Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep
June 12, 2023
Garrett Friedman, Katherine W. Turk, Andrew E Budson
28 citations
Consciousness is understood through its neuroanatomic basis, with recent studies identifying EEG, ERP, and fMRI signals that predict aspects of conscious experience. Disorders affecting the reticular activating system alter the level of consciousness, while cortical disorders such as seizures, migraines, strokes, and dementia disrupt phenomenal consciousness. The memory theory of consciousness offers a new explanation of phenomenal consciousness that may better account for experimental studies and clinical experience. Despite advances in understanding the physiology underlying both level and phenomenal consciousness, the complete neurobiological basis remains unknown.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
January 7, 2026
Andrew E Budson, Hinze Hogendoorn, Donna Rose Addis
Consciousness may be the explicit memory of past events or the cognitive capacity to simulate events, used to remember the past, experience the present, or imagine the future. Perceptual mechanisms represent an ongoing, editable best estimate of past, present, and future. At milliseconds to seconds timescales, there may be no hard boundary between perception and memory. Conscious perceptions, decisions, and actions are simulations of prior unconscious sensations, decisions, and actions. The neural correlates of consciousness may thus be those of simulation or explicit memory, involving the default mode, frontoparietal control, and salience networks. Each aspect of consciousness may have its own neural correlate.
Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports
October 18, 2025
Joshua G Berenbaum, Benjamin Morrison, Brenna Hagan et al.
The frontal cortex is involved in many functions linked to consciousness, and disorders that damage frontal brain areas or networks can alter conscious experience. This review examines how frontal disorders affect consciousness, considering competing theories: some hold that the frontal cortex is necessary for consciousness, others emphasize posterior cortical regions, and the Memory Theory of Consciousness proposes that consciousness depends on modality-specific localization throughout the brain. The authors argue that frontal disorders do not abolish consciousness but can disrupt conscious abilities including sustained attention, working memory, problem-solving, complex thought, executive function, response inhibition, decision-making, and goal-oriented behavior. Understanding this relationship has significant scientific, clinical, and societal implications.