Cart
Free Shipping in the UK
Proud to be B-Corp

Sizing up Consciousness Marcello Massimini (Professor of Neurophysiology, Professor of Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Italy)

Sizing up Consciousness By Marcello Massimini (Professor of Neurophysiology, Professor of Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Italy)

Summary

This book explores how we can measure consciousness. It clarifies what consciousness is, how it can be generated from a physical system, and how it can be measured. It also shows how conscious states can be expressed mathematically and how precise predictions can be made using data from neurophysiological studies.

Sizing up Consciousness Summary

Sizing up Consciousness: Towards an objective measure of the capacity for experience by Marcello Massimini (Professor of Neurophysiology, Professor of Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Italy)

Everyone knows what consciousness is: it is what vanishes when we fall into dreamless sleep and reappears when we wake up or when we dream. However, we become less and less confident when we are called to answer fundamental questions about the relationships between consciousness and the physical world. Why is the cerebral cortex associated with consciousness, but not the liver, the heart, the cerebellum or other neural structures? Why does consciousness fade during deep sleep, while cortical neurons remain active? Can unresponsive patients with an island of active cortex surrounded by widespread damage be conscious? Is an artificial system that outperforms people at driving, recognizing faces and objects, and answering difficult questions conscious? Using the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) as a guiding principle, Sizing up Consciousness explores these questions, taking the reader along a fascinating journey from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum, from wakefulness to sleep, anesthesia, and coma, supercomputers, octopuses, dolphins, and much more besides. By translating theoretical principles into practical measurements, the book outlines a preliminary attempt to identify a general rule to size up the capacity for consciousness within the human skull and beyond. Sizing up Consciousness is a short, accessible book, spanning neuronal activity to existential considerations and is essential reading for anyone interested in awareness and cognition.

Sizing up Consciousness Reviews

Those who wish to learn about the current state of neuroscientific work on consciousness would be hard-pressed to find a better introduction than this one... Summing Up: Essential. All Readers. * CHOICE *

About Marcello Massimini (Professor of Neurophysiology, Professor of Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Italy)

Marcello Massimini was trained as a Medical Doctor and received a PhD in Neurophysiology. He worked at Laval University (Canada), at the University of Wisconsin (USA), at the ComaScience Group, University of Liege (Belgium) and is currently Professor of Physiology at the University of Milan (Italy). In 2013, he received the James S. McDonnell Scholar Award. His research team investigates the mechanisms of loss and recovery of consciousness in different conditions such as wakefulness, sleep, dreaming, anaesthesia and coma. His current goal is to bring theoretical and basic neuroscience closer to the bedside of brain-injured patients. Giulio Tononi received his medical degree and specialized in Psychiatry at the University of Pisa, Italy. After serving as an Army medical officer, he obtained a Ph.D. in neuroscience as a fellow of the Scuola Superiore. He is currently Professor of Psychiatry, Distinguished Professor in Consciousness Science, the David P. White Chair in Sleep Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Sleep and Consciousness. In 2005 he received the NIH Director's Pioneer Award for his work on sleep. His laboratory studies consciousness and its disorders as well as the mechanisms and functions of sleep.

Table of Contents

1: A Brain in your Hand 2: Zombies and Dolls 3: Brain Islands 4: Mysteries in the Cranium 5: A Theoretical Principle 6: The First Leg of the Journey: Into the cranium 7: Assessing Consciousness in Humans: From theory to practice 8: The World View of Consciousness 9: A universe in your hand

Additional information

GOR013134546
9780198728443
0198728441
Sizing up Consciousness: Towards an objective measure of the capacity for experience by Marcello Massimini (Professor of Neurophysiology, Professor of Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Italy)
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Oxford University Press
20180621
224
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Sizing up Consciousness