Beyond "dichotomania" ---

Conscious information flows from sensory regions to

both

- contextual self-systems and

- multiple memory systems.

This powerpoint is freely available for educational use, from:

www. bernardbaars.pbwiki.com

Baars, 1988, fundamental book on Global Workspace Theory is free at: www. Nsi.edu/users/baars

Bernard J. Baars

Is consciousness global or local? It's both!

from Baars, 1983, 1988, 1997, 2002

Izhikevich et al, 2007

Is consciousness global or local? It's both!

From Baars & Gage, Cognition, Brain & Consciousness. Elsevier/ AP, 2007. Based on K. Friston, 1994. (@ Elsevier)

Limited conscious contents at

any moment

Massive unconscious

parallelism

Conscious vs. unconscious visual input at the same moment.

Locally your brain shows more intense activity for conscious compared to unconscious visual input.

Faces: FFA

Houses: PPA

fMRI signal increases when an image is conscious, decreases when not conscious.

Frank Tong, 1998

But conscious input also goes beyond the visual cortex --- as shown in multiple studies.

• Conscious words activated visual cortex plus wider regions in parietal and frontal cortex, at high levels of activity.

• Visual cortex input…

• Masked (invisible) words activated word recognition regions of visual cortex, at lower levels of activity.

Dehaene et al. (2001).

Conscious Non-conscious

From Carl Carpenter, A New Model of Consciousness, Sci & Con Rev.2006.

In the Theater of Consciousness - a useful theoretical metaphor

--- only the bright spot on stage is conscious (consciousness is very limited in capacity)

--- sensory inputs compete for access to the conscious bright spot

--- the "stage" corresponds to Working Memory

--- all other features as unconscious, including long-term memory, the automatic processes of language, and the events going

on backstage

-- the theater metaphor has been

turned into several testable models.

Backstage is unconscious- director (self)- stage hands (contexts)- script writer- waiting actors

Backstage is unconscious

Unconscious audience

Conscious contents are made available "backstage" --- to

unconscious contexts, including self (executive) systems.

• Backstage - Preparing to go onstage

• Executives

Where are "backstage" unconscious contextual systems

located in the brain?

oareParietal egocentric maps

(unconscious) - (Tutis Villis)

Prefontal ego functions (also unconscious)

(Injury to Phineas Gage, reconstructed by

Hannah Damasio).

So --- where does conscious information flow to?

oare

Conscious visual input flows freely to parietal (egocentric maps) and frontal lobes (for ego-functions - like saying "yes, I see it!").

Unconscious visual input does not flow as freely, or as resonantly, to frontoparietal areas.

So --- where does conscious information flow to?

oare

Conscious visual input flows freely to parietal (egocentric maps) and frontal lobes (for ego-functions - like saying "yes, I see it!")

Co

Unconscious visual input does not flow as freely, or as resonantly, to frontoparietal areas.

Del Cul & Deheane, 200x

Conscious input is also turned into longterm memory traces

--- via hippocampal-neocortical distribution.

oare

Conscious visual input flows freely through the Hippocampal Complex) to be encoded in multiple distributed traces in neocortex. (Traces are unconscious)

This allows neocortex to constantly learn and update itself with novel and significant information.

(Nadel & Moscovitch - Multiple Trace Theory. Figure from M. Moscovitch, personal comm. )

"Episodic memory" = memory for conscious episodes

HC = Hippocampal Complex, medial temporal lobe

Conscious episodes

Hippocampal Complex

Conscious input is also turned into longterm memory traces

--- via hippocampal-neocortical distribution.

oare

Hippocampal connections to neocortex --- huge distribution.

This allows neocortex to constantly learn and update itself with novel and significant conscious information.

(Nadel & Moscovitch - Multiple Trace Theory. Figure from M. Moscovitch, personal comm. )

"Episodic memory" = memory for conscious episodes

The Hippocampal Complex includes neighboring regions in the medial temporal lobe.

Globalist theories include…. Neural Darwinism (Edelman et al) Complexity Theory (Tononi et al) W.J. Freeman's "movie shutter at alpha-theta rate."

S. Dehaene et al, "Neuronal Global Workspace

theory." Baars and coworkers (Franklin, Shanahan, To keNewman, etc.) Similar proposals by Daniel Schacter, Walter Schneider, JR Anderson, HA Simon, A. Newell, Allan Baddeley, Karl Pribram, E.R. John, M.S. Gazzaniga, van de Velde & de Kamp, and others. None of these theories deny local-regional activity to support focal

conscious contents.

Summary.

oare

Let's not be "dichotomaniacs"… :

Conscious activity involves both local activity and very widespread (globally distributed) activity. (Unconscious - but often evokes new conscious activity)

Conscious input triggers episodic and semantic learning, via hippocampal-neocortical 'broadcasting'.

Conscious input also triggers contextual adaptation from egocentric maps & frontal executive systems.

(Including ego functions, motivation & emotions.)

Conscious episodes

Slides are freely available for educational use from www.bernardbaars.pbwiki.com

With gratitude to ….

oareSlides are freely available for educational use from www.bernardbaars.pbwiki.com