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Francis Crick Memorial Conference
 * View Sessions
 * Featured Videos
 * Speakers & Abstracts
 * Location & Venue

Doors Open: 7:45am, Presentations Begin: 8:30am, Live Video Stream Starts:
8:30am

Cick here to download the full Conference Program
The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness in Non-Human Animals was publicly
proclaimed in Cambridge, UK, on July 7, 2012, at the conclusion of the
Conference, at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, by Philip Low, David
Edelman and Christof Koch. It was written by Philip Low and edited by Jaak
Panksepp, Diana Reiss, David Edelman, Bruno Van Swinderen, Philip Low, and
Christof Koch. The Declaration was signed by the conference participants that
very evening, in the presence of Stephen Hawking, in the Balfour Room at the
Hotel du Vin in Cambridge, UK. The signing ceremony was memorialized by CBS 60
Minutes. Download a copy of the Declaration



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

History of the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness:
   V1 7/3/2012 Sent at 12:59 AM PT
   V2 7/3/2012 Received at 6:42 AM PT
   V3 7/3/2012 2:40 PM PT
   V3+ 7/3/2012 2:52 PM PT
   V4 DR 12:54 AM PT
   V4 DR + PL comments 7/5/2012 Sent at 1:48 AM PT (later bc of PLs comments)
   V5 PL 7/5/2012 Sent at 1:48 AM PT
   V6 DE 7/5/2012 Sent at 3:16 AM PT
   V7 JP 7/5/2012 Sent at 3:41 AM PT
   V8 PL edits of JP and PL accepting edit from CK 7/5/2012 10:34 AM PT
   V9 7/13/2012 10:37 AM PT

Joseph Dial, rancher and former executive director of the Mind Science
Foundation

Commemorative Champagne bottle, Hawking bib, and signing pen


Signing Dinner in the Balfour Room


In the News:
   Lapham's Quarterly: "One of Us", an essay on animal consciousness
   Scientific American: "Self-Awareness with a Simple Brain"
   New Scientist: "Animals are conscious and should be treated as such"
   Scientific American reports: "Octopuses Gain Consciousness"
   Forbes asks "Non-Human Consciousness Exists Say Experts. Now What?"
   Huffington Post blog by Christof Koch states "Consciousness is Everywhere"
   Almost Human
   Veja interviews Dr. Low: "You can no longer say that we did not know."
   Huffington Post on the First Scientific Conference on Animal Consciousness
   Misfit monkeys and the mysteries of consciousness
   Audio clip of Dr. Low interviewed by BBC

   

"...at the leading edge of one of the biggest modern-day shifts in human
thought. In July 2012, a prominent group of scientists released the 'Cambridge
Declaration on Consciousness', a formal acknowledgment that many non-human
animals, including mammals, birds and cephalopods, also possess 'the
neurological substrates that generate consciousness'."


The First Annual Francis Crick Memorial Conference, focusing on "Consciousness
in Humans and Non-Human Animals", aims to provide a purely data-driven
perspective on the neural correlates of consciousness. The most advanced
quantitative techniques for measuring and monitoring consciousness will be
presented, with the topics of focus ranging from exploring the properties of
neurons deep in the brainstem, to assessing global cerebral function in comatose
patients. Model organisms investigated will span the species spectrum from flies
to rodents, humans to birds, elephants to dolphins, and will be approached from
the viewpoint of three branches of biology: anatomy, physiology, and behavior.
Until animals have their own storytellers, humans will always have the most
glorious part of the story, and with this proverbial concept in mind, the
symposium will address the notion that humans do not alone possess the
neurological faculties that constitute consciousness as it is presently
understood.

Related Links and News:
   Modern Warrior: Damien Mander, Founder of the International Anti-Poaching
Foundation, at TEDxSydney


SELECTED VIDEO SESSIONS: 17 TALKS AND PRESENTATIONS



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Christof Koch, Ph.D.
Francis Crick and Consciousness
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a recent version or update your Flash plugin.
Christof Koch, Ph.D.
Francis Crick and Consciousness
Ryan Remedios, Ph.D.
The Claustrum and the Orchestra of Cognitive Control
Bruno van Swinderen, Ph.D.
Neural Correlates of Unconsciousness in Drosophila
Diana Reiss, Ph.D.
Mirror Self-recognition: A Case of Cognitive Convergence in Humans and other
Animals
David B. Edelman, Ph.D.
Through the Eyes of an Octopus: An Invertebrate Model for Consciousness Studies
Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.
Human-like Consciousness in Non-Humans: Evidence from Grey Parrots
Harvey Karten, MD
Are Commonalities in Brain Microarchitecture and Behavior in Humans and Birds a
Coincidence?
Jaak Panskepp, Ph.D.
How Neuroscience Can Illuminate the Nature of the Human Emotional Feelings
Heather Berlin, Ph.D.
The Neural Basis of "Dynamic" Unconscious Processes
Baltazar Gomez-Mancilla, MD, Ph.D.
Consciousness: A Pharmacological Perspective
Naotsugu Tsuchiya, Ph.D.
Visual Consciousness Tracked with Direct Intracranial Recording from Early
Visual Cortices in Humans
Steven Laureys, MD, Ph.D.
Identifying the Brain's Awareness System: Lessons from Coma and Related States
Melanie Boly, MD, Ph.D.
Cerebral Connectivity in Disorders of Consciousness
Philip Low, Ph.D. & Stephen W. Hawking, D.Phil.
Towards Establishing Neural Correlates of Intended Movements and Speech
Philip Low & Barney Pell
Perspectives

All Speakers
Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness in Non-Human Animals






CHURCHILL COLLEGE

A national and Commonwealth monument to Sir Winston Churchill, Churchill College
is one of the largest sites at Cambridge. Its members have combined for over 20
Nobel Prizes and continues to inspire.
Read more about Churchill College and visiting Cambridge

Churchill College
Storey's Way
Cambridge CB3 0DS, United Kingdom


GETTING AROUND CAMBRIDGE

 * Welcome to Cambridge: http://www.visitcambridge.org/VisitCambridge/Home.aspx
 * Campus Map: http://www.cam.ac.uk/map/
 * General Tourist Info: http://www.cam.ac.uk/local/tourist.html
 * Bus Services: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/em/travel/bus/
 * Cycling Routes:
   http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/around/cycling/cycleroutesandparking/default/
 * Walking: http://walkit.com/cities/cambridge/
 * Train Station: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/cbg/details.html
 * Taxi Services: http://www.cam.ac.uk/local/travel/taxis.html
 * By Car:
   * From the south, leave the M11 at Junction 11 and from the north, leave the
     A1 at the A14
   * Parking:
     http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/internationalstudents/visiting/#parking
   * Road Closures
     http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/around/carjourneys/cityaccess/
   * Car and Van Hire - http://www.cam.ac.uk/local/travel/cars.html
 * Cambridge Transport Guide: Love Cambridge (Download Travel Guide)
 * By Air:
   * Travel from London Airport (LON):
     * approximatly one hour by car
   * Travel from Cambridge Airport (CBG)
     * Less than 10 minutes by car
   * UK Airports: http://www.cam.ac.uk/local/travel/airports.html
 * Accommodations:
   * http://www.visitcambridge.org/VisitCambridge/WhereToStay.aspx
 * Cambridge Univ's "Getting Around Cambridge" page:
   http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/internationalstudents/visiting/#getting
 * Interactive Tour of Cambridge: http://www.strideguides.com/cu/




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PRESS RELEASE:

World-leading scientists set to explore human and animal consciousness at the
Francis Crick Memorial Conference, Cambridge UK, July 7 2012
Cambridge, UK, 24 Jan 2012
Brain researchers from all over the world will gather at the University of
Cambridge on July 7th, 2012 for the first international scientific conference
focusing exclusively on consciousness in both human and non-human animals. This
landmark conference is named in honor of the late Francis Crick, who
co-discovered the structure of DNA while in the Cavendish laboratory at the
University of Cambridge, and ardently investigated the mystery of consciousness
for the remainder of his career while at the Salk Institute for Biological
Studies in the USA. The event will open with a lecture by longtime Crick
collaborator, Caltech's Christof Koch, and conclude with a presentation of a
study coauthored by NeuroVigil's Philip Low and Cambridge's Stephen Hawking. The
meeting will also highlight cutting-edge non-invasive techniques for studying
consciousness in rodents, flies, octopuses, birds, dolphins, elephants,
non-human primates and humans, including comatose patients. Quantitative results
from behavioral, neuroethological and anatomical studies performed by Donald
Pfaff, Bruno van Swinderen, David Edelman, Irene Pepperberg, Harvey Karten,
Diana Reiss, Ryan Remedios, Nikos Logothetis, Christoph Kayser, Franz
Vollenweider, Naotsugu Tsuchiya, Melanie Boly and Steven Laureys will be
presented. The notion that only humans possess consciousness is expected to be
vigorously challenged. The result of this data-driven debate may well transform
our understanding of consciousness, reveal commonalities across species and
prompt a reassessment of human-animal interactions.
For more information on this groundbreaking conference, please visit:
http://www.neurovigil.com/fcmc/


FEATURED VIDEOS ON CONSCIOUSNESS AND INTELLIGENCE IN ANIMALS




SCHEDULED TALKS:

Christof Koch, Ph.D
Chief Scientific Officer at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle.
Lois and Victor Troendle Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Biology at
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.
http://www.klab.caltech.edu/...
http://www.alleninstitute.org/...
Photo: Courtesy of California Institute of Technology

Studying the Murine Mind
Christof Koch. Ph.D.

Mice are a very promising model system for studying the neuronal correlates of
consciousness. Their brain structure is similar to that of the human, they
display complex behavior, and their underlying neuronal responses can be
measured using optics and silicon probes at cellular level of resolution. In
contrast to the blunt and edentate tools available to probe the human brain, the
recent emergence of optogenetics allows scientists to delicately, transiently,
and reversibly control defined events in defined cell types at defined times in
mice. This allows us to move from correlation to causation, from observing that
this circuit is activated whenever the subject is perceiving something to
inferring that this circuit is necessary for conscious perception. I shall
report on the large-scale and high throughput efforts to build brain
observatories to understand the mouse visual system that are ongoing at the
Allen Institute.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donald Pfaff, Ph.D.
Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior
The Rockefeller University, New York, NY.
http://www.rockefeller.edu/...
http://lab.rockefeller.edu/...
Photo: Courtesy of Rockefeller University


The Properties of Neurons at the Root of Consciousness
Donald Pfaff, Ph.D.

The origins of consciousness in the human brain are not at the thalamus and
cortex, where most explorers concentrate their efforts. Instead, the most
powerful and essential neurons for facilitating and maintaining the conscious
state are deep in the lower brainstem, in the reticular formation just above the
spinal cord. Following a description of the generalized arousal concept
fundamental to consciousness, I will describe the neural pathways and
neurochemical mechanisms involved. The properties of the gigantocellularneurons
deep in the brainstem reticular formation will be highlighted. Exactly how are
their properties well suited to their essential task? My talk will give a 2012
answer to that question.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bruno van Swinderen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland,
Brisbane, AU
http://www.qbi.uq.edu.au/...
http://web.qbi.uq.edu.au/vanswinderen/...
Photo: Courtesy The University of Queensland

Neural Correlates of Unconsciousness in Drosophila
Bruno van Swinderen, Ph.D.

Our understanding of consciousness often follows from studies of selective
attention, sleep, and general anaesthesia in humans. However, these behavioural
states can also be studied in the simpler animals, such as the fruit fly
Drosophila melanogaster, where responsiveness to stimuli can be indicative of
the level arousal in the animal. Multichannel brain recordings from flies can
then be used to identify processes, such as local field potential coherence,
associated with different arousal states in the tiny insect brain. In my talk, I
will argue that distinct arousal states, such as sleep and selective attention,
may involve similar stimulus suppression mechanisms, and that perceptual
suppression may have been the evolutionary innovation leading to conscious and
unconscious states in higher animals. I will then proceed to show how one can
use the genetic model Drosophila to manipulate and dissect perceptual
suppression mechanisms in a small brain.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryan Remedios, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
http://www.jneurosci.org/...


The Claustrum and the Orchestra of Cognitive Control
Ryan Remedios, Ph.D.

Francis Crick and Christoph Koch were interested in the claustrum as a site of
multisensory integration due to its extensive topographic connections with the
sensory cortices (1). We showed that the claustrum did not integrate sensory
information as neurons here were highly modality specific and did not exhibit
the response characteristics typically associated with multisensory processing
(2). Our recent observations do however support Crick and Koch's conjecture of
the claustrum as a conductor in the orchestra of cortical regions (1). To
identify claustrum function, we targetedly ablated claustral neurons and
observed free-exploratory behaviors, as well as behaviors within paradigms
designed to distinguish between cognitive and motor abilities. We uncovered a
severe impairment in cost-benefit decision making by lesioned animals contingent
to emotional modulation, paralleling the emotive role of the prefrontal cortex.
We correspondingly identified a direct, interhemispheric, bidirectional network
between the claustrum and prefrontal areas, and determined changes in global and
regional brain network activity on claustral ablation using functional magnetic
resonance imaging. Overall we suggest that the claustrum regulates cognitive
control.
(1) Crick & Koch, 2005. (2) Remedios, Logothetis, Kayser, 2010.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

David B. Edelman, Ph.D.
Associate Fellow, Experimental Neurobiology, The Neurosciences Institute
Assistant Professor of Neurobiology, The Scripps Research Institute
http://www.nsi.edu/...
Photo: Courtesy of 'Cephalove'

Through the Eyes of an Octopus: An Invertebrate Model for Consciousness Studies
David B. Edelman, Ph.D.

Endowed with a nervous system containing as many as 500 million neurons, as well
as eyes that are structurally convergent with those of vertebrates, the octopus
may be an excellent model for investigating consciousness in an invertebrate.
Here, I will make such a case on neuroanatomical, neurophysiological, and
behavioral grounds. I will: 1) lay out a working definition for consciousness
that may be extended beyond the vertebrate case; 2) describe structural and
functional properties which may be the sine qua non of consciousness; 3) suggest
evolutionary trends (e.g., the emergence of complex vision) that may have set
the stage for the advent of conscious states in a variety of species; and 4)
discuss the latest results from ongoing studies of cephalopod vision and offer a
'roadmap' for additional experiments that may lead to a robust methodology for
the explicit investigation of sensory consciousness in these, and perhaps
certain other, invertebrates (e.g., jumping spiders).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.
Adjunct Associate Professor in Psychology, Brandeis University.
Lecturer and Research Associate, Harvard University
President, The Alex Foundation.
http://www.alexfoundation.org/...
http://www.brandeis.edu/...
http://www.extension.harvard.edu/...
Photo: By Tony Rinaldo, Courtesy of Radcliffe Institute

Human-like Consciousness in Non-Humans: Evidence from Grey Parrots
Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.

To obtain data on nonhuman consciousness, researchers often examine "perceptual
consciousness" (1) &ldash; how sensory information is acknowledged, processed,
and integrated.(2) An organism may be aware it is processing information,
possibly of how it is processing information, but not necessarily be aware it is
aware of how information is processed. This awareness is required for complex
tasks which require integrating perception, centralized monitoring, and
behavioral control(3) and is a form of higher-order cognition, sensu Delacour
(1997); it may involve the capacity to choose, from various possible sets of
acquired rules, the set that appropriately governs the processing of certain
data.(4) Sometimes, however, even this information-processing account cannot
explain observed data. Three studies on Grey parrots — predominantly on Alex,
who used English speech intentionally to label objects, colors, shapes, and
categories, who understood concepts of same-different, relative size, absence,
conjunction, exact numbers, conjunctivity, equivalence, and segmentation(5)
provide evidence for some level of consciousness approaching that of humans.
(1) Griffin, 1998, 2000; Griffin & Speck, 2004. (2) Natsoulas, 1978. (3)
Pepperberg & Lynn, 2000. (4) Pepperberg, 1999. (5) Pepperberg, 1999, 2006a,b,
2007

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harvey Karten, MD.
Professor of Neurosciences, The University of California San Diego
Professor of Psychiatry, The University of California San Diego School of
Medicine
http://neurograd.ucsd.edu/...
http://neurosciences.ucsd.edu/...
Photo: Courtesy of UCSD

Are Commonalities in Brain Microarchitecture and Behavior in Humans and Birds a
Coincidence?
Harvey Karten, MD

A "Turing Test" for cognitive and sensory-motor capabilities presuming to
distinguish Monkeys and Parrots would likely prove difficult for an external
observor/predictor. Which animal is hiding behind each "Turing Curtain"? Rigid
conformity to semantics and outdated definitions of homology remains an obstacle
to understanding brain evolution. Are there common features in brain
organization of birds and mammals that mediate such striking similarities?
Comparative studies of brain evolution over the past 50 years have resulted in a
drastically modified view of brain organization amongst these closely related
vertebrates. With very few exceptions, virtually identical neuronal connections
and microcircuits have been found to mediate similar behaviors.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Diana Reiss, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, Hunter College and City University of New York
Biopsychology Graduate Program
http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/...
Photo: Courtesy Elizabeth Nolan

Mirror Self-recognition: A Case of Cognitive Convergence in Humans and other
Animals
Diana Reiss, Ph.D.

The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror, once considered a uniquely human
attribute, is shared by great apes, dolphins, elephants and magpies. In
comparative studies of mirror self-recognition (MSR) dolphins and elephants,
show striking similarities to humans and the great apes in the stages of
behavior and the specific types of behaviors they show when exposed to a mirror.
MSR emerges in children between 18-24 months and in chimpanzees between 2.5-4.5
years of age. In a developmental study conducted to determine the age of onset
of self-directed behaviors and MSR in dolphins, we found dolphins at 14-18
months of age exhibiting self-directed behavior - evidence of MSR. Dolphins are
precocious at birth and exceed human and non-human primates in motor skills and
coordination. Our findings suggest, that young dolphins may show advanced
cognition at an earlier age with respect to mirror self-directed behavior as
compared to humans and chimpanzees.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Franz X. Vollenweider, MD.
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Z�rich School of Medicine,
Vice-Director of Research and Teaching and Director of the
Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging Research Unit of the University
Hospital of Psychiatry Z�rich East,
Director of Heffter Research Centre Z�rich for Consciousness Studies
http://www.heffter.org/...
http://www.dcp.uzh.ch/...
Photo: Courtesy Heffter Research Institute

Neuronal Correlates of Psychedelic Drug-Induced Imagery in Humans
Franz X. Vollenweider, MD.

Classic psychedelics such as psilocybin produce an altered state of
consciousness (ASC) characterized by vivid imagery and profound changes in mood,
thought, intuition, and self that is otherwise rarely experienced except in
dreams. Recent findings suggest that the serotonin system and particularly
agonistic activity at 5-HT2A/1A receptors is implicated in the formation of
psilocybin-induced and also naturally occurring visual hallucinations. To
elucidate the relationship between regional brain activity and imagery and the
mechanism of action of psychedelics, the effect of psilocybin in combination w/o
serotonin 2A and 1A receptor antagonists on visual processing and subjective
experience was investigated using high-density electrical mapping with source
analysis and H2O-PET imaging. The results show reduced activation in the right
extrastriate and posterior parietal areas, and disrupted modal object
completion. Furthermore, they suggest that psilocybin-induced imagery is
primarily mediated by 5-HT2A receptor activation based on a disruption in
cortical feedforward and feedback processing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naotsugu Tsuchiya, Ph.D.
PRESTO (Sakigake) fellow, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Japan
Visiting scholar in Laboratory for Adaptive Intelligence, RIKEN, Japan
Visiting scholar in ATR, Japan
Visitor, Division of Biology, Caltech, USA
Associate Professor, School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine,
Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University
http://www.emotion.caltech.edu/...

Visual Consciousness Tracked with Direct Intracranial Recording from Early
Visual Cortices in Humans
Naotsugu Tsuchiya, Ph.D.

A fundamental question in cognitive neuroscience is how neuronal representations
are related to conscious experience. Two key questions are: where in the brain
such representations are located, and at what point in time they correlate with
conscious experience. In line with this issue, a hotly debated question is
whether primary visual cortex (V1) contributes to visual consciousness, or
whether this depends only on higher-order cortices. Here we investigated this
issue by recording directly from early visual cortex in two neurosurgical
patients undergoing epilepsy monitoring with intracranial electrocorticogram
(ECoG) electrodes that covered early visual cortices, including the dorsal and
ventral banks of the calcarine sulcus. We used Continuous Flash Suppression
(CFS) to investigate the time course of when 'invisible' stimuli broke
interocular suppression. Participants were asked to watch faces presented under
CFS, to push a button when they started to see any part of the face, and then to
indicate its spatial location. This occured over several seconds. During the
task performance we recorded intracranial ECoG at high spatiotemporal resolution
from all contacts in parallel. We used multivariate decoding techniques and
found that the location of the invisible face stimulus became decodable from
neuronal activity 1.8 sec before the subject's button press. We will discuss the
neuronal dynamics associated with the break of inter-ocular suppression.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Melanie Boly, MD, Ph.D.
Research Fellow, Coma Science Group, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium.
Center for Sleep and Consciousness, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.
Hospital, University of Li�ge.
http://www.coma.ulg.ac.be/...
Photo: Courtesy of Center of Consciousness Studies

Cerebral Connectivity in Disorders of Consciousness
Melanie Boly, MD, Ph.D.

During the last decade, functional neuroimaging of disorders of consciousness
(i.e., coma, vegetative state and minimally conscious state) has evolved from
measuring resting cerebral blood flow or electrical activity to studying
functional response to sensory stimuli and to active paradigm asking patients to
concentrate on doing a task like playing tennis. While these methods have
improved the care of the patients, they also show how difficult it is to
distinguish different states of consciousness. Brain connectivity studies aim at
evaluating global cerebral function in patients with disorders of consciousness.
In this talk, I will cover results obtained using a range of functional and
effective connectivity approaches based on PET, fMRI, high density EEG, and
TMS-EEG recordings. Experimental work performed in other unconscious states
(i.e., anesthesia and deep sleep) will also be compared and reviewed. Practical
and conceptual implications of these studies will be discussed in light of
recent theories of consciousness.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steven Laureys, MD, Ph.D.
Research Associate at the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS)
Head of the Coma Science Group, Cyclotron Research Center
Head of Clinics, Neurology Dept., University Hospital, University of Li�ge.
http://www.coma.ulg.ac.be/...
Photo: Courtesy International Brain Injury Association

Identifying the Brain's Awareness System: Lessons from Coma and Related States
Steven Laureys, MD, Ph.D.

Following severe brain damage some patients loose all brain and brainstem
functions and evolve to brain death while others can open their eyes, but only
show reflex behavior. Some patients will remain unresponsive for decades; others
may evolve to a minimally responsive/conscious state with more than simple
reflex behaviors but lacking communication. Finally, coma patients may awaken,
being fully aware but paralyzed and mute. We here review neuroimaging and
electrophysiology studies that illuminate the relationships between awareness
and brain function in these challenging conditions. Such studies show that
awareness is an emergent property of the collective behavior of frontoparietal
top-down connectivity where external (sensory) awareness depends on lateral
prefrontal/parietal cortices, while internal (self) awareness correlates with
precuneal/mesiofrontal midline activity. This knowledge improves diagnosis of
patients with disorders of consciousness. Technology can also now show
command-specific changes in EEG or fMRI signals providing motor-independent
evidence of conscious thoughts and in some cases communication.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edward Boyden, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, MIT Media Lab
Benesse Career Development Professor of Research in Education, MIT
Leader, Synthetic Neurobiology Group, MIT
http://www.media.mit.edu/...


Optogenetics, Robotic Physiology, and Other Neural Circuit Tools
Edward Boyden, Ph.D.

Understanding how neural circuits implement brain functions, and how these
computations go awry in brain disorders, is a top priority for neuroscience.
Over the last several years we have developed a rapidly-expanding suite of
genetically-encoded reagents that, when expressed in specific neuron types in
the nervous system, enable their electrical activities to be powerfully and
precisely activated and silenced in response to pulses of light. These tools are
in widespread use for analyzing the causal role of defined cell types in normal
and pathological brain functions. In this talk I will briefly give an overview
of the field, and then I will discuss a number of new tools for neural
activation and silencing that we are developing, including new molecules with
augmented amplitudes, improved safety profiles, novel color and
light-sensitivity capabilities, and unique new capabilities. We have begun to
develop hardware to enable complex and distributed neural circuits to be
precisely controlled, and for the network-wide impact of a neural control event
to be measured using distributed electrodes, fMRI, and robotic intracellular
neural recording. We explore how these tools can be used to enable systematic
analysis of neural circuit functions in the fields of emotion, sensation, and
movement, and in neurological and psychiatric disorders. Finally, we discuss our
pre-clinical work on translation of such tools to support novel ultraprecise
neuromodulation therapies for human patients.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Philip Low, Ph.D.
Founder, Chairman, and CEO of NeuroVigil, Inc.
Adjunct Professor, Stanford School of Medicine
Research Affiliate, MIT Media Lab
http://neurovigil.com/
 

Stephen W. Hawking, D.Phil.
Director of Research, Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, University of Cambridge
http://www.hawking.org.uk/
 

Towards Establishing Neural Correlates of Intended Movements and Speech
Philip Low, Ph.D. & Stephen W. Hawking, D.Phil.

Single-Channel iBrain EEG recordings were conducted in a high-functioning 70
year old ALS patient attempting to move one of four limbs after a verbal cue:
the left and right hand and foot. Raw EEG signals were analyzed with the SPEARS
algorithm in order to make high-frequency/low spectral power signals detectable.
Concurrent video recordings were obtained. During the attempted movements, the
subject's brain activity demonstrated distinct broad-spectrum pulses extending
to the Gamma and ultra-high Gamma ranges. Such pulses were present in the
absence of actual movement and absent when the subject was not attempting
motion. Activity in the Alpha range was detected when the subject closed his
eyes, as expected. The emergence of such high bandwidth biomarkers opens the
possibility to link intended movements to a library of words and convert them
into speech, thus providing ALS sufferers with communication tools more
dependent on the brain than on the body.


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