Definition
Global Workspace Theory
Global workspace theories explain conscious access using a stage analogy. Like HOTs, GWTs aim to explain why some information is consciously accessible while most of our brain’s information processing happens “in the dark”, or in the phenomenal consciousness.
The content we are conscious of at any moment is whatever is currently happening “on the stage”. The events on this stage are “globally broadcast” to a wide audience of unconscious processes that can then use this information.
A person gains conscious access to sensory information when it is broadcast to different parts of the brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex.