In Roman mythology, Minerva is the goddess of wisdom, and her pet owl is a symbol not only of wisdom, but of knowledge, culture, and discernment.
We study the brain (in order) to understand how we can help people to make healthy and societally beneficial decisions in complex social situations [1].
A Markov blanket defines the boundaries of a system in a statistical sense. Here we consider how a collective of Markov blankets can self-assemble into a global system that itself has a Markov blanket; thereby providing an illustration of how autonomous systems can be understood as having layers of nested and self-sustaining boundaries [2].
(i) any living system is a Markov blanketed system and (ii) the boundaries of such systems need not be co-extensive with the biophysical boundaries of a living organism. In other words, autonomous systems are hierarchically composed of Markov blankets of Markov blankets—all the way down to individual cells, all the way up to you and me, and all the way out to include elements of the local environment [2], [3].As the title of the talk indicates (at least in some contexts), Baltieri was a bit sceptical about the use of the concept ''Markov blankets''.
Markov Blankets, one of the central constructs of the free energy principle, have been applied to resolve debates central to philosophy (such as demarcating the boundaries of the mind) [4].But:
...Where the blanket becomes a literal boundary between agents and their environment. Such a strong realist reading cannot be justified by just 'doing the maths', but rather needs to be independently argued for... [4].Other authors, like Richard Menary and Alexander James Gillet,
...although Markov Blankets are not necessarily a red herring in the internalism-externalism debate; much more work is required to clarify how Markov Blankets move the debate forward without miring it in a wide set of complex philosophical and theoretical issues. Until this clarifying work has been done, arguably, Markov Blankets are a red herring because they divert the argument from the real question at hand: Where are the boundaries of the mind? [5].As I understood the talk: A reminder to be careful about how concepts are used, and (a reminder to carefully consider) if the use of a concept is actually valid in the given context.
Mammals regulate their core temperature through the hypothalamus and a set of distributed sensors around their bodies. Like other homeostatic systems, the mechanism responsible for core temperature regulation involves a specific brain region that communicates with the rest of the bodyThe page continues:
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When it comes to emotions, the basic idea is that equilibrium feels good (e.g., predictive functions are working well), while disequilibrium feels bad (e.g., uncertainty is prevailing).
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When an organism perceives life-threatening danger, the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system responds immediately by producing drastic changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and electrodermal activity. Temperature regulation initiates by controlling breathing and sweat as the organism struggles to stabilize from such changes while trying to overcome the urgent situation. This specific response also interacts with very strong emotions, such as pain, fear, and stress.
This relation between phenomenally conscious emotions and the autonomic nervous system is critical for our purposes because it demonstrates the homeostatic role of experienced emotions [6].
Thus, the phenomenal experience of fear is similar to homeostatic temperature regulation because it is flexible in responding to threats from the environment, yet stable enough to guarantee not only actual but also potential engagement through learning.That is, in short:
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We are ''conscious homeostats''
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Emotions and their ''raw feel'' is the substance of consciousness — a deeply visceral and biological aspect of our minds. In other words, affective consciousness can complement the predictive functions of the brain in times of uncertainty to help it reach a state of equilibrium [6].
At present, the creation of conscious agents involves techniques that will be familiar to anyone who has spent time on a farm or taken a sex education class. These techniques will surely remain popular, but we may soon have new ways to create conscious agents.Tim Bayne started by telling us the difference between Science talks and Philosophy talks:
One possible path to synthetic consciousness involves human brain organoids; another involves AI systems, such as the descendants of IBM's Watson and DeepMind's AlphaZero. Even if neither of these paths do in fact lead to the creation of synthetic consciousness, they are likely to lead to the creation of artefacts that might reasonably be taken as conscious.
These developments raise a number of deep and difficult questions. Should we expand the membership of the 'consciousness club' by creating new kinds of conscious agents, or would any attempt to bring new kinds of conscious entities into existence be morally problematic?
Global Neuronal Workspace Theory: GW theory was originally described in terms of a >>blackboard<< architecture in which separate, quasi-independent processing modules interface with a centralized, globally available resource.
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Dehaene, Changeux and colleagues have proposed a neuronal implementation of a global workspace architecture, the so-called >>neuronal global workspace<<. In this model, sensory stimuli mobilize excitatory neurons with long-range cortico-cortical axons, leading to the genesis of a global activity pattern among workspace neurons [8].
Integrated Information Theory: IIT claims that consciousness corresponds to the capacity of a system to integrate information. A system is deemed capable of information integration to the extent that it has available a large repertoire of states and that the states of each element are causally dependent on the states of other elements.
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IIT proposes that the thalamocortical system provides the neuroanatomical substrate for the neural processes that underlie consciousness [9].
Recurrent Processing Theory: RP ties perceptual consciousness to processing independent of the workspace, with focus on recurrent activity in sensory areas.
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Victor Lamme argues that recurrent processing is necessary and sufficient for consciousness. Recurrent processing occurs where sensory systems are highly interconnected and involve feedforward and feedback connections [10].
Higher Order Theories (HOT): HOT try to explain the difference between unconscious and conscious mental states in terms of a relation obtaining between the conscious state in question and a higher-order representation of some sort [11].
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HOT states that one is in a conscious visual state of seeing a moving object if and only if one suitably represents oneself being in that visual state.
This higher-order state, in representing the first-order state that represents the world, results in the first order state’s being conscious as opposed to not. The intuitive rationale for such theories is that if one were in a visual state but in no way aware of that state, then the visual state would not be conscious.
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Thus, to be in a conscious state, one must be aware of it, i.e., represent it.
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Higher-order theories merge with empirical work by tying high-order representations with activity in prefrontal cortex which is taken to be the neural substrate of the required higher-order representations [12].
We suggest that the word >>consciousness<< conflates two different types of information-processing computations in the brain:Indeed, monitoring what is going on could be a first step in the direction of machine consciousness:
The selection of information for global broadcasting, thus making it flexibly available for computation and report (C1, consciousness in the first sense), and the self-monitoring of those computations, leading to a subjective sense of certainty or error (C2, consciousness in the second sense).
We argue that despite their recent successes, current machines are still mostly implementing computations that reflect unconscious processing (C0) in the human brain [13].
An important element of C2 which has received relatively little attention is reality monitoring. Bayesian approaches to AI have recognized the usefulness of learning generative models that can be jointly used for actual perception (present), prospective planning (future), and retrospective analysis (past).In the global neural workspace hypothesis:
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In humans, the same sensory areas are involved in both perception and imagination. As such, some mechanisms are needed to tell apart self-generated versus externally triggered activity.
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A powerful method for training generative models, called adversarial learning (Goodfellow) involves having a secondary network >>compete<< against a generative network, to critically evaluate the authenticity of self-generated representations.
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When such reality monitoring (C2) is coupled with C1 mechanisms, the resulting machine may more closely mimic human consciousness in terms of affording global access to perceptual representations while having an immediate sense that their content is a genuine reflection of the current state of the world [14].
Conscious access corresponds to the >>ignition<< of a subset of workspace neurons,Lamme continued, and argued (for Recurrent Theories) that frontal and higher order theories would predict a severe (attentional) capacity limit of visual perception, and visual memory. I.e. go for the recurrent theory.
distributed in prefrontal and other associative cortices, whose topology (as a vector) defines the content, and that send top-down signals back to all processes.
Members at ASSC25 showed overwhelming support for the idea that consciousness is not uniquely human!Again: One theory for consciousness... Well, we are not there yet...
By contrast, the claim that ''consciousness is a physical phenomenon'' got only around 70% endorsement.
The global neuronal workspace theory (GNWT) claims that consciousness is instantiated by the global broadcasting and amplification of information across an interconnected network of prefrontal-parietal areas and many high-level sensory cortical areas
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A stimulus must be attended to trigger activity that helps distribute this sensory information to many parts of the brain for further processing and report. It is this global broadcasting across many modules of specialized subsystems that constitutes consciousness [15].
Conversely, the integrated information theory (IIT) holds that consciousness should be understood in terms of cause-effect >>power<< that reflects the amount of maximally irreducible integrated information generated by certain neuronal architectures. the IIT holds that the posterior cortex is ideally situated for generating a maximum of integrated informationSo:
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In this theory, consciousness is not input-output information processing but the intrinsic ability or power of a neuronal network to influence itself [15].
Where are the anatomical footprints of consciousness in the brain?In order to move forward - open science, and adversarial collaboration is suggested:
Are they located in a posterior cortical >>hot zone<< advocated by the IIT, or is the prefrontal cortex necessary as predicted by the GNWT?
And, how are conscious percepts maintained over time [15].
Relying on adversarial dialogue and collaboration, open science practices, standardized protocols, internal replication, and team science, these initiatives aim to promote empirical progress in the field of consciousness
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Solving big questions may require >>big science<< because such questions are more likely to be solved in unison rather than through isolated, parallel, small-scale attempts [15].
Why are some visual stimuli consciously perceived, whereas others remain subliminal?Obviously, interactions between neurons that give rise to consciousness is a complex thing...
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We found that the perception of more complex visual stimuli relies on a more sustained interaction between visual cortex and associative brain regions.
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Mind blanking (MB) is the state where our minds are seemingly >>nowhere<<, and attention calls no perceptual input into conscious awareness. It is little investigated, perhaps partly because it is difficult to detect the mysterious periods of blanking.
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Our participants could intentionally produce a state of MB whose neural correlates were deactivation of Broca's area and parts of the default mode network.
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From the neuroimaging data, we conclude that we cannot define the content of our thoughts during MB because our inner speech system does not work at that time. Another possibility is that we actually think of nothing in the MB state [16].
People with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have difficulties sustaining their attention on external tasks.So, what precisely happens when we ''think of nothing''?
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We showed that unmedicated children (ages 6–12) with ADHD, when probed during a standard go/no-go task, reported more mind blanking (a mental state characterized by the absence of reportable content) than did control participants. This increase in mind blanking happened at the expense of both focused and wandering thoughts.
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In a second experiment, we extended these findings to adults who had subclinical ADHD. These results suggest that executive functions impaired in ADHD are required not only to sustain external attention but also to maintain an internal train of thought [17].
Experiments suggest that when the mind seems to disappear, there are times when we have simply failed to monitor its whereabouts—and there are times when it is actually gone [18].Sometimes, parts of the brain might (simply) be asleep:
We searched more specifically for signs of sleep within wakefulness. Indeed, sleep-like slow waves, a pattern of brain activity that's characteristic of sleep, can be observed locally within the brain when people get tired. This marker has often been interpreted as part of the brain experiencing a bout of sleep during wakefulness.Indeed, a super interesting talk!
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Indeed, recent advances in sleep research have shown that sleep and wakefulness are not all-or-nothing phenomena, and that we can sometimes express both markers of sleep and wake in different parts of the brain.
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We found that the occurrence of these sleep markers can predict instances of mind wandering and mind blanking. Sleep-like slow waves could also predict the occurrence of behavioural errors during the task [19].
In addition to understanding acute and chronic pain as major medical health problems in their own right, we have additionally worked at the interface of pain perception and conscious awareness using advanced neuroimaging and electrophysiological techniques combined with anaesthesia.She started with a quote from David Marusek:
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This framework of understanding provides a foundation to better interpret changes in conscious awareness. Our multimodal neuroimaging work explores how anaesthetic agents produce altered states of consciousness such that perceptual experiences of pain and awareness are degraded. This is bringing us fascinating insights into the complex phenomenon of anaesthesia, perceptual awareness and the concept of self-hood.
Consciousness is the chronic pain of life. and all higher organisms suffer it every waking moment [20].Drugs can (obviously) affect consciousness:
Propofol, marketed as Diprivan, among other names, is a short-acting medication that results in a decreased level of consciousness and a lack of memory for events [21].We get:
Anatomic and physiologic data show that multiple regions of the forebrain are activated by pain.And electrical stimulation of small brain areas can also affect consciousness:
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These data show that propofol has a dose-dependent effect on thalamocortical transfer of nociceptive information but that some pain-evoked cortical activity remains after loss of consciousness [22].
The neural mechanisms that underlie consciousness are not fully understood. We describe a region in the human brain where electrical stimulation reproducibly disrupted consciousness.So what happens under anesthesia?
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The electrode whose stimulation disrupted consciousness was between the left claustrum and anterior-dorsal insula. Stimulation of electrodes within 5mm did not affect consciousness.
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Our findings suggest that the left claustrum/anterior insula is an important part of a network that subserves consciousness and that disruption of consciousness is related to increased EEG signal synchrony within frontal-parietal networks [23].
It has been postulated that a small cortical region could be responsible for the loss of behavioral responsiveness (LOBR) during general anesthesia.Indeed, conscious access to sensory information is likely gated:
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Furthermore, the authors hypothesize that this localized suppression is associated with breakdown in frontoparietal communication.
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Suppression of dAIC activity around loss of behavioral responsiveness (LOBR) was associated with disruption in the frontoparietal networks that was measurable using both electroencephalography synchrony and FMRI connectivity analyses [24]
Conscious access to sensory information is likely gated at an intermediate site between primary sensory and transmodal association cortices, but the structure responsible remains unknown.Indeed, a super interesting talk!
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The gating role of the anterior insular cortex (AIC) is consistent with findings in awake participants, whose conscious access is predicted by pre-stimulus AIC activity near perceptual threshold. These data support the hypothesis that AIC, situated at an intermediate position of the cortical hierarchy, regulates brain network transitions that gate conscious access [25]
Growing evidence suggests that nightmares have considerable adverse effects on waking behavior, possibly by increasing post-sleep negative emotions.Take home message: ''Just as the mPFC can modulate the Amygdala during daytime, thus regulating negative emotions and fear, results here show that this also happens during sleep''.
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Our principal measure of nightmare severity is nightmare distress as indexed by the Nightmare Distress Questionnaire (NDQ), and secondary measures are retrospective and prospective estimates of frequency of recalling dysphoric dreams (DD).
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Results point to a possible overlap in brain mechanisms involved in nightmare dysphoria (during sleep) and distress (during wakefulness) among individuals who frequently recall nightmares [26].
The nineteenth William James Prize for Contributions to the Study of Consciousness was awarded to Ishan Singhal in 2022. See ''Time and time again: a multi-scale hierarchical framework for time-consciousness and timing of cognition'' [27].Ishan Singhal writes:
Different conceptualizations of time-consciousness have argued that both the content of our experiences and the representations of those experiences evolve in time, or neither have temporal extension, or only content does. Accounting for these different positions, we propose a nested hierarchical model of multiple timescales that accounts for findings on timing of cognition and phenomenology of temporal experience.Which he then elaborated on in this very exciting ''William James Prize'' talk.
We also place several findings on timing and temporal experience at different levels in this hierarchy and show how they can be brought together. Finally, the framework is used to derive novel predictions for both timing of our experiences and time perception [27].
Rembrandtplein (English: Rembrandt Square) is a major square in central Amsterdam, Netherlands, named after Rembrandt van Rijn who owned a house nearby from 1639 to 1656.
His oil paintings trace the progress from an uncertain young man, through the dapper and very successful portrait-painter of the 1630s, to the troubled but massively powerful portraits of his old age. Together they give a remarkably clear picture of the man, his appearance and his psychological make-up, as revealed by his richly weathered face [28].
Wherever you go in Amsterdam, cheese is never far away. There are hundreds of cheese shops with a vast range of options. There are world famous cheeses like Edam and Gouda. Then, there are the unusual ones like Borenkaas, Blu de Graven and Deflts Blu [29].Indeed, cheese is never far away in Amsterdams city center...
Eduard Douwes Dekker, better known by his pen name Multatuli (from Latin, ''I have suffered much''), was a Dutch writer best known for his satirical novel Max Havelaar [30].
Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Sephardic Jewish origin. Exponent of 17th-century Rationalism and one of the early and seminal thinkers of the Enlightenment [32].
''Spes altera vitae'' means ''Hope for another life''.
XXX: Fire, floods and the Black Death.
or
XXX. These symbols are St Andrew's crosses and are also known as saltires. They have appeared on Amsterdam's coat of arms since 1505. St. Andrew was martyred in the 1st century AD and was crucified on an x shaped cross and was a fisherman [35].
E.g. On the contribution to American Independence: Beyond the obvious material contributions of Dutch manufacturers and merchants, the Netherlands supported the American Revolution morally, financially, and politically.
In 1778, John Adams obtained sizable loans from Dutch bankers, who continued supplying credit to the United States for years to come. In 1782 they became the second country to formally recognize the new United States [38].
Have you neither money nor goods. Pass this door.
Have you the last, and you lack the first, come to me.
Give pledge. I give you money, why should i guarantee you. Or is it not enough that you consume of mine.
But you return your pledge, so you must in time see
that my principal, with the interest return.
So, I help you and me, and show to the investigators of my secrets, the grave of forgottan usurers.
Francois Hermony cast four swinging bells in 1659, the largest and smallest of which are still hanging in the tower. The largest swinging bell weighs 3,700 kg, making it the heaviest swinging bell in Amsterdam [39].
Saskia Rembrandt is buried in Oude Kerk (Old church), Amsterdam, Netherlands.
She was the wife of painter Rembrandt van Rijn. In the course of her life she was his model for some of his paintings, drawings and etchings [40].
When open, climbing the tower is done by taking a guided tour which are given by knowledgeable local students. There are no lifts in the Oudekerk – you will have to climb up narrow spiral staircases and step ladders [41].
