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An article from the New York Times, An Image of Consciousness Creates a Stir, addresses the correlation between brain activity and awareness. This particular article revealed the brain activity results of a woman in a vegetative state who exhibited neurological signs of awareness.

Each time I read an article regarding studies on the brain, my first reactions formulate themselves as lists of questions: How does one define awareness? What does it mean for the brain to show signs of awareness, a number or beep on an EEG monitor? Is awareness measurable? If so, does this mean there are varying levels of awareness that can be quantified?

We know there are different levels of awareness simply from our everyday experiences. From sleeping to being engaged in class to day dreaming, our mind is capable of tuning our surroundings in and out at a range of degrees. I wonder how the EEG would monitor the brain activity of a Bryn Mawr Student for one 24 hour period. Would the monitor’s recordings of brain activity correlate to the student’s own perception of her awareness? In the article, it sounded as if the words brain activity and awareness were interchangeable. The definitions of these words are multi-faceted and don’t necessarily go hand in hand. How does the presence of brain activity relate to consciousness? This is a big question that I don’t believe has any one answer. As we are learning, our brains are complex and hold information and possibilities of which we are unaware.