If everything the human brain does is basically sets of electrical impulses, how exactly does that translate into a state of mind?

You're not the only one asking this question. Every neuroscientist in the world is wondering the exact same thing, says Zach Mainen

- LIZZIE WADE

A: He studies the brain and mind at-get this-the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon, Portugal.

In fact, it's one of the biggest mysteries in science.

Here's what neuroscientists do know: Certain parts of the brain are responsible for-or at least involved in creating-certain experiences, feelings, and abilities. For example, your ability to speak seems to depend in part on a particular piece of your left frontal lobe called Broca's area, named after the doctor who discovered it in the 1860s.