News and Agenda
€ 2.3 million for controversial research on consciousness
Professor of Cognitive Neurosciences Victor Lamme is the recipient of a € 2.3 million ERC Advanced Grant for his research on human consciousness. His goal is to come up with a new definition of the term ‘consciousness'. Controversy already surrounds the potential results of his research. ‘Some people, including scientists, do not want to see the traditional definition of consciousness done away with.'
For many years consciousness had been a taboo subject in scientific circles, as there were no methods for scientifically studying and analysing it. All of that changed about a decade or so ago with the advent of technology such as fMRI. These methods now allow us to record and map human brain activity.
Separation
However, Lamme believes that the collective studies failed to produce a satisfactory definition of the concept. ‘The studies that have been conducted so far focused on measuring human reports. Test subjects were obliged to press a button or react in some other way in response to a visual stimulus. In my study I want to separate becoming conscious of the outside world from the reporting on it.'
Quick brain lesion
To do so Lamme uses techniques including fMRI and EEG to study the areas of the brain in which activity occurs during the process of becoming conscious. He also uses Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a technique in which brain activity can be halted for a brief moment using a magnetic pulse. ‘It involves a quick lesion, a disconnection, of a certain area of the brain. Doing so enables us to determine whether that part of the brain is truly necessary for consciousness.'
Learning and consciousness
One of the theories is that there is a connection between consciousness and learning. The hypothesis is that consciousness helps the brain to learn, and that the reverse (learning creates consciousness) also applies. Therefore we will administer test subjects as well as laboratory animals substances that repress what is called the NMDA receptor. Research has already showed that anaesthetics that cause a loss of consciousness actually block the NMDA receptor. This study will help us determine whether there really is a direct connection between consciousness and learning.'
Shockwave
Lamme does not expect to publish the initial results until one or to two years from now, but the potential findings have already caused a shockwave. In earlier publications he repeatedly predicted a possible redefinition of the term consciousness. ‘Not only did that generate enthusiasm, it also elicited considerable resistance, among non-academics and researchers alike. People regard consciousness as something that is their own, and believe that an individual is the best judge of when he or she is conscious of something. This study could refute that belief. In fact, the ultimate finding may be that someone says they are not conscious of something when in fact according to the new definition they are. For some people that idea is still a bit radical.'
The European Research Council (ERC) awards ERC Advanced Grants to exceptional researchers to fund their highly ambitious, pioneering and unconventional research. The ERC calls Lamme's research project ‘challenging but extremely well structured.' The ERC evaluation called Lamme ‘a tremendously innovative researcher' who has published ‘publications' in renowned journals including Nature, Science, Nature Neuroscience, PNAS and TINS.