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Researchers at Sussex are attempting to unlock the mysteries of the conscious mind using a unique combination of theory, clinical investigations and hard science.  

Dr Anil Seth and Professor Hugo Critchley will be co-Directors of the new Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, which opens at a campus launch event next week. 

By integrating neuroscience, psychology, philosophy and psychiatry through the tools of neuroimaging, mathematics and computer science, they hope to cast fresh light on questions such as: 

• What is consciousness?
• How is consciousness generated?
• What is consciousness for?
• How does consciousness go wrong?
• Can we recognise a conscious mind (e.g. in animals or infants)? 

As well as addressing the basic science of consciousness, their approach will help understanding of unusual experiences such as déjà vu, synaesthesia and feelings of detachment, as well as clinical conditions such as anxiety, amnesia, depression and schizophrenia. 

The Centre is being formed as the result of a substantial grant by the Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation, which funds pioneering research into the brain.  The Centre is one of only five in the world funded by the Foundation alongside Sackler research centres at the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow in the UK and Columbia and Cornell in the USA. 

Theresa Sackler, co-founder of the Sackler Foundation, will attend the launch on 21 April, which takes place in the BSMS lecture theatre at 6pm. Immediately afterwards (at 6.30pm), Professor Chris Frith (University College London) will address the question 'What is consciousness for?', as part of the summer term series of Sussex Lectures. 

Anil and Hugo said: 

"Our joint aim is to characterize the biological underpinnings of consciousness in its varied expressions in a way that ultimately has practical clinical relevance. The Centre will integrate theoretical models of consciousness with both real-world clinical observations from psychiatry, and experimental observations from psychology, neuroimaging and computer simulations to address what is undoubtedly one of the 'big questions' for 21st century biological science. 

"The generous and inspirational support from the Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation will enable us to employ leading experts from around the world to help progress new research in the field." 

The establishment of the Centre is the latest in a long history of cross disciplinary working at Sussex. The University is continuing to promote this type of collaboration through the establishment of six new research themes:  Mind and Brain, Digital and Social Media, Culture and Heritage, Citizenship and Democratisation, Global Transformations, and Environment and Health. 

To attend the launch event and lecture, book online at: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/bookalecture 

For more information about the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science go to www.sussex.ac.uk/sackler