machine learning
machine learning
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
#24 — The Conscious Brain Evolved with David Edelman, Jay Giedd & Mark Mitton
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
The home of the late Nobel Laureate, Gerald Edelman, is the setting for this elevated discussion on human consciousness. In this episode, Bernie is joined by Gerald's son and neuroscientist David Edelman, developmental neuropsychiatrist Dr. Jay Giedd, and professional magician Mark Mitton.
What level of biology is relevant to the study of conscious processing? Is it a matter of molecules? Or cells? Or networks?
Talking Points
0:00 – The Biological Level of the Conscious Brain
6:28 – Like Evolution, Consciousness is Highly Adaptive
12:27 – Like Magic, Inductive Science is Highly Adaptive and Full of Surprises
18:05 – How Magic Plays With The Limited Capacity of the Conscious Brain
23:18 – The Hippocampus and Amygdala are Two Evolved Structures of the Brain
28:39 – Deception and Self Deception Create Mismatches Between Reality and Expectations
36:25 – The Immune System and the Brain Are Both Highly Adaptable
Links
— Website and Social Media —
Show Notes: Ep #24 Full Summary
Website: https://bernardbaars.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BernardJBaars
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BernardJBaars/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardjbaars/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OnConsciousnesswithBernardBaars
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baarslab/?hl=en
— David Edelman, PhD —
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-edelman-b5b16315/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/doctorocto
Elsevier: https://www.elsevier.com/connect/contributors/david-edelman-phd
— Jay Giedd, PhD —
University of California, San Diego: https://profiles.ucsd.edu/jay.giedd
Doximity: https://www.doximity.com/pub/jay-giedd-md
Brain and Behavior Foundation: https://www.bbrfoundation.org/about/people/jay-n-giedd-md-0
— Mark Mitton —
Personal Website: http://markmitton.com/index.html
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mark_mitton?lang=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mitton-4204696/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markmittonmagic/?hl=en
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
We think of the cortex in terms of anatomical regions, but the cortex works as a whole. Static, gross anatomical divisions are superseded by the dynamical connectome of cortex.
This holistic viewpoint is detailed in the recent paper in the Journal Frontiers in Psychology: Consciousness Research, titled "Global Workspace Theory & Prefrontal Cortex: Recent Developments" (Baars, Geld & Kozma, 2021), which we discuss in this episode.
A wide range of experimental and theoretical studies in the field of consciousness emphasize the complex and rapid interactivity of numerous regions and connectivities in the cerebral cortex. That dynamical view of the cortex should give us pause about proposing dichotomies that may not be in evidence. This paper aims to clarify some empirical questions that have been raised, and review evidence that the prefrontal and posterior regions of the brain support dynamic global workspace functions, in agreement with several other authors.
Our special guest for Episode 23 is Dr. Robert Kozma, professor and director of the Center for Large-Scale Integrated Optimization and Networks (CLION) at the FedEx Institute of Technology, and professor of Mathematics in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Memphis. Ilian Daskalov, our student interviewer, joins us to explore this recent paper on GWT and Prefrontal Cortex.
To follow along with this discussion, here is the link to the source paper: Baars, B. J., Geld, N., & Kozma, R. (2021). Global Workspace Theory (GWT) and Prefrontal Cortex: Recent Developments. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 5163. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.749868
Talking Points
0:00 – Intro
4:04 – Divisions between PfC and other neuronal regions tend to be misleading.
5:57 – Global Workspace Theory: An Overview
10:23 – The Role of Metaphors in Science
15:37 – Consciousness is the Dynamic Core of the Brain.
21:44 – Unifying Principles of the Global Workspace “Family” of Theories
30:59 – What is “Binding” and “Broadcasting” in the Brain?
34:39 – What did Raccah et al. (2021) Get Wrong about GWT?
43:22 – What is Neuropercolation Theory?
58:12 – Conscious and Unconscious Metacognition
01:07:07 – The Dynamical Connectome of Cortex
01:12:01 – Functional Rich Clubs (FRICs) by Deco et al. (2021): Part of GW “Family”
01:17:30 – Final Thoughts
Links & Publications
— Website and Social Media —
Episode Summary: https://bernardbaars.com/episode-23
Website:https://bernardbaars.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BernardJBaars
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BernardJBaars/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardjbaars/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OnConsciousnesswithBernardBaars
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baarslab/?hl=en
— Robert Kozma, Ph.D. —
University of Memphis: https://www.memphis.edu/msci/people/rkozma.php
CLION: https://www.memphis.edu/clion/
IEEE: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/author/37284339400
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kozma
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Nddbg2gAAAAJ&hl=en
PubMed Publications: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Kozma%2C%20Robert
Neuropercolation Theory (PDF): https://escholarship.org/content/qt2qn4778j/qt2qn4778j.pdf
Link to paper by Deco et al. (2021): https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-01003-6
Friday May 14, 2021
Friday May 14, 2021
"The idea is to help people understand how this science is relevant to their daily lives. Our brain likes novelty. It gets this sort of dopamine hit when you give it new information. Capturing attention and getting people excited about the information is really important, especially when dealing with things like public health issues, for example.”
– Dr. Heather Berlin, Neuropsychologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai
Episode 15: "Communicating Science Effectively and The Notion of Free Will" with Dr. Heather Berlin *On Consciousness*
For Episode #15, our returning guest is neuropsychologist Dr. Heather Berlin, an Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Berlin is a trained neuroscientist and a clinical psychologist. She is also interested in the neural basis of consciousness, dynamic unconscious processes, the use of psychedelics to treat mental disorders, and in the neural basis of creativity. We discuss her work and passions in this episode.
Talking Points
0:00 - Intro with Bernard Baars, Dr. Heather Berlin & Student Interviewer, Ilian Daskalov
1:14 - Self-regulation and impulsivity
6:59 - Communicating science effectively
10:57 - The future of AI
16:23 - The notion of free will
19:30 - Future scientific discoveries
22:33 - Advice for neuroscience students
Summary
Bernie Baars expresses his interest in the topic of human impulsivity and invites Dr. Berlin to share how her work has been shaped by studying the nature of self-regulation. Heather discusses her pursuit of trying to understand what makes us distinctly human, which led her on a journey of studying the functions of the prefrontal cortex. Additionally, the two also briefly touch on how Freud’s work has contributed to our understanding of the human mind.
Bernie then welcomes Student Interviewer Ilian Daskalov, a Cognitive Science student at University of California, Irvine into the conversation to further explore her unique work, research and creative endeavors.
Relating Science to Our Daily Lives
They begin with the question “What makes someone an effective science communicator?” Heather explains that while there are many ways to communicate science, the key to capturing your audience’s attention stems from relating science information to their daily lives. Heather says:
“First of all, find what you are good at, what medium you might be best at. You know, my husband raps about science, right? That's his medium. Then start to cultivate your medium. I think the kind of overarching aim that runs across them all is about connecting with people. I think on an emotional level, on a personal level -- because sometimes science can be abstract and objective, and that's what we want with science. It's objective. It's not amenable to our subjectivity, but at the same time that can feel very clinical. Distant.
The idea is to help people understand how this science is relevant to their daily lives. How it's meaningful and what it means to them. Even if it's just inspiring a sense of awe, like, I don't know for sure about astrophysics, maybe it doesn't have any direct impact on our daily life, but just living in this universe and the enormity of it!! It’s awe inspiring!
Our brain likes novelty. It gets this sort of dopamine hit when you give it new information. Capturing attention and getting people excited about the information is really important, especially when dealing with things like public health issues, for example.”
Conscious AI and the Notion of Free Will
Recalling a recent interview between Heather Berlin and Sophia the Robot, Ilian seeks to understand where the future development of general artificial intelligence is heading. Both Bernie and Heather express their skepticism that humanity will be able to create conscious machines. They go on to explain that while our understanding of consciousness is yet incomplete, the biological components that it consists of appear to be fundamental building blocks.
Following the topic of AI, the discussion moves on to the notion of Free Will. Heather points out that although there is no evidence for the Cartesian definition of Free Will, the unconscious processes may not be predetermined. She further highlights the fact that the lack of Free Will does not excuse inappropriate human behavior as we have evolved the capacity to have self-control, primarily due to the maturation of the prefrontal cortex.
Bernie shares his thoughts on consciousness and the sense of Free Will:
“Consciousness has been a huge taboo in the last 100 years, and so people are very often a little bit ashamed or inhibited or afraid of getting criticized when they speak freely of consciousness and Free Will. The key move in this new and confusing area is to state our questions in a testable and open-minded way. In good science, we should never impose our answers onto nature.
The way to study the sense of freedom that we all have is profoundly important -- it is very real -- and not an illusion. There are profound biological reasons as to why humans and animals prefer freedom over coercion. Once we ask the question this way, we can study it.”
Future Science
In the final moments of the episode, Ilian inquires about any future scientific discoveries that Heather is most enthusiastic about. She shares her excitement for the potential uses of neural implants which will aid in manipulating pathways in our brains, leading to enhanced memory, creativity, and intelligence. She also expresses optimism that through gene editing, we would be able to eliminate some neurological illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s Disease.
In closing, Ilian asks: “What general advice do you have for students of neuroscience and psychology?” Heather responds by urging science students to be persistent in chasing their goals and to always be bold and take risks, and says,
“Just keep going, keep going, keep going, and don't let anybody stop you unless it's illegal.”
Get a 40% Discount for your copy of Bernie Baars' acclaimed new book On Consciousness: Science & Subjectivity - Updated Works on Global Workspace Theory
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Bios:
Dr. Heather Berlin is a dual-trained neuroscientist and clinical psychologist, and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mont Sinai in NY. She explores the neural basis of impulsive and compulsive psychiatric and neurological disorders with the aim of developing novel treatments. She is also interested in the brain basis of consciousness, dynamic unconscious processes, and creativity. Clinically, she specializes in lifespan (child, adolescent, and adult) treatment of anxiety, mood, and impulsive and compulsive disorders (e.g. OCD), blending her neural perspective with cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and humanistic approaches. You can visit her website at https://www.heatherberlin.com/
Ilian Daskalov is a senior undergraduate student at University of California, Irvine where he studies Cognitive Science. He holds an associate degree with honors from San Diego Mesa College. His research interests include sleep, psychedelics, and artificial intelligence. He is passionate about communicating science and promoting critical thinking.
Bernard Baars is best known as the originator of global workspace theory and global workspace dynamics, a theory of human cognitive architecture, the cortex and consciousness. Bernie is a former Senior Fellow in Theoretical Neurobiology at the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, CA, and Editor in Chief of the Society for MindBrain Sciences. He is author of many scientific papers, articles, essays, chapters, and acclaimed books and textbooks.
Bernie is the recipient of the 2019 Hermann von Helmholtz Life Contribution Award by the International Neural Network Society, which recognizes work in perception proven to be paradigm changing and long-lasting.
He teaches science. It keeps him out of trouble.
Thursday Apr 16, 2020
Thursday Apr 16, 2020
In this uplifting episode recorded at La Jolla landmark D.G. Wills Books, neuroscientists Bernie Baars & David Edelman unpack the nature of consciousness — the ineffable sense of ‘aboutness’ each one of us experiences that encompasses features of the outside world, your own thoughts, recollections, and emotions, all of which mysteriously — yet inevitably — arise from the coordinated firing of neurons in the cerebral cortex and other regions of the brain.
David reads from Bernie's new book, “On Consciousness: Science & Subjectivity - Updated Works on Global Workspace Theory."
Bernie and David begin by considering the problem of subjectivity — in particular, the tortuous twenty-five centuries-long struggle to place it within a scientific framework and at the same time reconcile such an endeavor with everyday first-hand descriptions of human experience. They conclude that a major roadblock has been the tendency to set aside or even actively dismiss subjective descriptions in the quest to tease out some kind of objective truth about the nature of conscious experience.
To underscore the idea that we can, in some sense, square the objective, physical attributes of the world with their subjective representation in the brain, Bernie and David mull over the perception of color as one example of a subjective transform of an objective phenomenon—namely, the differences in wavelengths of light. Given that the human visual system filters certain physical properties of light (as humans, we can’t perceive light wavelengths less than 380nm or greater than 740nm, nor can we perceive polarized light), our conscious perception of the visual world must necessarily be subjective in nature and, considering our individual differences (e.g., how we’re each uniquely embodied), entirely unique to, and privileged for, each of us.
Bernie and David then move on to ethical and evolutionary considerations inspired by attempts to come to grips with the existence and nature of consciousness in non-human animals. Given the ancient moral and ethical underpinnings of human culture, they suggest that the evolutionary story of consciousness must necessarily be linked to considerations of how we treat non-human animals.
Based on neuroanatomical, neurophysiological, and behavioral similarities between mammals and birds, it seems likely that a large number of animals are capable of conscious experience. In fact, the complex nervous systems and sophisticated behavioral repertoires of some animals quite distant from the vertebrate line (i.e., the octopus) suggest that a faculty for consciousness may well be quite ancient and extend to at least a few branches of complex life. Accordingly, Bernie and David reinforce the ethical dilemma that non-human consciousness poses.
How do we reconcile our treatment of non-human animals with the idea that, like us, many of these beings are capable of feeling pain and experiencing a broad palette of emotions?
To conclude the discussion, Bernie and David ponder the critical role of memory in consciousness and consider the problem of limited capacity – the idea that your nervous system can only handle so much information and processing tasks at once. In regard to memory, Bernie points to the importance of the cerebral cortex—the ‘central store’ for conscious contents—for engendering states of awareness in humans and non-human mammals.
He further notes that conscious contents are always internally consistent, despite the fact that very different—and quite often inconsistent—streams of information may be impinging on your senses all at once. In other words, the brain builds an internally consistent story about the world—even if certain strands of that story don’t make sense from an external perspective. Why is this the case?
Regarding limited capacity, Bernie suggests that it is biologically paradoxical. For example, the selective awareness that comes with limited capacity can sometimes result in people walking into traffic while talking on their cell phones. Why doesn’t the spotlight of awareness extend beyond the telephone conversation to include an oncoming truck?
The discussion ends with a wonderful Q & A session, thanks to an engaged and brilliant audience.
*Special Thanks to Dennis Wills, owner of D.G. Wills Books in La Jolla, CA.
Bios
Bernard J. Baars: A former Senior Fellow in Theoretical Neurobiology at The Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, CA, Bernie is best known as the originator of the global workspace theory and global workspace dynamics, a theory of human cognitive architecture, the cortex and consciousness. Bernie's many acclaimed books include A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness; The Cognitive Revolution in Psychology; In the Theater of Consciousness: The Workspace of the Mind; Fundamentals of Cognitive Neuroscience. Winner of the 2019 Hermann von Helmholtz Life Contribution Award by the International Neural Network Society, which recognizes work in perception proven to be paradigm changing and long-lasting. His new acclaimed book: On Consciousness: Science & Subjectivity - Updated Works on Global Workspace Theory. BernardBaars.com
David Edelman, PhD: A neuroscientist and currently Visiting Scholar in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College, David has taught neuroscience at the University of San Diego and UCSD. He was Professor of Neuroscience at Bennington College until 2014 and visiting professor in the Dept of Psychology, CUNY Brooklyn College from 2015-2017. He has conducted research in a wide range of areas, including mechanisms of gene regulation, the relationship between mitochondrial transport and brain activity, and visual perception in the octopus. A longstanding interest in the neural basis of consciousness led him to consider the importance—and challenge—of disseminating a more global view of brain function to a broad audience.
Episode 7 Talking Points | 1 hour 30 minutes
By Ilian Daskalov
0:05 – Neuroscientist David Edelman introduces Bernard J. Baars, himself, their work, how they met in 2005 at The Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, CA. David unpacks a brief history of the modern science of consciousness studies, and how they began collaborating and developing their research and body of work in their diverse fields.
1:29 - Edelman reads excerpts from Baars’ new book “On Consciousness: Science & Subjectivity – Updated Works on Global Workspace Theory.”
7:12 – Edelman and Baars initiate the conversation between the two by discussing observational objectivity and the uniqueness of being a conscious individual self.
14:08 – What are some ways for scientists to study the nature of subjectivity?
17:24– How the spectrum of visible colors is perceived and how hues are labeled based on variables such as gender and culture.
23:50 – The importance of considering embodiment, or how the body is put together as a whole, when studying the conscious experiences in humans and animals.
30:00 – The evolution of consciousness in non-human animals, and the ethics and morals of treating other sentient beings in humane ways.
41:42 – How memory is related to consciousness and the overall structural complexity of the human brain.
45:40 – The limited capacity of human attention and the perceptual unity that the brain weaves from input information.
54:08 – Q & A with the audience.
55:17 – The imperfections and amendable properties of human memory, as well as William James’ idea about “the feeling of knowing.”
1:03:48 – The mind-body connection... and does it exist?
1:06:53 – Is competency equal to comprehension – can cells and machines be considered conscious?
1:12:26 – David Edelman gives a summary of the three of the main theories of consciousness – Global Workspaces Theory, Integrated Information Theory, and Dynamic Core.
In terms of selectionism, where does the cortex come in? And particularly the conscious aspects of cortex at any given moment?
1:21:55 – Bernie explains what Global Workspace Theory is, its origin, and what makes it more biologically plausible in comparison to its rival theories.
Special Podcast VIP 40% Discount for Bernie Baars' acclaimed new book, "On Consciousness: Science & Subjectivity - Updated Works on Global Workspace Theory" - GO TO: https://shop.thenautiluspress.com/collections/baars
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Watch our Video Podcast Episodes: https://youtu.be/tFRJCPL_Xm8
Thursday Apr 16, 2020
Thursday Apr 16, 2020
In this episode of "On Consciousness," neuroscientists Bernie Baars, Jeff Krichmar, and David Edelman engage in a freewheeling conversation that begins with mulling over the possible development of conscious machines -- or ‘conscious artifact,’ as Gerald Edelman put it -- sometime in the not-so-distant future.
We unpack the various ‘bumps in the road’ in the quest to build intelligent, sentient machines--the problems of efficiency (with regard to energy utilization, brains run circles around any present-day computers) and dissipation of heat in increasingly miniaturized microcircuitry, among others.
And though Bernie casts a critically important skeptic’s eye on the prospect of in silico conscious artifacts, we all eventually arrive at a sort of amicable consilience: a recognition that such a development is at least possible.After a tangential--but fun and diverting--foray into the thickets of human evolution and the serendipitous biocultural path that led to modern humans, we return to pondering the road leading to conscious artifacts.
We conclude on an optimistic note, with the promise of the biologically based approach so steadfastly championed by Jeff and a small community of like-minded computational neuroscientists.
Special Guest: Professor Jeff Krichmar, PhD, Department of Cognitive Sciences and the Department of Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~jkrichma
Hosts
Cognitive psychobiologist and originator of GWT Bernard J. Baars, Author of "ON CONSCIOUSNESS: Science & Subjectivity - Updated Works on Global Workspace Theory"
Neuroscientist and paleoanthropologist David Edelman, PhD, Visiting Scholar, Dept of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College
Special Podcast VIP 40% Discount for Bernie Baars' new book, "On Consciousness: Science & Subjectivity - Updated Works on Global Workspace Theory" - GO TO: https://shop.thenautiluspress.com/collections/baars
APPLY CODE AT CHECKOUT: "PODCASTVIP"
Talking Points:
0:00 – David Edelman introduces himself and briefly describes his path to exploring consciousness (particularly in animals), starting as a human paleoanthropologist to studying the behavior of cephalopods.
3:11 – Jeff Krichmar introduces himself, summarizing how he went from being a computer scientist to one of the first neuroroboticists.
6:05 – Bernard Baars gives his thoughts on the trajectory of artificial consciousness and the hurdles in the scientific realm that one had to go through in the past, due to their interest in studying consciousness.
7:41 – David Edelman on the importance of defining consciousness and how the difference in brain activity during conscious (waking) and unconscious (sleeping) states makes consciousness an observable phenomenon that one can actively study.
11:30 – Bernard Baars on why attributing consciousness to a machine would be an ambitious task.
12:52 – Counterarguments by David and Jeff to Bernie’s proposal on how consciousness in machines can emerge.
17:33 – Jeff Krichmar on how energy efficiency is essential for the improvement of our computers in order to be able to simulate a human brain.
23:11 – Baars initiating a conversation revolving around the expensiveness and disadvantages of the human brain’s size.
28:30 – Edelman on how human sociality has impacted the survivability of the species.
32:08 – Edelman, Krichmar, and Baars discussing the possible existence, timeline, and road to “conscious artifacts” in the near future.
39:10 – Edelman and Krichmar close out the conversation with a brief discussion on the evolution of neural networks and the moral and ethical concerns in the field.
**Watch the Bonus Video Episode: The History of Brain-Based Devices and Cognitive Robots with Neuroroboticist Jeff Krichmar
Jeff Krichmar discusses how an overarching theory of the brain, known as Neural Darwinism, was tested using a series of increasingly complex Brain-Based Devices. These robots show cognitive behavior, such as perception, goal-driven behavior, learning and memory.
This led to the development of the emerging fields of Neurorobots and Cognitive Robotics where Krichmar and other researchers are making smarter robots based on how brain activity lead to interesting behavior.
Visuals Credits:
Visualization of MRI brain scan data from a single person, showing nerve fiber bundles near or feeding into part of the hippocampus. Neuroscientist Tyler Ard, NIH-supported lab of Arthur Toga, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Jim Stanis, Arthur W. Toga, Ryan Cabeen, Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI), USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute;
NIH Brain initiative 2019 Network architecture of the long-distance pathways in the macaque brain. Dharmendra S. Modha, Raghavendra Singh. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2010, 107 (30) 13485-13490; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1008054107
Dynamic mapping of human cortical development during childhood through early adulthood. Nitin Gogtay, Jay N. Giedd, Leslie Lusk, Kiralee M. Hayashi, Deanna Greenstein, A. Catherine Vaituzis, Tom F. Nugent, David H. Herman, Liv S. Clasen, Arthur W. Toga, Judith L. Rapoport, Paul M. Thompson. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 2004, 101 (21) 8174-8179; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0402680101