An imaginary notion of the 80+-% of homo superstitious-hierarch who believe in souls, spirits, deities, universal consciousness, etc. (Less than 20% say they are agnostics or atheists.)
Steve On Sep 16, 2013, at 1:45 PM, Ray Harrell wrote: > What is Dematerialized consciousness? > > REH > > From: futurework-boun...@lists.uwaterloo.ca > [mailto:futurework-boun...@lists.uwaterloo.ca] On Behalf Of Steve Kurtz > Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 5:40 AM > To: Futurework list > Subject: [Futurework] Researchers measure consciousness through brain activity > > Dematerialized consciousness takes another hit. > > Steve > > > > http://www.world-science.net/othernews/130814_consciousness > > > <image001.png> > "Long before it's in the papers" > August 14, 2013 > > RETURN TO THE WORLD SCIENCE HOME PAGE > Researchers measure consciousness through brain activity > > Aug. 14, 2013 > Courtesy of Science Translational Medicine > and World Science staff > > A new study seems to back up previous proposals that the level of > complexity of your brain activity largely determines whether you’re > conscious or not. > > Scientists developed a test of consciousness based on the concept—a > test that doesn’t require a patient to actually do anything, they said. > > Consciousness is elusive, but we know it’s what vanishes when we fall > into a deep sleep and reappears when we wake up. Doctors typically > determine if a person is conscious by their ability to process and > respond to external commands, such as “open your eyes” or “squeeze my > hand.” > > But these methods are superficial, as research has shown in the last > decade that a brain totally disconnected from the outside world may > still have some awareness. This may happen in brain-injured patients who > emerge from a coma but can’t move or understand instructions, for > example. > > One theory is that in a conscious brain, different populations of > neurons, or nerve cells, carry out their own computational roles, but > can’t communicate with other neuron populations. > > When the brain loses complexity, some scientists propose, neurons > either start to behave more similarly altogether (resulting in a > loss of information), or their ability to communicate is impaired > (resulting in a loss of integration). For example, if you’re asleep > and you hear a dog barking, your brain will respond with activity in the > auditory cortex, the part of the brain that processes sound. But if > you’re awake, the same sound might also induce thoughts of your own dog, or > annoyance at the loudness of the bark—responses tied to activity in the > brain’s memory and emotion centers. > > These later brain processes contain more information. > Neuroscientists have been trying to develop ways to measure > consciousness based on this brain complexity. > > In the study, Marcello Massmini of the University of Milan in Italy > and colleagues devised a technique to measure this brain complexity, or > how much integration and information flow is happening in the brain. > Called the Perturbational Complexity Index or PCI, their technique > involves mildly “shaking” the whole brain with a strong magnetic > stimulation and recording the response of neurons. This data can then > be used to calculate how much information the brain is able to produce > as a whole. > > The researchers tested the technique in patients with brain injuries, > patients under anesthesia with different drugs, and in patients who > were awake, in deep sleep or dreaming. The test reflected the > participants’ level of consciousness under each of these conditions, > they found. > > The results suggest that different levels of consciousness are tightly > linked to the complexity of the brain response, they added. For example, > finding a “PCI value” above the sleep or anesthesia level in a patient > who is otherwise unresponsive would suggest she or he is conscious to > some extent. Although more research is needed, the analysis could > potentially be a useful tool at the hospital bedside for measuring > consciousness, they added. > > The findings are published in the Aug. 14 issue of the journal Science > Translational Medicine. > > * * * > > Send us a comment on this story, or send it to a friend > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > Futurework@lists.uwaterloo.ca > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
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