Modelling developments in consciousness within a multidimensional framework.
Neuroscience of Consciousness 2024 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niae026 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Disorders of consciousness Multidimensional models Temporal profiles |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Proposes that adding temporal profiles to a multidimensional model of consciousness enables new comparisons across developmental stages and species, and draws attention to fluctuations in patients with disorders of consciousness. |
Abstract
A recent advancement in consciousness science has been the introduction of a multidimensional framework of consciousness. This framework has been applied to global states of consciousness, including psychedelic states and disorders of consciousness, and the consciousness of non-human animals. The multidimensional framework enables a finer parsing of both various states of consciousness and forms of animal consciousness, paving the way for new scientific investigations into consciousness. In this paper, the multidimensional model is expanded by constructing temporal profiles. This expansion allows for the modelling of changes in consciousness across the life cycles of organisms and the progression over time of disorders of consciousness. The result of this expansion is 2-fold: (i) it enables new modes of comparison, both across stages of development and across species; (ii) it proposes that more attention be given to the various types of fluctuations that occur in patients who are suffering from disorders of consciousness.