Scientists have conducted a groundbreaking study to test two prominent theories of consciousness. The Cogitate Consortium put to the test the global neuronal workspace theory and integrated information theory in an “adversarial collaboration.” The global neuronal workspace theory ties consciousness to the activity of neurons in different parts of the brain.
It predicts that a “neural ignition” process should accompany both the start and end of a stimulus, making it possible to decode what a person is conscious of from their prefrontal cortex. On the other hand, integrated information theory also links consciousness to neural activity. It predicts that conscious perception should be associated with sustained synchronization and activity of signals in the posterior cortex.
The study involved 256 human participants who viewed stimuli for variable durations while their neural activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography, and intracranial electroencephalography. The results were mixed, with some findings aligning with one theory or the other and presenting challenges to both.
Assessing theories of consciousness
The team failed to find the sustained synchronization within the posterior cortex predicted by integrated information theory. Global neuronal workspace theory was challenged by the fact that not all contents of consciousness could be decoded from the prefrontal cortex and by the failure to find neural ignition when the stimulus was first presented. While the study wasn’t a clear win for either theory, it represents a significant advance in how the scientific community approaches testing theories of consciousness.
Notable achievements included getting rival theorists to agree on testable predictions and running the same experiments in different labs. The study highlights the need for collaborative research to tackle the difficult problem of consciousness. As Tim Bayne, a Professor of Philosophy at Monash University, notes, “Consciousness is a hard nut to crack.
Whether it will yield to current methods of consciousness science or require a revolution in our concepts or methods remains uncertain.
The scientific community must embrace principled, theory-driven, collaborative research to advance our understanding of the neural basis of consciousness. Converging on a broadly accepted neuroscientific theory of consciousness has profound implications spanning medical, societal, and ethical domains.
April Isaacs is a news contributor for DevX.com She is long-term, self-proclaimed nerd. She loves all things tech and computers and still has her first Dreamcast system. It is lovingly named Joni, after Joni Mitchell.
