Chiara Cirelli

2 papers in the library · publishing 2022-2023

Papers

Sleep/wake changes in perturbational complexity in rats and mice.

iScience March 17, 2023 Matias Lorenzo Cavelli, Rong Mao, Graham Findlay et al.

The level of consciousness can be assessed in humans by measuring the spatiotemporal complexity of cortical responses, quantified by the Perturbational Complexity Index (PCI) and its variant PCIst (state transitions). This study validates PCIst in freely moving rats and mice, showing it is lower during NREM sleep and slow wave anesthesia compared to wakefulness or REM sleep, mirroring human findings. Low PCIst is associated with an OFF period of neuronal silence. Stimulation of deep, but not superficial, cortical layers reliably changes PCIst across sleep/wake and anesthesia. These results support the hypothesis that PCIst is low when an OFF period disrupts causal interactions in cortical networks.

DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106186 Full text Biological sciences Natural sciences Neuroscience

Only what exists can cause: An intrinsic view of free will

arXiv Preprint Archive June 4, 2022 Giulio Tononi, Larissa Albantakis, Melanie Boly et al.

Integrated information theory (IIT) implies that free will exists in a fundamental sense. IIT defines consciousness as a maximum of cause-effect power in the brain, with the structure of that power determining how experiences feel. According to this theory, humans have true alternatives, make true decisions, and are the true cause of their willed actions, bearing true responsibility. The argument depends on an intrinsic powers ontology: only intrinsic entities truly exist and can cause effects, and consciousness qualifies as such an entity.

Full text Q-bio.nc