It seems that the cortex is much more connected and efficient than the internet. Looking at all the different shells of the cortical network, the authors were able to define the network's hierarchical structure and essentially model how information flows within the network. The structure revealed how shells of low connectivity are nodes that typically perform specific functions like face recognition.
From there the data are transferred to higher, more connected shells that enable additional data integration, and there we can see regions of the executive network and working memory. With these areas we can focus on task performance for example picture 2, the hierarchy of the human cortex.
The integrated information then 'travels' to the most connected neighborhood of nodes, the nucleus, which spans across several regions of the cortex. According to Lahav, "It's an interconnected collective which is densely linked with itself and can perform global functions due to its great amount of global structures that are widespread across the brain. Which global function might the nucleus serve? The authors suggest the answer is no less than consciousness itself.
The main hypothesis today is that in order to create conscious activity, the brain must integrate relevant information from different areas of the network. According to this theory, led by Professor Giulio Tononi, from the University of Wisconsin, if the level of integrated information crosses a certain limit, a new and emergent state is entered, consciousness.
This model suggests that consciousness depends on both information integration and information segregation. Loosely speaking, consciousness is generated by a "central" network structure with high capacity for information integration, with the contribution of sub-networks that contain specific and segregated information, without being part of the central structure.
In other words, certain parts of the brain are more involved than others in what we can call the conscious complex of the brain, yet other connected parts still contribute, working quietly outside the conscious complex. The authors demonstrate how the nucleus and the different shells satisfy all of the requirements of these recent consciousness theories.
The different shells calculate and contribute to data integration without actually being part of the conscious complex, while the nucleus receives relevant information from all other hierarchies and integrates it to a unified function using its global interconnected structure. The nucleus could thus be this conscious complex, serving as a platform for consciousness to emerge from the network activity. When the authors examined the different regions that make up the nucleus they revealed that, indeed, these regions have been previously associated with conscious activities.
For example, structures within the brain's midline, which form the majority of the network's nucleus, were found to be associated with the stream of consciousness and some research, like that of Professor Georg Northoff, from the University of Ottawa, have suggested that these regions are involved with creating our sense of self.
What is she supposed to do? In this imaginative tale, Maci discovers how to "grow a beautiful garden" in her mind by taking responsibility for her actions and making better choices.
She also sees how Trey's poor decisions and behaviors - disrupting class and distracting others - are hurting him. The Garden in My Mind Activity Guide balances academics and Common Core lessons with lesson plans that teach students how to ignore distractions and make positive choices. It's a must-have resource for upper elementary and early middle school Educators everywhere!
Comes with ready-to-print forms and handouts on CD. Current Stock:. Quantity: Decrease Quantity: Increase Quantity:. Published by Boys Town Press. Additional Information Author:. Add to Cart. Quick view. Perhaps it will be possible, someday, to replicate something approaching the dynamics of a conscious system in silico and produce the robots imagined in science fiction.
Or, as Koch now startlingly suggests , it may be the case that the dualism between mind and matter is the obstacle for locating consciousness in the brain, and that matter already, somehow, experiences itself.
Combining vitalism and materialism, the idea of panpsychism—that fundamental matter has conscious elements—is admittedly strange but, then again, so is consciousness. Follow him on Twitter marcosien. Brian N. Mathur is a neuroscientist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Follow him on Twitter BrianMathur1. Crick, F. What is the function of the claustrum? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B , Koubeissi, M. Electrical stimulation of a small brain area reversibly disrupts consciousness.
Epilepsy Behavior 37 , Reardon, S. A giant neuron found wrapped around entire mouse brain. Nature News Bickel, S. Electrical stimulation of the human claustrum. Epilepsy Behavior 97 , White, M. The claustrum is required for reward acquisition under high cognitive demand. Retrieved from DOI Remedios, R. Unimodal responses prevail within the multisensory claustrum. Journal of Neuroscience 20 , Krimmel, S. Resting state functional connectivity and cognitive task-related activation of the human claustrum.
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