ABSTRACT
Consciousness and attention are two closely related, yet separable, concepts. The chapter starts with an exploration of what consciousness is. Starting from its philosophical roots, we explore a selection of real-world cases that illustrate important questions such as whether we have a single unified conscious, or whether multiple consciousnesses can exist within an individual. Then, different theoretical positions regarding the function of consciousness are discussed, as well as different methods of scientifically investigating conscious experiences. In doing so, the chapter will specifically focus on integrative theories of consciousness, such as the global workspace theories, simulation theories, the dynamic core theories, and the relation between consciousness and cortical synchronisation. The second half of the chapter provides an overview of the most important functions of attention, specifically focusing on key concepts such as selective and sustained attention and the difference between internal and external attention, in addition to providing a primer to the notion that attention and memory interact when attention is directed inward. The chapter specifically focuses on overarching theoretical frameworks, including the biased competition framework, along with precision weighting mechanisms in predictive coding theories. Neurobiological models of attention are also discussed. Finally, the chapter discusses the distinction between attention and consciousness and discusses various neurobiological models that detail how attention and consciousness might interact.
