La evolución de la conciencia: filogenia, ontogenia y su surgimiento a partir de la anestesia general

• A. Mashour, George ^[2] ; T. Alkire, Michael ^[1]
  1. [1] University of California System

     University of California System

     Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] Escuela de Medicina de la Universidad de Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
• Localización: Ludus vitalis: revista de filosofía de las ciencias de la vida = journal of philosophy of life sciences = revue de philosophie des sciences de la vie, ISSN 1133-5165, Vol. 21, Nº. 40, 2013, págs. 53-77
• Idioma: español
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• Resumen

  • Evolution of consciousness: Phylogeny, ontogeny and emergence from general anesthesiaAre animals conscious? If so, when did consciousness evolve? We address these long-standing and essential questions using a modern neuroscientific approach that draws on diverse fields such as consciousness studies, evolutionary neurobiology, animal psychology, and anesthesiology. We propose that the stepwise emergence from general anesthesia can serve as a reproducible model to study the evolution of consciousness across various species and use current data from anesthesiology to shed light on the phylogeny of consciousness. Ultimately, we conclude that the neurobiological structure of the vertebrate central nervous system is evolutionarily ancient and highly conserved across species and that the basic neurophysiologic mechanisms supporting consciousness in humans are found at the earliest points of vertebrate brain evolution. Thus, in agreement with Darwin’s insight and the recent “Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness in Non-Human Animals,” a review of modern scientific data suggests that the differences between species in terms of the ability to experience the world is one of degree and not kind.