For me, the best-obvious proof of consciousness is as said in many threads the successive negative contrast, reward incentive downshift.
Mauricio R. Papini performed incentive downshift contrast with my suspected neurotransmitters - opioids and does point to them as the main culprits as explained in my thread.
http://www.comparati...09/4.Papini.pdf
Only mammals display this behaviour. Premammals adapt linearly to reward downshift.
The rat is frustrated by the downshift of reward. This does not happen with reptiles or fish. The frustration is the conscious reaction. Conscious means it was conscious of the expectation and reacts "consciously" to "error in prediction". The action was supposed to result with an increase in wellbeing(an increase is the first derivation of state). Predicted derivation was not achieved and this activates the higher level tier - consciousness to detect the difference in surroundings and adapt the predictive schema to do better next time.
The rat when tasting 8% sucrose is frustrated in order to detect the difference in context rather than enjoy the 8% sucrose as a reptile would. This an investment into the future, and it costs a frustration in the now. If the rat figures out why 32% was replaced by 8% he will ensure that future preparations will be always 32%. So, instead of indulging in immediate success he expands effort into figuring out how avoid the relative failure. He knows there is a possibility of 32% and 8% is a relative failure worth the trouble to correct. The response of consciousness is a learning response. It adapts prediction schemas and "downloads" them to subconscious memory during REM sleep also only performed by mammals. There is also a ratio. 10% sucrose will not cause frustration as the relative difference does not warrant investment into figuring it out.
This is consciousness. Check out "fear extinction"(in fact learning response of consciousness in response to failure). An event that arouses consciousness(such as sucrose disappointment above) causes the related fear/desire memory schema to become "volatile" or uploaded to "short term memory". During a window of average 6 hours the person can adapt the schema by trying again and succeeding or failing. After 6 hours the schema, as is, is downloaded back to long term memory with fear/desire association removed or reinforced depending on success/failure during the 6 hour window. I proclaim that opioids are the top level target for this process, NDMA and GABA are tool networks for manipulating association strength. I can't find the experiment that proved it in humans now, there are lots of studies that confirm this more or less. The person can always expose itself again to the fear, induce the memory schema into short term memory, beat the fear and thus extinct it. This ability is performed by consciousness.
For example the ability to automatically drive a car while typing texts is subconsciousness. It is the behaviour schemas adapted/learned by consciousness and downloaded as "ready" to subconscious. As they become reinforced over time the brain feels safer to engage "autopilot". The subconscious brain will increasing alert the conscious to any "running difference in prediction". The subconscious brain scans the whole retina image, not just the focus. This allows you too look at the cellphone and still notice cars that will run into you. Subconsciousness detects this as error in prediction, interrupts the conscious task by "screaming from the back of the head that something is wrong". As subconsciousness grows stronger voices can be heard. This is just a way of diverting attention to what most needs "conscious attention" for learning adaptation.
Consciousness however is limited to functioning "in the moment, in the role, in the context, objectified". A dog is always a dog. You can make it fetch 1000 times. He may get tired but he will never conclude that you're amusing yourself with him and that he should stop because he is being "used". He can not exit the role of a dog and he is conscious of everything the role/context requires so that he responds and acts like a dog. A role is always objectifying. It is the same mental state of people who in dire situations say they were out of control. They were in fact conscious but lost their awareness. Awareness allows you to stop being a dog and start being a cat, when you feel that being a cat is more useful. This is subjectivity. It allows you to shift consciousness between roles. It allows you to talk to yourself. People in dire situations have issues stopping their roles of for example mothers when children are endangered.
First people were not that imaginative for roles. They did in fact use animals to "create themselves"(build their ego). People would say, I wish you the strength of a lion and the cunning of a fox. There was much identification with animals. Humans have the ability to set their stage and this is provided by awareness of the stage. Awareness of existence, but even more, awareness of "mode of existence"(a cat, a dog, a bully, a police officer, a smartass, a cool guy, whatever). This is what you're aiming. Consciousness is not that "wise". Awareness is "wise" and it is your main tool that separates you from other mammals, vmPFC. Check out studies of people with damaged vmPFC, they like to spend time with animals and have a hard time socialising with humans. People with inborn vmPFC issues tend to become psychopaths. Psychopaths are notorious for not being able to "emotionally plan". They can not comprehend emotional consequences of their actions until they commit them. They can not predict a future stage. They can not exit their current "stage"(context).
It is a simple answer to your question I think, but it seemed you hoped for something more magical?
I am explaining function as if it is a robot/computer with layered/tiered control software and I am explaining why it evolved and how it "piggy backed" onto existing less evolved circuits that manage behaviour. I found no magic is required to imagine how it works. The 4 layers (unconscious, subconscious, conscious and aware) work in harmony, sublimate tasks to each other and report back down etc. Each layer can be analysed easily by examining the animal clade that evolved them first. And each layer can be recognised within ones thoughts. The automatic behaviour of the subconscious, the communication as "hints" or "hunches" towards the conscious and the awareness providing an external perception of what is going on.
Oh yes, also check out the Iowa Gambling task (I think it was performed first by Damasio?). It shows that in fact the subconscious figures out which deck is "worse". This is detected by standard stress sensing by skin conduction etc. The person moves his hand over several decks of which some are better to play with some aren't. Subconscious responds 10 games earlier - this is the automatic detection of failure to predict and it engages consciousness to figure out what's wrong. It takes 10 more games for consciousness to figure out which deck is wrong and why.
Tried to find Iowa gambling task but ran into an URL that encompasses both it and psychopaths and inability to learn with fearlessness.
[url]
http://verbosestoic....g-with-emotion/[/ur]
Psychopaths fail Iowa gambling task.
Edited by addx, 18 April 2014 - 03:53 PM.
