CRCNS US-France Research Proposal: Computational and electrophysiological origins of asymmetries between loss and recovery of consciousness

Understanding the brain mechanisms underlying human conscious states is a central question in neuroscience. General anesthesia offers a safe, reversible method for controlling conscious states. This project examines brain activity from patients undergoing general anesthesia to better understand the loss and recovery of consciousness. An area of the brain called the thalamus is hypothesized to be particularly important because of how it interacts with other parts of the brain. The researchers aim to develop and test computational models to explain how the brain produces different states of consciousness. The project aims to understand the neural computations underlying the loss and recovery of consciousness during general anesthesia. The researchers plan to create and validate large-scale computational models of thalamo-cortical networks to explain how interactions between cortical and sub-cortical populations of neurons produce different states of consciousness. The models will then be tested against intracranial electroencephalographic (iEEG) recordings and deep brain stimulation from patients undergoing epilepsy monitoring and general anesthesia for clinical reasons. The project aims to advance beyond correlational methods to identify causal principles governing conscious state transitions. The goal is to produce a mechanistic theory of consciousness grounded in testable computational models that advances the understanding of how thalamocortical neural populations sustain consciousness. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.