What is consciousness?

Consciousness is the subjective awareness of experiences or qualia – essentially everything you experience. It encompasses sensory perceptions, thoughts, feelings and self-awareness. Neuroscientists link consciousness to patterns of neural activity (the neural correlates) but a full explanation remains elusive. In practical terms, consciousness means having a stream of internal experiences – the tune in your head, emotions you feel, and sense of self. It requires complex brain activity, but exactly how subjective awareness arises is still an active area of research.