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1. Modeling Working Memory to Identify Computational Correlates of Consciousness

   https://doi.org/10.1515/opphil-2019-0022  

   Reggia, James A.; Katz, Garrett E.; Davis, Gregory P. (September 2019, Open Philosophy)

   Abstract Recent advances in philosophical thinking about consciousness, such as cognitive phenomenology and mereological analysis, provide a framework that facilitates using computational models to explore issues surrounding the nature of consciousness. Here we suggest that, in particular, studying the computational mechanisms of working memory and its cognitive control is highly likely to identify computational correlates of consciousness and thereby lead to a deeper understanding of the nature of consciousness. We describe our recent computational models of human working memory and propose that three computational correlates of consciousness follow from the results of this work: itinerant attractor sequences, top-down gating, and very fast weight changes. Our current investigation is focused on evaluating whether these three correlates are sufficient to create more complex working memory models that encompass compositionality and basic causal inference. We conclude that computational models of working memory are likely to be a fruitful approach to advancing our understanding of consciousness in general and in determining the long-term potential for development of an artificial consciousness specifically. 

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2. Episodic memory in nonhumans: An approach to understand an evolutionary function of consciousness

   Crystal, Jonathon D (January 2025, Philosophical transactions Royal Society Biological sciences)

   A fundamental question in comparative cognition concerns the evolution of consciousness. It is unlikely that consciousness appeared in humans without any precursors in other animals. Yet, the concepts that dominate our understanding of consciousness are inherently human centered, focusing on subjective experiences with a rich use of language. This understanding of consciousness is likely empirically intractable in studies of nonhumans. An alternative approach focuses on adopting a functional perspective. What function does consciousness serve? What can an animal capable of such a function do via its behavior? In this connection, I review the development of animal models of episodic memory. Episodic memory involves recalling the past and in humans is described as the phenomenological conscious experience of projecting oneself (autonoesis) in time (chronesthesia). Because there are no agreed upon empirical approaches to investigate subjective experiences in nonhumans, efforts to develop animal models of episodic memory have focused on the contents of episodic memory. I review experiments using rats that suggest that, at the moment of a memory assessment, the animal remembers back in time to an earlier event or episode. I conclude by evaluating implications of episodic memory in rats as a functional window into the evolution of consciousness. 

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3. Loss of consciousness, but not etiology, predicts better working memory performance years after concussion

   https://doi.org/10.18053/jctres.05.2020S4.003  

   Hector Arciniega, Alexandrea Kilgore-Gomez (January 2020, Journal of Clinical and Translational Research)

   null (Ed.)

   Background: Patients with uncomplicated cases of concussion are thought to fully recover within several months as symptoms resolve. However, at the group level, undergraduates reporting a history of concussion (mean: 4.14 years post-injury) show lasting deficits in visual working memory performance. To clarify what predicts long-term visual working memory outcomes given heterogeneous performance across group members, we investigated factors surrounding the injury, including gender, number of mild traumatic brain injuries, time since mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), loss of consciousness (LOC) (yes, no), and mTBI etiology (non-sport, team sport, high impact sport, and individual sport). We also collected low-density resting state electroencephalogram to test whether spectral power was correlated with performance. Aim: The purpose of this study was to identify predictors for poor visual working memory outcomes in current undergraduates with a history of concussion. Methods: Participants provided a brief history of their injury and symptoms. Participants also completed an experimental visual working memory task. Finally, low-density resting-state electroencephalogram was collected. Results: The key observation was that LOC at the time of injury predicted superior visual working memory years later. In contrast, visual working memory performance was not predicted by other factors, including etiology, high impact sports, or electroencephalogram spectral power. Conclusions: Visual working memory deficits are apparent at the group level in current undergraduates with a history of concussion. LOC at the time of concussion predicts less impaired visual working memory performance, whereas no significant links were associated with other factors. One interpretation is that after LOC, patients are more likely to seek medical advice than without LOC. Relevance for patients: Concussion is a head injury associated with future cognitive changes in some people. Concussion should be taken seriously, and medical treatment sought whenever a head injury occurs. 

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4. Next frontiers in consciousness research

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2023.09.042  

   He, Biyu J. (October 2023, Neuron)
5. Consciousness & Brain Functional Complexity in Propofol Anaesthesia

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57695-3  

   Varley, Thomas F.; Luppi, Andrea I.; Pappas, Ioannis; Naci, Lorina; Adapa, Ram; Owen, Adrian M.; Menon, David K.; Stamatakis, Emmanuel A. (December 2020, Scientific Reports)