The 'Neural Correlates of Consciousness' (NCCs) are specific brain activities that consistently accompany conscious experience.

Pioneered by Francis Crick and Christof Koch, the search for Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCCs) aims to identify the minimum set of neural events and mechanisms sufficient for a specific conscious percept or experience to occur. These are not necessarily the *cause* of consciousness, but rather the brain states that reliably co-occur with it. Researchers use various techniques like fMRI and EEG to observe brain activity while subjects engage in tasks that evoke conscious perception (e.g., seeing ambiguous images, processing subliminal stimuli). Findings consistently point to specific patterns of synchronized neuronal firing, often involving widespread networks across the cerebral cortex, particularly the prefrontal and parietal areas, and their interactions with subcortical structures like the thalamus. The NCCs provide an empirical framework to study consciousness, moving beyond purely philosophical speculation by linking subjective experience to measurable brain states.