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Review
. 2019 Oct 31:13:1169.
doi: 10.3389/fnins.2019.01169. eCollection 2019.

The Neural Correlates of Consciousness and Attention: Two Sister Processes of the Brain

Andrea Nani  1   2 , Jordi Manuello  1   2 , Lorenzo Mancuso  1   2 , Donato Liloia  1   2 , Tommaso Costa  1   2   3 , Franco Cauda  1   2   3
Affiliations
Free PMC article
Review

The Neural Correlates of Consciousness and Attention: Two Sister Processes of the Brain

Andrea Nani et al. Front Neurosci. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

During the last three decades our understanding of the brain processes underlying consciousness and attention has significantly improved, mainly because of the advances in functional neuroimaging techniques. Still, caution is needed for the correct interpretation of these empirical findings, as both research and theoretical proposals are hampered by a number of conceptual difficulties. We review some of the most significant theoretical issues concerning the concepts of consciousness and attention in the neuroscientific literature, and put forward the implications of these reflections for a coherent model of the neural correlates of these brain functions. Even though consciousness and attention have an overlapping pattern of neural activity, they should be considered as essentially separate brain processes. The contents of phenomenal consciousness are supposed to be associated with the activity of multiple synchronized networks in the temporo-parietal-occipital areas. Only subsequently, attention, supported by fronto-parietal networks, enters the process of consciousness to provide focal awareness of specific features of reality.

Keywords: attention; brain network; consciousness; fronto-parietal network; global workspace; neural correlates; synchronization.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
A two-dimensional representation of consciousness. The X axis represents the Content of Consciousness, the experience of which can vary in vividness. The Y axis represents the Level of Consciousness, or wakefulness, or vigilance, or arousal. Clinical conditions are in red, while normal physiological states are in yellow. Solid lines indicate transitions between states that require a change both of content and of level of consciousness. Conversely, dashed lines indicate transitions for which one dimension remains constant.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Schematic representation illustrating the two main theoretical approaches to the study of consciousness.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Lateral view of the brain showing the areas involved in the dorsal attention network (DAN) and ventral attention network (VAN) (adapted from Corbetta and Shulman, 2002). DAN (red): FEF, frontal eye field; SPL, superior parietal lobule. VAN (green): IFG, inferior frontal gyrus; IPL, inferior parietal lobule; MFG, middle frontal gyrus; STG, superior temporal gyrus; TPJ, temporo-parietal junction.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
The networks’ synchronization theory (NetSync) and representation of the intersection (and partial overlapping) of the neural correlates of consciousness and attention.
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