Measuring the Conscious Brain - Three Scientific Windows into Human Awareness

Can science measure consciousness?

Researchers can now observe the living brain while a person sees an image, recognizes a face, falls asleep, or responds to anesthesia. But what do those measurements tell us about the experience of being aware?

Measuring the Conscious Brain offers a clear introduction to three powerful tools used to investigate this question:

• • fMRI maps changes associated with activity across brain regions and networks.
  • EEG follows rapidly changing electrical signals with exceptional timing.
  • Neural electrodes record activity close to individual neurons and local circuits.

Peter I. Kattan explains what each method measures, where it is most useful, and why the three approaches work best together. He also examines neural correlates of consciousness, the difference between correlation and causation, and the limits of current scientific theories.

Written for curious general readers, students, and professionals, this book makes a complex field accessible without claiming that a brain scan can reveal subjective experience directly.

Discover what today's instruments can show us about the conscious brain-and the profound questions that remain.