The biological basis of consciousness is the brain

The biological basis of consciousness is the brain

The biological basis of consciousness is the brain

The body can’t produce consciousness without the brain, and the brain can’t produce consciousness without the body. The two are inextricably linked together. So, when we’re talking about the biological basis of consciousness, we’re talking about what happens in the brain.

The brain is crucial for any kind of perception—whether it’s sight, smell, sound, or touch. The human brain perceives a million things a second, but we only actually notice a small portion of those things. A lot of what happens at the biological level is unconscious: our breathing, for example. We don’t think about it to make it happen; it just does! Our bodies do so much work that we’re not even aware of.

But there are some things that do require conscious thought—or at least conscious attention—to make them happen: walking down a flight of stairs, tying your shoes, driving a car… all those things rely on conscious awareness in order to function properly.

So what happens inside the brain when you become aware? It turns out there are different parts of the brain that handle different kinds of awareness.

The cerebellum is responsible for subconscious processes like breathing and our “fight or flight