consciousness: the brain is aware
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topic report for Bio 196TRANSCRIPT
ConsciousnessThe Brain is Aware Even If You Are Not
Gascon, Ruth Danielle E.Institute of Biology, College of Science, UP Diliman
“Biologically we are just another ape;Mentally, we are a whole new phylum of organism”
Deacon, T.W. 1997. The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain. New York: W.W. Norton.
Fundamentals
Processing is possible without consciousness
Attention is a prerequisite
Consciousness is required for cognitive tasks
Definition
•Everything one is aware•Awake, sleeping, dreams, hypnosis•Awareness, Free will, Reasoning,
Visual imagery, Recall, Choices
Requirements
•Temporal Duration▫at least 200 ms for awareness to rise
•Attentional Focus•Binding•Salience•Inner Perspective (Ownership)
Types
Waking Consciousness
•Normal, clear, organized, alert awareness
Altered State of Consciousness
(ASC)
•Different in quality from waking consciousness
States of Sleep
Rapid Eye Movements (REM)
• Dreaming• Very light sleep• Still body• REM Behavioral
Disorder
Non-REM (NREM) Sleep
• Stages 1, 2, 3, 4• No REM • Body recovery
Stages of Sleep
Lucid Dreamers
•Aware that they are dreaming•Control dreams•With memories during lucid dreaming•Aware of themselves
Lucid as Meta-consciousness
•Right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex▫self-assessment
•Frontopolar regions▫evaluating thoughts and feelings.
•Precuneus ▫self-perception
Martin Dresler, et. al. Neural Correlates of Dream Lucidity Obtained from Contrasting Lucid versus Non-Lucid REM Sleep: A Combined EEG/fMRI Case Study. Sleep, 2012;35(7):1017-1020
Altered Mental Status
Inattentiveness
Confusion - disorientation
Lethargy – severe drowsiness
Obtundation - slowed response
Stupor – needs vigorous stimuli
Coma - unarousable unresponsiveness
Neural Darwinism
•Neuroscientifically based•Dynamic core from neural process,
reentry, linkage•Brain “speaks to itself”
Edelman, G. M. (2003). Naturalizing consciousness: a theoretical framework. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, 5520–5524.Edelman, G. M., and Tononi, G. (2000). A Universe of Consciousness. New York: Basic Books.
Global Workspace Theory
Baars, B. J. (1988). A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
•Psychological cognition•Highly coordinated widespread
activity•Little dots form big circles
Global Workspace Theory
Consciousness is necessarily subjective and internal.
(Metzinger, 2003)
Primitive consciousness
•Animals lacking linguistic capabilities•Reduced to internal tokens•Language = higher-order
consciousness
Waking from Anesthesia
•Propofol anesthesia
•Dexmedetomidine as sedative
•Phylogenetically old brain▫Thalamus and limbic
system
1. Restore Primitive
consciousness
2. Higher order conscious
activity
Jaakko W. Långsjö, et. al. Returning from Oblivion: Imaging the Neural Core of Consciousness. Journal of Neuroscience, 2012;32(14):4935-4943
Molecule controls Stroke
•Ephrin-a5•Blocks axonal sprouting ▫new connections between neurons
•More activity, more new connections
Everyday Clairvoyance
•Mid-brain dopamine system (MDS)▫Ancient system for unexpected
•Substantia nigra▫"Ground zero" for MDS▫Movement and adaptive decisions.
•Predictions from habits, errors
Attentive but Unaware
•In primates except humans•V1: primary visual cortex •Brain activity▫Shifts in attention HIGH▫Shifts in awareness NONE
•Conscious perception not in V1
“Biologically we are just another ape;Mentally, we are a whole new phylum of organism”
Deacon, T.W. 1997. The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain. New York: W.W. Norton.