Does brain activity cause consciousness? A thought experiment

• Published in: PLoS biology Vol. 20; no. 6; p. e3001651
• Main Authors: Gidon, Albert, Aru, Jaan, Larkum, Matthew Evan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 10.06.2022; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Biology and Life Sciences; Brain; Brain - physiology; Brain research; Consciousness; Consciousness - physiology; Experiments; Humans; Hypotheses; Laboratories; Medicine and Health Sciences; Nervous system; Neurons; Neurons - physiology; Neurosciences
• ISSN: 1545-7885; 1544-9173; 1545-7885
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001651

Rapid advances in neuroscience have provided remarkable breakthroughs in understanding the brain on many fronts. Although promising, the role of these advancements in solving the problem of consciousness is still unclear. Based on technologies conceivably within the grasp of modern neuroscience, we discuss a thought experiment in which neural activity, in the form of action potentials, is initially recorded from all the neurons in a participant's brain during a conscious experience and then played back into the same neurons. We consider whether this artificial replay can reconstitute a conscious experience. The possible outcomes of this experiment unravel hidden costs and pitfalls in understanding consciousness from the neurosciences' perspective and challenge the conventional wisdom that causally links action potentials and consciousness.