Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
thesinglebrainareascancreatesomething that resembles consciousness,
but a few specific areas together can.
The most appealing theory (Lamme, 2010) based on emergence is
that consciousness appears if the normal nonconscious processes can-
not solve a topic and start to involve many parts of the brain to work
on it. This extra activity of the nonconscious is visible when standard
solutions are not available in the database of previous learned experi-
ences. We have discussed the fact that risk understanding can lead to a
sudden blockade of behavior if this is regarded as dangerous. The
blockade leads to conscious alarm signals, making the person aware
that something is or might be wrong. Translating Lamme
s theory into
safety behavior, extra activity of the nonconscious system starts when
there is a perceived risk that the automated programs cannot solve.
This unsolved risk works like a switch to enlighten the consciousness
and make us become aware in order to find a solution.
'
Consciousness emerges if the nonconscious cannot solve a topic.
Case 2
When a car in front of us suddenly reduces speed, the brake lights start
to shine. The coordination centers notice these lights. They send paral-
lel messages to the eyes (please watch closely) and to the anxiety cen-
ters, which check the databases. These cannot find earlier speed
reductions on that particular part of the road and give a signal that this
is unusual. The pain/warning center gets involved. These centers indi-
cate that this might become serious and potentially very painful.
“
Why
is that car reducing speed so fast?
The risk understanding confirms
that extra precautions are needed. The safety margin is decreasing too
fast. In the meantime, the motor area prepares a possible usage of the
brake (muscle tones rise, blood pressure increases, some hormones are
released to raise the sugar level in the blood, position of the foot is
adjusted). As there is no confident perspective on a solution, conscious-
ness emerges. At this moment, all the brain areas that are relevant for
safety are already active and communicating with each other.
”
Although our knowledge about the human consciousness is still in a
premature phase, we know that it is important in increasing safety
behavior. In this chapter, we will expand on the topic of how we can
use our awareness to enhance safety behavior and what the possible
problems are in using it.
