If you are reading this, chances are you believe you are conscious. It’s easy to assume that your loved ones, your not-so-loved ones, and even your peculiar neighbors are also conscious beings, experiencing the world just like you.
But what about newborn babies, who are unable to communicate their thoughts or understand the world around them? None of us can remember our experiences as infants, so the question remains: are they aware? What about babies still in the womb?
These intriguing questions have captured the interest of neuroscientists, including Dr. Joel Frolich, who describes this inquiry as a scientific “frontier.”
According to Frolich, there has been limited research on the onset of consciousness until recent years. It was predominantly a topic for philosophers, with neuroscience only starting to delve into it more recently.
Researchers have now devised innovative methods to uncover when consciousness emerges in a newborn or a fetus and explore these unanswered questions.
Quest for Clues
Based on a study by Frolich and philosopher Professor Tim Bain, the consensus seems to point towards at least five months before consciousness likely emerges.
By this age, the infant not only displays wakefulness but also exhibits clear signs of engaging with the world around them.
This conclusion stems from a “cluster-based” approach, where a combination of indicators like brain activity patterns, responses to stimuli, and signs of recognition are considered, rather than relying on a single marker of consciousness.
While younger babies may not exhibit all the signs of consciousness, they show some indicators, which can also be present in fetuses.
Key to Consciousness
One significant marker of a conscious brain, according to neuroscientists like Frolich, is the default mode network. This network of brain regions is active during restful states, such as daydreaming or contemplating the future.
Research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown that newborns have a rudimentary form of this default mode network.
Another crucial clue is the local-global effect, where the brain’s ability to detect pattern changes signifies working memory and potential consciousness. This was evident in studies on infants and even in fetuses.
Unveiling the Womb
Behavior and attention are additional factors that hint at consciousness. Young babies around four months old demonstrate the ability to choose where to focus their attention, suggesting a level of awareness. Similar observations have been made with fetuses.
In a 2017 study, neuroscientists conducted experiments on pregnant individuals, illuminating the uterus with lights and gauging fetal responses using ultrasound.
These findings shed light on the potential emergence of awareness in infants or fetuses, prompting contemplation on ethical implications but reassuring that consciousness likely isn’t present until later in pregnancy.
Neuroscientific discoveries may have broader implications for understanding consciousness in other entities, such as artificial intelligence, urging the development of a unified theory of consciousness.
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About our experts:
Dr. Joel Frolich: A postdoctoral researcher specializing in fetal neuroscience at the Helmholtz Centre Munich, University of Tubingen. Frolich utilizes magnetic enemies for studying fetal and infant development and serves as a research consultant for the Institute for Advanced Consciousness in California.
Source: www.sciencefocus.com