Scientists are using brain activity markers to determine if newborns possess consciousness. The test involves playing a cycle of sounds, where the brain typically responds to an oddball tone with a distinctive blip. This blip is a reliable marker of consciousness, a state absent in comatose or sleeping adults.
Researchers are now applying this test to infants to see if their semi-developed brains produce the same response. While newborns are potentially conscious, they lack the cognitive abilities of adults, such as speaking or focusing their eyes. An active scientific debate exists over whether these babies are truly aware of their surroundings at this early stage.
Dr. Topun Austin, a neonatologist at the University of Cambridge, defines consciousness as mixing external perceptions with internal states to create a sense of self. However, there is no consensus on how this process emerges from neural activity. Joel Frohlich, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Tübingen, notes that while theories exist, no single explanation has gained universal agreement.
The stakes of this research have grown with advancements in neuroscience, including the implantation of human brain cells in mice and questions regarding artificial intelligence. Despite the uncertainty, researchers agree that babies will eventually become conscious. By studying this transition, scientists hope to solve one of science’s most stubborn mysteries: what consciousness is and how it emerges in all beings.
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