Generality and content-specificity in the study of the neural correlates of perceptual consciousness
PDF

Keywords

general correlate of perceptual consciousness
perceptual contents
neural correlate of conscious contents
Content-specific NCC
Perceptual experience
Theories of perceptual consciousness

How to Cite

Marvan, T., & Polák, M. (2020). Generality and content-specificity in the study of the neural correlates of perceptual consciousness. Philosophy and the Mind Sciences, 1(II). https://doi.org/10.33735/phimisci.2020.II.61

Abstract

The present paper was written as a contribution to ongoing methodological debates within the NCC project. We focus on the neural correlates of conscious perceptual episodes. Our claim is that the NCC notion, as applied to conscious perceptual episodes, needs to be reconceptualized. It mixes together the processing related to the perceived contents and the neural substrate of consciousness proper, i.e. mechanisms making the perceptual contents conscious. We thus propose that the perceptual NCC be divided into two constitutive subnotions. The paper elaborates the distinction, marshals some initial arguments in its favour, and sketches advantages of the proposed reconceptualization. 

https://doi.org/10.33735/phimisci.2020.II.61
PDF

References

Aru, J., Axmacher, N., Do Lam, A. T. A., Fell, J., Elger, C. E., Singer, W., & Melloni, L. (2012). Local category-specific gammaband responses in the visual cortex do not reflect conscious perception. The Journal of Neuroscience, 32(43), 14909–14914. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2051-12.2012

Aru, J., Bachmann, T., Singer, W., & Melloni, L. (2012). Distilling the neural correlates of consciousness. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 36(2), 737–746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.12.003

Auksztulewicz, R., Spitzer, B., & Blankenburg, F. (2012). Recurrent neural processing and somatosensory awareness. The Journal of Neuroscience, 32(3), 799–805. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3974-11.2012

Baars, B. J., Franklin, S., & Ramsoy, T. Z. (2013). Global workspace dynamics: Cortical ”binding and propagation” enables conscious contents. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 200. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00200

Bayne, T., & Hohwy, J. (2013). Consciousness: Theoretical approaches. In A. E. Cavanna, A. Nani, H. Blumenfeld, & S. Laureys (Eds.), Neuroimaging of consciousness (pp. 23–35). Springer.

Bayne, T., Hohwy, J., & Owen, A. M. (2016). Are there levels of consciousness? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20(6), 405–413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.03.009

Beck, D. M., Rees, G., Frith, C. D., & Lavie, N. (2001). Neural correlates of change detection and change blindness. Nature Neuroscience, 4(6), 645–650. https://doi.org/10.1038/88477

Block, N. (2005). Two neural correlates of consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(2), 46–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2004.12.006

Boly, M., Massimini, M., Tsuchiya, N., Postle, B. R., Koch, C., & Tononi, G. (2017). Are the neural correlates of consciousness in the front or in the back of the cerebral Cortex? Clinical and neuroimaging evidence. The Journal of Neuroscience, 37(40), 9603–9613. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3218-16.2017

Chalmers, D. J. (2000). What is a neural correlate of consciousness? In T. Metzinger (Ed.), Neural correlates of consciousness (pp. 17–39). MIT Press.

Cleeremans, A. (2014). Prediction as a computational correlate of consciousness. International Journal of Computing Anticipatory Systems, 29, 3–13. https://axc.ulb.be/uploads/2016/01/14-casys11.pdf

Crick, F. H. C. (1994). The astonishing hypothesis: The scientific search for the soul. Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Dehaene, S. (2014). Consciousness and the brain: Deciphering how the brain codes our thoughts. Penguin Books.

Dehaene, S., & Changeux, J.-P. (2011). Experimental and theoretical approaches to conscious processing. Neuron, 70(2), 200–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2011.03.018

Dehaene, S., Naccache, L., Le Clec’H, G., Koechlin, E., Mueller, M., Dehaene-Lambertz, G., Moortele, P. F. van de, & Le Bihan, D. (1998). Imaging unconscious semantic priming. Nature, 395(6702), 597–600. https://doi.org/10.1038/26967

Dehaene, S., Sergent, C., & Changeux, J.-P. (2003). A neuronal network model linking subjective reports and objective physiological data during conscious perception. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(14), 8520–8525. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1332574100

Faivre, N., Berthet, V., & Kouider, S. (2014). Sustained invisibility through crowding and continuous flash suppression: A comparative review. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 475. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00475

Fink, S. B. (2016). A deeper look at the neural ”correlate of consciousness”. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1044. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01044

Förster, J., Koivisto, M., & Revonsuo, A. (2020). ERP and MEG correlates of visual consciousness: The second decade. Consciousness and Cognition, 80, 102917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2020.102917

Frith, C. D. (2019). The neural basis of consciousness. Psychological Medicine, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291719002204

Haynes, J.-D. (2009). Decoding visual consciousness from human brain signals. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13(5), 194–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2009.02.004

Hohwy, J. (2009). The neural correlates of consciousness: New experimental approaches needed? Consciousness and Cognition, 18(2), 428–438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2009.02.006

Jiang, Y., Shannon, R. W., Vizueta, N., Bernat, E. M., Patrick, C. J., & He, S. (2009). Dynamics of processing invisible faces in the brain: Automatic neural encoding of facial expression information. NeuroImage, 44(3), 1171–1177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.09.038

Keaton, D. (2015). Constitution, realization and identity. In S. Miller (Ed.), The constitution of phenomenal consciousness: Toward a science and theory (pp. 372–399). John Benjamins.

Koch, C. (2004). The quest for consciousness: A neurobiological approach. Roberts & Company.

Koch, C., Massimini, M., Boly, M., & Tononi, G. (2016). Neural correlates of consciousness: Progress and problems. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 17(5), 307–321. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2016.22

Lamme, V. A. (2003). Why visual attention and awareness are different. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(1), 12–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1364-6613(02)00013-x

Lamme, V. A. F. (2006). Towards a true neural stance on consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 10(11), 494–501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2006.09.001

Lamme, V. A. F. (2020). Visual Functions Generating Conscious Seeing. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 83. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00083

Marvan, T., & Polák, M. (2017). Unitary and dual models of phenomenal consciousness. Consciousness and Cognition, 56, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2017.09.006

Mashour, G. A., Roelfsema, P., Changeux, J.-P., & Dehaene, S. (2020). Conscious processing and the global neuronal workspace hypothesis. Neuron, 105(5), 776–798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2020.01.026

McKilliam, A. (2020). What is a global state of consciousness? Philosophy and the Mind Sciences, 1(II), 1–17. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.33735/phimisci.2020.II.58

Michel, M., & Morales, J. (2020). Minority reports: Consciousness and the prefrontal cortex. Mind and Language, 35(4), 493–513. https://doi.org/10.1111/mila.12264

Miller, S. (2015). The correlation/constitution distinction problem: Foundations, limits and explanation in consciousnessscience. In S. Miller (Ed.), The constitution of phenomenal consciousness: Toward a science and theory (pp. 104–154). John Benjamins.

Oizumi, M., Albantakis, L., & Tononi, G. (2014). From the phenomenology to the mechanisms of consciousness: Integrated Information Theory 3.0. PLoS Computational Biology, 10(5), e1003588. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003588

Pascual-Leone, A., & Walsh, V. (2001). Fast backprojections from the motion to the primary visual area necessary for visual awareness. Science, 292(5516), 510–512. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1057099

Pournaghdali, A., & Schwartz, B. L. (2020). Continuous flash suppression: Known and unknowns. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 27(6), 1071–1103. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-020-01771-2

Prinz, J. (2012). The conscious brain. Oxford University Press.

Prinz, J. J. (2015). Unconscious perception. In M. Matthen (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of philosophy of perception. (pp. 371–389). Oxford University Press.

Reddy, L., Quiroga, R. Q., Wilken, P., Koch, C., & Fried, I. (2006). A single-neuron correlate of change detection and change blindness in the human medial temporal lobe. Current Biology, 16(20), 2066–2072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2006.08.064

Rees, G., Kreiman, G., & Koch, C. (2002). Neural correlates of consciousness in humans. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 3(4), 261–270. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn783

Sandberg, K., Andersen, L. M., & Overgaard, M. (2014). Using multivariate decoding to go beyond contrastive analyses in consciousness research. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1250. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01250

Sergent, C., Baillet, S., & Dehaene, S. (2005). Timing of the brain events underlying access to consciousness during the attentional blink. Nature Neuroscience, 8(10), 1391–1400. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1549

Sergent, C., & Naccache, L. (2012). Imaging neural signatures of consciousness: “What”, “when”, “where” and “how” does it work? Archives Italiennes de Biologie, 150(2-3), 91–106. https://doi.org/10.4449/aib.v150i2.1270

Silverstein, B. H., Snodgrass, M., Shevrin, H., & Kushwaha, R. (2015). P3b, consciousness, and complex unconscious processing. Cortex, 73, 216–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2015.09.004

Simons, D. J., & Rensink, R. A. (2005). Change blindness: Past, present, and future. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(1), 16–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2004.11.006

Snyder, J. S., Yerkes, B. D., & Pitts, M. A. (2015). Testing domain-general theories of perceptual awareness with auditory brain responses. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19(6), 295–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2015.04.002

Sterzer, P., Stein, T., Ludwig, K., Rothkirch, M., & Hesselmann, G. (2014). Neural processing of visual information under interocular suppression: A critical review. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 453. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00453

Tononi, G. (2004). An information integration theory of consciousness. BMC Neuroscience, 5, 42. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2202-5-42

Tononi, G., Boly, M., Massimini, M., & Koch, C. (2016). Integrated information theory: From consciousness to its physical substrate. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 17(7), 450–461. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2016.44

Tsuchiya, N. (2017). “What is it like to be a bat?”—a pathway to the answer from the integrated information theory. Philosophy Compass, 12(3), e12407. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12407

Tsuchiya, N., Wilke, M., Frässle, S., & Lamme, V. A. F. (2015). No-report paradigms: Extracting the true neural correlates of consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19(12), 757–770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2015.10.002

Zeki, S. (2003). The disunity of consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(5), 214–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(03)00081-0

Zeki, S., & Bartels, A. (1999). Toward a theory of visual consciousness. Consciousness and Cognition, 8(2), 225–259. https://doi.org/10.1006/ccog.1999.0390

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2020 Tomas Marvan, Michal Polák