Neuroscientists debate whether brain properties left out of computational models matter for consciousness
eschwitz · x · 2026-10-07
A substantive exchange sparked by @pgodfreysmith arguing the standard axon-synapse-dendrite model of the brain is impoverished and that large-scale dynamics are likely functionally crucial.
- eschwitz agrees the classical model omits real complexity and that large-scale brain dynamics probably matter functionally.
- The key question: is there an in-principle reason to think all brain properties left out of classical computational models (and pure network models) are unimportant? No — known arguments for computational functionalism are weak.
- The reasonable synthesis: there do exist brain properties with known empirical links to consciousness that current models ignore.
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