Consciousness, epilepsy, and emotional qualia

Francesco Monaco, Marco Mula, Andrea E. Cavanna

Risultato della ricerca: Contributo su rivistaArticolo di reviewpeer review

Abstract

The last decade has seen a renaissance of consciousness studies, witnessed by the growing number of scientific investigations on this topic. The concept of consciousness is central in epileptology, despite the methodological difficulties concerning its application to the multifaced ictal phenomenology. The authors provide an up-to-date review of the neurological literature on the relationship between epilepsy and consciousness and propose a bidimensional model (level vs contents of consciousness) for the description of seizure-induced alterations of conscious states, according to the findings of recent neuroimaging studies. The neurophysiological correlates of ictal loss and impairment of consciousness are also reviewed. Special attention is paid to the subjective experiential states associated with medial temporal lobe epilepsy. Such ictal phenomenal experiences are suggested as a paradigm for a neuroscientific approach to the apparently elusive philosophical concept of qualia. Epilepsy is confirmed to represent a privileged window over basic neurobiological mechanisms of consciousness.

Lingua originaleInglese
pagine (da-a)150-160
Numero di pagine11
RivistaEpilepsy and Behavior
Volume7
Numero di pubblicazione2
DOI
Stato di pubblicazionePubblicato - set 2005
Pubblicato esternamente

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