Neural correlates of consciousness

Geraint Rees

doi:10.1111/nyas.12257

Abstract

Jon Driver's scientific work was characterized by an innovative combination of new methods for studying mental processes in the human brain in an integrative manner. In our collaborative work, he applied this approach to the study of attention and awareness, and their relationship to neural activity in the human brain. Here I review Jon's scientific work that relates to the neural basis of human consciousness, relating our collaborative work to a broader scientific context. I seek to show how his insights led to a deeper understanding of the causal connections between distant brain structures that are now believed to characterize the neural underpinnings of human consciousness.

Highlights

Our awareness of the external world is central to our everyday lives
Jon and I explored some of the ways in which the causal interplay between different brain regions affected sensory processing, and that in turn affected our reports of objects in the external environment
Techniques for noninvasive measurement of human brain activity such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetoencephalography (MEG) can reveal the neural substrates of sensory processing in the human brain, and together we used these approaches to explore the neural basis of awareness

Summary

Geraint Rees

UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom. Jon Driver’s scientific work was characterized by an innovative combination of new methods for studying mental processes in the human brain in an integrative manner. He applied this approach to the study of attention and awareness, and their relationship to neural activity in the human brain. I review Jon’s scientific work that relates to the neural basis of human consciousness, relating our collaborative work to a broader scientific context. I seek to show how his insights led to a deeper understanding of the causal connections between distant brain structures that are believed to characterize the neural underpinnings of human consciousness

Introduction

Sensory processing and visual awareness

Awareness in other sensory modalities

Visual awareness after damage to the parietal cortex

Using causal interventions to study visual awareness

Conclusions