Biology of Consciousness
Gerald M. Edelman, Joseph A. Gally, Bernard J. Baars
Frontiers in Psychology 2011 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 198 |
| Key points | Argues that the Dynamic Core and Global Workspace hypotheses are closely related and jointly provide a strictly biological account of consciousness consistent with experimental evidence, and proposes that enough evidence exists to consider building a conscious artifact. |
Abstract
The Dynamic Core and Global Workspace hypotheses were independently put forward to provide mechanistic and biologically plausible accounts of how brains generate conscious mental content. The Dynamic Core proposes that reentrant neural activity in the thalamocortical system gives rise to conscious experience. Global Workspace reconciles the limited capacity of momentary conscious content with the vast repertoire of long-term memory. In this paper we show the close relationship between the two hypotheses. This relationship allows for a strictly biological account of phenomenal experience and subjectivity that is consistent with mounting experimental evidence. We examine the constraints on causal analyses of consciousness and suggest that there is now sufficient evidence to consider the design and construction of a conscious artifact.
Citations in the library
Cited by 65
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- Semantic Analysis Does Not Occur in the Absence of Awareness Induced by Interocular Suppression Journal of Neuroscience September 21, 2011
- The Radically Embodied Conscious Cybernetic Bayesian Brain: From Free Energy to Free Will and Back Again. Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) June 20, 2021
- Anomalous Experiences, Trauma, and Symbolization Processes at the Frontiers between Psychoanalysis and Cognitive Neurosciences Frontiers in Psychology December 21, 2015
- Four-Dimensional Graded Consciousness Frontiers in Psychology March 21, 2017
and 60 more in the library
Cites 12
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- The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease May 1, 2008
- The case for using brain-based devices to study consciousness Cambridge University Press eBooks September 1, 2011
- Rhythms of consciousness: binocular rivalry reveals large-scale oscillatory network dynamics mediating visual perception. PLoS One July 3, 2009
and 7 more in the library