15 June 2021
This animated movie takes you to important moments in the history of research understanding the human brain and consciousness, to end at our current work at the University of Amsterdam.
Consciousness refers to the bundled subjective experiences we all have. It is the continuously changing stream of experiences of the outside world and our body: rain rattling on the roof, a rumbling stomach, the beautiful colors around us, a memory that pops up, the deadline that is ahead of us.
It was long considered to be a unique human feature, but with Darwin in the back of our minds that idea becomes less and less likely. Animals most probably have conscious experiences as well. How does this enigmatic and fascinating function develop in the brain? How do interactions between brain processes and environment create subjective experiences in man and animal?
Scientists associated with the Brain and Cognition programme group of the Department of Psychology at the University of Amsterdam study how all the inter-connected brain areas in our head generate conscious experiences. And what happens when a person loses consciousness, for example when falling asleep or when placed under anesthetic? To what extent are our choices and behavior guided by unconscious processes, to which we have no conscious access? And what about free will?
The research priority area Brain & Cognition is based around collaboration between doctors, psychologists, linguists, neurologists, economists, behavioural scientists, biologists and logicians. Research focuses on themes such as memory and learning ability, appreciation of music, foreign language acquisition, neuropathology, consumer behaviour, consciousness, visual perception and mathematical models of cognitive processes. The research spans the entire spectrum from brain cell to social behaviour.