Prof. Mark Solms - The Hidden Spring
Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST)
Exploring Neuroscience: The Balance of Uncertainty and Reward Systems
This chapter explores the interplay between exploitation and exploration within neuroscience, focusing on the brain's reward systems and the significance of embracing uncertainty. It culminates in a book recommendation that reinforces the insights shared about novelty-seeking and personal growth.
Prof. Mark Solms, a neuroscientist and psychoanalyst, discusses his groundbreaking work on consciousness, challenging conventional cortex-centric views and emphasizing the role of brainstem structures in generating consciousness and affect.
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Key points discussed:
The limitations of vision-centric approaches to consciousness studies.
Evidence from decorticated animals and hydranencephalic children supporting the brainstem's role in consciousness.
The relationship between homeostasis, the free energy principle, and consciousness.
Critiques of behaviorism and modern theories of consciousness.
The importance of subjective experience in understanding brain function.
The discussion also explored broader topics:
The potential impact of affect-based theories on AI development.
The role of the SEEKING system in exploration and learning.
Connections between neuroscience, psychoanalysis, and philosophy of mind.
Challenges in studying consciousness and the limitations of current theories.
Mark Solms:
https://neuroscience.uct.ac.za/contacts/mark-solms
Show notes and transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/roipwmnlfmwk2e7kivzms/ACjZF-VIGC2-Suo30KcwVV0?rlkey=53y8v2cajfcgrf17p1h7v3suz&st=z8vu81hn&dl=0
TOC (*) are best bits
00:00:00 1. Intro: Challenging vision-centric approaches to consciousness *
00:02:20 2. Evidence from decorticated animals and hydranencephalic children *
00:07:40 3. Emotional responses in hydranencephalic children
00:10:40 4. Brainstem stimulation and affective states
00:15:00 5. Brainstem's role in generating affective consciousness *
00:21:50 6. Dual-aspect monism and the mind-brain relationship
00:29:37 7. Information, affect, and the hard problem of consciousness *
00:37:25 8. Wheeler's participatory universe and Chalmers' theories
00:48:51 9. Homeostasis, free energy principle, and consciousness *
00:59:25 10. Affect, voluntary behavior, and decision-making
01:05:45 11. Psychoactive substances, REM sleep, and consciousness research
01:12:14 12. Critiquing behaviorism and modern consciousness theories *
01:24:25 13. The SEEKING system and exploration in neuroscience
Refs:
1. Mark Solms' book "The Hidden Spring" [00:20:34] (MUST READ!)
https://amzn.to/3XyETb3
2. Karl Friston's free energy principle [00:03:50]
https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2787
3. Hydranencephaly condition [00:07:10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydranencephaly
4. Periaqueductal gray (PAG) [00:08:57]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periaqueductal_gray
5. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) [00:13:52]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positron_emission_tomography
6. Paul MacLean's triune brain theory [00:03:30]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triune_brain
7. Baruch Spinoza's philosophy of mind [00:23:48]
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spinoza-epistemology-mind
8. Claude Shannon's "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" [00:32:15]
https://people.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/home/text/others/shannon/entropy/entropy.pdf
9. Francis Crick's "The Astonishing Hypothesis" [00:39:57]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Astonishing_Hypothesis
10. Frank Jackson's Knowledge Argument [00:40:54]
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qualia-knowledge/
11. Mesolimbic dopamine system [01:11:51]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesolimbic_pathway
12. Jaak Panksepp's SEEKING system [01:25:23]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaak_Panksepp#Affective_neuroscience
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