Neural Correlates of Consciousness

Scientists are trying to find exactly which light bulbs in the brain turn on when you have a thought. When you see the color red, a specific part of your brain flashes. These flashes are called Neural Correlates. It is like trying to find the exact wires in a computer that make the screen show a picture. While we can see the wires flashing, the mystery is how that flash turns into the feeling of being alive and being you.

We can see which bulbs light up. But we still cannot explain why the light feels like something. The flash is not the mystery. The feeling is.

NCC: the minimal neuronal events sufficient for a specific conscious percept. Researchers use fMRI and EEG to identify hot zones (posterior cortical hot zone) correlated with subjective awareness. This is the Easy Problem of consciousness. Even with a perfect NCC map, the explanatory gap remains: why does neural firing feel like the smell of a rose?

SOUND: Snap your fingers and try to feel the exact spot in your head where you hear it.

SMELL: Sniff a lemon and trace the path of the smell into your brain.

TASTE: Taste salt: notice the spark of recognition in your mind.

TOUCH: Tap your head: feel the physical touch and the mental I am here at the same time.

SIGHT: Stare at a bright light, close your eyes, watch the afterimage fade in your brain.

BODY: Move your arm and imagine the electricity traveling from brain to muscles: the spark of being.

Music: Friendship by Cole Porter

Part of Mind & Body — PHILOSOPHY — Education Revelation