Task 1 Flashcards
(26 cards)
First person Data
refers to conscious subjective experience
Third Person Data
refers to brain processes, behavior, environmental interactions
science of consciousness
it is all about relating 3rd to 1st person data
How can 3rd person data be measured?
EEG, brain imagining, single cell studies
What are central constraint s of 3rd person data?
they stem from technological and ethical limitations rather then conceptual barriers
fundamental theory of consciousness
-> not developed yet
idea refers to a broad connection principle that may lead to a universal law that underlies the two types of data
What do contemporary scientists rely on?
first person data (psychophysics) where experiences of phenomena (eg illusions) are verbally described
which methodology use contemporary scientists?
untutored introspection, verbal reports, formalism
The greatest challenge is to develop more sophisticated methodologies.
What are obstacles in developing first person methodologies?
1 lack of incorrigible acess to our experience
2 when introspecting an experience, experience changes
3 it is impossible to access all our experiences at once
4 consequent possibility of ‘‘grant illusion’’
What are the obstacles for first person formalism?
1 can content of experience be fully captured in language?
2 if a person did not have a certain experience - can a description be meaningful?
intrinsic, non-structural aspects of experience
eg sensation of a colour
- underlying structures (hue, lightness) can be aapted to a proto-qualia theory
- people have same building blocks
emotional experience
- difficulties with reliability
- emotions = inexpressive , especially if someone has never experienced emotions before
(emotions vary on dimensions (duaration, intensity, affect))
Neural correlate of consciousness
consciousness is not directly and straightforwardly and therefore problematic
(there is no consciousness meter available)
pre-experimental bridging principle
interpretation of physical systems to judge consciousness
based on combination of :
1 conceptual judgements about what is count as conscious and what is not
2 info gleaned from first person data
principle of interpretation
verbal report= most prevalent
- info that can be verbally reported is conscious
- info that is directly available for global control is concious
rational reconstruction
if someone tries to justify a conclusion = justification follows shape of rational reconstruction
consciousness global availability
global availabilty cneural processes
so
consciousness neural processes
What does the conclusions of NCC mean?
- presence of NCC wherever global availability is present, suggests that it is a mechanism that subserves global availability in the brain
- there are many neural correlates of consciousness because of many machanisms of global availability
_ NCC can be used as sort of consciousness meter
permanent vegetative state
neurological categorization of patients who emerge from coma, appear to be awake but show no signs of awareness of self or environment
fmri x consciousness
ctivation of primary
visual cortex, secondary visual association areas, non-visual areas BUT we don’t see the transition from unconscious to conscious perception
- fmri can only show precursors of a perception but not actual awarness of a person
Which brain area generates consciousness?
consciousness is not generated by a specific brain area
What is the main goal of clinical assessment of conscious patients
determine whether patient retains the capacity for a purposeful response to stimulation, however inconsistent
-> it is very challenging to distinguish purely reflexive from voluntary behaviors
study of Cambridge and Liege
small proportion of patients in a vegetative or minimally conscious state have brain
activation reflecting some awareness & cognition
careful clinical examination will result in reclassification of the state of consciousness
consciousness can be dividided into two main components
- awarness (command following)
2. arousal (eye opening)
two main components of consciousness
consciousness content
consciousness level
