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Adversarial testing of global neuronal workspace and integrated information theories of consciousness
Hraness wrote this summary from a saved copy of the source. Quotations are taken word for word from the source.
gist
The Cogitate Consortium found that preregistered tests partly support yet seriously challenge both leading theories of consciousness. Proponents of integrated information theory (IIT) and global neuronal workspace theory (GNWT) agreed on opposing predictions before data collection. 256 participants viewed visible images while researchers recorded functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), magnetoencephalography (MEG) and intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG). Neither theory passed every core test.
ideas
- Rival theorists preregistered opposing predictions. A theory-neutral consortium and both camps fixed the design, predictions, analyses and interpretation in advance to break confirmation bias.
- Conscious content shows up in visual, ventrotemporal and inferior frontal cortex. Sustained responses in occipital and lateral temporal cortex tracked how long a stimulus stayed on screen.
- IIT lacks sustained synchronization in posterior cortex. That null result contradicts the claim that network connectivity specifies the degree and content of consciousness.
- GNWT lacks ignition at stimulus offset. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) also showed no representation of stimulus identity, which questions whether PFC broadcasts all conscious content.
- The field needs a quantitative way to weigh evidence. The consortium calls for a formal framework that accounts for prediction centrality, measurement error and cross-sample consistency.
quotes
“These results align with some predictions of IIT and GNWT, while substantially challenging key tenets of both theories.”
“GNWT is challenged by the general lack of ignition at stimulus offset and limited representation of certain conscious dimensions in the prefrontal cortex.”
“Scientific progress is rarely a matter of simple verdicts”