Title: A neurophysiologically based field theory of consciousness

Speaker: E. Roy John, Director, Brain Research Laboratories, NYU School
of Medicine

When/where: Monday, Nov. 15th, 2:30pm, AKW 200

Abstract: For practical clinical purposes, as well as because of their
deep philosophical implications, it is increasingly important to be
aware of contemporary studies of the brain mechanisms that generate
subjective experiences. Current research has progressed to the point
where plausible theoretical proposals can be made about the
neurophysiological and
neurochemical processes which mediate perception and sustain subjective
awareness. An adequate theory of consciousness must describe how
information about the environment is encoded by the exogenous system,
how memories are stored in the endogenous system and released
appropriately for the present circumstances, how the exogenous and
endogenous systems interact to produce perception and explain how
consciousness arises from that interaction. Evidence assembled from a
variety of neuroscience areas, together with the invariant reversible
electrophysiological changes
observed with loss and return of consciousness in anesthesia as well as

distinctive quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG) profiles of
various
psychiatric disorders, provides an empirical foundation for this theory
of consciousness. This evidence suggests the need for a paradigm shift
to explain how the brain accomplishes the transformation from
synchronous and distributed neuronal discharges to seamless global
subjective awareness. This lecture will undertake to provide a detailed
description and explanation of these complex processes by experimental
evidence
marshaled from a wide variety of sources.