Attention Schema Theory (AST) is a recent proposal to provide a scientific explanation for the basis of subjective awareness. In AST, the brain constructs a representation of attention taking place in its own (and others') mind ('the attention schema'). Moreover, this representation is incomplete for efficiency reasons. This inherent incompleteness of the attention schema results in the...
Models of consciousness should account for the phenomenology of subjective experience, including perceptual illusions. The Moon Illusion is a paradigmatic example that has yet to be accounted for. The Moon often appears larger near the perceptual horizon and smaller high in the sky, though the visual angle subtended is invariant. We show how this illusion can result from the optimization of a...
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 combines multisensory evidence with prior beliefs in memory and frames them by selecting points of...
Evolutionary process has been selected for inherently unstable systems in higher animals that can react swiftly to changing patterns of threat or opportunity, for example blood pressure, the immune response, and gene expression. However, these require continual strict regulation: uncontrolled blood pressure is fatal, immune cells can attack 'self' tissues, and improper gene expression triggers...
This paper is a defence of a pragmatic version of mind-brain reductionism from a neuroscientist's point of view. It is claimed that there are good reasons to believe that future neuroscience will be able to explain (in a weak and pragmatic sense) the puzzling aspects of mind and consciousness. Opposition to reductionism comes from both philosophical and empirical quarters. It is argued here...
This paper examines a possible neural mechanism underlying the phenomenon of consciousness by exploring the ability of cortical pyramidal cells to process patterns of information. A numerical model of a section of a neuron is described that enables the transient membrane potential distribution to be predicted following inputs to the cell. The neuron model incorporates learning by modelling the...