Neuroscience of Consciousness
2026
William Marshall, Graham Findlay, Larissa Albantakis et al.
Integrated information theory (IIT) aims to account for the quality and quantity of consciousness in physical terms. According to IIT, a substrate of consciousness must be a system of units (e.g. synapses, neurons, minicolumns, etc.) that is a maximum of intrinsic, specific, unitary cause-effect power, quantified by integrated information ([Formula: see text]). The grain of each unit must be...
arXiv Preprint Archive
December 5, 2024
Graham Findlay, William Marshall, Larissa Albantakis et al.
Developments in machine learning and computing power suggest that artificial general intelligence is within reach. This raises the question of artificial consciousness: if a computer were to be functionally equivalent to a human, being able to do all we do, would it experience sights, sounds, and thoughts, as we do when we are conscious? Answering this question in a principled manner can only...
iScience
March 17, 2023
Matias Lorenzo Cavelli, Rong Mao, Graham Findlay et al.
In humans, the level of consciousness is assessed by quantifying the spatiotemporal complexity of cortical responses using Perturbational Complexity Index (PCI) and related PCIst (st, state transitions). Here we validate PCIst in freely moving rats and mice by showing that it is lower in NREM sleep and slow wave anesthesia than in wake or REM sleep, as in humans. We then show that (1) low PCIst...
Entropy
February 11, 2023
William Marshall, Matteo Grasso, William G. P. Mayner et al.
19 citations
Integrated information theory (IIT) starts from consciousness itself and identifies a set of properties (axioms) that are true of every conceivable experience. The axioms are translated into a set of postulates about the substrate of consciousness (called a complex), which are then used to formulate a mathematical framework for assessing both the quality and quantity of experience. The...