The mystery of consciousness shows there may be a limit to what science alone can achieve

What if there’s no experiment to work out which theory of consciousness is correct?

Philip Goff, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Durham University • conversation
March 15, 2024 • ~7 min

Consciousness: why a leading theory has been branded 'pseudoscience'

There’s a battle over consciousness research – and whether it can be understood purely through science.

Philip Goff, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Durham University • conversation
Sept. 29, 2023 • ~8 min

How consciousness may rely on brain cells acting collectively – new psychedelics research on rats

We still don’t know a lot about how the networks of cells in the brain enable conscious experience.

Pär Halje, Associate Research Fellow of Neurophysiology, Lund University • conversation
Aug. 17, 2023 • ~7 min

Google's powerful AI spotlights a human cognitive glitch: Mistaking fluent speech for fluent thought

Fluent expression is not always evidence of a mind at work, but the human brain is primed to believe so. A pair of cognitive linguistics experts explain why language is not a good test of sentience.

Anna A. Ivanova, PhD Candidate in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) • conversation
June 24, 2022 • ~9 min

Monkeys can sense their own heartbeats, an ability tied to mental health, consciousness and memory in humans

Researchers used a test designed for babies to show that rhesus monkeys can sense their own heartbeats. The finding opens up important paths of research into consciousness and mental health issues.

Eliza Bliss-Moreau, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis • conversation
April 11, 2022 • ~5 min

Clues to consciousness: how dopamine fits into the mystery of what makes us conscious – podcast

Plus, how a team of musicologists and computer scientists completed Beethoven’s unfinished 10th Symphony using AI. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.

Daniel Merino, Assistant Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast • conversation
Oct. 7, 2021 • ~4 min

It's still not fully understood how placebos work – but an alternative theory of consciousness could hold some clues

The mind is a powerful thing – it can generate both symptoms of illness and symptoms of healing. Here’s what this could tell us about consciousness.

Steve Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Leeds Beckett University • conversation
Sept. 8, 2021 • ~8 min

Consciousness: how the brain chemical 'dopamine' plays a key role – new research

Drugs which act through the brain chemical dopamine may one day help restore consciousness in people who have lost it.

Lennart Spindler, PhD Candidate of Neuroscience, University of Cambridge • conversation
Aug. 4, 2021 • ~7 min

Can consciousness be explained by quantum physics? My research takes us a step closer to finding out

New experiments could help scientists settle the longstanding debate about whether consciousness is generated by quantum activity.

Cristiane de Morais Smith, Professor, Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University • conversation
July 19, 2021 • ~8 min

Is it time to give up on consciousness as 'the ghost in the machine'?

Consciousness is sometimes referred to as 'the ghost' in the machinery of our brain. Is it time we gave up the ghost to focus on the machine?

David A Oakley, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, UCL • conversation
June 3, 2021 • ~7 min

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