Neuroscience

Portuguese Discoveries and Erasure's theme "Ship of Fouls", navigating in an age of loneliness and excelera<ting public cerimonies of hapyness, seeking for social recognition and professional realizations for question os status or just simply competition , on the realm of danger and street violence, between normality and pathology, what is norm?, could be mental ilness just a process of individual salvation to ta better way of being?

This article explores the hypothesis that synchronicity—often dismissed as psychological coincidence—can be rigorously interpreted as a phase collapse of semantic superposition, culminating in an epistemic singularity. Departing from classical models, we propose that the observer functions as a recursive, programmable interface whose engagement with the environment operates through phase coherence and reversibility. At moments of synchronicity, non-causal semantic configurations undergo sudden stabilization, enabling a mode of knowing that transcends empirical validation. Measurement is reframed as resonance between external structures and the (...) observer’s internal topology. Synchronicity becomes not a mere coincidence, but a localized collapse of interpretive potential, activated through the intrinsic phase of attention or belief. This framework challenges the foundations of epistemology and proposes a novel model for quantum measurement and scientific cognition. Meaning is constituted not through symbolic processing alone, but through structurally entangled participation—at the edge of what can be known and what can be measured. (shrink)

This paper aims to outline the foundations for an ethics of digital touch. Digital touch refers to hardware and software technologies, often collectively referred to as ‘haptics’, that provide somatic sensations including touch and kinaesthesis, either as a stand-alone interface to users, or as part of a wider immersive experience. Digital touch has particular promise in application areas such as communication, affective computing, medicine, and education. However, as with all emerging technologies, potential value needs to be considered against potential risk. (...) We therefore identify some areas where digital touch raises ethical concerns, and we identify why these concerns arise, based on the distinctive physiological and functional properties of the human somatosensory system. Most scientific research in digital touch has focused on user interaction with external objects (active touch). However, the most pressing ethical concerns with digital touch technologies arise when users are being passively touched. Our analysis identifies several important questions about control, transparency, and epistemic procedure in digital touch scenarios. First, human somatosensation is “always on”, and many digital touch technologies take advantage of this (e.g., alerting systems). As a result, digital touch technologies can undermine individuals’ sensory autonomy (i.e., the right to choose what sensations one experiences). Second, users may reasonably want to know who or what is touching them, and for what purpose. Consent for digital touch will therefore need to be carefully and transparently transacted. Third, because touch gives us a special, direct experience of interacting with our physical environment, digital touch technologies that manipulate this interaction could potentially provide a major epistemic challenge, by changing a user’s basic understanding of reality and their relation to it. Informed by this discussion, we conclude by suggesting a basis for an ethical design framework for digital touch systems. (shrink)

Scientists have complained about the inconsistency and politics of academic publishing for hundreds of years. Among the explanations offered are that evaluators lack time and use shortcuts, that they lack the expertise to judge things properly, that they can't put aside personal biases and we must hide the names of authors, and that they are conscientious instead of creative and cannot judge new ideas. All of these are actually wrong. As a literary analyst, I spent the last ten years independently (...) studying this same problem in book and movie production. I've found that the human decision-making apparatus doesn't work the way we think, and the solutions based on this misunderstanding could never have solved the problem. In this paper, we present the first method that actually can, which is a technique adapted from computer hacking, as well as a new view of how our brains make choices. (shrink)

To prepare you for this thesis, I first need to dispel a few myths regarding our current understanding of endorphins, conscience and shame. Three theories that are foundational to modern day western philosophy. The fact is that these three organs function in this order to form a cooperative system that works discreetly to protect our brain or our creations from damage caused by localised overheating or from generating knowledge that, by its degree of complexity, is unmanageable and unworkable. Further, they (...) work to ensure that our awareness of the act responsible for this debilitating state is reinforced and less likely to be repeated. 1. Endorphins do not exist to provide pain relief. 2. Conscience does not assume a moral faculty. 3. Shame accompanies simple failures that often have integrity. If we remove the purely relative and arbitrary functions of ‘right and wrong’ and ‘good and evil’ from our scientific definition of who and what we are, we are able to deconstruct and interpret the affective mechanics of human nature. I recognise right from wrong in a functional, timely and dynamic fashion, I require no physical organ to perform this task for me. (shrink)

The Phrenological Argument, also known as God's Parapraxis, is a new provocative philosophical argument that showcases God's Mental State of Inadequacy in his creation of the Human Mind. Lawsin* argues that if God has a perfect mind flawlessly capable of knowing things in advance, then he should have anticipated ahead of time the repercussions of creating a human mind that cannot fathom Truth and Reality. But since he created a mind incapable of knowing what is real and what is true, (...) then it shows God carries an erroneous lapse somewhere in his memory. This mental erracity offers good solid evidence that proves God is not after all all-knowing. -/- The basic form of the argument is: 1. God created the mind 2. The mind cannot detect truth and reality 3. therefore, God will never be known. -/- A modified version: 1. If God created the mind for men to know him 2. But god failed to foresee his parapraxis 3. Then, god is not all-knowing. -/- A follow-up variation: 1. If God is real 2. But the mind can't detect reality 3. Therefore, the mind can't detect god. -/- Furthermore, man created the idea of god. Like all ideas, the idea of god is also nothing but an assumption, a guesswork, a supposition. For example, Zero and One are abstract concepts. They don't exist in the natural world. They are not naturally inherent. They only exist in the mind by assumption. Mathematically, both words are called numerals by definition. When Zero is represented with the symbol 0 and One with 1, technically, the words become numbers by association. Numbers are the assumed physical representations of abstract numerals. By symbolic representation, both digits now exist outside the mind - the physical world - the world outside of ourselves - the inherent world that existed a long time independently before the mind. However, although 0 & 1 are created by definition, association, representation, and assumption, are these numbers now solid objects or physical materials? If I write 0 and 1 on a paper, are they materially or physically real now? Can we consider the written numbers as proof of their existence? Can the numbers be proven as solid evidence prescribed by the scientific method? How can we validate the paper's evidence to be true, false, valid, or real? Do they really exist or are the numbers still abstract, imaginary, or imagined? If they are still abstract, therefore all ideas man has thought of or conceptualized are all assumptions, guesswork, or nothing but merely suppositions (The Lawsin Conjecture/Codexation Dilemma). (shrink)

Mind, according to cognitive neuroscience, is a set of brain functions. But, unlike sets, our minds are cohesive. Moreover, unlike the structureless elements of sets, the contents of our minds are structured. Mutual relations between the mental contents endow the mind its structure. Here we characterize the structural essence and the logical form of the mind by focusing on thinking. Examination of the relations between concepts, propositions, and syllogisms involved in thinking revealed the reflexive graph structure of the conceptual mind. (...) Objective logic of the conceptual mind is calculated from its structure. Noteworthy features of the logic of conceptual mind are: degrees of truth, varieties of negation, admission of contradiction, and the failure of a de Morgan's law. Furthermore, cohesion of the conceptual mind follows from its reflexive graph structure. Our characterization of the structure and logic of mind constitutes a substantial refinement of the contemporary cognitive neuroscientific conceptualization of the mind as a set. (shrink)

The 'Science of Knowing: Mathematics' textbook is the first book to put forward and substantiate the thesis that the mathematical understanding of mathematics, as exemplified in F. William Lawvere's Functorial Semantics, constitutes the science of knowing i.e. cognitive science. -/- This is a textbook, i.e. teaching material.

Neuroscientific discourse on consciousness often resorts to "collection of elements", notwithstanding the Gestalt demonstrations against representing conscious experience as a collection of sensory elements. Here I show that defining conscious experience as an object of the category of conscious experiences, instead of as cohesion-less set of structure-less elements, provides the conceptual repertoire—basic shapes, figures, and incidence relations—needed to reason about the essence of conscious experiences and the essence-preserving transformations of conscious experiences. Viewed in light of the category of conscious experiences, (...) designers of user experience—in designing pre-conceptualized user experiences—are well situated to contribute to the development of the science of consciousness. (shrink)

Psychoanalisys, Marcuse, Freud articulated with some toughts of Karl Jung.

childhood and guilt, redemption and regret about a traumatic event.

I argue that a slight shift in our understanding of the notion of existence is needed in order to cope with the problem of external world and the problem of mind and body. As a consequence of it being taught by "givenness" of the subjective mind, and despite its applicability in objective contexts, it should be considered a "tool" akin to qualia, rather than pertaining to a "true", objective reality. In plain language, one's supposed relation with their surroundings is known (...) to them only in terms of their private ontology. This conclusion is supported both by intuition and - perhaps most importantly - by ontological issues in quantum physics. (shrink)

The knowledge-centric Theory of Mind research program suggested by Phillips et al. stands to gain significant value by embracing a neurocognitive approach that takes full advantage of techniques like fMRI and EEG. This neurocognitive approach has already begun providing important insights into the mechanisms of knowledge attribution, insights which support the claim that it is more basic than belief attribution.

James Turner has argued that views of purgatorial post-mortem salvation face a dilemma on the basis of their motivating intuitions vis-à-vis the second coming of Jesus (i.e., the parousia). Namely, they can accept that some persons experience “abrupt purgation” (undermining a key reason for affirming purgation), they can posit all who are not already saved at the second coming are damned (a view which is highly distasteful to purgatory advocates), or they can deny the parousia (a position which is unorthodox). (...) I offer a way of defusing this problem by constructing a second-chance soteriology on which persons in post-mortem purgation experience a state of psychological time dilation. In so doing, I first articulate the problem at hand before turning to relevant examples from fictional media and the neuropsychology of dreaming to support my constructive efforts. Finally, I apply this solution to a pre-existing soteriological model which already uses such resources so as to demonstrate its usefulness: namely, my own compassionate exclusivist view. (shrink)

This article comprehensively examines how information processing relates to attention and consciousness. We argue that no current theoretical framework investigating consciousness has a satisfactory and holistic account of their informational relationship. Our key theoretical contribution is showing how the dissociation between consciousness and attention must be understood in informational terms in order to make the debate scientifically sound. No current theories clarify the difference between attention and consciousness in terms of information. We conclude with two proposals to advance the debate. (...) First, neurobiological homeostatic processes need to be more explicitly associated with conscious information processing, since information processed through attention is algorithmic, rather than being homeostatic. Second, to understand subjectivity in informational terms, we must define information uniqueness in consciousness (e.g., irreproducible information, biologically encrypted information). These approaches could help cognitive scientists better understand conflicting accounts of the neural correlates of consciousness and work toward a more unified theoretical framework. (shrink)

Given that teachers become primary fundamental exemplars and models for their students and the students are likely to emulate the presented teachers’ behaviors, it is necessary to consider how to promote teachers’ abilities as potential moral educators during the course of teacher education. To achieve this ultimate aim in teacher education, as argued by moral philosophers, psychologists, and educators, teachers should be able to well understand the mechanisms of moral functioning and how to effectively promote moral development based on evidence. (...) Recent findings in the fields of social sciences that have examined how morality is functioning among human beings, moral psychology in particular, provide us with the evidence through experiments and observations. Furthermore, thanks to the development of scientific research methods that enable researchers to investigate the neural-level nature of human behavior, the researchers now can examine neural correlates of moral functioning that constitutes the basis of moral behavior and development. To facilitate the understanding of the field of neuroscience of morality and its educational implications within the context of teacher education, first, the recent trend in the field will be reviewed, and second, how it can provide useful insights to teachers and teacher educations will be discussed. (shrink)

In the current chapter, I examined the relationship between the cerebellum, emotion, and morality with evidence from large-scale neuroimaging data analysis. Although the aforementioned relationship has not been well studied in neuroscience, recent studies have shown that the cerebellum is closely associated with emotional and social processes at the neural level. Also, debates in the field of moral philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience have supported the importance of emotion in moral functioning. Thus, I explored the potentially important but less-studies topic with (...) NeuroSynth, a tool for large-scale brain image analysis, while addressing issues associated with reverse inference. The result from analysis demonstrated that brain regions in the cerebellum, the right Crus I and Crus II in particular, were specifically associated with morality in general. I discussed the potential implications of the finding based on clinical and functional neuroimaging studies of the cerebellum, emotional functioning, and neural networks for diverse psychological processes. (shrink)

In this paper, I examined whether evidence from the neuroscience of morality supports the standard models of phronesis, i.e., Jubilee and Aretai Centre Models. The standard models explain phronesis as a multifaceted construct based on interaction and coordination among functional components. I reviewed recent neuroscience studies focusing on brain networks associated with morality and their connectivity to examine the validity of the models. Simultaneously, I discussed whether the evidence helps the models address challenges, particularly those from the phronesis eliminativism. Neuroscientific (...) evidence supported the importance of brain networks, i.e., the default mode, salience, and central executive functioning networks, in moral functioning in general. The findings favorably supported the multifaceted and integrative nature of phronesis proposed by the standard models. Finally, I considered how the two models could explain the mechanisms of phronesis more integratively based on neuroscientific findings. At the end of this paper, with the evidence, I proposed several practical ideas to promote the cultivation of phronesis, e.g., the consideration of coordination among components for moral functioning and the use of moral exemplars. (shrink)

Meta-learning is learning to learn, which includes the development of capacities to transfer what people learned in one specific domain to other domains. It facilitates finetuning learning parameters and setting priors for effective and optimal learning in novel contexts and situations. Recent advances in research on artificial intelligence have reported meta-learning is essential in improving and optimizing the performance of trained models across different domains. In this paper, I suggest that meta-learning plays fundamental roles in practical wisdom and its cultivation (...) within moral domains. I support my argument with findings from studies in psychology, neuroscience, and computer science. Moreover, I suggested concrete ideas for moral education to foster wisdom cultivation along with meta-learning with evidence from studies across various fields. Particularly, I underscored that exemplars, including role models and mentors, play fundamental roles in education. Finally, I discussed the potential implications of the introduction of the concept, meta-learning, to moral education addressing concerns and issues related to socio-cultural diversity. (shrink)

This paper deals with the version of Jung’s synchronicity in which correlation between mental processes of two different persons takes place not just in the case when at a certain moment of time the subjects are located at a distance from each other, but also in the case when both persons are alternately (and sequentially, one after the other) located in the same point of space. In this case, a certain period of time lapses between manifestation of mental process in (...) one person and manifestation of mental process in the other person. Transmission of information from one person to the other via classical communication channel is ruled out. The author proposes a hypothesis, whereby such manifestation of synchronicity may become possible thanks to existence of quantum entanglement between the past and the future within the light cone. This hypothesis is based on the latest perception of the nature of quantum vacuum. (shrink)

Identification of the second of two targets (T1, T2, inserted in a stream of distractors) is impaired when presented within 500 ms after the first (attentional blink, AB). Barring a T1-T2 task-switch, it is thought that T2 must be backward-masked to obtain an AB (Giesbrecht & Di Lollo, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 24, 1454- 1466, 1998). We tested the hypothesis that Giesbrecht & Di Lollo's findings were vitiated by ceiling constraints arising from either response scale (experiment (...) 1) or data limitations (experiment 2). In experiment 1, digitdistractors were replaced with pseudoletters to increase task difficulty, bringing performance below ceiling. An AB occurred without backward masking of T2. In experiment 2, a ceiling-free procedure estimated the number of noise dots needed for 80% T2 identification. An AB was revealed: fewer noise dots were required during the AB period than outside it. Both outcomes confirm that an AB can be obtained without either masking of T2 or task switching. (shrink)

Under what conditions are material objects, such as particles, parts of a whole object? This is the composition question and is a longstanding open question in philosophy. Existing attempts to specify a non-trivial restriction on composition tend to be vague and face serious counterexamples. Consequently, two extreme answers have become mainstream: composition (the forming of a whole by its parts) happens under no or all conditions. In this paper, we provide a self-contained introduction to the integrated information theory of consciousness (...) (IIT). We show that IIT specifies a non-trivial restriction on composition: composition happens when integrated information is maximized. We compare the IIT-restriction to existing proposals and argue that the IIT-restriction has significant advantages, especially in response to the problems of vagueness and counterexamples. An appendix provides an introduction to calculating parts and wholes with a simple system. (shrink)

Recent research has begun to investigate sensory processing in relation to nonclinical variation in traits associated with the autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We propose that existing accounts of autistic perception can be augmented by considering a role for individual differences in top-down expectations for the precision of sensory input, related to the processing of state-dependent levels of uncertainty. We therefore examined ASD-like traits in relation to the rubber-hand illusion: an experimental paradigm that typically elicits crossmodal integration of visual, tactile, and (...) proprioceptive information in an unusual illusory context. Individuals with higher ASD-like traits showed reduced effects of the rubber-hand illusion on perceived arm position and reach-to-grasp movements, compared to individuals with lower ASD-like traits. These differences occurred despite both groups reporting the typical subjective experience of the illusion concerning visuotactile integration and ownership for the rubber hand. Together these results suggest that the integration of proprioceptive information with cues for arm position derived from the illusory context differs between individuals partly in relation to traits associated with ASD. We suggest that the observed differences in sensory integration can be best explained in terms of differing expectations regarding the precision of sensory estimates in contexts that suggest uncertainty. (shrink)

Debates on dualism continue to plague psychiatry. I suggest that these debates are based on false dichotomies. According to metaphysical physicalism, reality is ultimately physical. Although this view excludes the idea of entities distinct from physical reality, it does not compel us to favour neural over psychological interventions. According to methodological dualism, both physical and mental interventions on the world can be deemed effective, and both perspectives can therefore be thought to be equally ‘real’.

Some parts of Bence Nanay's view of the relationship between mental imagery and perception appear iconoclastic. Other parts appear traditionalist. This commentary on his recent book Mental imagery poses three questions that put pressure on the idea that the iconoclastic parts and the traditionalist parts can coexist harmoniously.

In this article we scrutinize what can be called an "experimentalist dogma" presupposed in Pablo Melogno's analysis of empirical incommensurability in the chemical revolution. According to Melogno, the fact that experimental methods were preserved throughout the chemical revolution was an indication that there were no relevant perceptual differences between Joseph Priestley and Antoine Lavoisier. In order to refine Melogno's general analysis, we will present a taxonomy of varieties of empirical incommensurability and discuss their relationships. To exemplify this categorization, and to (...) show its metatheoretical adequacy, we will apply it to the neuronist revolution, that is, to the process of discovery of the neuron in the late 19th and early 20th centuries within neuroanatomy, taking as our main case study the controversy between Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal. From the analysis of the controversies regarding dendritic spines and stellate cells of the cerebellum, in particular, we question the experimentalist dogma, highlighting how, in these controversies, the conservation of experimental practices does not guarantee the similarity of perceptual contents. Moreover, we will argue that, all other experimental conditions being equal, differences in experiential content between Golgi and Cajal are best explained by differences in their commitments to incompatible conceptual schemes. (shrink)

A scientific, philosophical, and spiritual overview of the relationship between science and spirituality, neuroscience and the mystery of consciousness, mind and the nature of reality, evolution and life. A plaidoyer for a science that goes beyond the curve of reason and embraces a new synthesis of knowledge. The overcoming of the limitations of the intellect into an extended vision of ourselves and Nature. A critique of physicalism, the still-dominant doctrine that believes that all reality can be reduced to matter and (...) the laws of physics alone. A review and reassessment of the old and new philosophical and metaphysical ideas which attempts to bring closer Western and Eastern traditions where science, philosophy, consciousness, Spirit and Nature are united in a grand vision that transcends the limited conventional scientific and philosophical paradigm. A possible answer to the questions of purpose and meaning and the future evolution of humankind beyond a conception that posits a priori a purposeless and meaningless universe. A report of the new scientific discoveries of a basal intelligence in cells and plants, on the question if mind is computational, the issue of free will, the mind-body problem, and the so called ‘hard problem of consciousness’. An essay on ancient as modern philosophical conceptions, from the One of Plotinus, the God of Spinoza until the recent revival of panpsychism or the universal consciousness. A journey into quantum physics from the perspective of philosophical idealism and an invitation to adopt new ways of seeing that might help us to transform our present understanding, expanding it into an integral cosmology, with a special emphasis on the spiritual and evolutionary cosmology of the Indian seer Sri Aurobindo. Not just a philosophical and metaphysical meditation but, rather, an appeal to work towards a change of consciousness, a widening of our perspective towards a new way of seeing beyond a purely mechanistic worldview to avoid a social, environmental and economic collapse. Humans are transitional beings that will have to make a choice: relapse into a pre-rational state or evolve towards a new trans-rational species supported by an ideal of human unity in diversity as the expression of a spiritual evolutionary process, the call of the Spirit on Nature. -/- This is a technical treatise for scientists and philosophers that wonder if and how they can expand their intellectual horizons beyond the straitjacket of materialism. It is dedicated to those who feel there is something more but struggle with connecting the dots into a more comprehensive and coherent picture supported by a way of seeing that allows us to overcome the present paradigm while maintaining scientific and conceptual rigor. Most of the topics discussed are unknown even to neuroscientists, biologists, philosophers, and yet are based on the findings published in their own mainstream peer-reviewed literature or on deep insights of the scientific, philosophical and spiritual giants of the past. (shrink)

El presente trabajo examina el impacto del uso de lenguaje violento en los eslóganes publicitarios, desde la perspectiva del neuromarketing y la ética comunicativa. En un contexto donde las emociones juegan un papel crucial en la toma de decisiones de los consumidores, este estudio analiza cómo los eslóganes que emplean un tono violento o agresivo influyen en las respuestas emocionales y cognitivas de los usuarios, afectando su percepción de la marca y sus decisiones de compra. Utilizando principios de la neurociencia (...) y análisis del comportamiento del consumidor, se identifican los mecanismos neuronales activados por el uso de eslóganes violentos y su comparación con eslóganes que utilizan un lenguaje no violento. A través de un análisis de diez eslóganes polémicos en el contexto angloamericano e hispanohablante, se evalúan las consecuencias éticas de emplear un lenguaje que busca impactar de manera negativa. El estudio también considera cómo un enfoque más empático y respetuoso en la comunicación puede generar mejores resultados para las marcas, favoreciendo la fidelización del cliente. Metodológicamente, el estudio se basa en la revisión de investigaciones previas en neurocomunicación y neuromarketing, así como en el análisis de campañas publicitarias recientes que han suscitado ciertas polémicas por el uso de un lenguaje agresivo. Los resultados destacan que los eslóganes que apelan a la violencia o al insulto activan regiones cerebrales asociadas al estrés y a la defensa emocional, reduciendo la confianza y disposición del consumidor hacia la marca. En contraste, el lenguaje no violento genera respuestas neuronales asociadas al bienestar y la satisfacción, promoviendo una conexión más positiva con la marca. Este estudio concluye que una comunicación ética y respetuosa en la publicidad, especialmente en el uso de eslóganes, no solo es fundamental desde un punto de vista moral sino que también favorece el éxito de las estrategias de neuromarketing al mejorar la experiencia del consumidor y fomentar la lealtad hacia la marca. (shrink)

Polysemous concepts with multiple related meanings pervade natural languages, yet some philosophers argue that we should eliminate them to avoid miscommunication and pointless debates in scientific discourse. This paper defends the legitimacy of polysemous concepts in science against this eliminativist challenge. My approach analyses such concepts as patchworks with multiple scale-dependent, technique-involving, domain-specific and property-targeting uses (patches). I demonstrate the generality of my approach by applying it to "hardness" in materials science, "homology" in evolutionary biology, "gold" in chemistry and "cortical (...) column" in neuroscience. Such patchwork concepts are legitimate if the techniques used to apply them produce reliable results, the domains to which they are applied are homogenous, and the properties they refer to are significant to describe, classify or explain the behavior of entities in the extension of the concept. By following these normative constraints, researchers can avoid miscommunication and pointless debates without having to eliminate polysemous patchwork concepts in scientific discourse. (shrink)

Ngày 19/4/2024 vừa qua, Tuyên bố New York về Ý thức của Động vật đã được công bố tại một hội nghị "Khoa học Mới nổi về Ý thức của Động vật" được tổ chức tại Đại học New York.

In this paper, findings from research in neuroscience of morality will be reviewed to consider the purposes of moral education. Particularly, I will focus on two main themes in neuroscience, novel neuroimaging and experimental investigations, and Bayesian learning mechanism. First, I will examine how neuroimaging and experimental studies contributed to our understanding of psychological mechanisms associated with moral functioning while addressing methodological concerns. Second, Bayesian learning mechanism will be introduced to acquire insights about how moral learning occurs in human brains. (...) Based on the reviewed neuroscientific research on morality, I will examine how evidence can support the model of moral education proposed by virtue ethics, Neo-Aristotelian moral philosophy in particular. Particularly, two main aims of virtue ethics-based moral education, the habituation of virtues and the cultivation of phronesis, will be discussed as the important purposes of moral education based on neuroscientific evidence. (shrink)

Empirical evidence indicates that conscious states, distinguished by the presence of phenomenal qualities, are closely linked to synchronized neural activity patterns whose dynamical characteristics can be attributed to self-organized criticality and phase transitions. These findings imply that insight into the mechanism by which the brain controls phase transitions will provide a deeper understanding of the fundamental mechanism by which the brain manages to transcend the threshold of consciousness. This article aims to show that the initiation of phase transitions and the (...) formation of synchronized activity patterns is due to the coupling of the brain to the zero-point field (ZPF), which plays a central role in quantum electrodynamics (QED). The ZPF stands for the presence of ubiquitous vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field, represented by a spectrum of normal modes. With reference to QED-based model calculations, the details of the coupling mechanism are revealed, suggesting that critical brain dynamics is governed by the resonant interaction of the ZPF with the most abundant neurotransmitter glutamate. The pyramidal neurons in the cortical microcolumns turn out to be ideally suited to control this interaction. A direct consequence of resonant glutamate-ZPF coupling is the amplification of specific ZPF modes, which leads us to conclude that the ZPF is the key to the understanding of consciousness and that the distinctive feature of neurophysiological processes associated with conscious experience consists in modulating the ZPF. Postulating that the ZPF is an inherently sentient field and assuming that the spectrum of phenomenal qualities is represented by the normal modes of the ZPF, the significance of resonant glutamate-ZPF interaction for the formation of conscious states becomes apparent in that the amplification of specific ZPF modes is inextricably linked with the excitation of specific phenomenal qualities. This theory of consciousness, according to which phenomenal states arise through resonant amplification of zero-point modes, is given the acronym TRAZE. An experimental setup is specified that can be used to test a corollary of the theory, namely, the prediction that normally occurring conscious perceptions are absent under experimental conditions in which resonant glutamate-ZPF coupling is disrupted. (shrink)

The Ecological Brain is the first book of its kind, using complexity science to integrate the seemingly disparate fields of ecological psychology and neuroscience. The book develops a unique framework for unifying investigations and explanations of mind that span brain, body, and environment: the NeuroEcological Nexus Theory (NExT). Beginning with an introduction to the history of the fields, the author provides an assessment of why ecological psychology and neuroscience are commonly viewed as irreconcilable methods for investigating and explaining cognition, intelligent (...) behavior, and the systems that realize them. The book then progresses to its central aim: presenting a unified investigative and explanatory framework offering concepts, methods, and theories applicable across neural and ecological scales of investigation. By combining the core principles of ecological psychology, neural population dynamics, and synergetics under a unified complexity science approach, NExT offers a compressive investigative framework to explain and understand neural, bodily, and environmental contributions to perception-action and other forms of intelligent behavior and thought. The book progresses the conversation around the role of brains in ecological psychology, as well as bodies and environments in neuroscience. It is essential reading for all students of ecological psychology, perception, cognitive sciences and neuroscience, as well as anyone interested in the history and philosophy of the brain/mind sciences and their state-of-the-art methods and theories. (shrink)

Visual illusions are systematic misperceptions that can help us glean the heuristics with which the brain constructs visual experience. In a recently discovered visual illusion (the “frame effect”), it has been shown that flashing a stimulus inside of a moving frame produces a large misperception of that stimulus's position. Across two experiments, we investigated a novel illusion (the “split stimulus effect”) where the symmetrical motion of two overlaid frames produces two simultaneous positional misperceptions of a single stimulus. That is, one (...) stimulus is presented but two are perceived. In both experiments, a single red dot was flashed when the moving frames reversed direction, and participants were asked to report how many dots they saw. Naïve participants sometimes reported seeing two dots when only one was presented, indicating spontaneous perception of the illusion. A Bayesian analysis of the population prevalence of this effect was conducted. The dependence of this effect on the frames’ speed, the dot's opacity, spatial attention, as the presence/absence of pre-flash motion (“postdiction”) was also investigated, and the features of this illusion were compared to similar motion position illusions within a predictive processing framework. In demonstrating this illusory “splitting” effect, this study is the first to show that it is possible to be simultaneously aware of two opposing perceptual predictions about a single object and provides evidence of the hyperpriors that limit and inform the structure of visual experience. (shrink)

In recent years, dependency grammars have established themselves as valuable tools in theoretical and computational linguistics. To many linguists, dependency grammars and the more standard constituency-based formalisms are notational variants. We argue that, beyond considerations of formal equivalence, cognition may also serve as a background for a genuine comparison between these different views of syntax. In this paper, we review and evaluate some of the most common arguments and evidence employed to advocate for the cognitive or neural reality of dependency (...) grammars in linguistics, psycholinguistics, or neurolinguistics. We then raise the possibility that the abilities to represent and track, alternatively or in parallel, constituency and dependency structures co-exist in human cognition and are constitutive of syntactic competence. (shrink)

Introduction: We report an epileptic patient who experienced hallucinatory visual experiences of autobiographical memories from her past. These visual experiences were confined to the lower left quadrant of her visual field. -/- Methods: We carried out a single-case study that used brain-imaging, EEG and behavioural methods to study this patient. -/- Results: We found that this patient had an incomplete left inferior homonymous quadrantanopia due to a lesion of right occipital cortex, and also that she showed neurological abnormalities in right (...) temporal cortex, a region that is part of the brain’s autobiographical-memory circuit. -/- Conclusion: We attribute the occurrence of this patient’s autobiographical-memory hallucinations to the combination of degraded visual input to right temporal cortex plus hyperexcitability of that region. (shrink)

This analysis summarizes conclusions on an evolutionary model for the origin of moral and religious capacities in the genus Homo. The authors’ published model (2020, Routledge) is now extended to the emergence of nascent theological thinking, augmenting the previous line of theory based on genomics, cognitive science, neuroscience, paleoneurology, cognitive archaeology, ethnography, and modern social science. This analysis concludes that findings support the earliest theological thinking in Homo sapiens, but not in an earlier species, Homo erectus, and clarifies why and (...) when it likely began. Types of anatomy, behavior, neurology, and cognition are presented that support tendencies to frame a structure of religious principles and a set of supernatural figures that early humans would consider right, just, exemplary, and even sacred. Stages of emergent physical, behavioral, and cognitive features are presented in tables. While based on published research results in the sciences, the model is presented here with anticipation of future testing. (shrink)

The dual stream model of the human and non-human primate visual systems remains Leslie Ungerleider's (1946-2020) most indelible contribution to visual neuroscience. In this model, a dorsal "where" stream specialized for visuospatial representation extends through occipitoparietal cortex, whereas a ventral "what" stream specialized for representing object qualities extends through occipitotemporal cortex. Over time, this model underwent a number of revisions and expansions. In one of her last scientific contributions, Leslie proposed a third visual stream specialized for representing dynamic signals related (...) to social perception. This alteration invites the question: What is a visual stream, and how are different visual streams individuated? In this article, we first consider and reject a simple answer to this question based on a common idealizing visualization of the model, which conflicts with the complexities of the visual system that the model was intended to capture. Next, we propose a taxonomic answer that takes inspiration from the philosophy of science and Leslie's body of work, which distinguishes between neural mechanisms, pathways, and streams. In this taxonomy, visual streams are superordinate to pathways and mechanisms and provide individuation conditions for determining whether collections of cortical connections delineate different visual streams. Given this characterization, we suggest that the proposed third visual stream does not yet meet these conditions, although the tripartite model still suggests important revisions to how we think about the organization of the human and non-human primate visual systems. (shrink)

Antiquated Classical pictures of the universe have been formative in shaping the modern idea that, to the extent change is caused, it is fixed in advance. This idea has played a role in making it seem to many that what we are discovering through science supports the exclusion of free will from models for the relevant neural and bodily changes. I argue that giving up this unwarranted notion about causation opens us to the likelihood that how a person expresses free (...) will offers unique explanatory value. I then briefly discuss some further issues with either including or excluding expressions of free will from our explanations, as well as some implications for AI and everyday life. (shrink)

This interdisciplinary book enables scientists and non-specialists from various fields to delve into fascinating historical and recent scientific advancements in physics, astrophysics, genetic evolution, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. Paradigm shifts are common in science, but some have significantly changed our perception and understanding of the world. This volume not only explores the profound implications of these scientific frontiers but also forecasts their impact on daily life. It delves into ongoing research and the technology that fuels advancements in physics and related (...) fields. Authored by renowned researchers and science communicators, this book appeals to researchers and non-experts seeking a comprehensive overview of emerging developments that challenge ongoing research and will impact education and society in the coming years. Structured into distinct sections - New Physics World, Evolutionary Genetics to Epigenetics, Neurosciences and Neurophilosophy, Applications of Artificial Intelligence, and The Mystery of the Dark Sector - each chapter provides a deep dive into its respective subject, shedding light on the mysteries and implications of cutting-edge science. The book ends with an Epilogue illustrating the limitations of and challenges for our cognitive abilities. (shrink)

In arguing against the likelihood of consciousness in non-human animals, Descartes advances a slippery slope argument that if thought were attributed to any one animal, it would have to be attributed to all, which is absurd. This paper examines the foundations of Thomas Willis’ comparative neuroanatomy against the background of Descartes’ slippery slope argument against animal consciousness. Inspired by Gassendi’s ideas about the corporeal soul, Thomas Willis distinguished between neural circuitry responsible for reflex behaviour and that responsible for cognitively or (...) consciously mediated behaviour. This afforded Willis a non-arbitrary basis for distinguishing between animals with thought and consciousness and those without, a methodology which retains currency for neuroscience today. (shrink)

In this study, screening positive for probable depression was common among undergraduate students at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa and associated with sociodemographic and selected behavioral factors. These findings call for strengthening the awareness and use of counselling services among undergraduate students.

In our study, we conducted three hypothetical experiments, assuming all participants had healthy brains and minds in similar environments. We based our methodology on the premise that cell death can preserve anatomical and neural integrity (Vrselja et al., 2019). Between T1 and T2, six brains were rendered non-functional (brain death), eliminating consciousness. Participants were divided into three groups: -/- 1. Identical Triplets (Group I): Individuals 'a, 'b,' and 'c.' -/- 2. Second Set of Identical Triplets (Group II): Individuals 'd, 'e,' (...) and 'f.' -/- 3. Non-identical Triplets (Group III): Individuals 'g, 'h,' and 'i.' -/- Uniform conditions were maintained across all groups, ensuring identical nutrients and processes. In the third experiment, we preserved the inactive brains of 'a,' 'b,' 'd,' 'e,' 'g,' and 'h' from **T1** to **T2** and created three new identical brains for each participant, resulting in twenty-seven new brains labeled ('a1' to 'i3'). The original six brains were revived, leading to thirty-six participant brains in the lab. -/- Results -/- If our third experiment holds validity, it suggests that all twenty-seven artificially created brains and the revived six brains could function, resulting in thirty-six operational brains at T2. This includes the three live brains of 'c,' 'f,' and 'i.' -/- Discussion -/- Determining whose consciousness resides within the lab is practically impossible, except for 'c,' 'f,' and 'i.' For instance, if you are 'a' before *T1*, identifying which of the eleven identical brains ('a', 'a1', 'a2', 'a3', etc.) contains your consciousness at *T2* is challenging. Assuming your consciousness exists in all eleven brains post-T1* raises critical questions: Did your singular consciousness cease to exist, or did it transfer to a specific brain outside the lab? This dilemma highlights profound implications for our understanding of consciousness and identity. -/- Conclusion -/- If your existence ceased (no afterlife- discontinued ''a'consciousness-) at T1, theoretically, "you (a)" could reappear ( at T2 ) in two or more identical brains, in the laboratory setting. However, as extensively discussed in this research, a single consciousness can't exist in multiple brains simultaneously. While there may be two, many, or even infinite identical brains in the universe/s, no one simultaneously experiences( 'feel-aware' ) their consciousness in multiple places. Although the brain's quality and quantity continually change over time, encompassing aspects such as neurons, neurochemistry, and the biophysics of brain function, unique consciousness persists from childhood to death within a single brain. The hypothesis concerning the continuum of unique consciousness within the dynamic framework of the material brain presents a complex enigma. It posits that unknown, two fundamental particles—one universally unique (to a particular brain) and invariant and the other subject to continuous evolution—coexist within the brain throughout its functional lifespan. This coexistence may elucidate the mechanisms underlying consciousness and its persistence, despite the brain's ongoing structural and functional transformations. This simple reasoning strongly supports the high probability of life ('your' -' a') after death occurring in a single brain at T1,( outside the lab) without any passage of time. -/- What is the research valuable for? -/- This article examines the ongoing mysteries of consciousness and the afterlife—two topics that have intrigued humanity for centuries. Despite significant advancements in science and technology, no widely accepted scientific theories have been developed to address these problems. Various religious, rational, and irrational beliefs persist among scholars and laypeople. -/- Our research presents a novel idea supported by simple experiments, empirical evidence, and relevant theories. It delves into the complexities of consciousness, its connection to the brain, and the necessity for interdisciplinary collaboration. The study suggests a high possibility of continuous consciousness after death and argues that many multidisciplinary publications align with and support our findings. -/- If we dismiss the concept of an afterlife, we may struggle to reconcile experimental results with existing theories. Beyond theoretical implications, this article posits that understanding these mysteries could enhance human well-being and foster a more peaceful, happier world. Recognising the possibility of an afterlife underscores the risks associated with being born into a suffering environment in the universe/s. -/- This research employs new methodologies and aims to provide fresh insights that could transform our perception of existence and promote positive growth in individuals and society. This includes advancements in mental and physical well-being and intelligence. -/- In this controlled thought experiment, we explore that a 'fact ' of 'soul', like unknown particle/s, may exist within the ever-changing materialistic brain. We found that 1. there's no free will, 2. Certain ( yet) unknown particle/s might not change brain matter 3. Brain's natural functions impact genomic changes on unknown particle/s 4. Mind and behaviours are just natural phenomena no free will) 5. Activation of Major ( found over 3000), and innumerable Neuro-psychological (minor ) mind virus (MV) and healthy mind virus ( over 3000 major HMV and innumerable minor MV) might impact specific changes on unknown particles 6. Certain unknown particle/s probably propagate at infinite speed when you die and bond with the next suitable, vacant nervous stem (due to the natural evolution of your unique consciousness), 7. Systematic Mind virus scans are probably a method of correct meditation as a ( psychological) virus guard of the brain. 8. level of mind virus scan depends on the potential level of intelligence of you and your 'trainer/ teacher' s intelligence level at a certain moment related to a specific mind virus in a specific time...9. While this unknown remains unobservable directly through scientific testing, our hypothesis suggests the existence of an unknown entity rather than any fundamental forces, quantum levels particles, or fields (like electromagnetic, magnetic, gravitational, etc.) which could describe by Maxwell equation in physics, so on. 10. Despite the continual changes in brain matter, structure, and size—from the macroscopic to the quantum levels—healthy individuals experience a consistent sense ( all of you feel a unique identity) of 'consciousness -mind- feeling'- awareness' throughout 'your' lives. This raises profound questions: How does this unique continuity occur? Why does it happen? 11. MV and HMV (described in my other research paper on the evolution of human intelligence), are functions as Neuropsychological factors in a brain not perfectly similar to computer virus and virus guard scanning: however, brain MV and HMV scanning is different and brain is a biological 'computer' 12. ' diagnosis ', categorization, cure,( Scanning ), and prevention methods on MV and HMV were summarization in 8 sentences, I found in a volume of PTS, London,(1),(2), (3),(4) by an ancient philosopher/ teacher, who was in India! -/- These compelling inquiries have deeply inspired me. I extend my gratitude to all in the most prestigious science journal *Nature* and the team of scientists(5) who published the groundbreaking article on the revival of dead pig brains, which ignited my motivation to write this research Article, finally. Our minds have been greatly disturbed by thousands of peer-reviewed studies on meditation ( in PubMed Central, I found more than 37900 peer-reviewed publications, review articles on Google Scholar -64,900, and on Google Scholar- 1,490,000 research works on meditation!) -/- What are the big questions still unanswerable? -/- However, we can not answer the big question of why and how consciousness originated. At which level of the nervous system is it ready to bond with such 'soul-like 'fact, the unknown particle/s? 3. Is there any way to directly observe and measure the soul-like particles in empirical research? 4. Do we need new science/physics to solve specific big questions?... -/- Thank you for reading our study! -/- I should GREATLY ADMIRE YOUR critical comments! -/- (1. )SV ,( PTS) 420p. London -/- (2. )Rahula, W., What the Buddha Taught, The Golden Fraser Gallery Ltd, 1990 -/- (3.)Boddhi, B., The Noble Eight-Fold Path, ( Wheel 308/311) -/- (4.)Nayanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary, BPS, Kandy, 2004 -/- (5.) Vrselja, Z. et al. Nature 568, 336–343 (2019. (shrink)

Two universal functional principles of Grossberg’s Adaptive Resonance Theory [19] decipher the brain code of all biological learning and adaptive intelligence. Low-level representations of multisensory stimuli in their immediate environmental context are formed on the basis of bottom-up activation and under the control of top-down matching rules that integrate high-level long-term traces of contextual configuration. These universal coding principles lead to the establishment of lasting brain signatures of perceptual experience in all living species, from aplysiae to primates. They are re-visited (...) in this concept paper here on the basis of examples drawn from the original code and from some of the most recent related empirical findings on contextual modulation in the brain, highlighting the potential of Grossberg’s pioneering insights and groundbreaking theoretical work for intelligent solutions in the domain of developmental and cognitive robotics. (shrink)

Medical well-regarded policy recommendations for patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) are almost exclusively relied on behavioural examination and evaluation of higher-order cognition, and largely disregard the patients’ self. This is so because practically establishing the presence of self-awareness or Selfhood is even more challenging than evaluating the presence of consciousness. At the same time, establishing the potential (actual physical possibility) of Selfhood in DoC patients is crucialy important from clinical, ethical, and moral standpoints because Selfhood is the most central (...) and private evidence of being an independent and free agent that unites intention, embodiment, executive functions, attention, general intelligence, emotions and other components within the intra-subjective frame (first-person givenness). The importance of Selfhood is supported further by the observation that rebooting of self-awareness is the first step to recovery after brain damage. It seems that complex experiential Selfhood can be plausibly conceptualized within the Operational Architectonics (OA) of brain-mind functioning and reliably measured by quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) operational synchrony. (shrink)