Michael S. A. Graziano: What is consciousness?

What is consciousness?

Patient P.S. suffered a stroke that damaged the right side of her brain, leaving her unaware of everything on her left side. If someone threw a ball at her left side, she might duck. But she wouldn't have awareness of the ball or know why she ducked. Where does consciousness come from? Michael Graziano explores the question that has vexed scientists and philosophers for centuries. [Directed by TED-Ed, narrated by Addison Anderson].

Consciousness may arise from the brain’s own imperfect model of itself. After a stroke, patient P.S. could avoid dangers on her left side without knowing why, showing a stark divide between sensory processing and conscious awareness. The brain builds constantly updated, simplified models of the world, the body, and even its own attention. Experiments suggest a specific neural network transforms raw perception into conscious experience, but much about its inner workings remains mysterious.