Consciousness science in practice

Consciousness, for each of us, is the only thing that really matters. Understanding the neural basis of conscious experience is a key objective for 21st century science.  At the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science, we bring together many different scientific approaches to help resolve this central mystery of our existence, and we work across basic science and clinical application to develop new approaches to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Our research follows two interacting strands; one in basic science, and the other in clinical application. Advances in basic science have the potential to translate into new clinical approaches, and clinical studies can shape the development of novel testable theories and computational models of brain mechanisms underlying consciousness.

Basic science
	We seek to unravel the complex brain mechanisms that generate consciousness. Our research moves beyond the search for so-called ‘neural correlates of consciousness’ to develop and test new theories and models of neural mechanisms that actually account for fundamental properties of consciousness. We call this the ‘real problem’ of consciousness.
Clinical application
	We translate insights about the mechanisms of consciousness to the clinical domain, while clinical studies help stimulate new developments in basic science. Our clinical work focuses primarily on neuropsychiatric disorders such as anxiety, autism, and Tourette syndrome.

For more about our current research, see the SCCS research pages.