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Neurophysiology of Consciousness

  • Book
  • © 1993

Overview

Authors:
  1. Benjamin Libet

    1. Department of Physiology and Mount Zion Neurological Institute, University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco, USA

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Part of the book series: Contemporary Neuroscientists (CN)

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Table of contents (22 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxvii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Production of Threshold Levels of Conscious Sensation by Electrical Stimulation of Human Somatosensory Cortex

    • B. Libet, W. W. Alberts, E. W. Wright Jr., L. D. Delattre, G. Levin, B. Feinstein
    Pages 1-34

  3. Cortical Activation in Conscious and Unconscious Experience

    • Benjamin Libet
    Pages 35-45

  4. Brain Stimulation and the Threshold of Conscious Experience

    • B. Libet
    Pages 47-63

  5. Responses of Human Somatosensory Cortex to Stimuli below Threshold for Conscious Sensation

    • B. Libet, W. W. Alberts, E. W. Wright Jr., B. Feinstein
    Pages 64-67

  6. Electrical Stimulation of Cortex in Human Subjects and Conscious Sensory Aspects

    • B. Libet
    Pages 68-116

  7. Cortical Representation of Evoked Potentials Relative to Conscious Sensory Responses, and of Somatosensory Qualities — in Man

    • B. Libet, W. W. Alberts, E. W. Wright Jr., M. Lewis, B. Feinstein
    Pages 118-135

  8. Cortical and thalamic activation in conscious sensory experience

    • B. Libet, W. W. Alberts, E. W. Wright Jr, B. Feinstein
    Pages 136-147

  9. Neuronal vs. Subjective Timing for a Conscious Sensory Experience

    • Benjamin Libet
    Pages 149-162

  10. Subjective Referral of the Timing for a Conscious Sensory Experience

    • Benjamin Libet, Elwood W. Wright Jr., Bertram Feinstein, Dennis K. Pearl
    Pages 164-195

  11. Retroactive Enhancement of a Skin Sensation by a Delayed Cortical Stimulus in Man: Evidence for Delay of a Conscious Sensory Experience

    • B. Libet, E. W. Wright, B. Feinstein, D. K. Pearl
    Pages 196-204

  12. The Experimental Evidence for Subjective Referral of a Sensory Experience Backwards in Time: Reply to P. S. Churchland

    • Benjamin Libet
    Pages 205-220

  13. Brain Stimulation in the Study of Neuronal Functions for Conscious Sensory Experiences

    • B. Libet
    Pages 221-228

  14. Readiness-Potentials Preceding Unrestricted’ spontaneous’ vs. Pre-Planned Voluntary Acts

    • B. Libet, E. W. Wright Jr., C. A. Gleason
    Pages 229-242

  15. Preparation- or Intention-To-Act, in Relation to Pre-Event Potentials Recorded at the Vertex

    • Benjamin Libet, Elwood W. Wright Jr., Curtis A. Gleason
    Pages 243-248

  16. Time of Conscious Intention to Act in Relation to Onset of Cerebral Activity (Readiness-Potential)

    • Benjamin Libet, Curtis A. Gleason, Elwood W. Wright, Dennis K. Pearl
    Pages 249-268

  17. Unconscious cerebral initiative and the role of conscious will in voluntary action

    • Benjamin Libet
    Pages 269-306

  18. Are the Mental Experiences of Will and Self-Control Significant for the Performance of a Voluntary Act?

    • L. Deecke, R. E. Hoffman, R. E. Kravitz
    Pages 307-313

  19. Consciousness: Conscious, Subjective Experience

    • Benjamin Libel
    Pages 314-318

  20. The Timing of a Subjective Experience

    • D. Salter
    Pages 319-323
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Keywords

About this book

and made insignificant in practice, by selecting for study simple kinds of ex­ periences which are devoid of emotional content and which can be tested for reliability. A simple somatosensory ''raw feel" fulfills these characteristics (see papers nos. 2,5). In any case, if we fail to find ways to use introspective reports in convincingly acceptable studies we would give up the ability to investigate the relation between conscious experience and neural activity, something warned against by William James (Krech, 1969). Another factor in the dearth of direct experimental studies is, of course, the comparative inaccessibility of the human brain for such purposes. Meaningful investigations of the issue in question requires simultaneous study of brain events and introspective reports of experiences in an awake, cooperative human subject. Analysis by neuropsychologists of pathological lesions in the brain and the related disturbances of conscious functions have contributed much to mapping the pos­ sible representations of these functions. The non-invasive recording of electrical activity with electrodes on the scalp, starting from Berger's initial EEG record­ ings in 1929, has contributed much to the problems of states of consciousness and to various cognitive features associated with sensory inputs, but not as much to the specific issue of conscious experience.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Physiology and Mount Zion Neurological Institute, University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco, USA

    Benjamin Libet

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Neurophysiology of Consciousness

  • Authors: Benjamin Libet

  • Series Title: Contemporary Neuroscientists

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0355-1

  • Publisher: Birkhäuser Boston, MA

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media New York 1993

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-8176-3538-1Published: 01 January 1993

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4612-6722-5Published: 05 November 2012

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-4612-0355-1Published: 06 December 2012

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXVIII, 404

  • Topics: Human Physiology

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