Can humans perceive their brain states?
Consciousness and Cognition 11 (1):98-113 (2002)
| Abstract | Although the brain enables us to perceive the external world and our body, it remains unknown whether brain processes themselves can be perceived. Brain tissue does not have receptors for its own activity. However, the ability of humans to acquire self-control of brain processes indicates that the perception of these processes may also be achieved by learning. In this study patients learned to control low-frequency components of their EEG: the so-called slow cortical potentials (SCPs). In particular ''probe'' sessions, the patients estimated the quality of the SCP shift they had produced in the preceding trial. The correspondence between the recorded SCP amplitudes and the subjective estimates increased with training. The ability to perceive the SCPs was related to the ability to control them; this perception was not mediated by peripheral variables such as changes in muscle tonus and cannot be reduced to simple vigilance monitoring. These data provide evidence that humans can learn to perceive the neural activity of their brain. Alternative interpretations are discussed. | |||||||||
| Keywords | *Awareness *Brain *Electroencephalography *Neurophysiology Epilepsy Sclerosis (Nervous System) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,672 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesRick Grush (2003). In Defense of Some "Cartesian" Assumption Concerning the Brain and its Operation. Biology and Philosophy 18 (1):53-92.
Richard Brown (2006). What is a Brain State? Philosophical Psychology 19 (6):729-742.
Dahlia W. Zaidel (1999). Neuronal Connectivity, Regional Differentiation, and Brain Damage in Humans. 22 (5):854-855.
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore & Chris Frith (2003). Self-Awareness and Action. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. Special Issue 13 (2):219-224.
E. V. Sharova (2005). Electrographic Correlates of Brain Reactions to Afferent Stimuli in Postcomatose Unconscious States After Severe Brain Injury. Human Physiology 31 (3):245-254.
Pietro Morasso (2007). The Crucial Role of Haptic Perception: Consciousness as the Emergent Property of the Interaction Between Brain Body and Environment. In Antonio Chella & Riccardo Manzotti (eds.), Artificial Consciousness. Imprint Academic.
Alarik T. Arenander & Frederick T. Travis (2004). Brain Patterns of Self-Awareness. In Bernard D. Beitman & Jyotsna Nair (eds.), Self-Awareness Deficits in Psychiatric Patients: Neurobiology, Assessment, and Treatment. W.W. Norton & Co.
W. Teed Rockwell (1994). On What the Mind is Identical With. Philosophical Psychology 7 (3):307-23.
Dieter Vaitl, Niels Birbaumer, John Gruzelier, Graham A. Jamieson, Boris Kotchoubey, Andrea Kübler, Dietrich Lehmann, Wolfgang H. R. Miltner, Ulrich Ott, Peter Pütz, Gebhard Sammer, Inge Strauch, Ute Strehl, Jiri Wackermann & Thomas Weiss (2005). Psychobiology of Altered States of Consciousness. Psychological Bulletin 131 (1):98-127.
Paul L. Nunez & Ramesh Srinivasan (2006). A Theoretical Basis for Standing and Traveling Brain Waves Measured with Human EEG with Implications for an Integrated Consciousness. Clinical Neurophysiology 117 (11):2424-2435.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads40 ( #28,851 of 549,068 )Recent downloads (6 months)3 ( #25,703 of 549,068 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
