NSC 301, 302 - States of Consciousness

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR: Meets general academic requirement W when offered as 302.
Prerequisite(s): NSC 201 Mind & Brain or permission of the instructor.
Critically examines the recent attempts by neuroscience to resolve the neural correlates of various states of consciousness. Our class conversations will broadly center on the philosophical and physiological traditions that guide this work. We will closely study the putative neural underpinnings of several states of consciousness, including sleep/dreaming, pain, meditation, ecstasy, and coma; in parallel, we will discuss how the resolution of neural function shapes and is shaped by social structures and cultural meanings.