We generalize a recent mathematical analysis of Bernard Baars’ model of human consciousness to explore analogous, but far more complicated, phenomena of institutional cognition. Individual consciousness is limited to a single, tunable, giant component of interacting cognitive modules, instantiating a Global Workspace. Human institutions, by contrast, seem able to multitask, supporting several s...

BACKGROUND The differential diagnosis of disorders of consciousness is challenging. The rate of misdiagnosis is approximately 40%, and new methods are required to complement bedside testing, particularly if the patient's capacity to show behavioral signs of awareness is diminished. METHODS At two major referral centers in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and Liege, Belgium, we performed a study inv...

Neuronal mechanisms of episodic memory, the conscious recollection of autobiographical events, are largely unknown because electrophysiological studies in humans are conducted only in exceptional circumstances. Unit recording studies in animals are thus crucial for understanding the neurophysiological substrate that enables people to remember their individual past. Two features of episodic memo...

BACKGROUND Study of imagination offers a perfect setting for study of a large variety of states of consciousness. OBJECTIVE Here, we studied the characteristics of two electroencephalographic (EEG) patterns evoked by two different imaginary tasks and evaluated the binary classification performance. METHODS Fifteen individuals (11 male and 4 female, age range of 22 to 33) participated in fiv...

This research extends and confirms recent brainwave findings that distinguished an individual's sense-of-self along an Object-referral/Self-referral Continuum of self-awareness. Subjects were interviewed and were given tests measuring inner/outer orientation, moral reasoning, anxiety, and personality. Scores on the psychological tests were factor analyzed. The first unrotated PCA component of t...

Compared to mature investment firms, first-time funds in private equity lack an investment and performance track record, and require alternative signals to establish initial trust with investors. The paper finds that investors allocate more capital to first-time funds if they have a higher share of managers with relevant experience, such as from another private equity group or a bank. In partic...

Starting up a new lab is of a course a great challenge, but few young PIs will realize that getting started is the easy part. Indeed, once the lab is up and running, and hopefully doing very well, a whole new set of challenges emerges on top of the typical ones like fund raising and paper publication. Perhaps most dauntingly, you’ll be expected to manage the different people in your group, buil...

The proliferation of the video surveillance cameras, which accounts for the vast majority of cameras worldwide, has resulted in the need to nd methods and algorithms for dealing with the huge amount of information that is gathered every second. This encompasses processing tasks, such as raising an alarm or detouring moving objects, as well as some semantic tasks like event monitoring, trajector...