Doctor: Picking Up Attributes in the Hospital-Chapter 402 - 353: A Long-Awaited Pickup – Perfect-Level Psychological Counseling

Zhao Heng and Liu Meng, along with the young man, followed Gao Qilan into a consultation room.

"Please have a seat."

Gao Qilan smiled slightly and poured a few glasses of water, speaking to Zhao Heng and Liu Meng.

"Dr. Zhao, I’ve heard a lot about you. Your work in awakening the skier Sun Xinxin is perhaps the best example of brain recovery."

Right from the start, Gao Qilan expressed admiration for Zhao Heng.

As a specialist in psychology and psychiatry, Gao Qilan has done some research in brain science. Previously, deep coma patients were typically awakened using various external stimuli.

However, in Zhao Heng’s case, he went against the grain, directly using technical methods by repairing the brain using cultivated neural stem cells to awaken Sun Xinxin.

This has been a huge inspiration for many who study deep coma and brain science.

It suggests the possibility of using technical means to intervene in the realm of consciousness.

"Sun Xinxin’s case was quite special. Due to her injury, her brain suffered some damage, so using cultivated neural stem cells to repair brain tissue has clinical value. However, for purely consciousness-level comas, this method is very limited."

Zhao Heng explained.

Catching the subtleties in the conversation, Zhao Heng realized that Gao Qilan was indeed interested in brain science.

Particularly, the exploration of consciousness is something all neuroscience and psychology experts are passionate about.

What exactly is consciousness?

This is not only a scientific question but also a philosophical one.

There are foreign scholars who have conducted experiments on temporary consciousness retention after brief death, observing whether people experiencing cardiac arrest are still conscious at that time. They found that many could accurately describe situations happening around them when they were near death. Hence, scholars believe in the retention of consciousness post-death.

This raises another question: If consciousness isn’t something death can take away, is it something one is born with?

Previous research has also shown that infants are not born with consciousness. It gradually strengthens their visual response speed after five months from birth.

Why is researching consciousness so difficult?

The main reason is determining under what circumstances a person is conscious, meaning that the "boundary" marker between having and lacking consciousness hasn’t been discovered yet.

What’s more complex is that scientists have discovered the phenomenon of "blindsight." When a person’s visual cortex is damaged, they may not be able to consciously see but can still "guess" the location of visual stimuli and even catch objects thrown at them.

This indicates that sometimes the unconscious brain processes might be mistaken for conscious behavior, such as instinct.

"Even so, your experiment with the patient indicates that we can indeed exert influence and change on a material level, leading to changes on the consciousness level, which is of epoch-making significance."

Gao Qilan said to Zhao Heng with great appreciation. From the perspective of those at the branch hospital, Director Gao is a complete workaholic. At the branch hospital, Gao Qilan has a staff apartment, so she rarely leaves the hospital.

Besides eating, sleeping, and necessary life activities, Gao Qilan dedicates all her time to clinical research.

This is also why Gao Qilan’s level in the fields of psychology and psychiatry is recognized.

As for why such a capable person would come to a branch hospital as a director, that’s another story to tell.

"If viewed from the perspective of emergent consciousness theory, the role of neural stem cells in repairing brain tissue indeed holds significant research value."

Zhao Heng nodded and said. From the moment Gao Qilan started speaking, it was all about academic and research matters, with no idle talk or pleasantries, which suited Zhao Heng quite well.

In fact, Zhao Heng was never fond of empty chatter and niceties.

Furthermore, just from listening to what Gao Qilan said, Zhao Heng knew that Gao Qilan supported the emergent consciousness theory in her academic research.

The so-called emergent consciousness theory is a concept used to explain the origin of consciousness.

Some scientists have speculated that our neural cells might be controlled by certain electrochemical signals, interacting according to specific rules to give rise to intelligence and consciousness.

From the perspective of brain science, when a large number of individuals combine and interact, producing group intelligence and consciousness, this process is referred to as "emergence."

Neural cells might not be special by themselves, but communications between them give rise to consciousness. That is to say, neurons, synapses, and other life substances aren’t the decisive components for consciousness and intelligence; the most crucial aspect is the operations they perform.

The physical structure of the brain isn’t important; what matters most is what the brain does and the rules it follows.

According to this hypothesis, if we can find the rules for the emergence of consciousness and intelligence, we can detach from living organisms and establish a simulated brain.

Currently, the human brain is divided into structures of proteins, fats, and other material constructs, with core components built on carbon-based substances.

If we can find the combinatory and operational rules of consciousness, we can completely transcend the limitations of carbon-based elements, establishing a computational architecture based on silicon to simulate the brain, allowing it to remember, think, and possess self-awareness just like a real brain.

Most importantly, the human brain can connect with simulated brains, achieving information sharing and uploads and downloads.