Specific mechanisms linking network information processing to the generation of qualia.
Roger D Orpwood
Neuroscience of Consciousness November 6, 2025 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niaf043 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Neural information processing Cortical networks Qualia |
| Key points | Argues that when neural networks feed back representations of their own processing, the identity acquired is how the input seems to the network, not what the input is, which could underlie the emergence of qualia. |
Abstract
Abstract There have been many very promising theories published concerning the generation of consciousness. These theories mostly link the emergence of consciousness to neural activity, but very few attempt to show how that neural activity specifically causes experience to occur. This article explores this problem at the level of individual networks by examining the information changes that occur as input patterns are processed. It looks at how networks can identify spatially distributed input patterns, and generate representations of that identity. It argues that if those representations are directly fed back then such networks will be identifying their own depictions of the original identity. It goes on to argue that in this state the identity acquired is not what the input is to the network but how the input seems to it. There would be content to that inner portrayal that must present itself in some way to the receiver, and this could underlie the emergence of qualia. The article goes on to argue how top-down modulation could select which qualia are established at any moment.
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Citations in the library
Cites 21
- Consciousness as Integrated Information: a Provisional Manifesto Biological Bulletin December 1, 2008
- Theories of consciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience July 1, 2022
- Predictive processing as a systematic basis for identifying the neural correlates of consciousness Philosophy and the Mind Sciences December 30, 2020
- Subjectivity "Demystified": Neurobiology, Evolution, and the Explanatory Gap. Frontiers in Psychology 2019
- Understanding the Higher-Order Approach to Consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences September 1, 2019
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