The neural correlates of consciousness: an analysis of cognitive skill learning
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences November 29, 1998 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.1998.0341 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA brain-imaging strategy isolates neural correlates of consciousness by examining a cognitive skill—generating verbs for visually presented nouns—before and after practice. Marked qualitative differences in neural circuitry appear between naive and practised states, including both increases and decreases from baseline brain activity.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Experimental study Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Humans |
| Citations | 130 |
| Key finding | Practicing a cognitive skill produces qualitative differences in neural circuitry, with both increases and decreases from baseline brain activity. |
Abstract
This paper presents a functional brain-imaging strategy designed to isolate neural correlates of consciousness in humans. This strategy is based on skill learning. In the example presented (rapidly generating verbs for visually presented nouns), a cognitive skill is examined before and after practice. As shown, there are marked qualitative differences in the neural circuitry supporting performance of this task in the naive and practised state that include, importantly, both increases and decreases from the baseline activity of the brain.