Adversarial testing of global neuronal workspace and integrated information theories of consciousness

Abstract Different theories explain how subjective experience arises from brain activity 1,2 . These theories have independently accrued evidence, but have not been directly compared 3 . Here we present an open science adversarial collaboration directly juxtaposing integrated information theory (IIT) 4,5 and global neuronal workspace theory (GNWT) 6–10 via a theory-neutral consortium 11–13 . The theory proponents and the consortium developed and preregistered the experimental design, divergent predictions, expected outcomes and interpretation thereof 12 . Human participants ( n = 256) viewed suprathreshold stimuli for variable durations while neural activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance…