The Neurology of Consciousness: An Overview

peer reviewedThis final chapter provides the reader with an overview of the neurological and neurobiological literature on the neural substrate of consciousness. First, the chapter reviews the evidence suggesting that consciousness can be dissociated from other brain functions, such as responsiveness to sensory inputs, motor control, attention, language, memory, reflection, spatial frames of reference, the body, and perhaps even the self. The chapter then summarizes what has been learned by studying global changes in the level of consciousness, such as sleep, anesthesia, seizures, and post-comatose states. Next, it asks what can be said at this point about the neuroanatomy and the neurophysiology of consciousness. The chapter ends by briefly considering how a theoretical analysis of the fundamental properties of consciousness can complement neurobiological studies. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved