关键词: 意识, 层级性, 丰富性, 认知神经机制, 意识形成机制理论

Abstract: The Gradedness of consciousness refers to whether conscious processing follows an “all-or-none” or “gradual” mode. The Richness of consciousness refers to whether conscious representations are “rich” or “sparse”. Our consciousness experience is explored from these two perspectives, i.e., the quality and the scope of processing, respectively. These two topics represent two important pathways toward decoding one of the basic scientific inquiries of mankind, i.e., Consciousness, in that any theory of consciousness formation must provide comprehensive, accurate, and reasonable explanations to them. In this review article, we first performed a thorough analysis of recent research progress for these two topics, aiming to clarify existing contradictions and ongoing debates between different explanatory views. Next, we indicated that these two research topics are intrinsically connected since each can be traced back to the long-standing disputations on whether cognitive access is necessary for the formation of consciousness. Finally, we carried out detailed analyses and discussions on how to advance the studies of the Gradedness and Richness of consciousness, and on how to provide an integrated interpretation to the complex performance of them under different experimental situations.

Key words: Consciousness, Gradedness, Richness, Cognitive and neural mechanisms, Theory of consciousness formation