Protocol for testing global neuronal workspace and integrated information theories of consciousness in non-human primates and mice.
Matilda Gibbons, Ethan G McBride, Raghuram Holenarasipura Venkatasubbaiah, Majid Khalili-Ardali, Jacqulyn R Kuyat, Samuel Gale, Vayle LaFehr, Nathan W Vogler, Mohammadali Kheirkhah Ravandi, Ming-Jiun Tsai, Corbett Bennett, Arjun Sridhar, Benjamin Hardcastle, Hannah Cabasco, Christof Koch, Lionel Naccache, Giulio Tononi, Shawn Olsen, Maria Neimark Geffen, Theofanis I Panagiotaropoulos, Yuri B Saalmann
PloS one January 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0342770 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAn adversarial collaboration will test competing predictions from Global Neuronal Workspace Theory and Integrated Information Theory about the neural correlates of consciousness. Non-human primates and mice will perform a go-nogo task with supra-threshold visual and auditory stimuli while neural activity is recorded from multiple cortical areas using Neuropixels electrodes. To causally test timing and location predictions, prefrontal cortex activity will be manipulated via electrical stimulation in primates or optogenetic silencing in mice. The protocol details experimental design, analyses, divergent predictions, and anticipated outcomes.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Adversarial collaboration protocol Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Non-human primates and mice |
| Intervention | optogenetic silencing in mice |
| Key finding | The protocol outlines how to test divergent predictions of Global Neuronal Workspace Theory and Integrated Information Theory regarding the location, timing, and functional connectivity of the neural correlates of consciousness. |
Abstract
Identifying the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) is widely regarded as imperative to our understanding of consciousness. Although several scientific theories of consciousness make predictions about the NCC, they often differ in their level of detail, making direct comparison through experimental findings difficult. Here, we report an adversarial collaboration protocol in which unbiased experimentalists will test predictions formed by theory proponents of Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) and Integrated Information Theory (IIT), concerning the location, timing and functional connectivity of the NCC. To enable cross-species comparisons, non-human primates (NHPs) and mice will view/listen to supra-threshold visual/auditory stimuli for variable durations in a go-nogo task that controls for report confounds, while we record with Neuropixels electrodes neuronal responses from visual, auditory, posterior parietal and/or prefrontal cortical areas. To causally test predictions about the timing and location, we will manipulate activity in prefrontal cortical regions using electrical stimulation in NHPs or optogenetic silencing in mice. This Study Protocol details the experimental design, analyses, divergent predictions, and the anticipated outcomes, along with their interpretation.