Consciousness is the major unsolved problem in biology. How do the elemental feelings and sensations making up conscious experience, the redness of red and painfulness of pain, arise from the concerted actions of nerve cells and their associated synaptic and molecular processes? Can such feelings be explained by modern science, or is some quite different kind of explanation needed? And how can this seemingly intractable problem be approached experimentally? Designed as an introduction to the field and drawing upon anatomical, physiological, clinical and psychological observations, this book seeks answers to these questions within a neurobiological framework; that is, how do the operations of the conscious mind emerge out of the specific interactions of myriads of neurons.

"Christof Koch has written a superb introduction to the modern exploration of the biology of consciousness, based on his collaborative work with Francis Crick. The Quest for Consciousness is an extraordinarily well-written book that outlines in clear terms the key issues that the biology of the mind will be confronting in the next several decades. The book is a must for both the general reader as well as for scientists in the field." Eric Kandel, Author of Principles of Neural Science and winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine

"The quest for consciousness has been the great intellectual adventure of recent years, as neurobiology has started to close in on its ultimate goal, to define the neural basis of human consciousness. Christof Koch, in intimate collaboration with Francis Crick, has been one of the major pioneers in this quest, and in this new book he offers a vivid, brilliant and very personal account of how our understanding has developed in the last twenty years, moving from the basic processes of visual perception to the highest reaches of consciousness. He unfolds a new, dynamic vision of the brain, based on experimental findings, clinical observations, and neural modelling, in which coalitions of nerve cells form, dissolve and reform continually, weaving our ever-changing but integral sense of consciousness.The Quest for Consciousness is not only a mine of information, and full of provocative thoughts and insights, but a delight to read and ponder." Oliver Sacks, Author of Author of Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and Uncle Tungsten.

In "The Quest for Consciousness," Caltech neuroscientist Christof Koch explores the biological basis of consciousness. He outlines a framework that he and Francis Crick (of DNA "double helix" fame) have constructed to come to grips with the ancient mind-body problem. At the heart of their framework is a sustained, empirical approach to discovering and characterizing the neuronal correlates of consciousness - the NCC - the subtle, flickering patterns of brain activity that underlie each and every conscious experience.