From the Phenomenology to the Mechanisms of Consciousness: Integrated Information Theory 3.0
Masafumi Oizumi, Larissa Albantakis, Giulio Tononi
PLoS Comput. Biol. May 1, 2014 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003588 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Proposes that an experience is a maximally irreducible conceptual structure (MICS) generated by a complex of physical mechanisms, with integrated information ΦMax as its quantity. |
Abstract
This paper presents Integrated Information Theory (IIT) of consciousness 3.0, which incorporates several advances over previous formulations. IIT starts from phenomenological axioms: information says that each experience is specific – it is what it is by how it differs from alternative experiences; integration says that it is unified – irreducible to non-interdependent components; exclusion says that it has unique borders and a particular spatio-temporal grain. These axioms are formalized into postulates that prescribe how physical mechanisms, such as neurons or logic gates, must be configured to generate experience (phenomenology). The postulates are used to define intrinsic information as “differences that make a difference” within a system, and integrated information as information specified by a whole that cannot be reduced to that specified by its parts. By applying the postulates both at the level of individual mechanisms and at the level of systems of mechanisms, IIT arrives at an identity: an experience is a maximally irreducible conceptual structure (MICS, a constellation of concepts in qualia space), and the set of elements that generates it constitutes a complex. According to IIT, a MICS specifies the quality of an experience and integrated information ΦMax its quantity. From the theory follow several results, including: a system of mechanisms may condense into a major complex and non-overlapping minor complexes; the concepts that specify the quality of an experience are always about the complex itself and relate only indirectly to the external environment; anatomical connectivity influences complexes and associated MICS; a complex can generate a MICS even if its elements are inactive; simple systems can be minimally conscious; complicated systems can be unconscious; there can be true “zombies” – unconscious feed-forward systems that are functionally equivalent to conscious complexes.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 475
- Neural correlates of consciousness: progress and problems Nature Reviews Neuroscience April 20, 2016
- Theories of consciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience July 1, 2022
- No-Report Paradigms: Extracting the True Neural Correlates of Consciousness Trends in Cognitive Sciences November 13, 2015
- Are There Levels of Consciousness? Trends in Cognitive Sciences April 22, 2016
- Consciousness among delta waves: a paradox? Brain March 6, 2021
and 470 more in the library
Cites 13
- An information integration theory of consciousness BMC Neuroscience November 2, 2004
- Breakdown of Cortical Effective Connectivity During Sleep Science September 29, 2005
- Consciousness as Integrated Information: a Provisional Manifesto Biological Bulletin December 1, 2008
- A Theoretically Based Index of Consciousness Independent of Sensory Processing and Behavior Science Translational Medicine August 14, 2013
- The Neural Correlates of Consciousness Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences March 1, 2008
and 8 more in the library