A synergistic workspace for human consciousness revealed by Integrated Information Decomposition.
Andrea I. Luppi, Pedro A. M. Mediano, Fernando E. Rosas, Judith Allanson, John D. Pickard, Robin Carhart-Harris, Guy B. Williams, Michael M. Craig, Paola Finoia, Adrian M. Owen, Lorina Naci, David K. Menon, Daniel Bor, Emmanuel A. Stamatakis
Elife July 18, 2024 DOI: 10.7554/elife.88173 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human participants undergoing functional MRI |
| Keywords | Anaesthesia Brain networks Computational biology Disorders of consciousness Global workspace Human Integrated information Synergy Systems biology |
| Citations | 49 |
| Key findings | Loss of consciousness coincides with a breakdown of information integration within the synergistic global workspace of the human brain. |
Abstract
How is the information-processing architecture of the human brain organised, and how does its organisation support consciousness? Here, we combine network science and a rigorous information-theoretic notion of synergy to delineate a 'synergistic global workspace', comprising gateway regions that gather synergistic information from specialised modules across the human brain. This information is then integrated within the workspace and widely distributed via broadcaster regions. Through functional MRI analysis, we show that gateway regions of the synergistic workspace correspond to the human brain's default mode network, whereas broadcasters coincide with the executive control network. We find that loss of consciousness due to general anaesthesia or disorders of consciousness corresponds to diminished ability of the synergistic workspace to integrate information, which is restored upon recovery. Thus, loss of consciousness coincides with a breakdown of information integration within the synergistic workspace of the human brain. This work contributes to conceptual and empirical reconciliation between two prominent scientific theories of consciousness, the Global Neuronal Workspace and Integrated Information Theory, while also advancing our understanding of how the human brain supports consciousness through the synergistic integration of information.