Consciousness Research Interest Group

What is consciousness? Will we ever be able to quantitatively measure and to understand the nature of consciousness? The Consciousness Research Interest Group provides a platform for the scientists and staff at NIH and the extramural community to discuss, discover, collaborate, and stimulate the research of the science of consciousness. The scope of topics can include, but is not limited to neuroscience, psychology and medicine. Main activities include hosting scientific seminars and meetings to assess the current state of science and to stimulate and inform the future research needs.

Join us: June 5, 2025, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. ET for “Consciousness: From Theory to Practice” by Melanie Boly, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Dept. of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

This is a public event. Please contact Dan Xi (xida@mail.nih.gov) and Sharif Kronemer (sharif.kronemer@nih.gov) to receive MS Teams link.

Abstract: What is consciousness, and what is its neural substrate in the brain? Why are certain parts of the brain important for consciousness, but not others that have even more brain cells and are just as complicated? Why does consciousness fade with dreamless sleep even though the brain remains active? Does consciousness always fade when patients become unresponsive after brain damage, during generalized seizures, during general anesthesia, or even in deep sleep? And are newborns, animals, and intelligent computers conscious? Integrated information theory (IIT) is an attempt to answer these and other questions in a principled manner. IIT starts not from the brain, but from consciousness itself – by identifying phenomenological properties that are true of every conceivable experience. It then uses a causal mathematical framework to translate these phenomenological properties into predictions about physical properties that a system should have to be conscious. As a next step, IIT uses the same consciousness-first, causal approach to also generate predictions about neural substrates that can support specific experiences such as spatial extendedness, temporal flow, hierarchical/categorical contents, and modality-specific qualities such as colors and sounds. The results of this exploration can account for many empirical findings, lead to counterintuitive predictions that can be challenged by neuroscientific experiments, and has motivated the development of promising new tests for the practical assessment of consciousness in non-communicative patients.

Past Events

April 4, 2025 —

“Mapping the Connectivity of Consciousness” by Brian L. Edlow, M.D. from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

November 3, 2022 — Link here to watch.

“A conceptual framework for consciousness.” by Michael S. Graziano, PhD Professor, Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience Princeton University.
“Free Will and Its Relationship to Consciousness.” by Mark Hallett, M.D., D.M.(hon) Distinguished NIH Investigator Chief, Human Motor Control Section National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

August 10, 2022 — Link here to watch.

“Wakeup Call: Mental States Are a Key Component of Mental Disorders” by Joseph LeDoux, Ph.D., Professor and Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science at New York University
“Tools to Detect Consciousness” by Christof Koch, Ph.D., President, Allen Institute for Brain Science

Mailing List

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