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Abstract：
A central question in neuroscience concerns the relationship between consciousness and its physical substrate. Here, we argue that a richer characterization of consciousness can be obtained by viewing it as constituted of distinct information-theoretic elements. In other words, we propose a shift from quantification of consciousness-viewed as integrated information-to its decomposition. Through this approach, termed Integrated Information Decomposition (ΦID), we lay out a formal argument that whether the consciousness of a given system is an emergent phenomenon depends on its information-theoretic composition-providing a principled answer to the long-standing dispute on the relationship between consciousness and emergence. Furthermore, we show that two organisms may attain the same amount of integrated information, yet differ in their information-theoretic composition. Building on ΦID\'s revised understanding of integrated information, termed ΦR, we also introduce the notion of ΦR-ing ratio to quantify how efficiently an entity uses information for conscious processing. A combination of ΦR and ΦR-ing ratio may provide an important way to compare the neural basis of different aspects of consciousness. Decomposition of consciousness enables us to identify qualitatively different \'modes of consciousness\', establishing a common space for mapping the phenomenology of different conscious states. We outline both theoretical and empirical avenues to carry out such mapping between phenomenology and information-theoretic modes, starting from a central feature of everyday consciousness: selfhood. Overall, ΦID yields rich new ways to explore the relationship between information, consciousness, and its emergence from neural dynamics.
摘要：
神经科学中的一个中心问题涉及意识与其物理底物之间的关系。这里,我们认为，通过将意识视为由不同的信息理论元素组成，可以获得更丰富的意识特征。换句话说,我们建议从意识的量化-被视为整合的信息-转变为其分解。通过这种方法，称为集成信息分解(ΦID)，我们提出了一个正式的论点，即给定系统的意识是否是一种新兴现象，取决于其信息理论的组成，为长期以来关于意识与出现之间关系的争论提供了原则性的答案。此外，我们表明两种生物可以获得相同数量的综合信息，但它们的信息理论组成不同。基于ΦID对综合信息的修订理解，称为ΦR，我们还引入了ΦR-ing比率的概念，以量化实体使用信息进行有意识处理的效率。ΦR和ΦR-ing比率的组合可能提供一种重要的方法来比较意识不同方面的神经基础。意识的分解使我们能够识别质量上不同的“意识模式”，建立一个共同的空间来映射不同意识状态的现象学。我们概述了在现象学和信息理论模式之间进行这种映射的理论和经验途径，从日常意识的中心特征开始：自我。总的来说,ΦID产生了丰富的探索信息之间关系的新途径，意识,以及它从神经动力学中的出现。
