Institute of Biology, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
PLoS Biol. 2022 Jun 10;20(6):e3001651. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001651. eCollection 2022 Jun.
Rapid advances in neuroscience have provided remarkable breakthroughs in understanding the brain on many fronts. Although promising, the role of these advancements in solving the problem of consciousness is still unclear. Based on technologies conceivably within the grasp of modern neuroscience, we discuss a thought experiment in which neural activity, in the form of action potentials, is initially recorded from all the neurons in a participant's brain during a conscious experience and then played back into the same neurons. We consider whether this artificial replay can reconstitute a conscious experience. The possible outcomes of this experiment unravel hidden costs and pitfalls in understanding consciousness from the neurosciences' perspective and challenge the conventional wisdom that causally links action potentials and consciousness.
神经科学的快速发展在许多方面为理解大脑提供了显著的突破。尽管前景广阔，但这些进展在解决意识问题方面的作用仍不清楚。基于现代神经科学可能掌握的技术，我们讨论了一个思想实验，即在有意识的体验过程中，最初从参与者大脑中的所有神经元中记录动作电位形式的神经活动，然后将其回放回相同的神经元。我们考虑这种人工回放是否可以重新构建意识体验。这个实验的可能结果揭示了从神经科学角度理解意识的潜在成本和陷阱，并挑战了将动作电位和意识因果联系起来的传统观念。
