ReviewNature reviews. Neuroscience2022
Theories of consciousness.
Review in Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 255 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
255 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A methodological guideline for consciousness assessment via neural electrophysiological activity.Military Medical Research · 2025Guideline
- A causal role of the NMDA receptor in recurrent processing during perceptual integration.eLife · 2025Trial
- Heartbeat-evoked neural response abnormalities in generalized anxiety disorder during peripheral adrenergic stimulation.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Trial
- The entropic brain today.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2026Review
- RIFT: A Fractal-Holographic Theory of Consciousness and Autopoietic Control.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Real-Time Monitoring of Anaesthetic-Induced Change of Consciousness States Associated with Brain Biophoton Information Integration.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Article
- Principal bundle geometry of qualia: Understanding the quality of consciousness from symmetry.PNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Differential Dynamic Reorganization of Functional Connectivity Based on Phase Synchrony and Amplitude Envelope Coupling During Propofol Sedation.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Thalamic oscillations distinguish natural states of consciousness in humans.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Review
- Continuous flash suppression responses in mouse visual cortex: Stimulus laterality and anesthesia effects.iScience · 2026Article
- Consciousness in the Brain: An Integrative Review of Contemporary Theories.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Neuronal Microtubules and Radiofrequency Waves: The Quantum Core of Human Consciousness, Memory, and Pathway to Memory Enhancement/Recovery.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Advances and applications of brain organoids in central nervous system disorders: Bridging the gap from laboratory to clinic.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Artificial stupidity or logimorphism? How misuse of language warps our thinking about 'artificial intelligence'.European heart journal. Digital health · 2026Article
- Sequential neural dynamics underlie unconscious integration and conscious perception of visual stimuli.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Foundational issues of network models in biology.Biological cybernetics · 2026Review
- Music as a scientific metaphor for mind and brain.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2026Review
- Towards a Mathematical Structure of Global Phenomenal Consciousness.Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Hierarchical brain dynamics supporting visual perceptual transitions.Science advances · 2026Article
195 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Recent years have seen a blossoming of theories about the biological and physical basis of consciousness. Good theories guide empirical research, allowing us to interpret data, develop new experimental techniques and expand our capacity to manipulate the phenomenon of interest. Indeed, it is only when couched in terms of a theory that empirical discoveries can ultimately deliver a satisfying understanding of a phenomenon. However, in the case of consciousness, it is unclear how current theories relate to each other, or whether they can be empirically distinguished. To clarify this complicated landscape, we review four prominent theoretical approaches to consciousness: higher-order theories, global workspace theories, re-entry and predictive processing theories and integrated information theory. We describe the key characteristics of each approach by identifying which aspects of consciousness they propose to explain, what their neurobiological commitments are and what empirical data are adduced in their support. We consider how some prominent empirical debates might distinguish among these theories, and we outline three ways in which theories need to be developed to deliver a mature regimen of theory-testing in the neuroscience of consciousness. There are good reasons to think that the iterative development, testing and comparison of theories of consciousness will lead to a deeper understanding of this most profound of mysteries.
Indexed as
Identifiers
35505255What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.