Editing Consciousness (section)

==== Mirror test and contingency awareness ====
{{Also see|Mirror test}}

[[File:Mirror Test on Octopus vulgaris.jpg|thumb|[[Mirror test]] subjected on a [[common octopus]]]]

Another approach applies specifically to the study of [[self-awareness]], that is, the ability to distinguish oneself from others. In the 1970s [[Gordon G. Gallup|Gordon Gallup]] developed an operational test for self-awareness, known as the [[mirror test]]. The test examines whether animals are able to differentiate between seeing themselves in a mirror versus seeing other animals. The classic example involves placing a spot of coloring on the skin or fur near the individual's forehead and seeing if they attempt to remove it or at least touch the spot, thus indicating that they recognize that the individual they are seeing in the mirror is themselves.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Gordon Gallup|title=Chimpanzees: Self recognition|journal=Science|volume=167|pages=86–87|year=1970|doi=10.1126/science.167.3914.86|pmid=4982211|issue=3914|bibcode=1970Sci...167...86G|s2cid=145295899|author-link=Gordon G. Gallup}}</ref> Humans (older than 18 months) and other [[Hominidae|great apes]], [[bottlenose dolphin]]s, [[orca]]s, [[Columbidae|pigeons]], [[Eurasian magpie|European magpies]] and [[elephants]] have all been observed to pass this test.<ref>{{cite journal |author=David Edelman |author2=Anil Seth |year=2009 |title=Animal consciousness: a synthetic approach |journal=Trends in Neurosciences |volume=32 |issue=9 |pages=476–484 |doi=10.1016/j.tins.2009.05.008 |pmid=19716185 |s2cid=13323524}}</ref> While some other animals like [[pig]]s have been shown to find food by looking into the mirror.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Broom |first1=Donald M. |last2=Sena |first2=Hilana |last3=Moynihan |first3=Kiera L. |date= 2009|title=Pigs learn what a mirror image represents and use it to obtain information |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347209003571 |journal=Animal Behaviour |language=en |volume=78 |issue=5 |pages=1037–1041 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.07.027}}</ref>

Contingency awareness is another such approach, which is basically the conscious understanding of one's actions and its effects on one's environment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contingency Awareness - TalkSense |url=https://talksense.weebly.com/contingency-awareness.html#:~:text=Contingency%20Awareness%20(often%20referred%20to,actions%20elicit%20in%20the%20environment. |access-date=8 October 2024 |website=Weebly}}</ref> It is recognized as a factor in self-recognition. The brain processes during contingency awareness and learning is believed to rely on an intact [[medial temporal lobe]] and age. A study done in 2020 involving [[Transcranial direct-current stimulation|transcranial direct current stimulation]], [[Magnetic resonance imaging]] (MRI) and eyeblink classical conditioning supported the idea that the [[Parietal lobe|parietal cortex]] serves as a substrate for contingency awareness and that age-related disruption of this region is sufficient to impair awareness.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cheng |first1=Dominic T. |last2=Katzenelson |first2=Alyssa M. |last3=Faulkner |first3=Monica L. |last4=Disterhoft |first4=John F. |last5=Power |first5=John M. |last6=Desmond |first6=John E. |date=4 March 2020 |title=Contingency awareness, aging, and the parietal lobe |journal=Neurobiology of Aging |language=en |volume=91 |pages=125–135 |doi=10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.02.024 |pmc=7953809 |pmid=32241582}}</ref>