LeDoux JE and Hakwan Lau.
Current Biology 30, R1009–R1035, September 21, 2020
In this My Word, we explore the question of what is different about a brain state about which you are conscious from one that you are not? We will argue that all conscious experiences involve elements of memory and meta-representation. This framework may help us better understand the subjective qualitative character of conscious experiences, as well as why meta-representations may be involved in generating even the simplest of such experiences.
In this My Word, Joseph LeDoux describes how his work as a graduate student got him interested in human consciousness. Although he has not studied this topic since 1970s, he never stopped thinking and writing about it during his four-decade career exploring how non- … <Read more>
In this My Word, Joseph LeDoux describes how his four-decade career exploring how non-conscious processes involving the amygdala detect and respond to danger has contributed to the 'amygdala fear center' meme, a view he does not endorse. The conscious experience of fear, h … <Read more>
Seeing consciousness through the lens of memory
LeDoux JE and Hakwan Lau.Current Biology 30, R1009–R1035, September 21, 2020
In this My Word, we explore the question of what is different about a brain state about which you are conscious from one that you are not? We will argue that all conscious experiences involve elements of memory and meta-representation. This framework may help us better understand the subjective qualitative character of conscious experiences, as well as why meta-representations may be involved in generating even the simplest of such experiences.
How does the non-conscious become conscious?
LeDoux JE.Curr Biol. 2020 Mar 9;30(5):R196-R199. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.01.033. PMID: 32155417
In this My Word, Joseph LeDoux describes how his work as a graduate student got him interested in human consciousness. Although he has not studied this topic since 1970s, he never stopped thinking and writing about it during his four-decade career exploring how non- … <Read more>
Thoughtful feelings
LeDoux JE.Curr Biol. 2020 Jun 8;30(11):R619-R623. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.012. PMID: 32516605
In this My Word, Joseph LeDoux describes how his four-decade career exploring how non-conscious processes involving the amygdala detect and respond to danger has contributed to the 'amygdala fear center' meme, a view he does not endorse. The conscious experience of fear, h … <Read more>