Consciousness Research: Visual System Provides Clues to How the Brain Perceives

Ten years ago, any neurophysiologist who claimed to be looking for the neural basis of consciousness would have had a tough time being taken seriously. But that is changing as researchers recognize that consciousness can be broken down into pieces that can be tackled by the techniques of modern neurobiology. In particular, studies of the visual system are beginning to show how the neurons along the visual pathway come to represent what we actually perceive and not just what registers on the retina.