Consciousness and complexity: from theory to practice

old_uid14193
titleConsciousness and complexity: from theory to practice
start_date2014/06/18
schedule14h30
onlineno
location_infosalle Jules Ferry
detailsSeminar's sessions (AA 2013-2014)
summaryConsciousness can be generated in the brain independent of sensory inputs and motor outputs, however, establishing a dependable index of consciousness that does not rely on a subject’s capacity to access/respond to the surrounding environment is still challenging. Theoretically, consciousness is thought to require the joint presence of functional integration and functional differentiation, otherwise defined as brain complexity. In my talk I will review a series of recent studies in which Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation combined with electroencephalography (TMS/EEG) has been employed to quantify brain complexity in wakefulness and during physiological (sleep), pharmacological (anesthesia) and pathological (brain injury) loss of consciousness. These studies show that the complexity of the cortical response to TMS collapses when consciousness is lost during deep sleep, anesthesia and vegetative state following severe brain injury, while it recovers when consciousness resurges in wakefulness, during dreaming, in the minimally conscious state or locked-in syndrome. Finally, I will describe a few basic neurophysiological mechanisms that may contribute to the loss and recovery of brain complexity in physiological, pharmacologically-induced and pathological conditions.
responsiblesTallon-Baudry, Kouider, Andrillon