The Neural Correlates of Consciousness

This review synthesizes recent findings on the neural correlates of consciousness, distinguishing consciousness from other brain functions. It examines global changes in consciousness during sleep, anesthesia, and seizures, then explores paradigms for studying neural correlates of specific conscious percepts, highlighting the roles of different brain regions. Dynamic aspects of neural activity—sustained versus phasic, feedforward versus reentrant, and neural synchronization—are discussed. The review also considers how theoretical analysis of consciousness's fundamental properties can complement neurobiological research.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This review examines recent advances in the study of brain correlates of consciousness. First, we briefly discuss some useful distinctions between consciousness and other brain functions. We then examine what has been learned by studying global changes in the level of consciousness, such as sleep, anesthesia, and seizures. Next we consider some of the most common paradigms used to study the neural correlates for specific conscious percepts and examine what recent findings say about the role of different brain regions in giving rise to consciousness for that percept. Then we discuss dynamic aspects of neural activity, such as sustained versus phasic activity, feedforward versus reentrant activity, and the role of neural synchronization. Finally, we briefly consider how a theoretical analysis of the fundamental properties of consciousness can usefully complement neurobiological studies.