Consciousness Studies – Key Vocabulary

These vocabulary flashcards cover major terms, principles, brain structures, clinical states, experimental methods, and theoretical constructs discussed across the lecture notes on first-person methods, neural correlates of consciousness, and neuroimaging studies in disorders of consciousness.

First-person data

Information drawn from subjective, personal experience that an individual has direct access to (e.g., what it feels like to see red).

Third-person data

Objective information about brain processes, behaviour, or environmental interaction that can be measured by external observers.

Science of consciousness

The field that seeks systematic relations between third-person data and first-person data about experience.

Fundamental theory of consciousness

A proposed set of principles linking specific kinds of experience with specific neural or information-processing events.

Introspection

A first-person method in which people examine and report on their own conscious experiences.

Phenomenology

A disciplined first-person approach that describes the structures of experience as they present themselves to consciousness.

Psychophysics

A behavioural method relying on first-person reports to relate physical stimulus properties to perceived experience, typically for simple features.

Neural Correlate of Consciousness (NCC)

The minimal neural system or activity that is consistently associated with a specific conscious experience.

Consciousness meter

A hypothetical device that would measure consciousness directly; currently does not exist.

Bridging principles

Interpretive rules used to infer the presence and contents of consciousness from observable behaviour or neural activity.

Principle of verbal report

The rule that information verbally reported by a subject is taken to be consciously experienced.

Principle of reportability

The rule that information directly available for verbal report is conscious, even if not actually reported on a given occasion.

Global availability

A functional property whereby information can be accessed by multiple cognitive and motor systems; often linked to consciousness.

Philosophical zombie

A hypothetical being that behaves like a normal person but lacks subjective experience; used to question verbal-report principles.

Blindsight

A condition in which individuals can respond to visual stimuli without accompanying conscious visual experience, showing partial availability without awareness.

Rational reconstruction

The logical framework researchers use to relate functional properties (e.g., global availability) to neural data when searching for NCCs.

Consciousness module

A putative functionally localisable brain system through which globally available information is integrated and broadcast.

Global Workspace Theory

The idea that consciousness arises when information is globally broadcast within a high-bandwidth network of brain areas.

40-Hz oscillations

Synchronous neural rhythms around 40 Hz proposed by some as a neural correlate of consciousness.

Re-entrant loops

Recursive thalamocortical feedback circuits suggested as key to conscious processing.

Intralaminar nucleus (thalamus)

A thalamic region nominated as a possible neural correlate of consciousness.

Extended reticular-thalamic activation system

A proposed brainstem-thalamic network thought to sustain conscious wakefulness.

NMDA-bound neural assemblies

Groups of neurons linked via NMDA receptor activity, hypothesised to underpin conscious binding.

Epicenter neuronal gestalt

Crick & Koch’s term for a transiently synchronised neural coalition that may correspond to a conscious percept.

Comparator system (hippocampus)

A hippocampal mechanism proposed to compare outputs and contribute to conscious recognition.

Quantum coherence in microtubules

Hameroff & Penrose’s speculative idea that quantum states in neuronal microtubules generate consciousness.

Vegetative state

A disorder in which patients are awake (sleep-wake cycles) but show no reproducible evidence of awareness.

Minimally conscious state

A condition in which patients display inconsistent but discernible signs of awareness and command following, yet lack reliable communication.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

A neuroimaging technique that detects blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal changes to infer neural activity.

Motor imagery task

An experimental instruction to imagine actions (e.g., playing tennis) used to elicit SMA activation in fMRI studies of consciousness.

Spatial imagery task

An instruction to imagine navigating familiar spaces (e.g., walking through one’s house) that activates parahippocampal and parietal regions.

Supplementary Motor Area (SMA)

A medial frontal cortex area whose activation during motor imagery indicates intentional mental activity.

Parahippocampal gyrus

A medial temporal structure activated during spatial or scene imagery, used as a neural marker in awareness studies.

BOLD response

Blood-oxygen-level dependent signal measured in fMRI reflecting local changes in neural activity.

Willful modulation of brain activity

A patient’s intentional alteration of neural activation patterns (e.g., via imagery) to demonstrate awareness or communicate.

Diagnostic error rate (~40 %)

The proportion of patients in disorders-of-consciousness categories who are behaviourally misdiagnosed when only bedside assessment is used.

Communication task (fMRI)

A procedure where yes/no answers are given by alternating between two distinct mental imagery states detectable by fMRI.

Locked-in syndrome

A state of full consciousness with near-total paralysis, referenced as distinct from vegetative and minimally conscious conditions.

Self-deception in emotion

The tendency for people to misrepresent their own emotional states, posing obstacles to first-person data collection.

Availability for voluntary control

The criterion that consciously experienced information can be flexibly used to guide diverse, intentional actions.