A complex vector space model of single neuronal coding and experience.
Andrew John Duggins
Biosystems 2010 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2010.08.005 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Proposes that consciousness attributable to a single sensory neuron relates to its instantaneous firing rate, which is only quantifiable statistically across multiple trials, thus disambiguating subjective experience from objective neural properties. The model adopts a quantum mechanical formalism with the neuron's state as a vector in a complex vector space. |
Abstract
A model of consciousness is proposed, in which the experience attributable to a single sensory neuron is related to its instantaneous firing rate. In that this can only be quantified within statistical limits from the incidence of spikes across multiple presentations of a stimulus, consciousness remains inaccessible to direct measurement on a single trial. In this way, the model disambiguates subjective experience from objective neural properties. The model adopts a quantum mechanical formalism, in which the state of the neuron is represented as a vector in a complex vector space.
Citations in the library
Cites 6
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