The deep secret of the brain is that not only the spinal cord but the entire central nervous system works this way: internally generated activity is modulated by sensory input. In this view, the difference between being awake and being asleep is merely that the data coming in from the eyes anchors the perception. Asleep vision (dreaming) is perception that is not tied down to anything in the real world; waking perception is something like dreaming with a little more commitment to what´s in front of you. Other examples of unanchored perception are found in prisoners in pitch-park solitary confinement, or in people in sensory deprivation chambers. Both of these situations quickly lead to hallucinations.

He serves on the editorial boards of the scientific journals PLoS One and Journal of Vision. Neuroscience and the Law
Neurolaw is an emerging field that determines how modern brain science should affect the way we make laws punish criminals and invent new methods for rehabilitation. By this technique he has tested and analyzed thousands of synesthetes and has written a book on synesthesia with Richard Cytowic entitled Wednesday is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia.

He is a Guggenheim Fellow a council member in the World Economic Forum and a New York Times bestselling author publiDavid Eaglemand in 27 languages. David Eagleman (born April 1971) is a neuroscientist and writer at Baylor College of Medicine where he directs the Laboratory for Perception and Action and the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law.