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Published May 1996 | public
Journal Article

A neuronal correlate of consciousness?

Abstract

In a previous article in this series, Lewis Wolpert [1] introduced the good fairy godmother of science (GOOFGOOS) who, like a Greek oracle, will answer one specific question. My question to her would address the heart of cognitive neuroscience: the relationship between our perceptions, thoughts and memories and the activity of nerve cells that must somehow be responsible for the associated subjective experience. Understanding this relationship entails pinpointing the neuronal populations in the brain that express the correlates of consciousness. So my question is, "are there specific neurons whose activity mediates consciousness?" That is, neurons whose firing gives rise to the current content of my consciousness?

Additional details

Created:
September 26, 2023
Modified:
October 24, 2023