OxTalks will soon move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events.' There will be a need for an OxTalks freeze. This was previously planned for Friday 14th November – a new date will be shared as soon as it is available (full details will be available on the Staff Gateway).
In the meantime, the OxTalks site will remain active and events will continue to be published.
If staff have any questions about the Oxford Events launch, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
Perception is conventionally used as the model example of consciousness, and its neural correlate is widely assumed to be cortical. In this talk, I will review evidence which calls these assumptions into question. I will argue that the fundamental form of consciousness is affective and that its neurological basis is located mainly in the upper brainstem. The evidence to be presented will also cast serious doubt on the notion that the reticular activating system (which is generally accepted to be a prerequisite for any conscious state) regulates only the level of wakefulness. There is good reason to believe that brainstem arousal is valenced and has phenomenal properties of its own.
