The Biopsychology of Consciousness

We've learned a lot about brains in this series, and the types of perceptions they can facilitate. But how exactly does the brain produce consciousness? Furthermore, what exactly is consciousness? Where is it located in the brain? Let's get a closer look at this phenomenon!

Check out "Is This Wi-Fi Organic?", my book on disarming pseudoscience!

[kimchi]

Lots of people don't realize when you are under anesthesia you can still go into shock from pain. This is why they give you propofol and usually fentanyl because without pain medication your body will react to the pain and shock will occur quickly. The brain is so interesting.

[afewminutesanyway]

I’ve had seizures where I am obviously seizing but am fully conscious and can explain everything that happened as I seized. The actions of those around me etc.

How would that work? Thanks and I hope for a response because this is such a cool topic.

[psytek]

Excellently researched. Well done, my friend. I was interested in how Buddhist meditation might impact delta waves, and therefore experiences of "enlightenment", or non-self. Essentially becoming "unconscious" in meditation because of a lack of differentiation.

[amandeepbaghiana]

This was incredibly informative. I didn't know that we're actually making steps forward in our understanding of consciousness.

[stevenb]

"[The brain] truly is the most fascinating object in the known universe..." -- Dave's Brain

[xenon]

I thought you can be conscious while being in a coma? Arent there alot of storys where people wake up from a coma and can tell storys of what they heard while they were in said coma?

[MrOttopants]

I've had about 5 known tonic clonic seizures in my life. Fortunately, medication prevents them.


But when Dave describes an epileptic seizure as unconscious, it made me nod my head, because one moment, I was counting money, and then the next moment, I was yelling at my friends on the sidewalk that I wasn't going to the hospital.


When I have had "auras" or partial seizures, it is a rolling process that hits the part of my brain that is responsible for time and location. I am conscious, but one part of my brain is seizing and not functional.

It's very strange to not know how to find the bathroom in a building you've worked at for 10 years.


That happened at least twice at a former job I had.


Dave also says that when a patient is unconscious in a seizure that there is consistent wave activity. Even when there is not a seizure taking place, an eeg can identify that consistent epileptiform wave activity. Identifying the consistent brain waves in the otherwise chaotic activity is done in waking eeg's.

[luamfernandez]

Correlation doesn't mean causation

[g.neelimag.neelima]

I have seen your video of transcription for the first time in our class and that too without any audio!! Love your videos

[DudeWhoSaysDeez]

Amazing. I love thinking about consciousness. Great video!

[KingDecahedron]

perhaps I'm too advanced for your videos, however I love what you are doing

[tom_something]

The type of "consciousness" that I think of differs from the one in this video, as my version has very few functions. It's not responsible for emotions, or associating smells to memories, or being interested in puzzles. Those are all things that could be simulated. We couldn't make android _feel_ sad, but we could teach it to know when and how to exhibit outward sadness. The only two things my version of consciousness can do, that we're aware of, is 1) take all of these emotions and memories and sensations and "experience" them, and 2) somehow broadcast its presence to our conscious mind, saying "I am here. I think I'm more than just a meat-machine."

This is the sort of thing that we can only experience internally. You can have this intrinsic sense that you have consciousness, but with our current technology, you cannot be certain that anyone else has consciousness. Though I think it's a fair assumption that we all do.

Anyway, my concept of consciousness is kind of a bummer because even if this consciousness indicates that there is some metaphysical (by currently available science) consciousness kernel that could persist after we die (a "soul"), I don't think it could do very much on its own. People with brain injuries or brain disorders may have trouble thinking, remembering, or experiencing emotions. If the "soul" can't assist in these functions while a person is still alive, then I don't think it can perform those functions after the physical brain dies.

TL;DR - If there's an immortal soul in us, I don't think it's capable of remembering anything or thinking about anything after we die, since the physical brain is responsible for those functions.

[dannichols]

2:39 Nice brain! Where did you get that picture, and do you have reference to it and other brain pics that are realistic and labeled with gyri and sulci?

[UNVERSS]

The Wernicke and Fusiform lesions disables the consciousness certain abilities rather than cause it's absence or a part of it.

[LasseJ]

Consciousness seems to simply be "noise" in the brain, or an expression of (neural) frustration.

[Jermungand]

ok, now show us where in the brain the flat earth hallucination happens :P

[selfelements]

Damn now that was comprehensive. We'll have to watch it again!

[MarineVet]

Mefloquine dreams... please, make them stop! NEVER let anyone talk you into taking Mefloquine, except in an emergency situation, unless you enjoy the most twisted, realistic acid trip dreams you could ever imagine.

[Freddyw]

Many of these psychology learning opportunities lack comprehension checks...come on P.D.!

[-jg]

The integration theory got me thinking about catatonia. In catatonia the response to the environment is so synchronized that it leaves the person unresponsive (at least in some forms of catatonia), whereas the retrieval of information remains. Both grand-mal seizures and catatonia respond to benzodiazepines (inhibiting the CNS), supporting the theory of an overly excitatory/synchronized state. I find it interesting that catatonia only compromises the response to the environment associated with consciousnesses, but the grand-mal seizure compromises both the subjective experience of consciousness, and the response the environment. But speaking of benzodiazepines, since general anesthesia and overdosages of depressants are both marked by profound inhibition of the CNS. I’m curious as to why those produce states produce unconsciousness despite being on the opposite end of the spectrum of neuronal excitation as catatonia and grand-mail seizures. I could see how overly synchronized inhibition could play a role. It seems that either too many action potentials at once or too little at once, are what produce unconsciousness. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this.