An Introduction to the Physiology of Ordinary Consciousness

A Chapter of the Brain Project

"You are but one function of the brain."

[Rodolfo Llinas at Tucson II]

The reigning question seems to be: Does consciousness stand alone, separate in some way with respect to the brain, or is it an intrinsic aspect of the brain's functioning? If consciousness is intrinsic then is there some sort of place within the brain that we can isolate as being the seat of consciousness? Or do we have to look more for an arrangement distributed over a larger scale? It is these latter two questions that those physiologists interested in consciousness are asking.