[ExI] New Research Shows How Dopamine Plays a Key Role in Consciousness

[John Grigg]

"In a study published
<https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/118/30/e2026289118.full.pdf> in the
*Proceedings
of the National Academies of Science*, we have now shown that conscious
brain activity seems to be linked to the brain’s “pleasure chemical
<https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-dopamine-and-is-it-to-blame-for-our-addictions-51268>,”
dopamine.

The fact that the neural mechanisms that underpin consciousness disorders
are difficult to characterize makes these conditions hard to diagnose and
treat. Brain imaging has established that a network of interconnected brain
regions, known as the default mode network, is involved
<https://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/35/46/15254.full.pdf> in
self-awareness. This network has also been shown to be impaired in
anesthesia and after brain damage that causes disorders of consciousness.
Importantly, it seems to be crucial to conscious experience."

https://singularityhub.com/2021/08/12/new-research-shows-dopamine-may-play-a-key-role-in-consciousness/
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