Human consciousness remains one of the biggest puzzles in science. Indeed, we have made moderate
progress on how to measure it but less on how it arises in the first place. And what gives rise to our sense
of self? In February we published a special collector’s edition exploring these mysteries and more. This
issue’s cover story, by researcher Robert Martone, is a fascinating look at new discoveries on a region of
the brain that helps us create a mental picture of our present and future identities (see “How Our Brain
Preserves Our Sense of Self”).
Elsewhere in this issue, contributing editor Daisy Yuhas talks with linguist Sarah Frances Phillips about
new research illuminating the neurological basis for multilingualism (see “How Brains Seamlessly Switch
between Languages”). How the brain both creates our individual reality and enables us to thrive in that
reality is nothing short of astonishing.
Andrea Gawrylewski
Senior Editor, Collections
[email protected]
On the Cover
Neuroscientists may have
discovered the brain regions
that give rise to our identity
Paffy69/iStock/Getty Images
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Liz Tormes