is key to understanding ethical dilemmas posed by modern research that applies a more empirical methodology in its interpretations about the cause of human consciousness. Applications of these beliefs about the body/soul composite to the theory of evolution and to discoveries in neuroscience, paleoanthropology, as well as to recent animal intelligence studies, can be interpreted from this religious and philosophical perspective, which argues for the human soul as the unifying cause of the person's unique abilities. Free will and consciousness are at the nexus of the mutual influence of body and soul upon one another in the traditional Catholic view, that argues for a spiritual dimension to personality that is on a par with the physical metabolic processes at play. Therapies that affect consciousness are ethically problematic, because of their implications for free will and human dignity. Studies of resilience, as an example, argue for the greater, albeit limited, role of the soul's conscious choices in healing as opposed to metabolic or physical changes to the brain alone.

Ongoing spontaneous activity controls access to consciousness: a neuronal model for inattentional blindness.

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Stanislas Dehaene

2005-05-01

Full Text Available Even in the absence of sensory inputs, cortical and thalamic neurons can show structured patterns of ongoing spontaneous activity, whose origins and functional significance are not well understood. We use computer simulations to explore the conditions under which spontaneous activity emerges from a simplified model of multiple interconnected thalamocortical columns linked by long-range, top-down excitatory axons, and to examine its interactions with stimulus-induced activation. Simulations help characterize two main states of activity. First, spontaneous gamma-band oscillations emerge at a precise threshold controlled by ascending neuromodulator systems. Second, within a spontaneously active network, we observe the sudden "ignition" of one out of many possible coherent states of high-level activity amidst cortical neurons with long-distance projections. During such an ignited state, spontaneous activity can block external sensory processing. We relate those properties to experimental observations on the neural bases of endogenous states of consciousness, and particularly the blocking of access to consciousness that occurs in the psychophysical phenomenon of "inattentional blindness," in which normal subjects intensely engaged in mental activity fail to notice salient but irrelevant sensory stimuli. Although highly simplified, the generic properties of a minimal network may help clarify some of the basic cerebral phenomena underlying the autonomy of consciousness.

Ongoing spontaneous activity controls access to consciousness: a neuronal model for inattentional blindness.

Science.gov (United States)

Dehaene, Stanislas; Changeux, Jean-Pierre

2005-05-01

Even in the absence of sensory inputs, cortical and thalamic neurons can show structured patterns of ongoing spontaneous activity, whose origins and functional significance are not well understood. We use computer simulations to explore the conditions under which spontaneous activity emerges from a simplified model of multiple interconnected thalamocortical columns linked by long-range, top-down excitatory axons, and to examine its interactions with stimulus-induced activation. Simulations help characterize two main states of activity. First, spontaneous gamma-band oscillations emerge at a precise threshold controlled by ascending neuromodulator systems. Second, within a spontaneously active network, we observe the sudden "ignition" of one out of many possible coherent states of high-level activity amidst cortical neurons with long-distance projections. During such an ignited state, spontaneous activity can block external sensory processing. We relate those properties to experimental observations on the neural bases of endogenous states of consciousness, and particularly the blocking of access to consciousness that occurs in the psychophysical phenomenon of "inattentional blindness," in which normal subjects intensely engaged in mental activity fail to notice salient but irrelevant sensory stimuli. Although highly simplified, the generic properties of a minimal network may help clarify some of the basic cerebral phenomena underlying the autonomy of consciousness.

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...

Critical consciousness, racial and gender discrimination, and HIV disease markers in African American women with HIV.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelso, Gwendolyn A; Cohen, Mardge H; Weber, Kathleen M; Dale, Sannisha K; Cruise, Ruth C; Brody, Leslie R

2014-07-01

Critical consciousness, the awareness of social oppression, is important to investigate as a buffer against HIV disease progression in HIV-infected African American women in the context of experiences with discrimination. Critical consciousness comprises several dimensions, including social group identification, discontent with distribution of social power, rejection of social system legitimacy, and a collective action orientation. The current study investigated self-reported critical consciousness as a moderator of perceived gender and racial discrimination on HIV viral load and CD4+ cell count in 67 African American HIV-infected women. Higher critical consciousness was found to be related to higher likelihood of having CD4+ counts over 350 and lower likelihood of detectable viral load when perceived racial discrimination was high, as revealed by multiple logistic regressions that controlled for highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) adherence. Multiple linear regressions showed that at higher levels of perceived gender and racial discrimination, women endorsing high critical consciousness had a larger positive difference between nadir CD4+ (lowest pre-HAART) and current CD4+ count than women endorsing low critical consciousness. These findings suggest that raising awareness of social oppression to promote joining with others to enact social change may be an important intervention strategy to improve HIV outcomes in African American HIV-infected women who report experiencing high levels of gender and racial discrimination.

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.

Science.gov (United States)

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 ...

Disruption of Conscious Access in Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Life and consciousness - The Vedāntic view.

Science.gov (United States)

Shanta, Bhakti Niskama

2015-01-01

In the past, philosophers, scientists, and even the general opinion, had no problem in accepting the existence of consciousness in the same way as the existence of the physical world. After the advent of Newtonian mechanics, science embraced a complete materialistic conception about reality. Scientists started proposing hypotheses like abiogenesis (origin of first life from accumulation of atoms and molecules) and the Big Bang theory (the explosion theory for explaining the origin of universe). How the universe came to be what it is now is a key philosophical question. The hypothesis that it came from Nothing (as proposed by Stephen Hawking, among others), proves to be dissembling, since the quantum vacuum can hardly be considered a void. In modern science, it is generally assumed that matter existed before the universe came to be. Modern science hypothesizes that the manifestation of life on Earth is nothing but a mere increment in the complexity of matter - and hence is an outcome of evolution of matter (chemical evolution) following the Big Bang. After the manifestation of life, modern science believed that chemical evolution transformed itself into biological evolution, which then had caused the entire biodiversity on our planet. The ontological view of the organism as a complex machine presumes life as just a chance occurrence, without any inner purpose. This approach in science leaves no room for the subjective aspect of consciousness in its attempt to know the world as the relationships among forces, atoms, and molecules. On the other hand, the Vedāntic view states that the origin of everything material and nonmaterial is sentient and absolute (unconditioned). Thus, sentient life is primitive and reproductive of itself - omne vivum ex vivo - life comes from life. This is the scientifically verified law of experience. Life is essentially cognitive and conscious. And, consciousness, which is fundamental, manifests itself in the gradational forms of all

Handedness and the fringe of consciousness: strong handers ruminate while mixed handers self-reflect.

Science.gov (United States)

Niebauer, Christopher Lee

2004-12-01

Previous research found that mixed handers (i.e., those that are more ambidextrous) were more likely than strong handers to update their beliefs (Niebauer, Aselage, & Schutte, 2002). It was assumed that this was due to greater degrees of communication between the two cerebral hemispheres in mixed handers. Niebauer and Garvey (2004) made connections between this model of updating beliefs and metacognitive processing. The current work proposes that variations in interhemispheric interaction (as measured by degree of handedness) contribute to differences in consciousness, specifically when consciousness is used in rumination versus the metacognitive task of self-reflection. Using the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire (Trapnell & Campbell, 1999), predictions were supported such that strong handedness was associated with self-rumination; whereas, mixed handedness was associated with increased self-reflection p valuesmetacognition, updating beliefs, and self-reflection. Several studies are reviewed suggesting that mixed handers experience fringe consciousness to a greater degree than strong handers.

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

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...

Impact of Consciousness-Raising Activities on Young English Language Learners' Grammar Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Fatemipour, Hamidreza; Hemmati, Shiva

2015-01-01

Grammar Consciousness-Raising (GCR) is an approach to teaching of grammar which learners instead of being taught the given rules, experience language data. The data challenge them to rethink, restructure their existing mental grammar and construct an explicit rule to describe the grammatical feature which the data illustrate (Ellis, 2002). And…

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.

The Renewal Center: Time, Experience, Memory

OpenAIRE

Tennant, Mark

2005-01-01

Time, Experience, Memory Through experience we are conscious of time. Through time, our experiences become memories, influencing both conscious and unconscious thought. It is through our five senses; touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste, that these experiences are gathered. Humans are also born with inherent knowledge that our species has collected from generation to generation. This inherent knowledge, also called the collective unconscious, has a direct effect on the way we perce...

Enhancing ecological consciousness through liturgical acts of doxology and lament

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barend J. de Klerk

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The last few decades have been a time of growing interest and concern about our environment. The extinction of plant and animal species, the pollution of our water supply and the depletion of critical resources have generated a new consciousness about our biosphere. The liturgy of the church must seriously engage with the ecological perspective, and the entire life, worship and praxis of the church should include an ecological dimension and vision. Two very powerful elements in enhancing worshippers� ecological consciousness are praise or doxology and the important counterpart of doxology, namely song and prayer of lament as well as confession of guilt. This means that believers celebrate the inalienable beauty and dignity of all living kind and bear witness to God�s manifold creation. Believers are also to bear witness to creation�s groaning as the ground suffers from deforestation, mountain-top removal, toxic dumping and rising temperatures. Comfort and new possibilities for rectifying the ecological crisis may develop from grief and lament. The liturgical witness will be that God�s newness will break the cycles of self-destruction and make new life possible. Normal 0 false false false EN-ZA JA HE

Typography and color: effects of salience and fluency on conscious recollective experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Wehr, Thomas; Wippich, Werner

2004-12-01

Within one experiment the central assumptions of the distinctiveness/fluency account of recollective experience were tested and contrasted with predictions of processing theory. To manipulate perceptual salience, the typography of words was varied. Effects of conceptual salience were induced by a variation of word color. In the study phase participants generated different word or object images according to presented words. To manipulate perceptual and conceptual fluency one test group underwent a priming procedure in the test phase, consisting of a recognition test, whereby some primes were identical to the target words typographically or by color and others were not. Additionally, all participants were asked to make judgments of recollective experience (remember, know, guess) after the old/new decisions. The results of the data analyses confirm the distinctiveness/fluency account. Words written in an unusual typography or color were judged significantly more often as "remembered" than normal words. The priming procedure uncovered some effects of fluency on reaction times: old/new decisions took less time if prime and target words were perceptually or conceptually identical.

Small or big in the eyes of the other: on the developmental psychopathology of self-conscious emotions as shame, guilt, and pride.

Science.gov (United States)

Muris, Peter; Meesters, Cor

2014-03-01

The self-conscious emotions of guilt, shame, and pride typically occur when people evaluate their own self through the eyes of another person. This article will first of all discuss the nature and function of self-conscious emotions, and describe their developmental course in children and adolescents. Then, a number of variables are discussed that are thought to increase young people's proneness to experience self-conscious emotions. Following this, the empirical evidence on the relationships between guilt, shame, and pride and various types of psychopathology in children and adolescents will be summarized. A model is presented to explain why these self-conscious emotions are associated with a diversity of psychopathological outcomes. Finally, recommendations for clinical practice are made in terms of assessment and interventions targeting the origins and sequelae of self-conscious emotions.

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,...

Visions of normality? Early experiences of radiographic reporting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reeves, Pauline E-mail: pauline.reeves@whnt.nhs.uk

2004-08-01

This article reflects on my early [student] experiences in learning to undertake radiographic reporting and uses critical incidents to highlight two areas of error during this period. These errors include perceptual (optical illusions and, in particular, the Mach band effect) and lack of subject specific knowledge (specifically anatomical knowledge--especially of normal anatomical variants). These two errors are analysed in the wider context of radiological error and the difficulty in reaching consensus even between experienced reporters.

Visions of normality? Early experiences of radiographic reporting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reeves, Pauline

2004-01-01

This article reflects on my early [student] experiences in learning to undertake radiographic reporting and uses critical incidents to highlight two areas of error during this period. These errors include perceptual (optical illusions and, in particular, the Mach band effect) and lack of subject specific knowledge (specifically anatomical knowledge--especially of normal anatomical variants). These two errors are analysed in the wider context of radiological error and the difficulty in reaching consensus even between experienced reporters

Can Digital Computers Support Ancient Mathematical Consciousness?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron Sloman

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This paper poses, discusses, but does not definitively answer, the following questions: What sorts of reasoning machinery could the ancient mathematicians, and other intelligent animals, be using for spatial reasoning, before the discovery of modern logical mechanisms? “Diagrams in minds” perhaps? How and why did natural selection produce such machinery? Is there a single package of biological abilities for spatial reasoning, or did different sorts of mathematical competence evolve at different times, forming a “layered” system? Do the layers develop in individuals at different stages? Which components are shared with other intelligent species? Does some or all of the machinery exist at or before birth in humans and if not how and when does it develop, and what is the role of experience in its development? How do brains implement such machinery? Could similar machines be implemented as virtual machines on digital computers, and if not what sorts of non-digital “Super Turing” mechanisms could replicate the required functionality, including discovery of impossibility and necessity? How are impossibility and necessity represented in brains? Are chemical mechanisms required? How could such mechanisms be specified in a genome? Are some not specified in the genome but products of interaction between genome and environment? Does Turing’s work on chemical morphogenesis published shortly before he died indicate that he was interested in this problem? Will the answers to these questions vindicate Immanuel Kant’s claims about the nature of mathematical knowledge, including his claim that mathematical truths are non-empirical, synthetic and necessary? Perhaps it’s time for discussions of consciousness to return to the nature of ancient mathematical consciousness, and related aspects of everyday human and non-human intelligence, usually ignored by consciousness theorists.

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.

Transcendental experiences during meditation practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Travis, Frederick

2014-01-01

This article explores transcendental experiences during meditation practice and the integration of transcendental experiences and the unfolding of higher states of consciousness with waking, dreaming, and sleeping. The subject/object relationship during transcendental experiences is characterized by the absence of time, space, and body sense--the framework that gives meaning to waking experiences. Physiologically, transcendental experiences during Transcendental Meditation practice are marked by slow inhalation, along with autonomic orientation at the onset of breath changes and heightened α1 (8-10 Hz) frontal coherence. The integration of transcendental experiences with waking, dreaming, and sleeping is also marked by distinct subjective and objective markers. This integrated state, called Cosmic Consciousness in the Vedic tradition, is subjectively marked by inner self-awareness coexisting with waking, sleeping, and dreaming. Physiologically, Cosmic Consciousness is marked by the coexistence of α1 electroencephalography (EEG) with delta EEG during deep sleep, and higher brain integration, greater emotional stability, and decreased anxiety during challenging tasks. Transcendental experiences may be the engine that fosters higher human development. © 2013 New York Academy of Sciences.

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

Normalization behaviours of rural fathers living with chronically-ill children: an Australian experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Peck, Blake; Lillibridge, Jennifer

2005-03-01

This article reports findings from a larger qualitative study conducted to gain insight into the experience of fathers living with their chronically-ill children in rural Victoria, Australia. Data were collected via unstructured interviews with four fathers. The findings presented in this article explore the phenomena of normalization for fathers within the chronic illness experience. Fathers described normalizing the experience of living with their chronically-ill child as involving a combination of various coping strategies and behaviours including: (1) accepting the child's condition, (2) changing expectations, (3) focusing energies on a day-to-day basis, (4) minimizing knowledge-seeking behaviours, and (5) engaging in external distraction activities. Findings highlight the complex and unique normalization strategies these men utilized and contribute to knowledge and understanding of the complex nature of raising a chronically-ill child in rural Australia and provide a sound basis upon which to guide an ongoing and holistic assessment of fathers with chronically-ill children.

Change of inhabitants consciousness on air pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Imai, N; Abe, K; Komuro, K; Oda, M

1972-11-01

The consciousness of inhabitants in Isogo Ward, Yokohama City about air pollution was surveyed in 1969 and 1973. A group of industrial factories was partly in operation in 1969 but was in full operation by 1973. Fortunately there was very slight difference in sex ratio, age, occupation, health condition, and smoking habits of the objects between 1969 and 1973. The survey was performed by questionnaires consisting of 43 items. The percentage of positive answers to human impairments in 1969 and 1973 were: 38.7 and 34.2 experience of health damage; 8.1 and 5.4 of eye-irritation; 16.1 and 14.5 of throat-irritation; 5.8 and 13.6 of sneeze; 4.2 and 2.3 of snivel; 9.2 and 10.2 of cough; 3.6 and 17.1 of dyspnea; 5.4 and 7.4 of asthma; and 22.2 and 5.7 of odor. Generally, the largest source of air pollution in this area was auto exhaust followed by factory-exhaust, and the change of inhabitants consciousness about air pollution pointed out the situation. Most inhabitants were pessimistic about the future status of air pollution in the surveys in 1969 and also in 1973.

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.

Slow cortical potentials and "inner time consciousness" - A neuro-phenomenal hypothesis about the "width of present".

Science.gov (United States)

Northoff, Georg

2016-05-01

into one neural activity in a particular region. How does such local temporal continuity predispose the experience of time in consciousness? For that, I turn to phenomenological philosopher Edmund Husserl and his description of what he calls "inner time consciousness" (Husserl and Brough, 1990). One hallmark of humans' "inner time consciousness" is that we experience events and objects in succession and duration in our consciousness; according to Husserl, this amounts to what he calls the "width of [the] present." The concept of the width of present describes the extension of the present beyond the single discrete time point, such as, for instance, when we perceive different tones as a melody. I now hypothesize the degree of the width of present to be directly dependent upon and thus predisposed by the degree of the temporal differences between two (or more) discrete time points as they are encoded into neural activity. I therefore conclude that the SCPs and their encoding of neural activity in terms of temporal differences must be regarded a neural predisposition of consciousness (NPC) as distinguished from a neural correlate of consciousness (NCC). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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...

Evaluation of Normalization Methods to Pave the Way Towards Large-Scale LC-MS-Based Metabolomics Profiling Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Valkenborg, Dirk; Baggerman, Geert; Vanaerschot, Manu; Witters, Erwin; Dujardin, Jean-Claude; Burzykowski, Tomasz; Berg, Maya

2013-01-01

Abstract Combining liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based metabolomics experiments that were collected over a long period of time remains problematic due to systematic variability between LC-MS measurements. Until now, most normalization methods for LC-MS data are model-driven, based on internal standards or intermediate quality control runs, where an external model is extrapolated to the dataset of interest. In the first part of this article, we evaluate several existing data-driven normalization approaches on LC-MS metabolomics experiments, which do not require the use of internal standards. According to variability measures, each normalization method performs relatively well, showing that the use of any normalization method will greatly improve data-analysis originating from multiple experimental runs. In the second part, we apply cyclic-Loess normalization to a Leishmania sample. This normalization method allows the removal of systematic variability between two measurement blocks over time and maintains the differential metabolites. In conclusion, normalization allows for pooling datasets from different measurement blocks over time and increases the statistical power of the analysis, hence paving the way to increase the scale of LC-MS metabolomics experiments. From our investigation, we recommend data-driven normalization methods over model-driven normalization methods, if only a few internal standards were used. Moreover, data-driven normalization methods are the best option to normalize datasets from untargeted LC-MS experiments. PMID:23808607

Results of Research about Consciousness of Foodstuff Consumers in Hungary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

Retrospective Attention Gates Discrete Conscious Access to Past Sensory Stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Thibault, Louis; van den Berg, Ronald; Cavanagh, Patrick; Sergent, Claire

2016-01-01

Cueing attention after the disappearance of visual stimuli biases which items will be remembered best. This observation has historically been attributed to the influence of attention on memory as opposed to subjective visual experience. We recently challenged this view by showing that cueing attention after the stimulus can improve the perception of a single Gabor patch at threshold levels of contrast. Here, we test whether this retro-perception actually increases the frequency of consciously perceiving the stimulus, or simply allows for a more precise recall of its features. We used retro-cues in an orientation-matching task and performed mixture-model analysis to independently estimate the proportion of guesses and the precision of non-guess responses. We find that the improvements in performance conferred by retrospective attention are overwhelmingly determined by a reduction in the proportion of guesses, providing strong evidence that attracting attention to the target's location after its disappearance increases the likelihood of perceiving it consciously.

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.

Abnormal corticospinal excitability in patients with disorders of consciousness.

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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

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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.

Life and consciousness – The Vedāntic view

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Shanta, Bhakti Niskama

2015-01-01

In the past, philosophers, scientists, and even the general opinion, had no problem in accepting the existence of consciousness in the same way as the existence of the physical world. After the advent of Newtonian mechanics, science embraced a complete materialistic conception about reality. Scientists started proposing hypotheses like abiogenesis (origin of first life from accumulation of atoms and molecules) and the Big Bang theory (the explosion theory for explaining the origin of universe). How the universe came to be what it is now is a key philosophical question. The hypothesis that it came from Nothing (as proposed by Stephen Hawking, among others), proves to be dissembling, since the quantum vacuum can hardly be considered a void. In modern science, it is generally assumed that matter existed before the universe came to be. Modern science hypothesizes that the manifestation of life on Earth is nothing but a mere increment in the complexity of matter — and hence is an outcome of evolution of matter (chemical evolution) following the Big Bang. After the manifestation of life, modern science believed that chemical evolution transformed itself into biological evolution, which then had caused the entire biodiversity on our planet. The ontological view of the organism as a complex machine presumes life as just a chance occurrence, without any inner purpose. This approach in science leaves no room for the subjective aspect of consciousness in its attempt to know the world as the relationships among forces, atoms, and molecules. On the other hand, the Vedāntic view states that the origin of everything material and nonmaterial is sentient and absolute (unconditioned). Thus, sentient life is primitive and reproductive of itself – omne vivum ex vivo – life comes from life. This is the scientifically verified law of experience. Life is essentially cognitive and conscious. And, consciousness, which is fundamental, manifests itself in the gradational forms of all

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

Conscious brain-to-brain communication in humans using non-invasive technologies.

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Grau, Carles; Ginhoux, Romuald; Riera, Alejandro; Nguyen, Thanh Lam; Chauvat, Hubert; Berg, Michel; Amengual, Julià L; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro; Ruffini, Giulio

2014-01-01

Human sensory and motor systems provide the natural means for the exchange of information between individuals, and, hence, the basis for human civilization. The recent development of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) has provided an important element for the creation of brain-to-brain communication systems, and precise brain stimulation techniques are now available for the realization of non-invasive computer-brain interfaces (CBI). These technologies, BCI and CBI, can be combined to realize the vision of non-invasive, computer-mediated brain-to-brain (B2B) communication between subjects (hyperinteraction). Here we demonstrate the conscious transmission of information between human brains through the intact scalp and without intervention of motor or peripheral sensory systems. Pseudo-random binary streams encoding words were transmitted between the minds of emitter and receiver subjects separated by great distances, representing the realization of the first human brain-to-brain interface. In a series of experiments, we established internet-mediated B2B communication by combining a BCI based on voluntary motor imagery-controlled electroencephalographic (EEG) changes with a CBI inducing the conscious perception of phosphenes (light flashes) through neuronavigated, robotized transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), with special care taken to block sensory (tactile, visual or auditory) cues. Our results provide a critical proof-of-principle demonstration for the development of conscious B2B communication technologies. More fully developed, related implementations will open new research venues in cognitive, social and clinical neuroscience and the scientific study of consciousness. We envision that hyperinteraction technologies will eventually have a profound impact on the social structure of our civilization and raise important ethical issues.

Conscious brain-to-brain communication in humans using non-invasive technologies.

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Carles Grau

Full Text Available Human sensory and motor systems provide the natural means for the exchange of information between individuals, and, hence, the basis for human civilization. The recent development of brain-computer interfaces (BCI has provided an important element for the creation of brain-to-brain communication systems, and precise brain stimulation techniques are now available for the realization of non-invasive computer-brain interfaces (CBI. These technologies, BCI and CBI, can be combined to realize the vision of non-invasive, computer-mediated brain-to-brain (B2B communication between subjects (hyperinteraction. Here we demonstrate the conscious transmission of information between human brains through the intact scalp and without intervention of motor or peripheral sensory systems. Pseudo-random binary streams encoding words were transmitted between the minds of emitter and receiver subjects separated by great distances, representing the realization of the first human brain-to-brain interface. In a series of experiments, we established internet-mediated B2B communication by combining a BCI based on voluntary motor imagery-controlled electroencephalographic (EEG changes with a CBI inducing the conscious perception of phosphenes (light flashes through neuronavigated, robotized transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS, with special care taken to block sensory (tactile, visual or auditory cues. Our results provide a critical proof-of-principle demonstration for the development of conscious B2B communication technologies. More fully developed, related implementations will open new research venues in cognitive, social and clinical neuroscience and the scientific study of consciousness. We envision that hyperinteraction technologies will eventually have a profound impact on the social structure of our civilization and raise important ethical issues.

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

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Pernot-Marino, Elodie; Danion, Jean-Marie; Hedelin, Guy

2004-08-01

Conscious recollection for autobiographical memory is the subjective experience of reliving a personal event mentally. Its frequency is strongly influenced by the emotion experienced at the time of the event. We addressed the issue of whether conscious recollection for autobiographical memories is also influenced by the emotion experienced at the time of retrieval. We used lorazepam, a benzodiazepine, as a pharmacological tool to modulate this emotional experience. Autobiographical memories were recorded in eight healthy volunteers using a diary study methodology. Each day, four entries were made by each subject: two true events, one altered event and one false event. For each event, the subjects were asked to rate emotional variables at encoding and at retrieval. Two months later, there were two sessions of recognition tests during which the subjects received orally an acute administration of either lorazepam (0.038 mg/kg) or placebo using a cross-over design. Subjective states of awareness were assessed using the Remember/Know/Guess procedure. Compared to placebo, lorazepam increased levels of conscious recollection, as assessed by Remember responses, for both true and false memories and induced an overestimation of the personal significance and emotional intensity of past events. Structural equation modelling showed that this overestimation was causal in the increased frequency of conscious recollection. Our results provide experimental evidence that the frequency of conscious recollection for both true and false autobiographical memories is influenced by the emotion experienced at the time of retrieval.

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.

Teaching and Learning Color Consciousness in Black Families: Exploring Family Processes and Women's Experiences with Colorism

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Wilder, JeffriAnne; Cain, Colleen

2011-01-01

Family is regarded as a powerful force in the lives of Black Americans. Often-times, families function as an agent of socialization that counters racism. At the same time, however, Black families can perpetuate skin tone consciousness and bias, or "colorism." Although there is an extensive body of revisionist literature on Black families and a…

Neurodynamics of Cognition and Consciousness

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Perlovsky, Leonid I

2007-01-01

This book addresses dynamical aspects of brain functions and cognition. Experimental evidence in humans and other mammalians indicates that complex neurodynamics is crucial for the emergence of higher-level cognition and consciousness. Dynamical neural systems with encoding in limit cycle and non-convergent attractors have gained increasing popularity in the past decade. The role of synchronization, desynchronization, and intermittent synchronization on cognition has been studied extensively by various authors, in particular by authors contributing to the present volume. This volume gives an overview of recent advances in this interdisciplinary field of cognitive and computer science related to dynamics of cognition, including experimental studies, dynamical modelling and interpretation of cognitive experiments, and theoretical approaches. The following topics are covered in this book: spatio-temporal dynamics of neural correlates of higher-level cognition; dynamical neural memories, including continuous and ...

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

Effects of Sweet Bee Venom on cardiovascular system in the conscious telemetered Beagle Dogs

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Lim Chung-San

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Objectives:This study was performed to analyse the effects of Sweet Bee Venom(Sweet BV on cardiovascular system in the conscious telemetered Beagle Dogs. Methods:All experiments were conducted at Biotoxtech Company, a non-clinical studies authorized institution, under the regulations of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP. Male Beagle dogs of 13-19 months old were chosen for the pilot study and surgical implantation was performed for conscious telemetered Beagle dogs. And after confirming condition of Beagle dogs was stable, Sweet BV was administered 4 times(first: 0.0 ㎎/㎏, 2nd: 0.01 ㎎/㎏, 3rd: 0.1 ㎎/㎏, and forth: 0.5 ㎎/㎏, one time/week in thigh muscle of Beagle dogs. And blood pressure, heart rate, electrocardiography and clinical responses were measured. Equal amount of normal saline to the Sweet BV experiment groups was administered to the control group. 1. In the analysis of body weight and taking amount, Beagle dogs did not show significant changes. 2. In the clinical observation, responses of pain and edema were showed depend on dosage of Sweet BV. 3. In the analysis of blood pressure, treatment with Sweet BV did not show significant changes in the dosage of 0.01 ㎎/㎏, but in the dosage of 0.1 ㎎/㎏ and 0.5 ㎎/㎏, treatment with Sweet BV increased blood pressure significantly. 4. In the analysis of heart rate, treatment of Sweet BV did not show significant changes in all dosage and period. 5. In the analysis of electrocardiography, treatment of Sweet BV was not showed significant changes in all dosage and period. Conclusion:Above findings suggest that Sweet BV is relatively safe treatment in the cardiovascular system. But in the using of over dosage, Sweet BV may the cause of increasing blood pressure. Further studies on the subject should be conducted to yield more concrete evidences.

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.

Projective identification and consciousness alteration: a bridge between psychoanalysis and neuroscience?

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Cimino, Cristiana; Correale, Antonello

2005-02-01

The authors claim that projective identification in the process of analysis should be considered in a circumscribed manner and seen as a very specific type of communication between the patient and the analyst, characterised through a modality that is simultaneously active, unconscious and discrete. In other words, the patient actively, though unconsciously and discretely--that is, in specific moments of the analysis--brings about particular changes in the analysts state. From the analyst's side, the effect of this type of communication is a sudden change in his general state--a sense of passivity and coercion and a change in the state of consciousness. This altered consciousness can range from an almost automatic repetition of a relational script to a moderate or serious contraction of the field of attention to full-fledged changes in the analyst's sense of self. The authors propose the theory that this type of communication is, in fact, the expression of traumatic contents of experiences emerging from the non-declarative memory. These contents belong to a pre-symbolic and pre-representative area of the mind. They are made of inert fragments of psychic material that are felt rather than thought, which can thus be viewed as a kind of writing to be completed. These pieces of psychic material are the expression of traumatic experiences that in turn exercise a traumatic effect on the analyst, inducing an altered state of consciousness in him as well. Such material should be understood as belonging to an unrepressed unconscious. Restitution of these fragments to the patient in representable forms must take place gradually and without trying to accelerate the timing, in order to avoid the possibility that the restitution itself constitute an acting on the part of the analyst, which would thus be a traumatic response to the traumatic action of the analytic material.

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.

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

Development of european consciousness in Erasmus students

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Sevda Mutlu

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This research is the content analysis of 502 Erasmus students’ experiences published in the website www.20erasmus.eu. One of the main purposes of the Erasmus Student Exchange Program is to maintain a cross-cultural dialogue through student activity, to remove prejudices and thus to strengthen interaction and join EU citizens under such concepts as “European Consciousness” and “Being European”. The purpose of this study is to determine how successful the Erasmus Student Exchange Program is through the shared Erasmus experiences of the participating students. In conclusion, in this research, it is observed that the students talked highly positively about the Erasmus experience. The students described this process as enjoyable and productive. It could be argued that the Erasmus experience contributed to students’ “individual development” rather than “academic development”. It could also be maintained that one of the key purposes of the Erasmus exchange program is to remove prejudices by maintaining student mobility and cross-cultural dialogue and to unite societies under the European Consciousness and European People understanding via strengthening interactions between EU member citizens. Data collected in this research present evidence that the Erasmus programme has reached this aim

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.

Integrated information theory of consciousness: an updated account.

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Tononi, G

2012-12-01

This article presents an updated account of integrated information theory of consciousness (liT) and some of its implications. /IT stems from thought experiments that lead to phenomenological axioms (existence, compositionality, information, integration, exclusion) and corresponding ontological postulates. The information axiom asserts that every experience is spec~fic - it is what it is by differing in its particular way from a large repertoire of alternatives. The integration axiom asserts that each experience is unified- it cannot be reduced to independent components. The exclusion axiom asserts that every experience is definite - it is limited to particular things and not others and flows at a particular speed and resolution. /IT formalizes these intuitions with postulates. The information postulate states that only "differences that make a difference" from the intrinsic perpective of a system matter: a mechanism generates cause-effect information if its present state has selective past causes and selective future effects within a system. The integration postulate states that only information that is irreducible matters: mechanisms generate integrated information only to the extent that the information they generate cannot be partitioned into that generated within independent components. The exclusion postulate states that only maxima of integrated information matter: a mechanism specifies only one maximally irreducible set of past causes and future effects - a concept. A complex is a set of elements specifying a maximally irreducible constellation of concepts, where the maximum is evaluated over elements and at the optimal spatiatemporal scale. Its concepts specify a maximally integrated conceptual information structure or quale, which is identical with an experience. Finally, changes in information integration upon exposure to the environment reflect a system's ability to match the causal structure of the world. After introducing an updated definition of

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.

Gender Consciousness among Urban Adolescents in Osun State ...

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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 ...

Non-conscious visual cues related to affect and action alter perception of effort and endurance performance

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Anthony William Blanchfield

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The psychobiological model of endurance performance proposes that endurance performance is determined by a decision-making process based on perception of effort and potential motivation. Recent research has reported that effort-based decision-making during cognitive tasks can be altered by non-conscious visual cues relating to affect and action. The effect of these non-conscious visual cues on effort and performance during physical tasks is however unknown. We report two experiments investigating the effect of subliminal priming with visual cues related to affect and action on perception of effort and endurance performance. In Experiment 1 thirteen individuals were subliminally primed with happy or sad faces as they cycled to exhaustion in a counterbalanced and randomized crossover design. A paired t-test (happy vs. sad faces revealed that individuals cycled for significantly longer (178 s, p = .04 when subliminally primed with happy faces. A 2 x 5 (condition x iso-time ANOVA also revealed a significant main effect of condition on rating of perceived exertion (RPE during the time to exhaustion (TTE test with lower RPE when subjects were subliminally primed with happy faces (p = .04. In Experiment 2, a single-subject randomization tests design found that subliminal priming with action words facilitated a significantly longer (399 s, p = .04 TTE in comparison to inaction words (p = .04. Like Experiment 1, this greater TTE was accompanied by a significantly lower RPE (p = .03. These experiments are the first to show that subliminal visual cues relating to affect and action can alter perception of effort and endurance performance. Non-conscious visual cues may therefore influence the effort-based decision-making process that is proposed to determine endurance performance. Accordingly, the findings raise notable implications for individuals who may encounter such visual cues during endurance competitions, training, or health related exercise.

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 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

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

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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…

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

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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 ).

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...

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.

A comparison of conscious and automatic memory processes for picture and word stimuli: a process dissociation analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

McBride, Dawn M; Anne Dosher, Barbara

2002-09-01

Four experiments were conducted to evaluate explanations of picture superiority effects previously found for several tasks. In a process dissociation procedure (Jacoby, 1991) with word stem completion, picture fragment completion, and category production tasks, conscious and automatic memory processes were compared for studied pictures and words with an independent retrieval model and a generate-source model. The predictions of a transfer appropriate processing account of picture superiority were tested and validated in "process pure" latent measures of conscious and unconscious, or automatic and source, memory processes. Results from both model fits verified that pictures had a conceptual (conscious/source) processing advantage over words for all tasks. The effects of perceptual (automatic/word generation) compatibility depended on task type, with pictorial tasks favoring pictures and linguistic tasks favoring words. Results show support for an explanation of the picture superiority effect that involves an interaction of encoding and retrieval processes.

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

Toward a Psychological Study of Class Consciousness: Development and Validation of a Social Psychological Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucas A. Keefer

2015-12-01

Full Text Available While social class has recently become a prominent topic in social psychological research, much of this effort has focused on the psychological consequences of objective and subjective indices of class (e.g., income, perceived status. This approach sheds light on the consequences of social class itself, but overlooks a construct of central importance in earlier theorizing on class: class consciousness, or the extent to which individuals acknowledge and situate themselves within class relations. The current paper offers a psychological model of class consciousness comprised of five elements: awareness of social class, perceptions of class conflict, beliefs about the permeability of class groups, identification with a class group, and personal experience of being treated as a member of one’s class. We offer a measure assessing those central dimensions and assess differences in these dimensions by age, gender, indices of social class, political ideology, and among different class groups. Finally, we offer suggestions for how an awareness of class consciousness may enrich social psychology and ultimately foster political change.

Familiar Person Recognition: Is Autonoetic Consciousness More Likely to Accompany Face Recognition Than Voice Recognition?

Science.gov (United States)

Barsics, Catherine; Brédart, Serge

2010-11-01

Autonoetic consciousness is a fundamental property of human memory, enabling us to experience mental time travel, to recollect past events with a feeling of self-involvement, and to project ourselves in the future. Autonoetic consciousness is a characteristic of episodic memory. By contrast, awareness of the past associated with a mere feeling of familiarity or knowing relies on noetic consciousness, depending on semantic memory integrity. Present research was aimed at evaluating whether conscious recollection of episodic memories is more likely to occur following the recognition of a familiar face than following the recognition of a familiar voice. Recall of semantic information (biographical information) was also assessed. Previous studies that investigated the recall of biographical information following person recognition used faces and voices of famous people as stimuli. In this study, the participants were presented with personally familiar people's voices and faces, thus avoiding the presence of identity cues in the spoken extracts and allowing a stricter control of frequency exposure with both types of stimuli (voices and faces). In the present study, the rate of retrieved episodic memories, associated with autonoetic awareness, was significantly higher from familiar faces than familiar voices even though the level of overall recognition was similar for both these stimuli domains. The same pattern was observed regarding semantic information retrieval. These results and their implications for current Interactive Activation and Competition person recognition models are discussed.

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.

Use of auditory evoked potentials for intra-operative awareness in anesthesia: a consciousness-based conceptual model.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Xuebao; Suo, Puxia; Yuan, Xin; Yao, Xuefeng

2015-01-01

Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) have been used as a measure of the depth of anesthesia during the intra-operative process. AEPs are classically divided, on the basis of their latency, into first, fast, middle, slow, and late components. The use of auditory evoked potential has been advocated for the assessment of Intra-operative awareness (IOA), but has not been considered seriously enough to universalize it. It is because we have not explored enough the impact of auditory perception and auditory processing on the IOA phenomena as well as on the subsequent psychological impact of IOA on the patient. More importantly, we have seldom tried to look at the phenomena of IOP from the perspective of consciousness itself. This perspective is especially important because many of IOA phenomena exist in the subconscious domain than they do in the conscious domain of explicit recall. Two important forms of these subconscious manifestations of IOA are the implicit recall phenomena and post-operative dreams related to the operation. Here, we present an integrated auditory consciousness-based model of IOA. We start with a brief description of auditory awareness and the factors affecting it. Further, we proceed to the evaluation of conscious and subconscious information processing by auditory modality and how they interact during and after intra-operative period. Further, we show that both conscious and subconscious auditory processing affect the IOA experience and both have serious psychological implications on the patient subsequently. These effects could be prevented by using auditory evoked potential during monitoring of anesthesia, especially the mid-latency auditory evoked potentials (MLAERs). To conclude our model with present hypothesis, we propose that the use of auditory evoked potential should be universal with general anesthesia use in order to prevent the occurrences of distressing outcomes resulting from both conscious and subconscious auditory processing during

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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…

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 ...

Near-death experiences: the experience of the self as real and not as an illusion.

Science.gov (United States)

van Lommel, Pim

2011-10-01

Because the publication of several prospective studies on near-death experience (NDE) in survivors of cardiac arrest have shown strikingly similar results and conclusions, the phenomenon of the NDE can no longer be scientifically ignored. The NDE is an authentic experience that cannot be simply reduced to imagination, fear of death, hallucination, psychosis, the use of drugs, or oxygen deficiency. Patients appear to be permanently changed by an NDE during a cardiac arrest of only some minutes' duration. It is a scientific challenge to discuss new hypotheses that could explain the possibility of a clear and enhanced consciousness--with memories, self-identity, cognition, and emotions--during a period of apparent coma. The current materialistic view of the relationship between consciousness and the brain, as held by most physicians, philosophers, and psychologists, seems to be too restricted for a proper understanding of this phenomenon. There are good reasons to assume that our consciousness, with the continuous experience of self, does not always coincide with the functioning of our brain: enhanced or nonlocal consciousness, with unaltered self-identity, apparently can be experienced independently from the lifeless body. People are convinced that the self they experienced during their NDE is a reality and not an illusion. © 2011 New York Academy of Sciences.

Yoga lessons for consciousness research: a paralimbic network balancing brain resource allocation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans C Lou

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Consciousness has been proposed to play a key role in shaping flexible learning and as such is thought to confer an evolutionary advantage. Attention and awareness are the perhaps most important underlying processes, yet their precise relationship is presently unclear. Both of these processes must, however, serve the evolutionary imperatives of survival and procreation. They are thus intimately bound by reward and emotion to help to prioritize efficient brain resource allocation in order to predict and optimize behaviour. Here we show how this process is served by a paralimbic network consisting primarily of regions located on the midline of the human brain. Using many different techniques, experiments have demonstrated that this network is effective and specific for self-awareness and contributes to the sense of unity of consciousness by acting as a common neural path for a wide variety of conscious experiences. Interestingly, haemodynamic activity in the network decreases with focusing on external stimuli, which has led to the idea of a default mode network. This network is one of many networks that wax and vane as resources are allocated to accommodate the different cyclical needs of the organism primarily related the fundamental pleasures afforded by evolution: food, sex and conspecifics. Here we hypothesize, however, that the paralimbic network serves a crucial role in balancing and regulating brain resource allocation, and discuss how it can be thought of as a link between current theories of so-called default mode, resting state networks and global workspace. We show how major developmental disorders of self-awareness and self-control can arise from problems in the paralimbic network as demonstrated here by the example of Asperger syndrome. We conclude that attention, awareness and emotion are integrated by a paralimbic network that helps to efficiently allocate brain resources to optimize behaviour and help survival.

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.

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.

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)

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.

Midwives' experiences of facilitating normal birth in an obstetric-led unit: a feminist perspective.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Keating, Annette

2012-01-31

OBJECTIVE: to explore midwives\\' experiences of facilitating normal birth in an obstetric-led unit. DESIGN: a feminist approach using semi-structured interviews focusing on midwives\\' perceptions of normal birth and their ability to facilitate this birth option in an obstetric-led unit. SETTING: Ireland. PARTICIPATION: a purposeful sample of 10 midwives with 6-30 years of midwifery experience. All participants had worked for a minimum of 6 years in a labour ward setting, and had been in their current setting for the previous 2 years. FINDINGS: the midwives\\' narratives related to the following four concepts of patriarchy: \\'hierarchical thinking\\

Study of Black Consciousness in A Raisin in The Sun

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

"Two souls, two thoughts," two self-schemas: double consciousness can have positive academic consequences for African Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

Brannon, Tiffany N; Markus, Hazel Rose; Taylor, Valerie Jones

2015-04-01

African Americans can experience a double consciousness-the two-ness of being an American and an African American. The present research hypothesized that: (a) double consciousness can function as 2 self-schemas-an independent self-schema tied to mainstream American culture and an interdependent self-schema tied to African American culture, and (b) U.S. educational settings can leverage an interdependent self-schema associated with African American culture through inclusive multicultural practices to facilitate positive academic consequences. First, a pilot experiment and Studies 1 and 2 provided evidence that double consciousness can be conceptualized as 2 self-schemas. That is, African Americans shifted their behavior (e.g., cooperation) in schema-relevant ways from more independent when primed with mainstream American culture to more interdependent when primed with African American culture. Then, Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated that incorporating African American culture within a university setting enhanced African Americans' persistence and performance on academic-relevant tasks. Finally, using the Gates Millennium Scholars dataset (Cohort 1), Study 5 conceptually replicated Studies 3 and 4 and provided support for one process that underlies the observed positive academic consequences. Specifically, Study 5 provided evidence that engagement with African American culture (e.g., involvement with cultural events/groups) on college campuses makes an interdependent self-schema more salient that increases African American students' sense of academic fit and identification, and, in turn, enhances academic performance (self-reported grades) and persistence (advanced degree enrollment in a long-term follow-up). The discussion examines double consciousness as a basic psychological phenomenon and suggests the intra- and intergroup benefits of inclusive multicultural settings. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring Online Shopping Behaviour within the Context of Online Advertisement, Customer Service Experience Consciousness and Price Comparison Websites: Perspectives from Young Female Shoppers in the Zlínský Region

OpenAIRE

Christian Nedu Osakwe; Miloslava Chovancová

2015-01-01

Online shopping behaviour within the context of price comparison websites presents an interesting area of consumer behaviour, yet very little research has been done in this area. Hence, the focus of this paper was to critically explore the impact of online advertisement and customer service experience consciousness on young female shoppers' intention to use price comparison websites as a purchase decision-making tool within the online retail environment. Our sample consisted of 123 female res...