Scientific American Special - Secrets of The Mind - USA (2022-Winter)

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Mind from Matter

In 2016 a panel of physicists, a cosmologist and a philosopher gathered at the American

Museum of Natural History to discuss an idea seemingly befitting science fiction: Are we liv-

ing in a computer simulation? How exactly the flesh and blood of our brain is able to formu-

late an aware, self-examining mind capable of critical thought remains a mystery. Perhaps

the answer eludes us because, the panel mused, we are the avatars of a higher species’ simu-

lation and simply unable to discover the truth. As intriguing a hypothesis as it is, neurosci-

ence has learned enough about our consciousness to counter such a fantastical possibility.

Newly mapped networks within the human brain show regions that fire in concert to cre-

ate cognition ( page 6 ). Zapping the brain with magnetic pulses while recording neural activ-

ity might soon detect conscious thought, which could be especially useful for patients who

are awake but unable to communicate or respond to external stimuli ( page 26 ). These discov-

eries chip away at the isolating experience of humanity and the idea that a person can never

truly know whether anyone but oneself is truly conscious ( page 32 ).

To some extent, we exist

in our own bubbles of sub-

jective experience. A grow-

ing body of evidence sug-

gests that perception is a

construction of the brain

( page 38 ). Because the brain

initiates some actions be -

fore we become aware that

we have made a decision,

we might even deduce that

each of us is some kind of

biochemical puppet, but

experiments confirm that

we do indeed have free will

( page 44 ). And our cogni-

tion clearly results from

high ly evolved neural mech-

anisms, common to all of

us, for making new memories ( page 48 ), navigating social relationships ( page 54 ) and recog-

nizing faces ( page 60 ). Ultimately a shared sense of reality influences how we perceive our-

selves and the formation of “in-groups” and “out-groups,” which can create social and politi-

cal division (page 68).

For all that, however, a lot happens outside of our awareness. Based on neuronal firing pat-

terns, algorithms can infer intended body movements in patients with paralysis of their limbs,

illuminating the unconscious brain-body dynamic ( page 74 ). During sleep, the brain makes

crucial gains in learning, memory and emotion processing ( page 82 and page 88 ).

And there is much out there that can alter our reality, from drugs to disease. Potentially

a third of older COVID patients experience delirium, perhaps increasing their risk for demen-

tia later on ( page 116 ). Psychiatrists now debate whether bouts of mania in which people report

enhanced recall, increased empathy and spirituality might constitute a new category of men-

tal disorder (page 110). Ironically, rather than distorting it, substances such as Ecstasy and

“magic” mushrooms may actually help restore a rational view of the world (page 122).

Consciousness may come from an alien programmer, or perhaps it pervades our universe,

not just our brains but all things, as philosopher Philip Goff posits ( page 124 ). Either way, our

remarkable ability to think about our own thoughts—meta-thoughts, as Scientific American

columnist John Horgan calls them on page 96—places us at a tantalizing intersection of life

and sentience. What we think matters to us regardless of how the mind arises from matter.

ESTABLISHED 1845

Secrets of the Mind

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