Title: The Problem with Phi: A Critique of Integrated Information Theory Author: Michael A. Cerullo

Presenter: Todd Gillette Moderator: Harold Morowitz

Time: 12 pm  EST Date: Jan. 13, 2016 Place: Krasnow Institute YouTube Page

Time permitting, Harold Morowitz will discuss John von Neumann revisited “The Computer and the Brain”and “Self Reproducing Automata”.

If you have any questions, please contact Harold Morowitz at morowitz@gmu.edu

Broadcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syGoFofcJ7k

Article by Michael Cerullo

The Problem with Phi: A Critique of Integrated Information Theory (PLOS Computational Biology) Sept. 17, 2015

The most recent version of Integrated Information Theory being critiqued is presented in From the Phenomenology to the Mechanisms of Consciousness: Integrated Information Theory 3.0.

The useful Chalmers article that the above article refers to is: Absent qualia, fading qualia, dancing qualia

Summary

In the last decade, Guilio Tononi has developed the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) of consciousness. IIT postulates that consciousness is equal to integrated information (Φ). The goal of this paper is to show that IIT fails in its stated goal of quantifying consciousness. The paper will challenge the theoretical and empirical arguments in support of IIT. The main theoretical argument for the relevance of integrated information to consciousness is the principle of information exclusion. Yet, no justification is given to support this principle. Tononi claims there is significant ...

The human brain is often described as the most complex object in the universe. Tens of billions of nerve cells-tiny tree-like structures—make up a massive network with enormous computational power.

In this book, Giorgio Ascoli reveals another aspect of the human brain: the stunning beauty of its cellular form. Doing so, he makes a provocative claim about the mind-brain relationship.

Information

MIT Press Webpage: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/trees-brain-roots-mind

Trees of the Brain website

Overview

If each nerve cell enlarged a thousandfold looks like a tree, then a small region of the nervous system at the same magnified scale resembles a gigantic, fantastic forest. This structural majesty—illustrated throughout the book with extraordinary color images—hides the secrets behind the genesis of our mental states. Ascoli proposes that some of the most intriguing mysteries of the mind can be solved using the basic architectural principles of the brain. After an overview of the scientific and philosophical foundations of his argument, Ascoli links mental states with patterns of electrical activity in nerve cells, presents an emerging minority opinion of how the brain learns from experience, and unveils a radically new hypothesis of the mechanism determining what is learned, what isn’t, and why. Finally, considering ...

From Saints to Sociopaths: Dopamine and Decisions

By Nadine Kabbani Pubished on March 21, 2016 TEDx Talks

Nadine Kabbani, PhD is a group leader at the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study and an Assistant Professor of Molecular Neuroscience at George Mason University.

Her research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor signaling in the developing and regenerating nervous system. Her lab explores the role of acetylcholine in synapse formation and maturation during early life stages using high resolution live cell imaging, genetics, and proteomics.