Criteria for consciousness in humans and other animalsSeth, A.K. and Edelman, D.B. and Baars, B.J. (2005) Criteria for consciousness in humans and other animals. Consciousness and Cognition, 14. pp. 119-139. Full text available as:
AbstractThe standard behavioral index for human consciousness is the ability to report events with accuracy. While this method is routinely used for scientific and medical applications in humans, it is not easy to generalize to other species. Brain evidence may lend itself more easily to comparative testing. Human consciousness involves widespread, relatively fast low-amplitude interactions in the thalamocortical core of the brain, driven by current tasks and conditions. These features have also been found in other mammals, which suggests that consciousness is a major biological adaptation in mammals. We suggest more than a dozen additional properties of human consciousness that may be used to test comparative predictions. Such homologies are necessarily more remote in non-mammals, which do not share the thalamocortical complex. However, as we learn more we may be able to make “deeper” predictions that apply to some birds, reptiles, large-brained invertebrates, and perhaps other species. Comments/DiscussionThis article provides a discussion of criteria for consciousness that can be applied both to humans and to other animals. It provides a useful foundation for assessing experimental evidence relevant to animal consciousness.
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