Knowledge Tree
global workspace
Also known as: global workspace model, global workspace models
Facts (46)
Sources
A Synergistic Workspace for Human Consciousness Revealed by ... elifesciences.org 8 facts
claimThe lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) is a key component of the fronto-parietal executive control network (FPN) and is posited to act as a global broadcaster of information within the global workspace, according to Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT).
claimDeco et al. used transfer entropy as a measure of functional connectivity to assess the directionality of information exchange in the brain's global workspace.
procedureBroadcasters are identified as global workspace regions that have a highly-ranked participation coefficient for redundant interactions.
claimThe global workspace is attributed the dual roles of integrator of information and orchestrator of cognitive function.
referenceDeco et al. characterized the brain's global workspace using data-driven methods based on regions' involvement across multiple different tasks, focusing on the role of the workspace related to cognition.
referenceThe study 'A cognitive architecture that combines internal simulation with a global workspace' was published in Consciousness and Cognition (volume 15, pages 433–449) in 2005.
claimGlobal Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) postulates that the global workspace plays a key role in supporting consciousness.
claimThe authors propose that when the thalamus and sensory cortices lose the ability to respond to stimuli, they cease providing information to the synergistic core of the global workspace, resulting in disconnection from the external world and loss of consciousness.
GWT: A Leading Consciousness Theory Depends on Information ... mindmatters.ai Oct 15, 2021 7 facts
referenceIn 1988, psychologist Bernard Baars proposed the concept of a 'global workspace,' where information is integrated in a small group of brain regions before being broadcast to the whole brain.
claimThe human brain exhibits robustness and resilience in adversity, functioning like a multiheaded hydra that can continue to operate even when one or two of its 'heads' (regions of the global workspace) are removed.
claimMorten L. Kringelbach and Gustavo Deco published a paper in Nature Human Behaviour in 2021 identifying the brain regions of 1000 participants that they hypothesize form a 'global workspace' or 'functional rich club' of conductors.
perspectiveThe brain's orchestration relies on the concerted efforts of a small subset of agile and adaptable conductors in its global workspace, rather than a single brilliant conductor.
claimMorten L. Kringelbach and Gustavo Deco demonstrated that lesioning the regions of the global workspace in a whole-brain model significantly impaired the brain's ability to function.
referenceMorten L. Kringelbach and Gustavo Deco identify the global workspace as a core subset of brain regions including the precuneus, the posterior and isthmus cingulate, nucleus accumbens, putamen, hippocampus, and amygdala.
quote“... given the distributed nature of the brain hierarchy, there is unlikely to be just a single ‘conductor’. Instead, in 1988 the psychologist Bernard Baars proposed the concept of a ‘global workspace’, where information is integrated in a small group of brain regions (or ‘conductors’) before being broadcast to the whole brain…”
Global workspace theory - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 6 facts
claimUnconscious processes can form coalitions that act as input processes to the global workspace, operating in parallel with limited communication between them.
claimSensory input, memories, and internal representations enter the global workspace and become accessible to various cognitive processes when they receive attention.
claimElements compete for attention to gain entry to the global workspace, which allows their information to be distributed and coordinated throughout the cognitive system.
claimThe theory of practopoiesis suggests that the global workspace is achieved in the brain through fast adaptive mechanisms of nerve cells, rather than connectivity, where neurons rapidly adapt to their sensory context and learn when and how to adapt.
claimThe global workspace may be used to exercise executive control to perform voluntary actions because globally broadcast messages can evoke actions in receiving processes throughout the brain.
claimIndividual and allied processes compete for access to the global workspace to disseminate messages, recruit cohorts, and increase the likelihood of achieving their goals.
Global workspace theory: consciousness as brain wide information ... selfawarepatterns.com Dec 29, 2019 6 facts
claimBernard Baars defines the global workspace as the entire cortical-thalamic core of the brain.
claimBoth Bernard Baars and Stanislas Dehaene agree that subcortical regions generally cannot contribute directly to the global workspace, though Bernard Baars considers the hippocampus a possible exception.
claimBernard Baars believes that any animal possessing a cortex or a pallium, which includes all vertebrates, likely possesses a global workspace and is therefore conscious.
claimStanislas Dehaene emphasizes the role of the prefrontal cortex in the global workspace, while acknowledging that the parietal, temporal, and other regions within the frontoparietal network are also significant contributors.
claimBernard Baars posits that processing in any region of the cortical-thalamic core can be conscious or unconscious, and any region can potentially win the competition to have its contents enter the global workspace.
claimStanislas Dehaene suggests that all mammals, and possibly birds, likely possess a global workspace and are therefore conscious.
Fame in the Brain—Global Workspace Theories of Consciousness psychologytoday.com Oct 28, 2023 5 facts
claimThe term 'global workspace' originated in the field of artificial intelligence.
claimThe 'global workspace' in the brain is not localized but is distributed across wide regions of the cortex.
claimFronto-parietal networks, along with anterior temporal and other networks, are thought to play a central hub-like role in the brain's global workspace, orchestrating the broadcasting of information and facilitating conscious access.
referenceIn AI research, global workspace refers to a fleeting memory domain that allows for cooperative problem-solving by large collections of specialized programs.
claimInformation processed locally by specialized, modular regions without being broadcast to the global workspace remains non-conscious, yet this non-conscious processing performs vital roles in the background, including influencing behavior and decision-making.
Adversarial testing of global neuronal workspace and ... - Nature nature.com Apr 30, 2025 2 facts
claimThe authors argue that the lack of ignition at stimulus offset in Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) is surprising because the change in conscious experience at the onset of a blank fixation screen represents a clear update to the content of consciousness that the global workspace should have represented.
referenceStanislas Dehaene, Michel Kerszberg, and Jean-Pierre Changeux published 'A neuronal model of a global workspace in effortful cognitive tasks' in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America in 1998.
Hard Problem of Consciousness | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 2 facts
claimDaniel Dennett argues that if a mental state is available to the mind via the 'global workspace,' it is a conscious state.
referenceThe 'global workspace' hypothesis holds that conscious states are mental states available for processing by a wide range of cognitive systems by being present in a special network called the 'global workspace.'
#17 — ”Global Workspace Theory… - Consciousness and the Brain podcasts.apple.com Nov 22, 2021 2 facts
claimThe researchers Deco, Vidaurre, and Kringelbach defined 'functional rich clubs' as brain regions that correlate activity with one another, supporting the concept that the Global Workspace is dynamic.
referenceThe paper titled 'Revisiting the Global Workspace: Orchestration of the Functional Hierarchical Organisation of the Human Brain', co-authored by Deco, Vidaurre, and Kringelbach, analyzed neuroimages from over 1,000 participants to identify 'functional rich clubs' in the brain.
The function(s) of consciousness: an evolutionary perspective frontiersin.org Nov 25, 2024 2 facts
claimOne potential answer to Max Velmans' question regarding the adaptive nature of consciousness is the advantage of global oversight for the control of behavior, such as in a global workspace, or the ability to confer meaning on sensory experience in a way non-conscious neural processes cannot.
referenceThe chapter 'Global workspace models of consciousness in a broader perspective' by A. Raffone and H. P. Barendregt was published in the book 'Beyond neural correlates of consciousness' in 2020.
Moving Forward on the Problem of Consciousness - David Chalmers consc.net 2 facts
claimDavid Chalmers argues that treating the conscious experience of global workspace contents as a 'brute fact' implies that a theory of consciousness requires explanatorily primitive principles beyond facts about processing.
claimBernard Baars has suggested in conversation that the fact that global workspace contents are consciously experienced should be regarded as a brute fact.
Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART) frontiersin.org 1 fact
referenceRaffone and Pantani (2010) proposed a global workspace model for both phenomenal and access consciousness.
AI Sessions #9: The Case Against AI Consciousness (with Anil Seth) conspicuouscognition.com Feb 17, 2026 1 fact
referencePatrick Butlin, Robert Long, and colleagues authored a paper that evaluates AI models for signatures of theories of consciousness, such as global workspace or higher-order representations, by explicitly assuming computational functionalism.
Consciousness and Cognitive Sciences journal-psychoanalysis.eu 1 fact
referenceSeveral prominent proposals in cognitive science attempt to construct a theoretical framework where the unity of modular cognitive capacities amounts to an account of experience, including R. Jackendoff’s (1987) projective mechanism, B. Baars’ (1997) global workspace, D. Dennett’s (1991) multiple drafts, W. Calvin’s (1990) darwinian machines, and G. Edelman’s (1989) neural darwinism.
The function(s) of consciousness: an evolutionary perspective pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Nov 26, 2024 1 fact
claimOne potential answer to why consciousness is adaptive involves the advantages of global oversight for the control of behavior, such as in a global workspace, or for conferring meaning on sensory experience in a way that non-conscious neural processes cannot.