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.