Dendritic integration theory: A thalamo-cortical theory of state and content of consciousness

Bachmann, Talis; Suzuki, Mototaka; Aru, Jaan

doi:10.33735/phimisci.2020.ii.52

Cited by 26 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…The perspective outlined in this article is essentially in agreement with the dendritic integration theory of Aru et al. (2020b) and Bachmann et al. (2020) , but there are differences.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

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Apical amplification—a cellular mechanism of conscious perception?

Marvan

Polak

Bachmann

et al. 2021

Neuroscience of Consciousness

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We present a theoretical view of the cellular foundations for network-level processes involved in producing our conscious experience. Inputs to apical synapses in layer 1 of a large subset of neocortical cells are summed at an integration zone near the top of their apical trunk. These inputs come from diverse sources and provide a context within which the transmission of information abstracted from sensory input to their basal and perisomatic synapses can be amplified when relevant. We argue that apical amplification enables conscious perceptual experience and makes it more flexible, and thus more adaptive, by being sensitive to context. Apical amplification provides a possible mechanism for recurrent processing theory that avoids strong loops. It makes the broadcasting hypothesized by global neuronal workspace theories feasible while preserving the distinct contributions of the individual cells receiving the broadcast. It also provides mechanisms that contribute to the holistic aspects of integrated information theory. As apical amplification is highly dependent on cholinergic, aminergic, and other neuromodulators, it relates the specific contents of conscious experience to global mental states and to fluctuations in arousal when awake. We conclude that apical dendrites provide a cellular mechanism for the context-sensitive selective amplification that is a cardinal prerequisite of conscious perception.

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“…The perspective outlined in this article is essentially in agreement with the dendritic integration theory of Aru et al. (2020b) and Bachmann et al. (2020) , but there are differences.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

“…Building on prior work of Bachmann and Hudetz (2014) , Aru et al. (2019) , and Bachmann et al. (2020) , we will show that on the AA-centered theory, the distinction between experienced contents and global states of consciousness is not as hard and fast as is often assumed.…”

Section: Aa and Perceptual Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 81%

Apical amplification—a cellular mechanism of conscious perception?

Marvan

Polak

Bachmann

et al. 2021

Neuroscience of Consciousness

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The dendritic integration theory proposed by Larkum and colleagues is a cell-based theory about how the brain encodes perception and consciousness. This theory may help link multiregional hypotheses by providing a specific cellular mechanism (Aru et al, 2019(Aru et al, , 2020Bachmann et al, 2020). The dendritic integration theory is based on the transthalamic model proposed by Sherman and Guillery (2013) and posits that bottom-up signals arising from first-order and higher-order thalamic inputs converge with top-down cortical inputs onto the dendritic arbors in layer 5 pyramidal cells.…”

Section: Overarching Hypotheses Of Positive Symptoms In Schizophrenia: Thalamic Involvementmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Case for Thalamic Mechanisms of Schizophrenia: Perspective From Modeling 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

Jiang

Patton

Zakharenko

2021

Front. Neural Circuits

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Schizophrenia is a severe, chronic psychiatric disorder that devastates the lives of millions of people worldwide. The disease is characterized by a constellation of symptoms, ranging from cognitive deficits, to social withdrawal, to hallucinations. Despite decades of research, our understanding of the neurobiology of the disease, specifically the neural circuits underlying schizophrenia symptoms, is still in the early stages. Consequently, the development of therapies continues to be stagnant, and overall prognosis is poor. The main obstacle to improving the treatment of schizophrenia is its multicausal, polygenic etiology, which is difficult to model. Clinical observations and the emergence of preclinical models of rare but well-defined genomic lesions that confer substantial risk of schizophrenia (e.g., 22q11.2 microdeletion) have highlighted the role of the thalamus in the disease. Here we review the literature on the molecular, cellular, and circuitry findings in schizophrenia and discuss the leading theories in the field, which point to abnormalities within the thalamus as potential pathogenic mechanisms of schizophrenia. We posit that synaptic dysfunction and oscillatory abnormalities in neural circuits involving projections from and within the thalamus, with a focus on the thalamocortical circuits, may underlie the psychotic (and possibly other) symptoms of schizophrenia.

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“…Thalamocortical signals from the multiple demand regions of the thalamus have reduced the firing rate in the cortex ( Aru et al. 2020 ; Bachmann et al. 2020 ).…”

Section: Internal Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2016 ), higher-order theories ( Lau and Rosenthal 2011 ), global workspace theory ( Dehaene and Changeux 2011 ), and recent ones like attention schema theory (AST) ( Graziano 2020 ) and dendritic integration theory ( Aru et al. 2020 ; Bachmann et al. 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroscience of the yogic theory of consciousness

Tripathi

Bharadwaj

2021

Neuroscience of Consciousness

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Yoga as a practice and philosophy of life has been followed for more than 4500 years with known evidence of yogic practices in the Indus Valley Civilization. The last few decades have seen a resurgence in the utility of yoga and meditation as a practice with growing scientific evidence behind it. Significant scientific literature has been published, illustrating the benefits of yogic practices including ‘asana’, ‘pranayama’ and ‘dhyana’ on mental and physical well-being. Electrophysiological and recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have found explicit neural signatures for yogic practices. In this article, we present a review of the philosophy of yoga, based on the dualistic ‘Sankhya’ school, as applied to consciousness summarized by Patanjali in his yoga sutras followed by a discussion on the five ‘vritti’ (modulations of mind), the practice of ‘pratyahara’, ‘dharana’, ‘dhyana’, different states of ‘samadhi’, and ‘samapatti’. We formulate the yogic theory of consciousness (YTC), a cohesive theory that can model both external modulations and internal states of the mind. We propose that attention, sleep and mind wandering should be understood as unique modulatory states of the mind. YTC allows us to model the external states, internal states of meditation, ‘samadhi’ and even the disorders of consciousness. Furthermore, we list some testable neuroscientific hypotheses that could be answered using YTC and analyse the benefits, outcomes and possible limitations.

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Dendritic integration theory: A thalamo-cortical theory of state and content of consciousness

Cited by 26 publications

References 99 publications

Apical amplification—a cellular mechanism of conscious perception?

Apical amplification—a cellular mechanism of conscious perception?

A Case for Thalamic Mechanisms of Schizophrenia: Perspective From Modeling 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

Neuroscience of the yogic theory of consciousness

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