Predictive processing as a systematic basis for identifying the neural correlates of consciousness

Abstract

The search for the neural correlates of consciousness is in need of a systematic, principled foundation that can endow putative neural correlates with greater predictive and explanatory value. Here, we propose the predictive processing framework for brain function as a promising candidate for providing this systematic foundation. The proposal is motivated by that framework’s ability to address three general challenges to finding the neural correlates of consciousness, and to satisfy two constraints common to many theories of consciousness. Implementing the search for neural correlates of consciousness through the lens of predictive processing delivers strong potential for predictive and explanatory value through detailed, systematic mappings between neural substrates and phenomenological structure. We conclude that the predictive processing framework, precisely because it at the outset is not itself a theory of consciousness, has significant potential for advancing the neuroscience of consciousness.

An active role of inferior frontal cortex in conscious experience

“…3 Solutions to these challenges will require identifying not only the neural correlates of consciousness 4,5 but also the computational function of specific brain regions for conscious experience. 6 Bistable perception has been a key experimental approach in the search for a neuro-computational understanding of consciousness for more than two decades. 7 In this phenomenon, stimuli that are compatible with two interpretations give rise to perceptual conflict.…”

What might interoceptive inference reveal about consciousness?

“…Certainly, most who study consciousness have heard the joke that there are as many theories of consciousness as there are consciousness theorists. Our goal here is not to provide a comprehensive predictive processing or active inference theory of consciousness, of which there are already a rapidly growing number (for reviews, see [2][3][4][5]). Rather, we aim to illustrate how the notion of interoceptive inference and related concepts might inform the theoretical and empirical science of consciousness, by generating alternative process theories that can then be subject to empirical evaluation.…”

The neural correlates of consciousness under the free energy principle: From computational correlates to computational explanation

“…If correct, this only shows that FEP can provide a framework for computational explanations of consciousness (similarly to the proposal by Hohwy & Seth, 2020). It does not directly provide computational explanations.…”