bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
August 20, 2026
Atakan Selte, Steven E. Haworth, Thomas J. Vanasse et al.
preprint
Abstract Identifying neural signatures of consciousness remains a central challenge in neuroscience. Sleep offers a tractable model for comparing brain activity in the presence or absence of subjective experience while minimizing behavioral responsiveness confounds. Using overnight 256-electrode high-density EEG in 140 participants and a serial-awakening paradigm, we analyzed 699 non-rapid eye...
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
May 26, 2026
Joel I Berger, Matthew I Banks, Emily R Dappen et al.
preprint
Although much is known about the molecular and cellular effects of general anesthetics, the neural mechanisms underlying loss and recovery of consciousness during anesthesia remain elusive. We provide the first report of human single neuron activity recorded throughout emergence from general anesthesia. Following cessation of propofol infusion, emergence was assessed as motor response to verbal...
Aperture Neuro
March 18, 2026
Melanie Boly
Over the past two decades, consciousness science has advanced from descriptive correlations to mechanistic predictions. Core requirements for conscious states have been clarified, and new diagnostic tools — most notably the Perturbational Complexity Index (PCI) derived from TMS–EEG — are moving toward clinical use. PCI indicates about a 95% probability of detecting consciousness in...
PLoS One
2026
Clement Abbatecola, Bernard Marius ’t Hart, Belén M. Montabes De la Cruz et al.
We investigate the subjective experience of space around the visual blind spot area, the cortical representation of which is missing feedforward connectivity from one eye. We performed these experiments as part of an adversarial collaboration to test contrasting theories of consciousness; Integrated Information Theory (IIT), Predictive Processing Active Inference (AI), and Predictive Processing...
arXiv Preprint Archive
October 29, 2025
Giulio Tononi, Melanie Boly
This overview of integrated information theory (IIT) emphasizes IIT's "consciousness-first" approach to what exists. Consciousness demonstrates to each of us that something exists--experience--and reveals its essential properties--the axioms of phenomenal existence. IIT formulates these properties operationally, yielding the postulates of physical existence. To exist intrinsically or...
Nature
June 1, 2025
Oscar Ferrante, Urszula Gorska-Klimowska, Simon Henin et al.
94 citations
Different theories explain how subjective experience arises from brain activity1,2. These theories have independently accrued evidence, but have not been directly compared3. Here we present an open science adversarial collaboration directly juxtaposing integrated information theory (IIT)4,5 and global neuronal workspace theory (GNWT)6-10 via a theory-neutral consortium11-13. The theory...
Scientific Data
May 23, 2025
Alia Seedat, Alex Lepauvre, Jay Jeschke et al.
5 citations
We introduce an intracranial EEG (iEEG) dataset collected as part of an adversarial collaboration between proponents of two theories of consciousness: Global Neuronal Workspace Theory and Integrated Information Theory. The data were recorded from 38 patients undergoing intracranial monitoring of epileptic seizures across three research centers using the same experimental protocol. Participants...
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
March 1, 2025
Liad Mudrik, Melanie Boly, Stanislas Dehaene et al.
68 citations
As the field of consciousness science matures, the research agenda has expanded from an initial focus on the neural correlates of consciousness, to developing and testing theories of consciousness. Several theories have been put forward, each aiming to elucidate the relationship between consciousness and brain function. However, there is an ongoing, intense debate regarding whether these...
Communications Biology
August 5, 2024
Charlotte Maschke, Jordan O'Byrne, Michele Angelo Colombo et al.
50 citations
Consciousness has been proposed to be supported by electrophysiological patterns poised at criticality, a dynamical regime which exhibits adaptive computational properties, maximally complex patterns and divergent sensitivity to perturbation. Here, we investigate dynamical properties of the resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) of healthy subjects undergoing general anesthesia with propofol,...
bioRxiv Preprint Server
April 18, 2024
Melanie Boly, Richard Smith, Giulietta Vigueras Borrego et al.
5 citations
preprint
Pure presence (PP) is described in several meditative traditions as an experience of a vast, vivid space devoid of perceptual objects, thoughts, and self. Integrated information theory (IIT) predicts that such vivid experiences may occur when the cortical substrate of consciousness is virtually silent. To test this, we analyzed high-quality 256-electrode high-density electroencephalography...
Frontiers in Neuroscience
February 13, 2024
Benedetta Cecconi, Javier Montupil, Sepehr Mortaheb et al.
6 citations
Background: Disconnected consciousness describes a state in which subjective experience (i.e., consciousness) becomes isolated from the external world. It appears frequently during sleep or sedation, when subjective experiences remain vivid but are unaffected by external stimuli. Traditional methods of differentiating connected and disconnected consciousness, such as relying on behavioral...
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
October 31, 2023
Charlotte Maschke, Jordan O'Byrne, Michele Angelo Colombo et al.
7 citations
preprint
Consciousness has been proposed to be supported by electrophysiological patterns poised at criticality, a dynamical regime which exhibits adaptive computational properties, maximally complex patterns and divergent sensitivity to perturbation. Here, we investigated dynamical properties of the resting-state electroencephalogram of healthy subjects undergoing general anesthesia with propofol,...
Journal of neuroscience methods
October 1, 2023
S Assadzadeh, Jitka Annen, Leandro R. D. Sanz et al.
Characterization of normal arousal states has been achieved by fitting predictions of corticothalamic neural field theory (NFT) to electroencephalographic (EEG) spectra to yield relevant physiological parameters. A prior fitting method is extended to distinguish conscious and unconscious states in healthy and brain injured subjects by identifying additional parameters and clusters in parameter...
bioRxiv Preprint Server
June 23, 2023
Oscar Ferrante, Urszula Gorska-Klimowska, Simon Henin et al.
preprint
Different theories explain how subjective experience arises from brain activity1,2. These theories have independently accrued evidence, yet, confirmation bias and dependence on design choices hamper progress in the field3. Here, we present an open science adversarial collaboration which directly juxtaposes Integrated Information Theory (IIT)4,5 and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT)6–10,...
PLoS One
February 10, 2023
Lucia Melloni, Liad Mudrik, Michael Pitts et al.
106 citations
The relationship between conscious experience and brain activity has intrigued scientists and philosophers for centuries. In the last decades, several theories have suggested different accounts for these relationships. These theories have developed in parallel, with little to no cross-talk among them. To advance research on consciousness, we established an adversarial collaboration between...
arXiv Preprint Archive
June 4, 2022
Giulio Tononi, Larissa Albantakis, Melanie Boly et al.
preprint
This essay addresses the implications of integrated information theory (IIT) for free will. IIT is a theory of what consciousness is and of how its presence and quality can be accounted for in physical terms. According to IIT, the presence of consciousness is accounted for by a maximum of cause-effect power in the brain. Moreover, the way an experience feels is accounted for by how that...
arXiv Preprint Archive
June 4, 2022
Giulio Tononi, Larissa Albantakis, Melanie Boly et al.
This essay addresses the implications of integrated information theory (IIT) for free will. IIT is a theory of what consciousness is and what it takes to have it. According to IIT, the presence of consciousness is accounted for by a maximum of cause-effect power in the brain. Moreover, the way specific experiences feel is accounted for by how that cause-effect power is structured. If IIT is...
The Behavioral and brain sciences
March 23, 2022
Giulio Tononi, Melanie Boly, Matteo Grasso et al.
The target article misrepresents the foundations of integrated information theory (IIT) and ignores many essential publications. It, thus, falls to this lead commentary to outline the axioms and postulates of IIT and correct major misconceptions. The commentary also explains why IIT starts from phenomenology and why it predicts that only select physical substrates can support consciousness....
Nature Communications
February 25, 2022
Minji Lee, Leandro R. D. Sanz, Alice Barra et al.
120 citations
Consciousness can be defined by two components: arousal (wakefulness) and awareness (subjective experience). However, neurophysiological consciousness metrics able to disentangle between these components have not been reported. Here, we propose an explainable consciousness indicator (ECI) using deep learning to disentangle the components of consciousness. We employ electroencephalographic (EEG)...
Consciousness and Cognition
2022
Benjamin Baird, Mariel Kalkach Aparicio, Tariq Alauddin et al.
17 citations
Evidence suggests continuity between cognition in waking and sleeping states. However, one type of cognition that may differ is episodic thoughts of the past and future. The current study investigated this across waking, NREM sleep and REM sleep. We analyzed thought reports obtained from a large sample of individuals (N = 138) who underwent experience-sampling during wakefulness as well as...
Neuroscience of Consciousness
2021
Francesco Ellia, Jeremiah Hendren, Matteo Grasso et al.
61 citations
Objective correlates-behavioral, functional, and neural-provide essential tools for the scientific study of consciousness. But reliance on these correlates should not lead to the 'fallacy of misplaced objectivity': the assumption that only objective properties should and can be accounted for objectively through science. Instead, what needs to be explained scientifically is what experience is...
Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference
July 1, 2019
Minji Lee, Benjamin Baird, Olivia Gosseries et al.
4 citations
The aim of the study was to investigate differences in cortical networks based on the state of consciousness. Five subjects performed a serial-awakening paradigm with electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. We considered four states of consciousness: (1) non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep with no conscious experience, (2) NREM sleep with conscious experience, (3) rapid eye movement (REM)...
Scientific Reports
March 26, 2019
Minji Lee, Benjamin Baird, Olivia Gosseries et al.
98 citations
The neuronal connectivity patterns that differentiate consciousness from unconsciousness remain unclear. Previous studies have demonstrated that effective connectivity, as assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalography (TMS-EEG), breaks down during the loss of consciousness. This study investigated changes in EEG connectivity associated with consciousness...
Psychology of consciousness (Washington, D.C.)
March 1, 2019
Benjamin Baird, Brady A. Riedner, Melanie Boly et al.
41 citations
Strong conceptual and theoretical connections have been made between meditation practice, mindfulness and lucid dreaming. However, only a handful of empirical studies have evaluated the relationship between lucid dreaming and meditation, and conclusions remain tempered by methodological limitations. Here we evaluate the relationship between meditation, mindfulness and lucid dream frequency...
Neuroimage
January 11, 2019
Michele A. Colombo, Martino Napolitani, Melanie Boly et al.
359 citations
Despite the absence of responsiveness during anesthesia, conscious experience may persist. However, reliable, easily acquirable and interpretable neurophysiological markers of the presence of consciousness in unresponsive states are still missing. A promising marker is based on the decay-rate of the power spectral density (PSD) of the resting EEG. We acquired resting electroencephalogram (EEG)...