A popular view holds that mental experiences uniquely differ between wakefulness and sleep, yet recent work suggests continuity across these stages. Here, we address this question by examining the wake-sleep transition, a window marked by rapid shifts in wake/sleep stages and mental experiences. We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) activity in 92 participants during two daytime resting...
Does being awake necessarily mean being conscious of something? This study investigates the phenomenon of mind blanking (MB), characterized by an "emptiness of mind," comparing it with mind wandering (MW) and on-task (ON) states. Using a sustained attention task and electroencephalogram monitoring, behavioral, and neurophysiological signatures of MB were examined in 62 participants. MB...
Disorders of arousal (DoA) are diagnosed on the basis of clinical criteria, including inappropriate or absent responsiveness to communication attempts. Surprisingly, the ability of patients to interact with others during DoA episodes has not been systematically investigated. To address this gap, we conducted three studies. First, we used a retrospective questionnaire to assess verbal...