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The functional utility of consciousness depends on content as well as on state

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2007

Anil K. Seth
Affiliation:
Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QH, United Kingdom. a.k.seth@sussex.ac.ukhttp://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/users/anils/

Abstract

This commentary considers Merker's mesodiencephalic proposal in relation to quantitative measures of neural dynamics suggested to be relevant to consciousness. I suggest that even if critical neural mechanisms turn out to be subcortical, the functional utility of consciousness will depend on the rich conscious contents generated by continuous interaction of such mechanisms with a thalamocortical envelope.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
2007 Cambridge University Press

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