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Anatomical, physiological, and psychophysical data show that the nature of conscious perception is incompatible with the integrated information theory (IIT)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2022

Moshe Gur Open the ORCID record for Moshe Gur [Opens in a new window]
Moshe Gur*
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel, 3200003mogi@bm.technion.ac.il
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Abstract

The integrated information theory (IIT) equates levels of consciousness with the amount of information integrated over the elements that constitute a system. Conscious visual perception provides two observations that contradict the IIT. First, objects are accurately perceived when presented for ≪100 ms during which time no neural integration is possible. Second, an object is seen as an integrated whole and, concurrently, all constituent elements are evident. Because integration destroys information about details, IIT cannot account for perceptual detail preservation.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e51
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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