Consciousness is one of science's last great unsolved mysteries. How can the salty taste and crunchy texture of potato chips, the unmistakable smell of dogs after they have been in the rain, or the exhilarating feeling of hanging on tiny fingerholds many feet above the last secure foothold on a cliff, emerge from networks of neurons and their associated synaptic and molecular processes? In The Quest for Consciousness, Caltech neuroscientist Christof Koch explores the biological basis of the subjective mind in animals and people. He outlines a framework that he and Francis Crick (of the 'double helix') have constructed to come to grips with the ancient mind-body problem. At the heart of their framework is a sustained, empirical approach to discovering and characterising the neuronal correlates of consciousness - the NCC - the subtle, flickering patterns of brain activity that underlie each and every conscious experience.

Foreword by Francis Crick

Introduction to the study of consciousness

Neurons, the atoms of perception

The first steps in seeing

The primary visual cortex as a prototypical neocortical area

What are the neuronal correlates of consciousness?

The neuronal correlates of consciousness are not in the primary visual cortex

The architecture of the cerebral cortex

Going beyond the primary visual cortex

Attention and consciousness

The neuronal underpinnings of attention

Memories and consciousness

What you can do without being conscious: The zombie within

Agnosia, blindsight, epilepsy, and sleep-walking: clinical evidence for zombie agents

Some speculations on the functions of consciousness

On time and consciousness

When the mind flips: following the footprints of consciousness

Splitting the brain splits consciousness

Further speculations on thoughts and the unconscious homunculus

A framework for consciousness

An interview

Glossary

Bibliography