Consciousness by Hannah Critchlow

Author:Hannah Critchlow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781405934923
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2018-05-03T16:00:00+00:00

Can We Increase Consciousness?

Electric signals rush around your brains at approximately 120 miles per hour. Is it possible for all of your brain’s 86 billion nerve cells to be electrically active at the same time? With high frequencies of oscillations? Would this increase your level of consciousness? Or would it cause you to blow a fuse?

Recent blockbuster films such as Limitless and Lucy have imagined how pharmacological manipulation could increase consciousness. This concept has been science fiction fodder for decades, and an important driver provoking social debate. Such ‘smart drugs’ are, however, no longer simply a figment of writers’ imaginations. Modafinil and methylphenidate are commonly prescribed to help treat sleep disorders or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), to boost alertness, attention and focus. They are also sometimes used by students during exam revision and a growing number of academics admit to taking them to help with arduous committee meetings or writing grant applications, as there is some evidence that they increase working memory.

Rather than opening up the mind, as depicted in the films, these drugs seem to do the opposite, to narrow down the circuit board’s activity so that attention does not wander. These drugs localize brain activity to discrete areas so that the individuals can focus on a specific task, helping to filter out competing and distracting incoming sensory signals. They also seem to increase the speed of electrical activity in the brain, increasing alertness. Some hypothesize this will come with a cost to creativity, and the long-term side effects of these drugs in healthy individuals are not yet known.

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