Tag Archives: Conscious

Study Suggests Birds Might Possess a Basic Form of Conscious Perception

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Among them is a new paper published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Researchers Gianmarco Maldarelli and Onur Güntürkün from Ruhr University Bochum emphasize three key areas where birds exhibit significant parallels with mammalian conscious experience: sensory consciousness, the neurobiological foundation, and the nature of self-consciousness.

Maldarelli and Güntürkün demonstrate that there is increasing evidence that (i) birds possess sentience and self-awareness, and (ii) they also have the necessary neural structures for these traits. Image credit: Kutte.

First, research on sensory consciousness reveals that birds do not just automatically respond to stimuli; they also experience them subjectively.

Similar to humans, pigeons can alternate between different interpretations of ambiguous visual signals.

Moreover, crows exhibit neural responses that reflect their subjective perception rather than just the physical presence of a stimulus.

At times, crows consciously recognize a stimulus, while at other times, they do not; certain neurons activate specifically in correspondence to this internal experience.

Second, bird brains possess functional components that satisfy theoretical requirements for conscious processing, despite their differing structures.

“The caudolateral nidopallium (NCL), which is akin to the prefrontal cortex in birds, features extensive connectivity that allows for flexible integration and processing of information,” noted Güntürkün.

“The avian forebrain connectome, illustrating the complete flow of information among brain regions, shows numerous similarities to those of mammals.”

“As such, birds fulfill criteria outlined in many established theories of consciousness, including the global neuronal workspace theory.”

Third, more recent studies indicate that birds may exhibit various forms of self-awareness.

While certain corvid species have successfully passed the traditional mirror test, alternative ecologically relevant versions of the test have unveiled additional self-awareness types in other bird species.

“Research has demonstrated that pigeons and chickens can differentiate their reflections in mirrors from real-life counterparts and respond accordingly,” explained Güntürkün.

“This indicates a fundamental sense of situational self-awareness.”

The results imply that consciousness is an older and more prevalent evolutionary trait than previously believed.

Birds illustrate that conscious processing can occur without a cerebral cortex, achieving similar functional solutions through different brain architectures.

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Gianmarco Maldarelli and Onur Gunturkun. 2025. Conscious birds. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 380 (1939): 20240308; doi: 10.1098/rstb.2024.0308

Source: www.sci.news

Why We Should Assume That Even the Most Basic Animals Are Conscious

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Do dogs possess their own thoughts and emotions? What about pigeons, honeybees, earthworms, or jellyfish? Your answer likely reveals a human tendency to attribute consciousness to familiar creatures, while skeptically viewing “simpler” beings like invertebrates.

In truth, we can never be fully sure that other beings possess awareness. “The subjective nature of experience means absolute certainty is unattainable. You can’t even be 100% certain about other humans,” says Jonathan Burch, an author at the London School of Economics, in his work The edge of the senses.

This article is part of our concept special, exploring how experts perceive some of the most surprising ideas in science. Click here for more details.

Despite this uncertainty, evidence can be gathered. We must first clarify what consciousness entails. Philosopher Herbert Feigle’s framework divides consciousness into three layers.

The most basic layer involves raw sensations of the present, including external perceptions and internal emotions such as pain, joy, excitement, and boredom. The second layer, “sapiens,” allows for reflection on our experiences, such as “This is the worst pain I’ve ever felt.” The final layer encompasses our sense of self, recognizing our existence through past and future.

Research into animal consciousness primarily centers on sensation. “Much of this research focuses on pain, but there is a trend toward exploring positive emotions like joy,” says Christine Andrews from York University, Toronto. For instance, fish in pain may swim toward an area of a tank infused with painkillers.

Social behavior provides evidence for the second type of sensation. “Animals acquire much of their knowledge and skills socially,” Andrews states. Even insects exhibit this behavior. For example, fruit flies learn about mating by observing other fruit flies.

Some remarkable findings have revealed that certain animals recognize cultural contexts, such as recent studies showing mice providing “first aid” to unconscious companions. Researchers are also investigating episodic memory—the capacity to reflect on past experiences—and have found it in various mammals, including rats and chimpanzees, as well as birds like scrub jays.

Although we are gathering substantial evidence about sensation, the neurobiological foundations of consciousness remain unclear. “However, these findings may not universally apply to other species with distinct neural structures,” Andrews notes, referencing various studies on mammals that discuss involved brain regions. For example, while insects do not possess a human-like brain, there is strong evidence that they can experience pain, confirming a sensory component.

Last year, Andrews, Burch, and colleagues issued the New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness, acknowledging the “realistic possibility of conscious experiences” in numerous invertebrates. Andrews goes further, asserting that we should begin by assuming all animals are conscious.

This challenges the prevailing assumptions of many biologists, but may not be a significant leap for the general public. The notion of animals as intricate automata represents “an anomaly in Western science,” explains Burch. “Non-Western cultures, and indeed many individuals in the West outside academia, have consistently regarded animals as sentient beings.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Science is capable of understanding conscious experiences.

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Shutterstock/Jorm Sangsorn

If we could exchange bodies, we could see and feel the world just like everyone else. This idea was not only a favorite Hollywood plot, but was recalled by the 17th century philosopher and empiricist pioneer John Locke. He used it to explore one of the greatest philosophical challenges of the human condition. Are your subjective experiences the same as others?

For Locke, the appeal of the body exchange story is probably based on today’s endurable confidence. This means that it is impossible to objectively measure subjective experience. This yawning gap in science is a problem.

Let’s take a look at an example of pain that is notoriously difficult to measure objectively. Studies have shown that women have less pain relief than men, even with similar amounts of distress. Things are even worse for people in marginalized groups. Fortunately, Investigate now The neurologist methods can rewrite how we communicate the sensation of pain, and have a major impact on equalizing treatment. A new approach to answering the question of whether color perception is the same proves fruitful for everyone (see “Are we all considered the same color? We have an answer in the end”).

Trying to measure subjective energy levels can be called “woowoo.”

The perception of color is one thing, but what about more ambiguous concepts such as energy? When you try to measure someone’s subjective energy levels, you may feel it beyond the realm of research.

Still, as our cover story explains (see “New Understanding of Tiredness Uncovering How You Recover Your Energy”), looking fresh in mind-body connections, along with biological mechanisms for energy generation in our cells, reveals a new understanding of what may drive intangible sensations that appear to lack energy.

The coalescence of such science is worthy of a tentative celebration. At first, I work to work to understand what appears to be beyond objective measurements. It helps doctors to better understand and treat patients, and helps us all lead a better life. no Funny Friday– Style body swap is required.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Up to 20% of Coma Patients Could Be Conscious of Their Surroundings

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Some people in comas can imagine themselves swimming or walking

Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

As many as one in five people in a coma may be “locked in,” meaning they are aware of their surroundings but unable to communicate, and a large study has found that some people with severe brain injuries can carry out complex intellectual tasks when instructed, despite being unable to move or speak.

“It was easy to downplay this phenomenon when it was thought to be a rare event,” he said. Nicholas Schiff The study was published at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. But in light of the latest findings, “no one can ignore this.”

People with so-called disorders of consciousness are either in a comatose or vegetative state, unaware of their surroundings, or in a minimally conscious state, with occasional signs of wakefulness like opening their eyes. In 2019, researchers found that as many as one in 10 of these people may have disorders of consciousness.

To find out whether doctors are missing these patients, Schiff and his colleagues conducted behavioral and brain imaging tests on 353 people with severe brain injuries over an eight-year period at six international centers.

Participants were asked to think about performing different activities for 15 to 30 seconds — playing tennis, swimming, clenching their fists or walking around the house — then pause and think about the activity again, seven times over the course of five minutes.

In healthy people, these thoughts produce clear brain activity that can be seen on MRI scans and electroencephalograms (EEGs). Of the 353 people with brain damage, 241 showed no visible reaction to verbal commands, but 25% of these matched the brain activity of volunteers without brain damage; for those in a coma or vegetative state, the figure was 20%.

“This is an extremely demanding task — think about swimming intermittently for five minutes,” Schiff says. “We don’t know exactly what they’re going through, but the fact that they’re able to do this means they’re likely conscious.”

Schiff said estimates suggest there are 300,000 to 400,000 people worldwide who suffer from long-term consciousness disorders, and up to 100,000 who may have subconscious disorders.

This research is very important, Ranan GillonFor many people, the prospect of being kept alive while unconscious is at best futile and at worst abhorrent, says the professor, who is emeritus professor of medical ethics at Imperial College London. “But if unconsciousness is likely to be merely spurious, as these studies suggest, we might expect more people to want to be kept alive and to want to be consulted about their wishes before a decision is made to withdraw life-sustaining treatment.”

Several ethical issues, including respect for people’s autonomy and human rights, “all need to be reevaluated in light of these studies,” he says.

The results also raise questions about equity regarding access to MRIs and EEGs, he said. Erin Puckett “If non-specialized centers do not have access to these technologies, their patients may not have the same life-changing opportunities as others,” say researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) could offer a way to provide two-way communication for people with impaired consciousness, but they aren’t commonly used by this group, Schiff said. It takes just 30 minutes to train a BCI to translate brain activity. Associated with attempts to dictate text onto an on-screen screen.

“Why not give it to someone who is impaired by cognitive impairment and see if we can use it to communicate with them? At worst, we’ll have two weeks of useful data, but at best, we’ll set them free.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Is the universe structured like a giant brain and conscious?

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An astrophysicist and a surgeon walk into a bar. No, this is not the start of a bad joke. A few years ago, an astrophysicist Franco Vazza I met my childhood friend Alberto FerrettiAnd then he became a neurosurgeon. Vazza was modeling the structure of the universe, while Ferretti was delving into the brain. The two men reminisced and talked about their work. And then an idea occurred to them: What if they compared?

Vazza, based at the University of Bologna in Italy, has done just that. He used statistical techniques to compare neurons in a region of the brain called the cortex to the cosmic web, the pattern of matter distribution throughout the universe. Vazza looked at the number of nodes in each network and how densely connected each node is. The results surprised him.“It's a really interesting level of similarity,” he says. Ignoring the difference in the structures' sizes, which are about 27 orders of magnitude, “the two patterns kind of overlap,” Vazza says.

Some physicists cannot ignore this similarity, suggesting that the universe may “think” – that is, be conscious in some sense – an idea that has roots in the philosophy of panpsychism.

Traditionally, researchers have explained consciousness in one of two ways. Materialists argue that there is only matter, and consciousness somehow arises from that. Dualists argue that there are fundamentally two kinds of matter: matter and consciousness. There has been much discussion about the shortcomings of both views. For example, how can consciousness arise from pure matter?

Panpsychism

For some,…

Source: www.newscientist.com