Physics-based theories of consciousness must explain how distributed neural activity can constitute a single complex experience. Multiple electromagnetic field theories claim that fields solve this phenomenal binding problem because they are (i) physically unified as spatially extended objects, (ii) continuous, and/or (iii) information-distributing, and thereby address critiques levied against...
The multifaceted nature of subjective experience poses a challenge to the study of consciousness. Traditional neuroscientific approaches often concentrate on isolated facets, such as perceptual awareness or the global state of consciousness and construct a theory around the relevant empirical paradigms and findings. Theories of consciousness are, therefore, often difficult to compare; indeed,...
This commentary commends Evers et al.'s multidimensional heuristic for structuring artificial consciousness research while arguing it cannot, as stated, adjudicate the nomological possibility of phenomenal consciousness, which is at stake in current debates. Behavioral-cognitive "profiles" lack a justified principle linking function to experience, and the awareness case study illustrates how...
In our target article "Dark Brain Energy: Toward an Integrative Model of Spontaneous Slow Oscillations", we proposed a three-layer hierarchical framework to model the spontaneous slow oscillations (SSOs) across six frequency bands to delineate their spectral architecture, functional roles, and neurocognitive basis. We are grateful for the seven insightful commentary articles from colleagues...
What are the exact neuronal mechanisms of pre-post-stimulus interaction and how can that account for the intrinsically subjective nature of the contents of consciousness? This is the key question lurking behind the various excellent and very thoughtful commentaries to our target article which we group along four main topics and questions. (i) What is the role of neural features like alpha...
Despite major progress in our understanding of the brain, the connection of neural and mental features, that is, brain and mind, remains yet elusive. In our 2020 target paper ("Is temporospatial dynamics the 'common currency' of brain and mind? Spatiotemporal Neuroscience") we proposed the "Common currency hypothesis": temporo-spatial dynamics are shared by neural and mental features, providing...
The paradox of a brain trying to study itself presents a conundrum, raising questions about self-reference, consciousness, psychiatric disorders, and the boundaries of scientific inquiry. By which means can this complex organ shift the focus of study towards itself? We aim at unpacking the intricacies of this paradox. Historically, this question has been raised by philosophers under different...
The pursuit of artificial consciousness requires conceptual clarity to navigate its theoretical and empirical challenges. This paper introduces a composite, multilevel, and multidimensional model of consciousness as a heuristic framework to guide research in this field. Consciousness is treated as a complex phenomenon, with distinct constituents and dimensions that can be operationalized for...
This paper reviews biophysical models of psychotherapeutic change based on synergetics and the free energy principle. These models suggest that introducing sensory surprise into the patient-therapist system can lead to self-organization and the formation of new attractor states, disrupting entrenched patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. We propose that the therapist can facilitate...
This paper offers a new perspective on inner speech based on the theoretical framework of embodiment, focusing on the embodiment of structure rather than content. We argue that inner speech is used to simulate the acoustic aspects of overt speech including prosody. Prosody refers to the rhythm, intonation, and stress of spoken language, which is closely related to structural aspects of phrases,...
The current discussion on the neural correlates of the contents of consciousness (NCCc) focuses mainly on the post-stimulus period of task-related activity. This neglects the substantial impact of the spontaneous or ongoing activity of the brain as manifest in pre-stimulus activity. Does the interaction of pre- and post-stimulus activity shape the contents of consciousness? Addressing this gap...
The temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) has been implicated in a bewildering array of cognitive abilities, from at-tention to theory of mind, from memory to humour. This apparent diversity of function might seem to preclude any general theory of the TPJ. In this light, the paper by Doricchi and colleagues [1] makes an ambitious attempt to provide such a theory. They propose that the right TPJ...
Physics of Life ReviewsSeptember 1, 2022Maaneli Derakhshani, Lajos Diósi, Matthias Laubenstein et al.
In this paper we perform a critical analysis of the Orch OR consciousness theory at the crossroad with the newest experimental results coming from the search for spontaneous radiation predicted by the simplest version of gravity-related dynamical collapse models. We conclude that Orch OR theory, when based on the simplest version of gravity-related dynamical collapse, is highly implausible in...
Sunlight held the key to the origin of life on Earth. The earliest life forms, cyanobacteria, captured the sunlight to generate energy through photosynthesis. Life on Earth evolved in accordance with the circadian rhythms tied to sensitivity to sunlight patterns. A unique feature of cyanobacterial photosynthetic proteins and circadian rhythms' molecules, and later of nearly all photon-sensing...
This paper presents a theory of the basic operation of mind, Information Dynamics of Thinking, which is intended for computational implementation and thence empirical testing. It is based on the information theory of Shannon, and treats the mind/brain as an information processing organ that aims to be information-efficient, in that it predicts its world, so as to use information efficiently,...
Neuroscience has made considerable progress in unraveling the neural correlates of mental phenomena like self, consciousness, and perception. However, the "common currency" shared between neuronal and mental activity, brain and mind, remains yet unclear. In this article, we propose that the dynamics of time and space provides a "common currency" that connects neuronal and mental features. Time...
Historically, multiple theories have posited an active, causal role for perceived bodily states in the creation of human emotion. Recent evidence for embodied cognition, i.e. the role of the entire body in cognition, and support for models positing a key role of bodily homeostasis in the creation of consciousness, i.e. active inference, call for the test of causal rather than correlational...
Natural phenomena are reducible to quantum events in principle, but quantum mechanics does not always provide the best level of analysis. The many-body problem, chaotic avalanches, materials properties, biological organisms, and weather systems are better addressed at higher levels. Animals are highly organized, goal-directed, adaptive, selectionist, information-preserving, functionally...
One of the great challenges to a science of consciousness is the inability to reduce critical features of consciousness to neural processes. In this paper I identify four neuroontologically irreducible features (NOIF) - referral of neural states, mental unity, qualia, and mental causation - defined as aspects of consciousness in which subjective experience is not wholly reducible to objectively...
Perception is interpreted as a set of capabilities that facilitate two functions necessary for survival; learning about the environment and controlling real-time behavioral interactions with it. Perceptual capabilities evolve in the context of an organism and its environment, adapted to an organism's ecological niche. The relation between embodied perception and action can be studied in the...
A review is given of recent developments in our scientific understanding of consciousness to help guide further progress, leading to a possible final answer to the question of how the brain may create consciousness. The review commences with a brief description of the nature of consciousness, and moves to an overview of various approaches presently being pursued to understand it (quantum...