Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Trends Cogn Sci. 2014 Sep;18(9):488-96. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2014.04.009. Epub 2014 Jun 2.
Information integration and consciousness are closely related, if not interdependent. But, what exactly is the nature of their relation? Which forms of integration require consciousness? Here, we examine the recent experimental literature with respect to perceptual and cognitive integration of spatiotemporal, multisensory, semantic, and novel information. We suggest that, whereas some integrative processes can occur without awareness, their scope is limited to smaller integration windows, to simpler associations, or to ones that were previously acquired consciously. This challenges previous claims that consciousness of some content is necessary for its integration; yet it also suggests that consciousness holds an enabling role in establishing integrative mechanisms that can later operate unconsciously, and in allowing wider-range integration, over bigger semantic, spatiotemporal, and sensory integration windows.
信息整合和意识密切相关，如果不是相互依存的话。但是，它们之间的关系究竟是什么性质呢？哪些形式的整合需要意识？在这里，我们研究了关于时空、多感觉、语义和新颖信息的知觉和认知整合的最新实验文献。我们认为，虽然有些整合过程可以在无意识的情况下发生，但它们的范围仅限于较小的整合窗口，较简单的联想，或者是以前有意识地获得的联想。这挑战了先前的观点，即某些内容的意识是其整合所必需的；但这也表明，意识在建立整合机制方面具有辅助作用，这些机制可以在以后无意识地运作，并允许更大范围的整合，即更大的语义、时空和感觉整合窗口。
