Neuroscience of consciousness
January 1, 2023
Oryan Zacks, Eva Jablonka
45 citations
The Global Neuronal Workspace theory, which links consciousness to cognitive functions like perception and memory, aligns with the Unlimited Associative Learning theory that describes minimal consciousness. However, applying these models to basal vertebrates requires significant adjustments based on brain evolution. Comparative evidence indicates that in these vertebrates, the workspace is implemented by the event memory system in the hippocampal homolog. This offers testable predictions about hippocampal and cortical roles, the evolutionary link between memory and consciousness, and the development of unified perception.
Front Syst Neurosci
October 19, 2022
Louis N. Irwin, Lars Chittka, Eva Jablonka et al.
11 citations
This collection of reviews, essays, and theories examines comparative animal consciousness from a biological and evolutionary perspective. Consciousness is defined as the process by which an animal has perceptual and affective experiences or feelings, arising from the material substrate of a nervous system. The work draws on a tradition of neuroscientific materialism, suggesting that consciousness is a biological phenomenon rooted in neural activity. It explores various aspects of how different animals may experience consciousness, taking an evolutionary approach to understand the origins and variations of conscious experience across species.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
November 13, 2025
Eva Jablonka, Simona Ginsburg
3 citations
Consciousness in living organisms introduced new goals and functions, leading to a new form of selection called mental selection. This process involves choices guided by conscious perception and affective evaluation, expanding natural and sexual-social selection and providing a foundation for human artificial selection. The functional effects of consciousness were enabled by unlimited associative learning (UAL), which allows animals to discriminate complex percepts, engage in flexible goal-directed behavior, and adapt to diverse conditions. UAL-based signal selection in predator-prey, sexual, and social interactions drove the evolution of perceptual, emotional, and motor patterns that first appeared in the Cambrian era and later supported the development of imaginative animals and reflective humans.