25-year-old bet on consciousness settled: Philosopher wins, no specific spot in the brain identified.
Scientists at the 26th Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness meeting in New York presented the results of a $20m project, COGITATE, which found that consciousness may emerge from a grid-like interconnection of neurons at the back of the head. Meanwhile, scientists at the Human Brain Project honed in on two neural circuits that catastrophically fail as awareness slips away, one located at the back of the brain and the other in the front and side regions. Theories of consciousness are still being debated, with two main theories dominating: the Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) and integrated information theory (IIT).