Researchers have observed people’s neural activity while they complete cognitive tasks with techniques like EEG, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which is a machine that detects where oxygenated blood is flowing in the brain. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) also detects blood flow in the brain. With these techniques, scientists have peered into people’s minds as they complete tasks in pairs and groups.
They noticed something unexpected: Functional links appeared across people’s brains when they cooperated during certain tasks. In other words, different people’s neural oscillations aligned when they cooperated.....
As most neuroscientists currently understand, no localized region or network in the brain is solely responsible for our conscious experience. Instead, some researchers believe that the neural basis of consciousness — specifically the first-hand experience of it — comes from large-scale interactions between different brain regions via neural oscillatory activity.
That would render consciousness an emergent property of multiple interacting networks, so it couldn’t be reduced to any single network.
Given this knowledge, along with the changes that transpire during cooperative social interactions, Froese argues that a shift in our understanding of consciousness is warranted. Namely, he supports an ‘extension of consciousness’.
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They noticed something unexpected: Functional links appeared across people’s brains when they cooperated during certain tasks. In other words, different people’s neural oscillations aligned when they cooperated.....
As most neuroscientists currently understand, no localized region or network in the brain is solely responsible for our conscious experience. Instead, some researchers believe that the neural basis of consciousness — specifically the first-hand experience of it — comes from large-scale interactions between different brain regions via neural oscillatory activity.
That would render consciousness an emergent property of multiple interacting networks, so it couldn’t be reduced to any single network.
Given this knowledge, along with the changes that transpire during cooperative social interactions, Froese argues that a shift in our understanding of consciousness is warranted. Namely, he supports an ‘extension of consciousness’.
Brains Might Sync As People Interact — and That Could Upend Consciousness Research
When we cooperate on certain tasks, our brainwaves might synchronize. This finding could upend the current understanding of consciousness.
