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Related Experiment Video

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What makes us so certain that we're conscious?

Michael S A Graziano1

  • 1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.

Cognitive Neuroscience
|November 12, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Attention Schema Theory (AST) proposes that an internal self-model, which represents consciousness, leads to the subjective experience of being conscious. This model evolved to help control the brain's attention processes.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Philosophy of Mind

Background:

  • Attention Schema Theory (AST) posits a specific mechanism for the subjective experience of consciousness.
  • The theory links consciousness to the brain's internal modeling of attention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explain the evolutionary basis of consciousness through the development of a self-model.
  • To elucidate the functional role of this self-model in attention control.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical framework development within AST.
  • Conceptual analysis of self-modeling and attention.

Main Results:

  • AST suggests that an automatically constructed self-model, depicting consciousness, creates the intuitive belief in possessing consciousness.
Keywords:
Attentionawarenessconsciousnessself-model

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  • This self-model evolved to model and control the brain's attention processes.

    • Conclusions:

    • The subjective experience of consciousness arises from the brain's internal representation of attention.
    • The evolution of this self-model is linked to the adaptive advantages of sophisticated attention control in complex animals.