ASSC10 tutorial

More information will appear on this web-page as the tutorial approaches.

Accurate report of conscious experience is the benchmark of consciousness studies in humans. In species without a language faculty, however, accurate reports are difficult to acquire. Fortunately, recent advances in functional neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and genetics offer alternative strategies for amassing evidence for consciousness in non-human mammals, birds, and possibly other species. It is now possible to pursue evolutionary homologies in anatomical substrates and to measure physiological correlates of conscious states across species [1]. For example, the basic structure of the thalamocortical complex seems to have been conserved among mammals for some 200 million years. Moreover, data from human studies can provide a benchmark, and frame of reference, as we search for evolutionary homologs or analogs of the substrates of consciousness in non-human animals. We know, for instance, that an intact thalamocortical system is necessary for mammalian consciousness [2], and there are suggestive similarities between this system and structures in the avian brain. Finally, creative means can be developed for eliciting behaviors consistent with consciousness (e.g., the "commentary key" paradigm employed by Cowey and Stoerig in their studies of blindsight in monkeys [3]). This tutorial will 1) present a picture of animal consciousness (i.e., which species are likely to possess it) that has been gleaned from comparative psychological, physiological, and anatomical studies; 2) draw a clear distinction between sensory and higher order consciousness and justify that distinction; and 3) lay out an interdisciplinary framework for the study of animal consciousness.

A Scientific Method for the Study of Animal Consciousness
	A tutorial presentation at the 10th meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC10) Friday June 23, 2006, St. Anne's College, Oxford, UK David B. Edelman and Anil K.Seth, The Neurosciences Institiute,10640 John Jay Hopkins Dr., San Diego, CA 92121, USA david_edelman . at . nsi.edu; seth . at . nsi.edu
	More information will appear on this web-page as the tutorial approaches. Accurate report of conscious experience is the benchmark of consciousness studies in humans. In species without a language faculty, however, accurate reports are difficult to acquire. Fortunately, recent advances in functional neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and genetics offer alternative strategies for amassing evidence for consciousness in non-human mammals, birds, and possibly other species. It is now possible to pursue evolutionary homologies in anatomical substrates and to measure physiological correlates of conscious states across species [1]. For example, the basic structure of the thalamocortical complex seems to have been conserved among mammals for some 200 million years. Moreover, data from human studies can provide a benchmark, and frame of reference, as we search for evolutionary homologs or analogs of the substrates of consciousness in non-human animals. We know, for instance, that an intact thalamocortical system is necessary for mammalian consciousness [2], and there are suggestive similarities between this system and structures in the avian brain. Finally, creative means can be developed for eliciting behaviors consistent with consciousness (e.g., the "commentary key" paradigm employed by Cowey and Stoerig in their studies of blindsight in monkeys [3]). This tutorial will 1) present a picture of animal consciousness (i.e., which species are likely to possess it) that has been gleaned from comparative psychological, physiological, and anatomical studies; 2) draw a clear distinction between sensory and higher order consciousness and justify that distinction; and 3) lay out an interdisciplinary framework for the study of animal consciousness.
	[1]. Edelman, D.B., Baars, B.J, and Seth, A.K. (2005). Identifying hallmarks of consciousness in non-mammalian species. Consciousness and Cognition. 14(1): 169-187. [.pdf] [2]. Seth, A.K., Baars, B.J, and Edelman, D.B. (2005). Criteria for consciousness in humans and other mammals. Consciousness and Cognition. 14(1):119-139. [.pdf]. [3]. Cowey, A. & Stoerig, P. (1995). Blindsight in monkeys. Nature, 373(6511): 247-249. [here]

	Page constructed and maintained by Anil Seth, last updated May 25, 2006.