Testing the role of spontaneous activity in visuospatial perception with patterned optogenetics

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Philosophy of Mind

Background:

• A central debate in consciousness research concerns whether conscious experience arises from neuronal activity or the causal structure of neural circuits.
• Theoretical accounts like predictive processing emphasize neuronal activity, while Integrated Information Theory posits circuit structure as fundamental.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally distinguish between the roles of neuronal activity and neural circuit structure in generating conscious experience.
• To test predictions derived from competing theories of consciousness through a carefully designed adversarial collaboration.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a combination of behavioral tests in mice, functional imaging, patterned optogenetics, and electrophysiology.
• Optogenetically inactivating specific portions of the visual cortex that show minimal response to behaviorally relevant stimuli.
• Assessing the impact of this inactivation on the perception of spatial distribution of stimuli.

Main Results:

• The experiment is designed to yield direct evidence regarding the necessity of specific neural populations for conscious perception.
• Results will be compared against theoretical predictions from neurorepresentationalism, active inference, and Integrated Information Theory.
• The study aims to determine if inactivating neurons with low spiking activity affects perception, isolating the role of circuit structure.

Conclusions:

• The findings will provide critical insights into the neuronal substrate of consciousness.
• This research contributes to resolving the long-standing debate on the origins of conscious experience.
• The study's outcome will significantly advance our understanding of how the brain generates subjective awareness.