Seizing upon Mechanisms for Impaired Consciousness

Seizing upon Mechanisms for Impaired Consciousness

Transient loss of consciousness associated with focal temporal lobe seizures is a complex phenomenon with life-threatening repercussions. In this issue of Neuron, Motelow et al. (2015) describe decreased cholinergic drive and suppressed subcortical arousal in seizures as a novel mechanism for impaired cortical function.

Neuroprotective mechanisms activated in non-seizing rats exposed to sarin

Exposure to organophosphate (OP) nerve agents, such as sarin, may lead to uncontrolled seizures and irreversible brain injury and neuropathology. In rat studies, a median lethal dose of sarin leads to approximately half of the animals developing seizures. Whereas previous studies analyzed transcriptomic effects associated with seizing sarin-exposed rats, our study focused on the cohort of sarin...

Neural Mechanisms for Access to Consciousness

Introduction: the challenge of a science of consciousness

Uriah Kriegel Is Intentionality Dependent upon Consciousness?

It is often assumed that consciousness and intentionality are two mutually independent aspects of mental life. When the assumption is denounced, it usually gives way to the claim that consciousness is somehow dependent upon intentionality. The possibility that intentionality may be dependent upon consciousness is rarely entertained. Recently, however, John Searle and Colin McGinn have argued fo...

Seizing the Digitalization Opportunity