For centuries, people have wondered what separates being awake from being asleep, dreaming, or unconscious. Scientists have ...

A few years ago, I climbed over a gate and found myself gazing down at a valley. After I’d been walking for a few minutes, looking at the fields and the sky, there was a shift in my perception.

Users report that seconds stretch into eternity, sounds turn into color, and you very self begins dissolving. And now, after ...

An unprecedented brain study has delivered fresh clues about consciousness—suggesting it's more about perception than planning. Two leading theories went head-to-head, but neither emerged victorious.

Some neuroscientists argue that the roots of experience lie deep inside the brain. If they’re right, the consciousness club ...

The human subcortex (figure 1, brown/beige), underneath the neocortex, has not changed much in the last 500 million years. It is thought to be like electricity for a TV, necessary for consciousness, ...

What gives rise to human consciousness? Are some parts of the brain more important than others? Scientists began tackling these questions in more depth about 35 years ago. Researchers have made ...