(Stillness in the Storm Editor) The following study demonstrates that the subjective component of visual perception doesn’t occur in the visual centers of the brain but in the thinking centers. While these findings are still being interpreted by mainstream scientists, they at the very least draw into question the view that consciousness is a product of brain phenomenon, because, if this premise was true, then the visual center should be active not the prefrontal lobes, which are normally in charge of executive choice and decision making.
These findings suggest a model I’ve put forward called the biological virtual reality environment has merit, which says that what we experience as our reality is itself a kind of simulation generated by our biology.
This is one of many studies that lend credence to the fact consciousness is not understood and that the materialist assertion that it is a secondary emergence of the brain is wrong.
What consciousness ultimately is we are still attempting to understand scientifically. However, the most accurate models we have to date, in my view, are those of a theistic makeup, such as the one put forth by Descartes, the father of inductive reasoning and modern-day science.
– Justin
(Science Daily) A Dartmouth study finds that the conscious perception of visual location occurs in the frontal lobes of the brain, rather than in the visual system in the back of the brain. The findings are published in Current Biology.
by Staff Writer, December 14th, 2019
The results are significant given the ongoing debate among neuroscientists on what consciousness is and where it happens in the brain.
“Our study provides clear evidence that the visual system is not representing what we see but is representing the physical world,” said lead author, Sirui Liu, a graduate student of psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth. “What we see emerges later in the processing hierarchy, in the frontal areas of the brain that are not usually associated with visual processing.”
To examine how the perception of position occurs in the brain, participants were presented with visual stimuli and asked to complete a series of behavioral tasks while in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. For one of the tasks, participants were asked to stare at a fixed black dot on the left side of the computer screen inside the scanner while a dot that flickered between black and white, known as a Gabor patch, moved in the periphery. Participants were asked to identify the direction the patch was moving. The patch appears to move across the screen at a 45 degree angle, when in fact it is moving up and down in a vertical motion. Here, the perceived path is strikingly different from the actual physical path that lands on the retina. This creates a “double-drift” illusion. The direction of the drift was randomized across the trials, where it drifted either towards the left, right or remained static.
Using fMRI data and multivariate pattern analysis, a method for studying neural activation patterns, the team investigated where the perceived path, tilted left or right from vertical, appears in the brain. They wanted to determine where conscious perception emerges and how the brain codes this. On average, participants reported that the perceived motion path was different from the actual path by 45 degrees or more. The researchers found that while the visual system collects the data, the switch between coding the physical path and coding the perceived path (illusory path) takes place outside of the visual cortex all the way in the frontal areas, which are higher-order brain regions.
“Our data firmly support that frontal areas are critical to the emergence of conscious perception,” explained study co-author and co-principal investigator, Patrick Cavanagh, a research professor of psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth, and senior research fellow and adjunct professor of psychology at Glendon College. “While previous research has long established the frontal lobes are responsible for functions such as decision-making and thinking, our findings suggest that this area of the brain is also the end step for perceiving where objects are. So, that’s kind of radical,” he added.
Materials provided by Dartmouth College. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Sirui Liu, Qing Yu, Peter U. Tse, Patrick Cavanagh. Neural Correlates of the Conscious Perception of Visual Location Lie Outside Visual Cortex. Current Biology, 2019; 29 (23): 4036 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.033
Stillness in the Storm Editor: Why did we post this?
Psychology is the study of the nature of mind. Philosophy is the use of that mind in life. Both are critically important to gain an understanding of as they are aspects of the self. All you do and experience will pass through these gateways of being. The preceding information provides an overview of this self-knowledge, offering points to consider that people often don’t take the time to contemplate. With the choice to gain self-awareness, one can begin to see how their being works. With the wisdom of self-awareness, one has the tools to master their being and life in general, bringing order to chaos through navigating the challenges with the capacity for right action.
– Justin
Not sure how to make sense of this? Want to learn how to discern like a pro? Read this essential guide to discernment, analysis of claims, and understanding the truth in a world of deception: 4 Key Steps of Discernment – Advanced Truth-Seeking Tools.
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Source:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191214122545.htm
So the experiment for consciousness was done by watching a monitor screen and dots… did they take into account the mind would not bother with making something more than Oh Look dots I have to say where they go.. and they do realise the objects we see through our eyes are all upside down and on a curved surface, which the brain makes look undistorted for our minds to see as it is… but anyway if consciousness is going to be conquered like they hope to bring us to a hive mind I think they need better thinkers than this to achieve it.