Consciousness

A checklist derived from six neuroscience-based theories of consciousness could help assess whether an artificial intelligence system achieves this state

A brain scientist and a philosopher have resolved a wager on consciousness that was made when Bill Clinton was president

New research shows surprising activity levels in dying brains and may help explain the sudden clarity many people with dementia experience near death

An increase in activity in dying brains might be associated with last-minute conscious experiences, but scientists don’t know for sure

Portable sensors and artificial intelligence are helping researchers decode animal communication—and begin to talk back to nonhumans

New research findings, combined with philosophy, suggest free will is real but may not operate in the ways people expect

Neural circuits that label experiences as “good” or “bad” and the emotional meaninglessness of facial expressions are some standouts among 2022’s mind and brain breakthroughs

Van Gogh and Ramón y Cajal, like you’ve never seen them before, in the annual Art of Neuroscience Competition

Is it possible for an artificial intelligence to be sentient?

Eventually, the most ethical option might be to divert all resources toward building very happy machines

Neuroscientists may have discovered the brain regions that give rise to our identity

Fear of mortality might underlie physicists’ fondness for the anthropic principle, multiverses, superdeterminism and other shaky ideas