Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Consciousness.

A Zeman1

  • 1Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK. az@skull.dcn.ed.ac.uk

Brain : a Journal of Neurology
|June 16, 2001
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Consciousness research is advancing rapidly through neuroscience and artificial intelligence, exploring its neural basis and various states. Understanding consciousness remains a complex, ongoing scientific endeavor with multiple theoretical approaches.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Topographical memory in transient epileptic amnesia.

Epilepsy & behavior : E&B·2026
Same author

What is the relationship between Aphantasia, Synaesthesia and Autism?

Consciousness and cognition·2021
Same author

The radiological diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia in everyday practice: an audit of reports, review of diagnostic criteria, and proposal for service improvement.

Clinical radiology·2015
Same author

Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride: a review of nonclinical studies.

Journal of travel medicine·2013
Same author

When a patient with epilepsy complains about poor memory.

Practical neurology·2009
Same author

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 8 in Scotland: frequency, neurological, neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric findings.

Acta neurologica Scandinavica·2007
Same journal

Disrupted WWOX-MYC interplay impairs neurogenesis in human brain organoids.

Brain : a journal of neurology·2026
Same journal

SMPD4 deficiency disrupts indirect neurogenesis and neuronal migration in gyrencephalic cortex.

Brain : a journal of neurology·2026
Same journal

Retinal hyper-reflective foci link retinal and cortical pathology in paediatric multiple sclerosis.

Brain : a journal of neurology·2026
Same journal

Two scripts, two pathways: dorsal-ventral biases in post-stroke kana-kanji agraphia.

Brain : a journal of neurology·2026
Same journal

Blood cytotoxic natural killer-like CD8 + CD94+ T cells migrate to the brain and predict multiple sclerosis severity.

Brain : a journal of neurology·2026
Same journal

Time to reconsider risk for psychosis?

Brain : a journal of neurology·2026
See all related articles

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Neurobiology

Background:

  • Consciousness is a complex and ambiguous term with multiple meanings, including wakefulness, subjective experience, and mental states.
  • Self-consciousness also encompasses various senses, from social embarrassment to self-knowledge and awareness of awareness.
  • Understanding consciousness has been revolutionized by identifying electrical correlates and brainstem/diencephalon structures regulating sleep-wake cycles.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current state of research into consciousness, encompassing its definition, neural correlates, and theoretical frameworks.
  • To highlight the progress in understanding both conscious and unconscious neural processes.
  • To discuss the philosophical challenges and ongoing debates in explaining subjective experience.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of clinical studies defining pathologies of wakefulness (e.g., coma, persistent vegetative state).
  • Neuroscientific experiments investigating the neural basis of perceptual awareness, particularly in vision.
  • Examination of cognitive neuroscience findings on implicit/explicit memory and automatic/deliberate actions.

Main Results:

  • Detailed neuronal correlates of visual experience, both real and illusory, are being defined.
  • Experiments demonstrate that visual experience can change independently of external stimulation, linking it to neural correlates.
  • Unconscious neural processes demonstrably affect neural events and actions, as exemplified by blindsight.

Conclusions:

  • Overarching theories of consciousness include neurobiological, information processing, and social context accounts.
  • The question of whether scientific methods can fully explain consciousness remains open.
  • Philosophical theories like physicalism and dualism attempt to reconcile the subjective nature of experience with brain activity and behavior.