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Ji X, Elmoznino E, Deane G, Constant A, Dumas G, Lajoie G, Simon J, Bengio Y. Sources of richness and ineffability for phenomenally conscious states. Neurosci Conscious 2024; 2024:niae001. [PMID: 38487679 PMCID: PMC10939345 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niae001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Conscious states-state that there is something it is like to be in-seem both rich or full of detail and ineffable or hard to fully describe or recall. The problem of ineffability, in particular, is a longstanding issue in philosophy that partly motivates the explanatory gap: the belief that consciousness cannot be reduced to underlying physical processes. Here, we provide an information theoretic dynamical systems perspective on the richness and ineffability of consciousness. In our framework, the richness of conscious experience corresponds to the amount of information in a conscious state and ineffability corresponds to the amount of information lost at different stages of processing. We describe how attractor dynamics in working memory would induce impoverished recollections of our original experiences, how the discrete symbolic nature of language is insufficient for describing the rich and high-dimensional structure of experiences, and how similarity in the cognitive function of two individuals relates to improved communicability of their experiences to each other. While our model may not settle all questions relating to the explanatory gap, it makes progress toward a fully physicalist explanation of the richness and ineffability of conscious experience-two important aspects that seem to be part of what makes qualitative character so puzzling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu Ji
- Mila - Quebec AI Institute, Montreal, Quebec H2S 3H1, Canada
- Department of Computer Science and Operations Research, University of Montreal, Pavillon André-Aisenstadt 2920, chemin de la Tour, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Eric Elmoznino
- Mila - Quebec AI Institute, Montreal, Quebec H2S 3H1, Canada
- Department of Computer Science and Operations Research, University of Montreal, Pavillon André-Aisenstadt 2920, chemin de la Tour, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - George Deane
- Department of Philosophy, University of Montreal, Pavillon 2910, boul. Édouard-Montpetit, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Axel Constant
- School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Sussex House, Falmer, East Sussex BN1 9RH, United Kingdom
| | - Guillaume Dumas
- Mila - Quebec AI Institute, Montreal, Quebec H2S 3H1, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montreal, Pavillon Roger-Gaudry 2900, boul. Édouard-Montpetit, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Guillaume Lajoie
- Mila - Quebec AI Institute, Montreal, Quebec H2S 3H1, Canada
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Montreal, Pavillon André-Aisenstadt (AA-5190) 2920, chemin de la Tour, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Jonathan Simon
- Department of Philosophy, University of Montreal, Pavillon 2910, boul. Édouard-Montpetit, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Yoshua Bengio
- Mila - Quebec AI Institute, Montreal, Quebec H2S 3H1, Canada
- Department of Computer Science and Operations Research, University of Montreal, Pavillon André-Aisenstadt 2920, chemin de la Tour, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
- CIFAR - Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, MaRS Centre, West Tower 661 University Ave., Suite 505, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1M1, Canada
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2
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Clark A, Constant A. The strangest particles in the world. Phys Life Rev 2024; 48:169-171. [PMID: 38246029 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2023.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Andy Clark
- Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom; Department of Philosophy, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom; Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | - Axel Constant
- Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
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3
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Constant A, Friston KJ, Clark A. Cultivating creativity: predictive brains and the enlightened room problem. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220415. [PMID: 38104605 PMCID: PMC10725762 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
How can one conciliate the claim that humans are uncertainty minimizing systems that seek to navigate predictable and familiar environments with the claim that humans can be creative? We call this the Enlightened Room Problem (ERP). The solution, we suggest, lies not (or not only) in the error-minimizing brain but in the environment itself. Creativity emerges from various degrees of interplay between predictive brains and changing environments: ones that repeatedly move the goalposts for our own error-minimizing machinery. By (co)constructing these challenging worlds, we effectively alter and expand the space within which our own prediction engines operate, and that function as 'exploration bubbles' that enable information seeking, uncertainty minimizing minds to penetrate deeper and deeper into artistic, scientific and engineering space. In what follows, we offer a proof of principle for this kind of environmentally led cognitive expansion. This article is part of the theme issue 'Art, aesthetics and predictive processing: theoretical and empirical perspectives'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Constant
- Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RH, UK
| | - Karl John Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Andy Clark
- Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RH, UK
- Department of Philosophy, and Dept of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RH, UK
- Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
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4
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Friston KJ, Parr T, Heins C, Constant A, Friedman D, Isomura T, Fields C, Verbelen T, Ramstead M, Clippinger J, Frith CD. Federated inference and belief sharing. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 156:105500. [PMID: 38056542 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
This paper concerns the distributed intelligence or federated inference that emerges under belief-sharing among agents who share a common world-and world model. Imagine, for example, several animals keeping a lookout for predators. Their collective surveillance rests upon being able to communicate their beliefs-about what they see-among themselves. But, how is this possible? Here, we show how all the necessary components arise from minimising free energy. We use numerical studies to simulate the generation, acquisition and emergence of language in synthetic agents. Specifically, we consider inference, learning and selection as minimising the variational free energy of posterior (i.e., Bayesian) beliefs about the states, parameters and structure of generative models, respectively. The common theme-that attends these optimisation processes-is the selection of actions that minimise expected free energy, leading to active inference, learning and model selection (a.k.a., structure learning). We first illustrate the role of communication in resolving uncertainty about the latent states of a partially observed world, on which agents have complementary perspectives. We then consider the acquisition of the requisite language-entailed by a likelihood mapping from an agent's beliefs to their overt expression (e.g., speech)-showing that language can be transmitted across generations by active learning. Finally, we show that language is an emergent property of free energy minimisation, when agents operate within the same econiche. We conclude with a discussion of various perspectives on these phenomena; ranging from cultural niche construction, through federated learning, to the emergence of complexity in ensembles of self-organising systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK; VERSES AI Research Lab, Los Angeles, CA 90016, USA.
| | - Thomas Parr
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK
| | - Conor Heins
- VERSES AI Research Lab, Los Angeles, CA 90016, USA; Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78457 Konstanz, Germany; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, 78457 Konstanz, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Axel Constant
- VERSES AI Research Lab, Los Angeles, CA 90016, USA; School of Engineering and Informatics, The University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Daniel Friedman
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA; Active Inference Institute, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Takuya Isomura
- Brain Intelligence Theory Unit, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Chris Fields
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Tim Verbelen
- VERSES AI Research Lab, Los Angeles, CA 90016, USA
| | - Maxwell Ramstead
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK; VERSES AI Research Lab, Los Angeles, CA 90016, USA
| | | | - Christopher D Frith
- Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Studies, University of London, UK
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Tabor A, Constant A. Lifeworlds in pain: a principled method for investigation and intervention. Neurosci Conscious 2023; 2023:niad021. [PMID: 37711314 PMCID: PMC10499064 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niad021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The experience of pain spans biological, psychological and sociocultural realms, both basic and complex, it is by turns necessary and devastating. Despite an extensive knowledge of the constituents of pain, the ability to translate this into effective intervention remains limited. It is suggested that current, multiscale, medical approaches, largely informed by the biopsychosocial (BPS) model, attempt to integrate knowledge but are undermined by an epistemological obligation, one that necessitates a prior isolation of the constituent parts. To overcome this impasse, we propose that an anthropological stance needs to be taken, underpinned by a Bayesian apparatus situated in computational psychiatry. Here, pain is presented within the context of lifeworlds, where attention is shifted away from the constituents of experience (e.g. nociception, reward processing and fear-avoidance), towards the dynamic affiliation that occurs between these processes over time. We argue that one can derive a principled method of investigation and intervention for pain from modelling approaches in computational psychiatry. We suggest that these modelling methods provide the necessary apparatus to navigate multiscale ontology and epistemology of pain. Finally, a unified approach to the experience of pain is presented, where the relational, inter-subjective phenomenology of pain is brought into contact with a principled method of translation; in so doing, revealing the conditions and possibilities of lifeworlds in pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abby Tabor
- Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Ln, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Axel Constant
- Department of Engineering and Informatics, The University of Sussex, Chichester 1 Room 002, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK
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Friston K, Friedman DA, Constant A, Knight VB, Fields C, Parr T, Campbell JO. A Variational Synthesis of Evolutionary and Developmental Dynamics. Entropy (Basel) 2023; 25:964. [PMID: 37509911 PMCID: PMC10378262 DOI: 10.3390/e25070964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
This paper introduces a variational formulation of natural selection, paying special attention to the nature of 'things' and the way that different 'kinds' of 'things' are individuated from-and influence-each other. We use the Bayesian mechanics of particular partitions to understand how slow phylogenetic processes constrain-and are constrained by-fast, phenotypic processes. The main result is a formulation of adaptive fitness as a path integral of phenotypic fitness. Paths of least action, at the phenotypic and phylogenetic scales, can then be read as inference and learning processes, respectively. In this view, a phenotype actively infers the state of its econiche under a generative model, whose parameters are learned via natural (Bayesian model) selection. The ensuing variational synthesis features some unexpected aspects. Perhaps the most notable is that it is not possible to describe or model a population of conspecifics per se. Rather, it is necessary to consider populations of distinct natural kinds that influence each other. This paper is limited to a description of the mathematical apparatus and accompanying ideas. Subsequent work will use these methods for simulations and numerical analyses-and identify points of contact with related mathematical formulations of evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1E 6AP, UK
| | - Daniel A Friedman
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Active Inference Institute, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Axel Constant
- Theory and Method in Biosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - V Bleu Knight
- Active Inference Institute, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
| | - Chris Fields
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Thomas Parr
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1E 6AP, UK
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7
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Constant A, Clark A, Kirchhoff M, Friston KJ. Extended active inference: Constructing predictive cognition beyond skulls. Mind Lang 2022; 37:373-394. [PMID: 35875359 PMCID: PMC9292365 DOI: 10.1111/mila.12330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Revised: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive niche construction is the process whereby organisms create and maintain cause-effect models of their niche as guides for fitness influencing behavior. Extended mind theory claims that cognitive processes extend beyond the brain to include predictable states of the world. Active inference and predictive processing in cognitive science assume that organisms embody predictive (i.e., generative) models of the world optimized by standard cognitive functions (e.g., perception, action, learning). This paper presents an active inference formulation that views cognitive niche construction as a cognitive function aimed at optimizing organisms' generative models. We call that process of optimization extended active inference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Constant
- Charles Perkins CentreThe University of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Culture, Mind, and Brain ProgramMcGill UniversityMontrealQuebecCanada
- Wellcome Centre for Human NeuroimagingUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Andy Clark
- Department of PhilosophyThe University of SussexBrightonUK
- Department of InformaticsThe University of SussexBrightonUK
- Department of PhilosophyMacquarie UniversitySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Michael Kirchhoff
- Department of PhilosophyUniversity of WollongongWollongongNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Karl J. Friston
- Culture, Mind, and Brain ProgramMcGill UniversityMontrealQuebecCanada
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8
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Badcock PB, Ramstead MJD, Sheikhbahaee Z, Constant A. Applying the Free Energy Principle to Complex Adaptive Systems. Entropy 2022; 24:e24050689. [PMID: 35626572 PMCID: PMC9141822 DOI: 10.3390/e24050689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paul B. Badcock
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
- Orygen, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
- Correspondence:
| | - Maxwell J. D. Ramstead
- VERSES Research Lab and the Spatial Web Foundation, Los Angeles, CA 90016, USA;
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Zahra Sheikhbahaee
- David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada;
| | - Axel Constant
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, John Hopkins Drive, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia;
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9
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Constant A, Badcock P, Friston K, Kirmayer LJ. Integrating Evolutionary, Cultural, and Computational Psychiatry: A Multilevel Systemic Approach. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:763380. [PMID: 35444580 PMCID: PMC9013887 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.763380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper proposes an integrative perspective on evolutionary, cultural and computational approaches to psychiatry. These three approaches attempt to frame mental disorders as multiscale entities and offer modes of explanations and modeling strategies that can inform clinical practice. Although each of these perspectives involves systemic thinking, each is limited in its ability to address the complex developmental trajectories and larger social systemic interactions that lead to mental disorders. Inspired by computational modeling in theoretical biology, this paper aims to integrate the modes of explanation offered by evolutionary, cultural and computational psychiatry in a multilevel systemic perspective. We apply the resulting Evolutionary, Cultural and Computational (ECC) model to Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) to illustrate how this integrative approach can guide research and practice in psychiatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Constant
- Department of Philosophy, The University of Sydney, Darlington, NSW, Australia
| | - Paul Badcock
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Orygen, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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10
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Ramstead MJD, Seth AK, Hesp C, Sandved-Smith L, Mago J, Lifshitz M, Pagnoni G, Smith R, Dumas G, Lutz A, Friston K, Constant A. From Generative Models to Generative Passages: A Computational Approach to (Neuro) Phenomenology. Rev Philos Psychol 2022; 13:829-857. [PMID: 35317021 PMCID: PMC8932094 DOI: 10.1007/s13164-021-00604-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
This paper presents a version of neurophenomenology based on generative modelling techniques developed in computational neuroscience and biology. Our approach can be described as computational phenomenology because it applies methods originally developed in computational modelling to provide a formal model of the descriptions of lived experience in the phenomenological tradition of philosophy (e.g., the work of Edmund Husserl, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, etc.). The first section presents a brief review of the overall project to naturalize phenomenology. The second section presents and evaluates philosophical objections to that project and situates our version of computational phenomenology with respect to these projects. The third section reviews the generative modelling framework. The final section presents our approach in detail. We conclude by discussing how our approach differs from previous attempts to use generative modelling to help understand consciousness. In summary, we describe a version of computational phenomenology which uses generative modelling to construct a computational model of the inferential or interpretive processes that best explain this or that kind of lived experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxwell J. D. Ramstead
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
- VERSES Research Lab and Spatial Web Foundation, Los Angeles, California USA
| | - Anil K. Seth
- School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QJ UK
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Program on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1M1 Canada
| | - Casper Hesp
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Centre, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam, Oude Turfmarkt 147, 1012 GC Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Lars Sandved-Smith
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon 1 University, Lyon, France
| | - Jonas Mago
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Michael Lifshitz
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Montreal Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada
| | - Giuseppe Pagnoni
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Ryan Smith
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, Oklahoma USA
| | - Guillaume Dumas
- CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Antoine Lutz
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon 1 University, Lyon, France
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
- VERSES Research Lab and Spatial Web Foundation, Los Angeles, California USA
| | - Axel Constant
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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11
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Godet A, Fortier A, Constant A, Serrand Y, Bannier E, Coquery N, Val-Laillet D. L’hyperphagie émotionnelle comme moteur potentiel d’une addiction alimentaire chez de jeunes femmes adultes françaises : une étude descriptive basée sur des questionnaires. NUTR CLIN METAB 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nupar.2021.12.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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12
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Constant A, Tschantz ADD, Millidge B, Criado-Boado F, Martinez LM, Müeller J, Clark A. The Acquisition of Culturally Patterned Attention Styles Under Active Inference. Front Neurorobot 2021; 15:729665. [PMID: 34675792 PMCID: PMC8525546 DOI: 10.3389/fnbot.2021.729665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper presents an active inference based simulation study of visual foraging. The goal of the simulation is to show the effect of the acquisition of culturally patterned attention styles on cognitive task performance, under active inference. We show how cultural artefacts like antique vase decorations drive cognitive functions such as perception, action and learning, as well as task performance in a simple visual discrimination task. We thus describe a new active inference based research pipeline that future work may employ to inquire on deep guiding principles determining the manner in which material culture drives human thought, by building and rebuilding our patterns of attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Constant
- Theory and Method in Biosciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Alexander Daniel Dunsmoir Tschantz
- Department of Informatics, The University of Sussex, Sussex, United Kingdom
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Beren Millidge
- Department of Informatics, The University of Sussex, Sussex, United Kingdom
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Felipe Criado-Boado
- Institute of Heritage Sciences, Spanish National Research Council, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Luis M Martinez
- Institute of Neurosciences, Spanish National Research Council, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Alicante, Spain
| | - Johannes Müeller
- Institute of Prehistoric and Protoshistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Andy Clark
- Department of Informatics, The University of Sussex, Sussex, United Kingdom
- Department of Philosophy, The University of Sussex, Sussex, United Kingdom
- Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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13
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Abstract
This paper proposes a formal reconstruction of the script construct by leveraging the active inference framework, a behavioral modeling framework that casts action, perception, emotions, and attention as processes of (Bayesian or variational) inference. We propose a first principles account of the script construct that integrates its different uses in the behavioral and social sciences. We begin by reviewing the recent literature that uses the script construct. We then examine the main mathematical and computational features of active inference. Finally, we leverage the resources of active inference to offer a formal model of scripts. Our integrative model accounts for the dual nature of scripts (as internal, psychological schema used by agents to make sense of event types and as constitutive behavioral categories that make up the social order) and also for the stronger and weaker conceptions of the construct (which do and do not relate to explicit action sequences, respectively).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahault Albarracin
- Département d’informatique Cognitive, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Axel Constant
- Division of Social Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Karl J. Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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14
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Friedman DA, Tschantz A, Ramstead MJD, Friston K, Constant A. Active Inferants: An Active Inference Framework for Ant Colony Behavior. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:647732. [PMID: 34248515 PMCID: PMC8264549 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.647732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In this paper, we introduce an active inference model of ant colony foraging behavior, and implement the model in a series of in silico experiments. Active inference is a multiscale approach to behavioral modeling that is being applied across settings in theoretical biology and ethology. The ant colony is a classic case system in the function of distributed systems in terms of stigmergic decision-making and information sharing. Here we specify and simulate a Markov decision process (MDP) model for ant colony foraging. We investigate a well-known paradigm from laboratory ant colony behavioral experiments, the alternating T-maze paradigm, to illustrate the ability of the model to recover basic colony phenomena such as trail formation after food location discovery. We conclude by outlining how the active inference ant colony foraging behavioral model can be extended and situated within a nested multiscale framework and systems approaches to biology more generally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Ari Friedman
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Active Inference Lab, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Alec Tschantz
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
- Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Maxwell J. D. Ramstead
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Spatial Web Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Axel Constant
- Theory and Method in Biosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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15
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Constant A, Hesp C, Davey CG, Friston KJ, Badcock PB. Why Depressed Mood is Adaptive: A Numerical Proof of Principle for an Evolutionary Systems Theory of Depression. Comput Psychiatr 2021; 5:60-80. [PMID: 34113717 PMCID: PMC7610949 DOI: 10.5334/cpsy.70] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
We provide a proof of principle for an evolutionary systems theory (EST) of depression. This theory suggests that normative depressive symptoms counter socioenvironmental volatility by increasing interpersonal support via social signalling and that this response depends upon the encoding of uncertainty about social contingencies, which can be targeted by neuromodulatory antidepressants. We simulated agents that committed to a series of decisions in a social two-arm bandit task before and after social adversity, which precipitated depressive symptoms. Responses to social adversity were modelled under various combinations of social support and pharmacotherapy. The normative depressive phenotype responded positively to social support and simulated treatments with antidepressants. Attracting social support and administering antidepressants also alleviated anhedonia and social withdrawal, speaking to improvements in interpersonal relationships. These results support the EST of depression by demonstrating that following adversity, normative depressed mood preserved social inclusion with appropriate interpersonal support or pharmacotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Constant
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, AU; Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, CA; Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, UK
| | - Casper Hesp
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, UK; Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, NL; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center, University of Amsterdam, NL; Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam, NL
| | - Christopher G Davey
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, AU; Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, AU
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, UK
| | - Paul B Badcock
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, AU; Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, AU; Orygen, AU
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Ciaunica A, Constant A, Preissl H, Fotopoulou K. The first prior: From co-embodiment to co-homeostasis in early life. Conscious Cogn 2021; 91:103117. [PMID: 33872985 PMCID: PMC7612030 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The idea that our perceptions in the here and now are influenced by prior events and experiences has recently received substantial support and attention from the proponents of the Predictive Processing (PP) and Active Inference framework in philosophy and computational neuroscience. In this paper we look at how perceptual experiences get off the ground from the outset, in utero. One basic yet overlooked aspect of current PP approaches is that human organisms first develop within another human body. Crucially, while not all humans will have the experience of being pregnant or carrying a baby, the experience of being carried and growing within another person's body is universal. Specifically, we focus on the development of minimal selfhood in utero as a process co-embodiment and co-homeostasis, and highlight their close relationship. We conclude with some implications on several critical questions fuelling current debates on the nature of conscious experiences, minimal self and social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Ciaunica
- Institute of Philosophy, University of Porto, Via Panoramica s/n 4150-564, Porto, Portugal; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, WC1N 3AR London, UK.
| | - Axel Constant
- Theory and Method in Biosciences, The University of Sydney, Level 6, Charles Perkins Centre D17, Johns Hopkins Drive, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Hubert Preissl
- Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, Department of Internal Medicine IV, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetology, and Nephrology, University Hospital Tübingen, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Katerina Fotopoulou
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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17
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Raffin S, Guy-Grand B, Lommez A, Constant A, Boulic G. Évaluation du programme VIF : étude longitudinale sur 4 ans. NUTR CLIN METAB 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nupar.2021.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Abstract
Over the last 30 years, representationalist and dynamicist positions in the philosophy of cognitive science have argued over whether neurocognitive processes should be viewed as representational or not. Major scientific and technological developments over the years have furnished both parties with ever more sophisticated conceptual weaponry. In recent years, an enactive generalization of predictive processing – known as active inference – has been proposed as a unifying theory of brain functions. Since then, active inference has fueled both representationalist and dynamicist campaigns. However, we believe that when diving into the formal details of active inference, one should be able to find a solution to the war; if not a peace treaty, surely an armistice of a sort. Based on an analysis of these formal details, this paper shows how both representationalist and dynamicist sensibilities can peacefully coexist within the new territory of active inference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Constant
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Andy Clark
- Department of Philosophy, The University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.,Department of Informatics, The University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.,Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Ramstead MJD, Hesp C, Tschantz A, Smith R, Constant A, Friston K. Neural and phenotypic representation under the free-energy principle. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 120:109-122. [PMID: 33271162 PMCID: PMC7955287 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to leverage the free-energy principle and its corollary process theory, active inference, to develop a generic, generalizable model of the representational capacities of living creatures; that is, a theory of phenotypic representation. Given their ubiquity, we are concerned with distributed forms of representation (e.g., population codes), whereby patterns of ensemble activity in living tissue come to represent the causes of sensory input or data. The active inference framework rests on the Markov blanket formalism, which allows us to partition systems of interest, such as biological systems, into internal states, external states, and the blanket (active and sensory) states that render internal and external states conditionally independent of each other. In this framework, the representational capacity of living creatures emerges as a consequence of their Markovian structure and nonequilibrium dynamics, which together entail a dual-aspect information geometry. This entails a modest representational capacity: internal states have an intrinsic information geometry that describes their trajectory over time in state space, as well as an extrinsic information geometry that allows internal states to encode (the parameters of) probabilistic beliefs about (fictive) external states. Building on this, we describe here how, in an automatic and emergent manner, information about stimuli can come to be encoded by groups of neurons bound by a Markov blanket; what is known as the neuronal packet hypothesis. As a concrete demonstration of this type of emergent representation, we present numerical simulations showing that self-organizing ensembles of active inference agents sharing the right kind of probabilistic generative model are able to encode recoverable information about a stimulus array.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxwell J D Ramstead
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N3BG, UK.
| | - Casper Hesp
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N3BG, UK; Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Centre, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam, Oude Turfmarkt 147, 1012 GC Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Alexander Tschantz
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK; Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
| | - Ryan Smith
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, USA.
| | - Axel Constant
- Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N3BG, UK; Theory and Method in Biosciences, Level 6, Charles Perkins Centre D17, Johns Hopkins Drive, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N3BG, UK.
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Hipólito I, Ramstead M, Constant A, Friston KJ. Cognition coming about: Self-organisation and free-energy: Commentary on Wright, J.J. and Bourke, P.D. (2020) "The growth of cognition: Free energy minimization and the embryogenesis of cortical computation". Phys Life Rev 2020; 36:44-46. [PMID: 32883601 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2020.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Wright and Bourke's compelling article rightly points out that existing models of embryogenesis fail to explain the mechanisms and functional significance of the dynamic connections among neurons. We pursue their account of Dynamic Logic by appealing to the Markov blanket formalism that underwrites the Free Energy Principle. We submit that this allows one to model embryogenesis as self-organisation in a dynamical system that minimises free-energy. The ensuing formalism may be extended to also explain the autonomous emergence of cognition, specifically in the brain, as a dynamic self-assembling process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inês Hipólito
- Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Australia; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, United Kingdom.
| | - Maxwell Ramstead
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada; Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Canada; Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - Axel Constant
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Australia
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, United Kingdom
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21
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Constant A, Friston KJ, Ramstead MJD. What kind of explanation is the constructing and coasting strategy?: Comment on: "The sense of should: A biologically-based framework for modeling social pressure" by Jordan E. Theriault, Liane Young, and Lisa Feldman Barrett. Phys Life Rev 2020; 36:80-82. [PMID: 32536536 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2020.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Axel Constant
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Australia; Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, UK; Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Canada.
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, UK
| | - Maxwell J D Ramstead
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, UK; Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Canada; Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Vasil J, Badcock PB, Constant A, Friston K, Ramstead MJD. A World Unto Itself: Human Communication as Active Inference. Front Psychol 2020; 11:417. [PMID: 32269536 PMCID: PMC7109408 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent theoretical work in developmental psychology suggests that humans are predisposed to align their mental states with those of other individuals. One way this manifests is in cooperative communication; that is, intentional communication aimed at aligning individuals' mental states with respect to events in their shared environment. This idea has received strong empirical support. The purpose of this paper is to extend this account by proposing an integrative model of the biobehavioral dynamics of cooperative communication. Our formulation is based on active inference. Active inference suggests that action-perception cycles operate to minimize uncertainty and optimize an individual's internal model of the world. We propose that humans are characterized by an evolved adaptive prior belief that their mental states are aligned with, or similar to, those of conspecifics (i.e., that 'we are the same sort of creature, inhabiting the same sort of niche'). The use of cooperative communication emerges as the principal means to gather evidence for this belief, allowing for the development of a shared narrative that is used to disambiguate interactants' (hidden and inferred) mental states. Thus, by using cooperative communication, individuals effectively attune to a hermeneutic niche composed, in part, of others' mental states; and, reciprocally, attune the niche to their own ends via epistemic niche construction. This means that niche construction enables features of the niche to encode precise, reliable cues about the deontic or shared value of certain action policies (e.g., the utility of using communicative constructions to disambiguate mental states, given expectations about shared prior beliefs). In turn, the alignment of mental states (prior beliefs) enables the emergence of a novel, contextualizing scale of cultural dynamics that encompasses the actions and mental states of the ensemble of interactants and their shared environment. The dynamics of this contextualizing layer of cultural organization feedback, across scales, to constrain the variability of the prior expectations of the individuals who constitute it. Our theory additionally builds upon the active inference literature by introducing a new set of neurobiologically plausible computational hypotheses for cooperative communication. We conclude with directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared Vasil
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Paul B. Badcock
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Orygen, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Axel Constant
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Maxwell J. D. Ramstead
- Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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23
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Ramstead MJD, Constant A, Badcock PB, Friston KJ. Variational ecology and the physics of sentient systems. Phys Life Rev 2019; 31:188-205. [PMID: 30655223 PMCID: PMC6941227 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2018.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Revised: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 12/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
This paper addresses the challenges faced by multiscale formulations of the variational (free energy) approach to dynamics that obtain for large-scale ensembles. We review a framework for modelling complex adaptive control systems for multiscale free energy bounding organism-niche dynamics, thereby integrating the modelling strategies and heuristics of variational neuroethology with a broader perspective on the ecological nestedness of biotic systems. We extend the multiscale variational formulation beyond the action-perception loops of individual organisms by appealing to the variational approach to niche construction to explain the dynamics of coupled systems constituted by organisms and their ecological niche. We suggest that the statistical robustness of living systems is inherited, in part, from their eco-niches, as niches help coordinate dynamical patterns across larger spatiotemporal scales. We call this approach variational ecology. We argue that, when applied to cultural animals such as humans, variational ecology enables us to formulate not just a physics of individual minds, but also a physics of interacting minds across spatial and temporal scales - a physics of sentient systems that range from cells to societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxwell J D Ramstead
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1A1, Canada; Department of Philosophy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2T7, Canada; Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
| | - Axel Constant
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N 3BG, UK; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center, The University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1098 XH, the Netherlands
| | - Paul B Badcock
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 3010, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 3052, Australia; Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, 3052, Australia
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
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Constant A, Ramstead MJD, Veissière SPL, Campbell JO, Friston KJ. A variational approach to niche construction. J R Soc Interface 2019; 15:rsif.2017.0685. [PMID: 29643221 PMCID: PMC5938575 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2017.0685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In evolutionary biology, niche construction is sometimes described as a genuine evolutionary process whereby organisms, through their activities and regulatory mechanisms, modify their environment such as to steer their own evolutionary trajectory, and that of other species. There is ongoing debate, however, on the extent to which niche construction ought to be considered a bona fide evolutionary force, on a par with natural selection. Recent formulations of the variational free-energy principle as applied to the life sciences describe the properties of living systems, and their selection in evolution, in terms of variational inference. We argue that niche construction can be described using a variational approach. We propose new arguments to support the niche construction perspective, and to extend the variational approach to niche construction to current perspectives in various scientific fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Constant
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Brain and Cognition Unit, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium .,Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maxwell J D Ramstead
- Department of Philosophy, McGill University, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, H3A 2T7, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, 1033 Pine Avenue, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Samuel P L Veissière
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, 1033 Pine Avenue, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Department of Anthropology, McGill University, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, H3A 2T7, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
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Constant A, Ramstead MJD, Veissière SPL, Friston K. Regimes of Expectations: An Active Inference Model of Social Conformity and Human Decision Making. Front Psychol 2019; 10:679. [PMID: 30988668 PMCID: PMC6452780 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
How do humans come to acquire shared expectations about how they ought to behave in distinct normalized social settings? This paper offers a normative framework to answer this question. We introduce the computational construct of 'deontic value' - based on active inference and Markov decision processes - to formalize conceptions of social conformity and human decision-making. Deontic value is an attribute of choices, behaviors, or action sequences that inherit directly from deontic cues in our econiche (e.g., red traffic lights); namely, cues that denote an obligatory social rule. Crucially, the prosocial aspect of deontic value rests upon a particular form of circular causality: deontic cues exist in the environment in virtue of the environment being modified by repeated actions, while action itself is contingent upon the deontic value of environmental cues. We argue that this construction of deontic cues enables the epistemic (i.e., information-seeking) and pragmatic (i.e., goal- seeking) values of any behavior to be 'cached' or 'outsourced' to the environment, where the environment effectively 'learns' about the behavior of its denizens. We describe the process whereby this particular aspect of value enables learning of habitual behavior over neurodevelopmental and transgenerational timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Constant
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Maxwell J. D. Ramstead
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Philosophy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Samuel P. L. Veissière
- Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Anthropology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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26
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Ramstead MJD, Kirchhoff MD, Constant A, Friston KJ. Multiscale integration: beyond internalism and externalism. Synthese 2019; 198:41-70. [PMID: 33627890 PMCID: PMC7873008 DOI: 10.1007/s11229-019-02115-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
We present a multiscale integrationist interpretation of the boundaries of cognitive systems, using the Markov blanket formalism of the variational free energy principle. This interpretation is intended as a corrective for the philosophical debate over internalist and externalist interpretations of cognitive boundaries; we stake out a compromise position. We first survey key principles of new radical (extended, enactive, embodied) views of cognition. We then describe an internalist interpretation premised on the Markov blanket formalism. Having reviewed these accounts, we develop our positive multiscale account. We argue that the statistical seclusion of internal from external states of the system-entailed by the existence of a Markov boundary-can coexist happily with the multiscale integration of the system through its dynamics. Our approach does not privilege any given boundary (whether it be that of the brain, body, or world), nor does it argue that all boundaries are equally prescient. We argue that the relevant boundaries of cognition depend on the level being characterised and the explanatory interests that guide investigation. We approach the issue of how and where to draw the boundaries of cognitive systems through a multiscale ontology of cognitive systems, which offers a multidisciplinary research heuristic for cognitive science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxwell J. D. Ramstead
- Department of Philosophy, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N3BG UK
| | - Michael D. Kirchhoff
- Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Axel Constant
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N3BG UK
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Centre, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Karl J. Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N3BG UK
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Moens P, Banerjee A, Constant A, Coppens P, Caesar M, Li Z, Vandeweghe S, Declercq F, Padmanabhan B, Jeon W, Guo J, Salih A, Tack M, Meneghini M, Dalcanale S, Tajilli A, Meneghesso G, Zanoni E, Uren M, Chatterjee I, Karboyan S, Kuball M. (Invited) Intrinsic Reliability Assessment of 650V Rated AlGaN/GaN Based Power Devices: An Industry Perspective. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016. [DOI: 10.1149/07204.0065ecst] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Peretti-Watel P, Gautier A, Verger P, Raude J, Constant A, Beck F. Comment attrape-t-on la grippe ? Les croyances des Français en 2010. Rev Epidemiol Sante Publique 2015; 63:1-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.respe.2014.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2013] [Revised: 10/05/2014] [Accepted: 10/14/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022] Open
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Peretti-Watel P, Verger P, Raude J, Constant A, Gautier A, Jestin C, Beck F. Dramatic change in public attitudes towards vaccination during the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic in France. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 18. [PMID: 24176658 DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.es2013.18.44.20623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the potential impact of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic on attitudes towards vaccination among people aged 18 to 75 years and living in metropolitan France. We used data from three national telephone surveys conducted on representative samples in 2000, 2005 and 2010 (n=12,256, n=23,931, n=8,573 respectively). In France, unfavourable attitudes towards vaccination in general dramatically increased from 8.5% in 2000 and 9.6% in 2005 to 38.2% in 2010. In 2010, among respondents who held unfavourable attitudes towards vaccination, 50% mentioned specifically their opposition to the influenza A(H1N1) vaccine. The sociodemographic profile associated with these attitudes also changed greatly. In particular, unfavourable attitudes towards vaccination in general became significantly more frequent among less educated people in 2010. These attitudes were also correlated with vaccination behaviours. For example, parents who were unfavourable towards vaccination in general were more likely to report that they had at least one child who did not get the measlesmumps- rubella vaccine. As this shift in attitude may have a significant impact on future vaccination coverage, health authorities should urgently address the vaccine confidence gap.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Peretti-Watel
- INSERM, UMR912 Economics and Social Sciences Applied to Health and Analysis of Medical Information (SESSTIM), Marseille, France
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Lagarde E, Salmi LR, Messiah A, Felonneau ML, Constant A. BICYCLISTS HELMET USE IN A FRENCH CITY. RESULTS FROM A FOLLOW-UP STUDY USING A SEMI-AUTOMATED VIDEO DETECTION SYSTEM. Inj Prev 2012. [DOI: 10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040580c.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Constant A, Felonneau ML, Lagarde E, Messiah A. Investigating risk compensation theory in cyclists: results from intelligent video analysis system. Inj Prev 2010. [DOI: 10.1136/ip.2010.029215.827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Constant A, Encrenaz G, Lafont S, Chiron M, Lagarde E, Messiah A. Factors associated with the adoption of drinking and driving during a zero tolerance period: results from a 6-years study in the GAZEL cohort. Inj Prev 2010. [DOI: 10.1136/ip.2010.029215.822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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Constant A, Salmi LR, Lafont S, Chiron M, Lagarde E. The recent dramatic decline in road mortality in France: how drivers' attitudes towards road traffic safety changed between 2001 and 2004 in the GAZEL cohort. Health Educ Res 2008; 23:848-858. [PMID: 18063651 DOI: 10.1093/her/cym072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
A very significant decline in the number of road casualties has been observed recently in France, concomitantly with a dramatic increase in law enforcement. The aim of this study was (i) to assess changes in attitudes about road traffic accident (RTA) prevention initiatives in France from 2001 to 2004 and (ii) to identify factors associated with an increase in positive attitudes towards RTA prevention initiatives. In 2001 and 2004, 9216 participants reported their attitudes towards traffic safety using the same self-administered Driving Behaviour and Road Safety Questionnaire. Sociodemographic, psychological and behavioural data were also available. The mean change in scores analysis showed that support for relaxing existing regulations decreased significantly during this period, while support for heightened enforcement and stricter regulations showed some decrease but remained high overall, especially concerning blood alcohol content and speed controls. Multivariate analyses suggest that highly educated drivers changed their attitudes towards road safety regulations more than other categories. Our results suggest that increased traffic law enforcement measures led to increasing support for current restrictions. Even if support for additional traffic law enforcement began to wane slightly in 2004, a large part of our population remained in favour of strengthening law enforcement related to speeding and drunk driving.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Constant
- INSERM U593, Equipe Avenir, Prévention et prise en charge des Traumatismes, IFR99, ISPED, Bordeaux, F-33076, France
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Castera L, Constant A, Henry C, Champbenoit P, Bernard PH, De Ledinghen V, Demotes-Mainard J, Couzigou P. Impact on adherence and sustained virological response of psychiatric side effects during peginterferon and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2006; 24:1223-30. [PMID: 17014581 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2006.03107.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The psychiatric side effects of interferon, often responsible for dose reduction or treatment discontinuation, represent a major limitation in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC). AIM To prospectively assess the impact on adherence and sustained virological response (SVR) of the occurrence of psychiatric side effects during peginterferon and ribavirin therapy for CHC. METHODS Ninety-eight consecutive treatment-naïve CHC patients receiving a standard course of peginterferon plus ribavirin were systematically screened for psychiatric side effects, using DSM-IV, at baseline and both during and after treatment. RESULTS Psychiatric side effects occurred in 38 patients (39%), mostly within the first 12 weeks (87%), and always consisted of mood disorders. Overall, 68% of patients achieved an SVR (71% of patients with mood disorders and 68% of those without; P = N.S.). Peginterferon and ribavirin dose reductions did not differ between patients with mood disorders and those without (46% vs. 37%, respectively; P = N.S. and 13% vs. 22%, respectively; P = N.S.). Anti-viral therapy had to be discontinued in four patients (nonresponse: two, hyperthyroidism: one, psychiatric event: one). CONCLUSION Early detection and appropriate management of psychiatric side effects during peginterferon and ribavirin therapy for CHC allow optimizing adherence and virological efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Castera
- Service d'Hépato-Gastroenterologie, C.H.U. Bordeaux, Hôpital Haut Lévêque, Avenue Magellan, 33604 Pessac, France.
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Abstract
The aim of this prospective study was to investigate beliefs regarding disease severity and lifestyle changes following hepatitis C diagnosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). One hundred and eighty-five consecutive CHC patients were interviewed by means of self-questionnaires exploring several aspects of their disease. Most patients (93%) identified cirrhosis and liver cancer as the two main complications of CHC. More than half of patients (59%) thought that CHC was always associated with a fatal outcome whereas 3% thought that they would stay healthy. HCV viral load was the most commonly reported factor associated with disease severity. Sex life changes were reported by 107 patients (58%) whereas dietary intake changes were reported by 88 patients (48%). In multivariate analysis, changes in sex life were associated with male gender [odds ratio (OR): 2.57, 95% CI: 1.30-5.08, P < 0.007], perceived disease severity (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.00-1.03, P < 0.03) and anxiety (OR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01-1.08, P < 0.003), whereas changes in dietary intake were associated with age (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02-1.08, P < 0.003) and anxiety (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.08, P < 0.006). Our results show the considerable impact of CHC diagnosis on patients' lifestyle. They emphasize the need for improving CHC patient counselling in order to avoid unnecessary sex life and dietary intake changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Castera
- Service d'Hépato-Gastroentérologie, Hôpital Haut Lévêque, Pessac, France.
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Gromaire MC, Chebbo G, Constant A. Impact of zinc roofing on urban runoff pollutant loads: the case of Paris. Water Sci Technol 2002; 45:113-122. [PMID: 11989886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Previous research on the Marais catchment in Paris demonstrated the very high zinc and cadmium contamination of runoff from zinc roofing. Thus further investigations were aimed at evaluating the relative importance of this type of roofing in Paris and its potential contribution to zinc and cadmium loads in wet weather flows. According to these results, about 40% of the surface of roofs in Paris is covered with rolled zinc (1016 ha), and this proportion is not likely to vary significantly in the next years, due to architectural rules. The Zn and Cd concentrations measured in runoff from these roofs are in accordance with literature
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Dubrulle P, Claeys C, Amoudru C, Constant A. [Endocrine treatment of post-traumatic osteoporosis]. Therapie 1956; 11:1199-207. [PMID: 13409339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
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