Brain, Mind & Consciousness
The quality of our consciousness is what sets us apart from other species and seems to be one of the defining traits of being human. Yet the nature of consciousness remains a mystery. The Brain, Mind & Consciousness program brings together neuroscientists, philosophers, and psychologists to grapple with the fundamental underpinnings of consciousness, relating the findings to biology on the one hand and to philosophical questions on the other.
RESEARCH AND SOCIETAL IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS
Digging deeper into perception and reality
Program Co-Director Anil Seth’s book, Being You: A New Science of Consciousness, was published in September 2021. The book lays out his views on the science of consciousness and describes his theory, which he calls the “beast machine” theory. Being You was an instant Sunday Times Bestseller, a New Statesman Book of the Year, an Economist Book of the Year, a Guardian Science Book of the Year (and Book of the Week), a Financial Times Science Book of the Year, and a Bloomberg Business Book of the Year.
Building a brain, mind & consciousness database
With a goal of gathering shareable tools and resources to spark and sustain broader
collaboration, program members have been collating a centralized repository to provide
access to labelled and pre-processed data and stimuli that they have already collected. So
far, the database consists of 89 projects that contain 120 sets of resources, such as human
behavioural data, stimulus sets, human functional MRI data, and human EEG data. This
repository will be invaluable for data and stimulus sharing within the program.
Understanding our perception of time and metacognition
Recent program meetings have focused on time perception, as well as on metacognition, a highly prominent and distinctive feature of human cognition, which has an intimate and not completely understood relationship with consciousness. This work has allowed the team to explore both fundamental questions about which brain areas are responsible for keeping track of time, as well as broader concerns, such as how time perception can be programmed into robots.
Exploring theories of consciousness
Program Co-Director Anil Seth (University of Sussex) and Fellow Tim Bayne (Monash University) have been putting theories about the biological and physical basis of consciousness to the test to explore how they relate to each other and whether they can be empirically distinguished. They are reviewing four prominent theoretical approaches to consciousness: higher-order theories, global workspace theories, re-entry and predictive processing theories, and integrated information theory. As part of this process, they are identifying which aspects of consciousness each approach proposes to explain, what their neurobiological commitments are and what empirical data are cited in their support. They are also considering how some prominent empirical debates might distinguish among these theories and are outlining three ways in which new theories need to be developed to deliver a mature regimen of theory-testing in the neuroscience of consciousness.
Applications Now Open: CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program
The aim of CIFAR’s Brain, Mind, and Consciousness program is to bring together scientists and scholars from a broad range of disciplines, from philosophy to cognitive and systems neuroscience, to explore the cultural, neural, and genetic bases of those aspects of consciousness that appear to be specifically human. Researchers within the program address core questions surrounding the neural basis and functions of consciousness; its development over time; its expression and detection in patients with brain damage; consciousness in other animals; the relation of consciousness to distinctively human practices such as music and language, and other topics.
Currently, the program wishes to complement these core questions with novel emphases on (i) artificial intelligence and machine learning; (ii) virtual and extended reality, (iii) aesthetics, and (iv) development and education. Embracing these new directions will allow us to develop innovative approaches towards modelling the mechanisms and functions of consciousness, testing hypotheses about consciousness in immersive environments, and translating insights into consciousness into domains with societal and technological impact. We welcome applications for Global Scholar positions across the entire remit of our program, and especially from candidates able to bridge disciplines and areas.
CIFAR Neuroscience of Consciousness Winter School
The CIFAR Neuroscience of Consciousness (CNC) Winter School takes place December 14-17, 2022. The school is hosted by CIFAR in partnership with the Templeton World Charity Foundation.
CIFAR CNC Winter School is a unique, four-day event where tomorrow’s neuroscience leaders work closely with world-class researchers studying the neuroscience of consciousness. Hosted by members of CIFAR’s Brain, Mind & Consciousness program, this year’s event is held in Cancun, Mexico.
Path to Societal Impact
We invite experts in industry, civil society, healthcare and government to join fellows in our Brain, Mind & Consciousness program for in-depth, cross-sectoral conversations that drive change and innovation.
Leaders in extended reality (XR, including virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality) and CIFAR fellows in the Brain, Mind & Consciousness program are developing more immersive XR experiences, while deepening the understanding of how our minds perceive reality.
Areas of focus:
- Understanding what makes an experience immersive
- Developing immersive extended realities
- Using XR as a tool to study the brain and body
Founded
2014
Renewal Dates
2020
Partners
Brain Canada Foundation through the Canada Brain Research Fund, Anonymous partner
Supporters
Michael & Sonja Koerner, The Lawrence & Judith Tanenbaum Family Foundation, Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Neuroscience, including cognitive neuroscience
Biological and cognitive psychology
Computer science, including artificial intelligence
Genetics
Philosophy, including ethics
Law
CIFAR Contact
Fellows & Advisors
Program Directors
Adrian M. Owen
Program Co-Director
Koerner Fellow
Anil K. Seth
Program Co-Director
Fellows
Tim Bayne
Fellow
Axel Cleeremans
Fellow
Melvyn Goodale
Fellow
Atsushi Iriki
Fellow
Robert Kentridge
Fellow
Rafael Malach
Tanenbaum Fellow
Marcello Massimini
Fellow
Jason B. Mattingley
Fellow
Liad Mudrik
Tanenbaum Fellow
Adrian M. Owen
Program Co-Director
Koerner Fellow
Aniruddh Patel
Fellow
Isabelle Peretz
Associate Fellow
Lisa M. Saksida
Fellow
Catherine Tallon-Baudry
Fellow
Laurel Trainor
Fellow
Nicholas Turk-Browne
Fellow
Sandra Waxman
Associate Fellow
Robert Zatorre
Fellow
Advisors
Nancy Kanwisher
Advisory Committee Chair
Stanislas Dehaene
Advisor
INSERM-CEA Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit
Daniel Dennett
Advisor
David K. Menon
Advisor
Janet Werker
Advisor
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars
Sahba Nomvula Besharati
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023
Craig Chapman
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2016-2018
Michael Cohen
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023
Katherine McAuliffe
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2017-2019
Megan Peters
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021
Adeel Razi
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023
Joshua Shepherd
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021
University of Barcelona
Lucina Q. Uddin
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2018-2020
Filip Van Opstal
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021
Yaniv Ziv
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2018-2020
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Support Us
CIFAR is a registered charitable organization supported by the governments of Canada, Alberta and Quebec, as well as foundations, individuals, corporations and Canadian and international partner organizations.