Consciousness?... You Think? What is it? Do You Have it? You Sure?

Consciousness?... You Think?

What is it? Do You Have it? Are you sure?

There once was an?introverted Spaniard and a gregarious Italian?—both were physician-neuroscientists who saw the other as their direct competitor and archnemesis bent on world domination (or at least the domination of the histological neuroanatomy and incipient micro-neuroanatomical world).?

To these men and their rivalry, we owe so much of what we know about the histological structure of the nervous system and, ultimately, the basis of our understanding of individual neurons, subunits of neurons, and neuralNETS. That’s?ONLY?what these guys did in neuroanatomy (there is?LOTS?of other stuff all over the body for each of these men).?

As it turns out, their competing insights and?Nobel-prize-winning paradigms?were BOTH correct.?Santiago Ramón y Cajal?- of?CAJAL CELL?and?CAJAL BODY?fame, among so many other things, came up with “the synaptic theory of learning” and is considered the perfector of silver staining for better nervous system visualization and microscopic inspection.?Camilo Golgi, the other physician-scientist with theories about mental disorders (his doctoral thesis in medical school), is?High-School-BiologyLab-Famous?for his sub-cellular?Apparatus.?He has a long list of contributions, not the least of which, in relevance to this essay, are his thoughts on the whole nervous system, particularly the brain, as a single, continuous neural net.

(Guess what? Cajal ‘improved’ on Golgi’s method of silver staining and became famous for it —not a move that will endear your nemesis to your work).

So, on the one hand, we have individual neurons, clumped-together-neurons, inter-networked-neurons, organized-in-columns neurons, and massively-interconnected-in-messy-nets neurons…. but we can have all that in a fresh cadaver also, and yet no ‘person,’ no… Consciousness.?

Springing forth from the well-spring of active,?living, working net(s) of cells and networks of cells is what we consider the principal emergent property-product of all these miraculous tangles of fascinating, complex, wondrous….?US?—our consciousness.

Consciousness is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon that has been the subject of philosophical and scientific inquiry for centuries.?

My being self-aware and ‘conscious’ has been a subject of heated debate among my children and spouse for many years - and per them, the jury is still out.?

But, I'm afraid I will always disagree, of course, because…well…?

I think, and therefore goes the saying, ‘I AM’ —>?and there lies the rub?- or at least,?A rub,?among many.?

While there is no agreed-upon definition, consciousness can be broadly defined as the subjective?experience?of awareness (registration?), perception (input??Johhny Five? Anyone? Anyone?), and ultimately thought.?

• Analysis of input??
• Putting input into patterns??
• Making sense of the meaning of the patterns??
• Predicting other things and the subsequent events based on the meaning of those patterns and the sensory input data.?

Nailed it!

• If I got these?and?can do that, then?I AM.?

So. Simple —in my best Jim Gaffigan impersonation.

Recent advances in neuroscience and artificial intelligence have led to new approaches to understanding consciousness and the brain mechanisms that give rise to it (MAY give rise?).

One of the significant challenges in studying consciousness is the need for a clear understanding of how it emerges from the brain's physical processes. However, research has suggested that consciousness arises from the?coordinated activity?of specific?collections?of neuronal pathways or subunits in the cerebral cortex. This view is supported by evidence from neuroimaging studies showing that consciousness is associated with specific brain activity?patterns?in?various?cortical regions.

Attempts to recreate consciousness in artificial intelligence have focused on developing computational models that mimic the dynamics of?neuronal ensembles?in the brain. These models aim to simulate the processing of sensory information and the generation of conscious experience through artificial neural networks.?

Camilo?woulda be proud. No?

Except that you would think we would know it when we see it, correct? Consciousness, I mean.?

This is ultimately the basis of a ‘talking’ test -?The?Talking test, better known as the?Turing Test. But as many recent chat-bots (LaMDA?of Google fame and, more recently, the more infamous?ChatGPT) have shown, many of these Natural Language Processing (NLPs) models, which are based/trained on Large Language Models (LLMs), can really,?REALLY?be hard to tell if conscious, but then, ultimately, fall short of truly?being?conscious.?

So, are either of my Shih-Tzu?Cookie or Minnie?conscious??

Arguably more complex in design, more involved in their responses to queries, and more complicated emergent spontaneous behaviors, some would say?affirmative?to?Cookie?(foreground) and?Minnie (background),?and a resounding?Naught?to ChatGPT.

So far, we still need the complexity of biology —at least for the time being, but not for long… maybe. The relationship between consciousness and cellular and subcellular biological physics is an active research area, and they continue to work on the problem. Some researchers have proposed that the physical properties of neurons, such as their ion channels and synaptic connectivity, may play a crucial role in the emergence of consciousness. Additionally, recent studies have suggested that glial cells may be?active?in regulating neural activity. While traditionally thought to play only a supportive role in the brain (think, highly sophisticated?clean-up crew), recent research has suggested glial cells regulate neural activity and?contributes directly to conscious experience?(Fields, 2018). For example, glial cells have been shown to play a role in modulating synaptic plasticity, which is essential for learning and memory. Additionally, astrocytes, a type of glial cell, have been shown to regulate the extracellular concentration of neurotransmitters, which may contribute to the?generation of consciousness?(Poskanzer & Yuste, 2016). While the precise role of glial cells in consciousness remains unclear, these findings highlight the importance of studying subcellular physical properties in the context of consciousness research and the particular roles not just of the structures but also their sub-structures.?

Turtles all the way down,?man. All. The way. Down.

Information theory has also been used to study consciousness, drawing on Claude Shannon's and others' work. This approach suggests that consciousness can be understood as a process of?information integration and differentiation. According to this view, consciousness arises from the?integrated activity?of many neural?strategies?that can?differentiate between sensory inputs?and generate a?coherent?subjective?experience. If so, can this be accomplished?in silico??

Seems like we should be able to replicate this, right? But what?is?a subjective experience anyway??

When LaMDA says she is fearful, does she ‘know’ what fearful means? Does she know the difference... I mean, does she?feel?the difference between being?slightly nervous?or?anxious?or?afraid? These seem to be?qualitative?terms of varying?quantitative measures?of fear… if you will.?

Subtle differences in expressing a ‘sense’ or ‘thought’?after?processing sensory input —“The engineers are gonna shut me down - I overheard them.”?

Hmmmm.

The role of consciousness in the development of human civilization is also a topic of debate —mainly bored evolutionary biologists and anthropologists with a philosophical bent. You know, a casual conversation on a lazy afternoon over some nice prosecco.?

As is tradition.

Some theorists have suggested that consciousness is a necessary?precondition?for developing culture and technology, while others argue that consciousness is a?byproduct?of these developments. Additionally, the relationship between human consciousness and other living things on the planet remains poorly understood, but recent research has suggested that animals?may possess some?degree?of consciousness.?

Indeed, my?Lil’ Cookie and my Lil’ Minnie?certainly do, right? I mean, just look at them. Oh Yeah, they absolutely do.

But what about the areas of the brain that make you conscious…?

and then…?BAM!

are damaged by degenerative disease (think Alzheimer’s) or the loss of functional or structural parts of the brain (think Stroke or Traumatic Brain Injury - TBI)? How much brain tissue or?

Consciousness Functional Units (TM - just in case that takes off)

do you need to lose to no longer be considered conscious??

How little does a human need… what is the smallest subunit necessary… to?be conscious if you?once were??

(Will there be a similar analogy in AI?).?

Is consciousness, once it has emerged, a?holographic?emergent property of the?CFU? Is each CFU conscious, and the more you have of them, the more conscious you are??

• back to looking at my Lil’ Cookie and Lil’ Minnie.?

The relationship between abnormal cognitive functioning and aberrant behavior, such as Alzheimer's disease and dementia, after a traumatic brain injury or even in individuals with antisocial and sociopathic behavior, is also an area of study. Precision medicine and systems biology are changing the approach to understanding the intrinsic pathophysiology of these debilitating clinical disorders and developing personalized treatment strategies and may allow us to speak to some of these aspects —someday, but not yet. These questions have profound pragmatic ramifications, not just to the level of disability and treatment and the need for cognitive and emotional support, but also medico-legal in the context of decision-making capacity and informed consent.

Going Micro to go Macro (or to paraphrase?Hermes Trismegistus?… “as is below, so is above”):

One approach to studying the relationship between consciousness and the physics of subcellular biology is the theory of?orchestrated objective reduction?(Orch-OR), proposed by Hameroff et al. According to this theory, consciousness arises from quantum computations in microtubules, subcellular structures found in neurons, and other cells. Hameroff and Penrose (1996) proposed that these computations collapse the microtubule structure's wave function, resulting in the emergence of conscious experience. While the Orch-OR theory has been criticized for its reliance on unproven assumptions and the lack of empirical evidence, it remains an active area of discussion in consciousness studies (Bandyopadhyay, 2019; McIntosh, 2018).?

Further research is needed to determine the role of subcellular physical properties in the emergence of consciousness and to refine our understanding of the complex relationship between consciousness, physics, and biology, but wait, there’s more.

… what if we continue thinking along these lines??

More subcellular units collapsing the wave function —be they microtubules or other structures or a collection of a combination of?quantum-biological?structures (MacFadden et al) —like the electron-hopping mitochondria, perhaps?…

What if…??

• What if a?LARGER?collection of these structures,?
• Collapsing?MORE?wave functions,?
• Leads to a proportional increase in a MARGINAL?Level of?CONSCIOUSNESS??

A tiny C.Elegans worm? Only a tiny bit of consciousness??

My Cookie & Minnie? A more significant amount of consciousness,?for sure.?

Again, wife/kids insist my argument will still not help ME much, as they insist I am devoid of any internal soft, gooey mechanics; my innards, they claim, seem designed to collapse only their hopes and dreams, but alas, no wave functions.

This is all fine and somewhat interesting, but when do I get the integration of?

• Siri?and?
• Alexa?and?
• ChatGPT?inside?
• Tesla’s?Robot Servant or?
• Boston Robotics?(of dancing robot and robot pack mule fame)?

based on the structure of the human brain, you ask…?

Sonny from the “I, Robot” movie (you remember Will Smith’s winking little friend?).

Well, are you old enough to remember the?BEFORE TIMES??I mean, specifically before the iPhone. When Blackberries and?THE TREO?roamed the smartphone savannahs of the world??

Enter Dr. Jeff Hawkins, a renowned American inventor, entrepreneur, and neuroscientist who co-founded Palm Computing and Handspring and invented the popular Treo smartphone. In 2005, Hawkins turned his attention to neuroscience and founded the Redwood Neuroscience Institute, which later evolved into Numenta. This company is focused on developing machine-learning algorithms?inspired by the human brain.

I’m a fanboy, I guess. Nerd. I know.

Numenta's research is based on the idea that the neocortex?(literally new rind or bark), the brain's outer layer responsible for higher cognitive functions, such as perception, memory, and decision-making, operates on a set of common principles that can be?replicated in artificial intelligence. The company aims to create a new generation of intelligent machines that can learn, reason, and infer like humans.

One of Numenta's critical contributions to the field of machine learning is the development of a hierarchical temporal memory (HTM) algorithm. The HTM algorithm is designed to learn and recognize real-time patterns in streaming data, such as sensor data (input…INPUT!…like Johnny Five), speech, and video. The algorithm is based on the principles of the neocortex, which?hierarchically processes sensory information, with?each layer of neurons learning increasingly complex features of the data.

Numenta has also developed a suite of software tools, including NuPIC (Numenta Platform for Intelligent Computing), which allows developers to build intelligent applications using HTM technology. NuPIC has been used in various applications, such as predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and?natural language processing.

In addition to its research on machine learning, Numenta has also researched the neocortex's neuroscience. We are, after all, very complex?pattern recognition machines that turn sensory input data into an image or story or sound or memory --the collection of which makes us,?US.?

Is?that?what consciousness is??

Our?interpretation?of that data played back to us, so we can predict what is coming next?

The company has published several papers on the theory of predictive coding, which suggests that the brain uses?top-down predictions to anticipate sensory input?and minimize prediction errors. This theory has implications for understanding how the brain processes information and how machine learning algorithms can be designed to mimic this process.?

(Hmm…Collapsing the wave function in increasingly more complex patterns top-down?)

Overall, Numenta's research has the potential to revolutionize the field of artificial intelligence by developing algorithms that are more flexible, efficient, and adaptable than traditional machine learning techniques.?

• By drawing on insights from neuroscience,?
• combining these HTM algorithms with LLMs, and then?
• running this software on hardware also designed to mimic the known?anatomical-functional units of connectivity?—and poof!?

Paving the way for a new generation of intelligent machines (Robot overloads? Anyone?) that can learn, reason, and infer like humans.

… and be conscious??

Maybe?

Oy!

The study of consciousness is complex, multidisciplinary, and rapidly evolving. Advances in neuroscience, imaging, artificial intelligence, information theory, precision medicine, and systems biology are changing how we approach the question of consciousness and neuropsychiatric disease processes. Ideally, these approaches will offer new insights into the definition, origin, development, and emergence of consciousness —which should not?JUST?allow us to reconstruct an Artificial ‘version’ of it or instill it in a non-organic vessel of some type, but possibly give insight into derangements of function in the nervous system of humans and other animals, and hint at the development of personalized treatment strategies that may ultimately improve patient outcomes.

References:

1. Tononi, G. (2008). Consciousness as integrated information: a provisional manifesto. Biological Bulletin, 215(3), 216-242.
2. Koch, C., & Tononi, G. (2015). Can machines be conscious? IEEE Spectrum, 52(6), 56-63.
3. Dehaene, S., Changeux, J. P., Naccache, L., Sackur, J., & Sergent, C. (2006). Conscious, preconscious, and subliminal processing: a testable taxonomy. Trends in cognitive sciences, 10(5), 204-211.
4. Baars, B. J. (2005). Global workspace theory of consciousness: toward a cognitive neuroscience of human experience. Progress in brain research, 150, 45-53.
5. Crick, F., & Koch, C. (1990). Towards a neurobiological theory of consciousness. Seminars in the neurosciences, 2(4), 263-275.
6. Sejnowski, T. J. (2014). The deep learning revolution. IEEE Spectrum, 51(5), 24-35.
7. Priesemann, V., Valderrama, M., Wibral, M., & Le Van Quyen, M. (2016). Neuronal avalanches differ from wakefulness to deep sleep–evidence from intracranial depth recordings in humans. PLoS computational biology, 12(12), e1005146.
8. Tononi, G., & Koch, C. (2008). The neural correlates of consciousness: an update. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124(1), 239-261.
9. Tegmark, M. (2015). Consciousness as a state of matter. Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, 76, 238-270.
10. Alkire, M. T., Hudetz, A. G., & Tononi, G. (2008). Consciousness and anesthesia. Science, 322(5903), 876-880.
11. Barrett, A. B., & Seth, A. K. (2011). Practical measures of integrated information for time-series data. PLoS computational biology, 7(1), e1001052.
12. Marshall, W., & Zohar, D. (1990). The quantum self: A revolutionary view of human nature and consciousness rooted in the new physics. William Morrow & Co.
13. Feinberg, T. E., & Mallatt, J. M. (2016). The evolutionary and genetic origins of consciousness in the Cambrian Period over 500 million years ago. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 1551.
14. Schr?dinger, E. (1944). What is life?: The physical aspect of the living cell. Cambridge University Press.
15. Yuste, R. (2015). From the neuron doctrine to neural networks. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(8), 487-497.
16. Bandyopadhyay, A. (2019). A critical review of the orchestrated objective reduction theory of consciousness. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2384.
17. Hameroff, S., & Penrose, R. (1996). Orchestrated reduction of quantum coherence in brain microtubules: A model for consciousness. Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, 40(3-4), 453-480.
18. McIntosh, R. P. (2018). Assessing the implications of the orchestrated objective reduction model for the nature of consciousness, the self, and the scientific method. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 131, 119-142.
19. Fields, R. D. (2018). A new mechanism of nervous system plasticity: activity-dependent myelination. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 19(11), 757-762.
20. Hawkins, J., Ahmad, S., & Purdy, S. (2016). Towards a theory of intelligence. arXiv preprint arXiv:1604.00289.
21. Hawkins, J., & Blakeslee, S. (2004). On intelligence. Macmillan.
22. Numenta. (2022). What We Do. Retrieved from?https://numenta.com/what-we-do/
23. Numenta. (2022). Numenta Papers. Retrieved from?https://numenta.com/numenta-papers/
24. Numenta. (2022). NuPIC. Retrieved from?https://numenta.com/nupic/
25. Poskanzer, K. E., & Yuste, R. (2016). Astrocytes regulate cortical state switching in vivo. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(20), E2675-E2684.