Elsevier S & T

Consciousness Transitions: Phylogenetic, Ontogenetic and Physiological Aspects

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Table of contents
  • Cover
  • Table of Contentsv
  • Prefacevii
  • Contributorsxi
  • Chapter 1. Beyond Cognition – On Consciousness Transitions1
  • 1. What are the problems?1
  • 2. Knowledge in an evolutionary perspective3
  • 3. Evolution of cognition6
  • 4. Evolving consciousness13
  • 5. Philosophical implications19
  • 6. Conclusions21
  • References22
  • Chapter 2. The Remote Roots of Consciousness in Fruit-fly Selective Attention?27
  • 1. Introduction27
  • 2. Behavioural selection29
  • 3. Behavioural suppression29
  • 4. Fly virtual reality31
  • 5. Alternating selection32
  • 6. Salience and memory33
  • 7. Mushroom bodies33
  • 8. The missing piece35
  • 9. Selective attention in the fly brain36
  • 10. Arousal in the fly brain38
  • Acknowledgements41
  • References41
  • Chapter 3. The Evolution of Consciousness in Animals45
  • 1. Introduction: The definition of animal consciousness45
  • 2. Evolution and adaptation50
  • 3. Consciousness in animals52
  • 4. Discussion70
  • References72
  • Chapter 4. On the Origin of Consciousness – Some Amniote Scenarios77
  • 1. Introduction77
  • 2. The basic consciousness criteria are anthropocentric78
  • 3. Sharpening the consciousness criteria — some principal consciousness-brain theories79
  • 4. Testing the principal criteria — the case of general anaesthesia80
  • 5. The phylogenetic origin of consciousness82
  • 6. Reconsidering reptilian cognitive behaviour89
  • 7. Conclusions90
  • References92
  • Chapter 5. A Bird’s Eye View of Consciousness97
  • 1. Introduction97
  • 2. Which organisms are conscious?97
  • 3. Function of feelings99
  • 4. Emergence of consciousness100
  • 5. Vertebrate intelligence101
  • 6. Complex learning106
  • 7. Association formation and causality107
  • 8. Language109
  • 9. Association formation in humans111
  • 10. Infantile amnesia113
  • 11. Language and self116
  • 12. Self and consciousness117
  • 13. Concluding comments118
  • References119
  • Chapter 6. The Molecular Biology of Consciousness123
  • 1. Introduction123
  • 2. Modelling consciousness: the neuronal workspace hypothesis126
  • 3. The neuronal nicotinic receptors: allosteric membrane proteins that modulate higher brain functio127
  • 4. The integration of neuronal nicotinic receptors to the neuronal work-space architecture132
  • 5. Nicotinic receptors and states of consciousness in the mouse133
  • 6. Nicotinic receptors and nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsies135
  • 7. Nicotinic receptors and the content of consciousness136
  • 8. The joint recovery of exploratory behaviour and reward function by targeted re-expression of nACh140
  • 9. Is the mouse a useful animal model to investigate consciousness?142
  • Acknowledgments149
  • References149
  • Chapter 7. The Emergence of Consciousness in the Newborn161
  • 1. Introduction161
  • 2. Neurons - the atoms of consciousness161
  • 3. The localization of consciousness162
  • 4. Developmental anatomy of consciousness163
  • 5. The neurochemistry of consciousness164
  • 6. Methods to study consciousness in the fetus and the infant164
  • 7. Components of consciousness166
  • 8. Integration of the components171
  • 9. Cyber-babies172
  • 10. When does minimal consciousness emerge?172
  • Acknowledgement174
  • References174
  • Chapter 8. An Inside-Out Paradigm for Consciousness and Intelligence177
  • 1. Introduction177
  • 2. The new paradigm178
  • 3. The consciousness mechanism181
  • 4. Anatomical and physiological basis183
  • 5. Intelligence and autism186
  • 6. Epilogue: A physics of thought?188
  • Acknowledgements189
  • References189
  • Chapter 9. Consciousness Without a Cerebral Cortex193
  • 1. Introduction193
  • 2. Clinical beginnings195
  • 3. Bringing the centrencephalic proposal up to date199
  • 4. Integration for action204
  • 5. Consciousness in children born without cortex224
  • 6. Implications for medical ethics228
  • 7. Conclusion229
  • Acknowledgements229
  • Notes230
  • References230
  • Chapter 10. Three Types of State Transition Underlying Perception231
  • 1. Introduction231
  • 2. Neural activity in the olfactory system232
  • 3. The role of preafference in attention234
  • 4. Associative (Hebbian) learning requires structural bifurcation237
  • 5. Modifiable synapses provide for generalization over categories of stimuli239
  • 6. The role of stochastic chaos in Hebbian learning240
  • 7. Interpretations of intentionality in neurodynamics241
  • 8. Conclusions244
  • References245
  • Chapter 11. Conscious Contents Provide Coherent, Global Information249
  • 1. Introduction249
  • 2. Capability constraints: arguments for associating consciousness with a global data base258
  • 3. The boundaries of conscious contents267
  • 4. Summary and conclusions274
  • Acknowledgements276
  • Notes276
  • References277
  • Chapter 12. Evolutionary and Developmental Aspects of Intersubjectivity281
  • 1. Intersubjectivity281
  • 2. Sensations, perceptions and imaginations282
  • 3. The inner world284
  • 4. Components of intersubjectivity285
  • 5. Representing emotions287
  • 6. Representing desires289
  • 7. Representing attention290
  • 8. Representing intentions292
  • 9. Representing beliefs and knowledge294
  • 10. Coevolution of intersubjectivity and cooperation297
  • 11. Conclusion300
  • Acknowledgements302
  • Notes302
  • References302
  • Chapter 13. The Phenomenon of Consciousness from a Popperian Perspective307
  • 1. Popper’s view on consciousness307
  • 3. The Popperian three-world idea308
  • 3. The three-world idea and the theory of knowledge311
  • 4. On the difference between psychotherapy and drug therapy316
  • 5. Popperian psychology316
  • 6. The tone of subjective states318
  • 7. The gap between neural events and conscious states319
  • 8. Somatic markers320
  • 9. Supervenience of linguistic hypotheses: Between dualism and physicalism322
  • 10. The key role of language and world 3323
  • References325
  • Index327
Book details
  • Vendor Elsevier S & T
  • SKU 9780444529770
  • ISBN-13 9780080554631

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It was not long ago when the consciousness was not considered a problem for science. However, this has now changed and the problem of consciousness is considered the greatest challenge to science. In the last decade, a great number of books and articles have been published in the field, but very few have focused on the how consciousness evolves and develops, and what characterizes the transitions between different conscious states, in animals and humans. This book addresses these questions. Renowned researchers from different fields of science (including neurobiology, evolutionary biology, ethology, cognitive science, computational neuroscience and philosophy) contribute with their results and theories in this book, making it a unique collection of the state-of-the-art of this young field of consciousness studies.

  • First book on the topic
  • Focus on different levels of consciousness, including: Evolutionary, developmental, and functional
  • Highly interdisciplinary