The Ferrier Lecture 1995 behind the seen: the functional specialization of the brain in space and time

The visual brain consists of many different visual areas, which are functionally specialized to process and perceive different attributes of the visual scene. However, the time taken to process different attributes varies; consequently, we see some attributes before others. It follows that there is a perceptual asynchrony and hierarchy in visual perception. Because perceiving an attribute is tantamount to becoming conscious of it, it follows that we become conscious of different attributes at different times. Visual consciousness is therefore distributed in time. Given that we become conscious of different visual attributes because of activity at different, functionally specialized, areas of the visual brain, it follows that visual consciousness is also distributed in space. Therefore, visual consciousness is not a single unified entity, but consists of many microconsciousnesses.