The Center for Consciousness Science (CCS) conducts studies across the translational spectrum, from computational brain models, to experiments in animals, to studies of healthy humans, to clinical trials in patients.
We employ multimodal neuroimaging in our human protocols as well as neurophysiology and neurochemistry in our laboratories.
Furthermore, our basic science research program includes neural circuit manipulation through pharmacological, electrical stimulation, chemogenetic, and optogenetic techniques. The CCS has deep expertise in analyses involving graph theory, advanced functional connectivity measure, and neural dynamics.
We are fortunate to have robust support from the National Institutes of Health and have had major grants from the James S. McDonnell Foundation.
Active research areas within CCS include:
- Neural networks controlling sleep, anesthesia, cognition, and pain
- Anesthetic modulation of intracortical neuronal communication and information integration
- Large-scale neural substrates of human consciousness affected by pharmacologic, neuropathologic, and cognitive disorders
- Computational models of emergence and control of consciousness in large-scale brain networks during anesthesia and chronic pain
- Electrophysiology of brain dynamics in anesthesia, sleep, psychedelic states, and in the developing and aging brain
- Global neuronal workspace theory and the role of the prefrontal cortex in the level and content of consciousness and in psychedelic states
- Brain circuits that regulate arousal states of sleep and wakefulness, postoperative sleep disturbances and memory
- Neuronal mechanisms of memory encoding, storage, and transfer for conscious declarative experience
- Physiological basis of near-death experience in cardiac arrest survivors
Further details can be found under each investigator’s page.
Recent Publications
- An Aristotelian-Thomistic framework for detecting covert consciouness in unresponsive persons. Owen M, Owen AD, Hudetz AG. In Mihretu P. Guta & Scott B. Rae (eds.), Taking Persons Seriously: Where Philosophy and Bioethics Intersect. Eugene, Oregon.: Pickwick Publications, Wipf and Stock Publishers. 2024.
- Does consciousness have dimensions? Hudetz AG. Journal of Consciousness Studies. 2024 Aug.
- Measuring the dynamic balance of integration and segregation underlying consciousness, anesthesia, and sleep. Jang H, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG, Huang Z. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Apr 15.
- Consciousness and the dying brain. Mashour GA, Lee U, Dinesh P, Li D. Anesthesiology. 2024 Apr 11.
- Anesthesia and the neurobiology of consciousness. Mashour GA. Neuron. 2024 Apr 4.
- Urethane anaesthesia exhibits neurophysiological correlates of unconsciousness and is distinct from sleep. Mondino A, González J, Li D, Mateos D, Osorio L, Cavelli M, Castro-Nin JP, Serantes D, Costa A, Vanini G, Mashour GA, Torterolo P. European Journal of Neuroscience. 2004 Feb.
- Propofol disrupts the functional core-matrix architecture of the thalamus in humans. Huang Z, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Jan 24.
- Psychedelic concentrations of nitrous oxide reduce functional differentiation in frontoparietal and somatomotor cortical networks. Dai R, Huang Z, Larkin TE, Tarnal V, Picton P, Vlisides PE, Janke E, McKinney A, Hudetz AG, Harris RE, Mashour GA. Communications Biology. 2023 Dec 19.
- Intravenous psilocybin attenuates mechanical hypersensitivity in a rat model of chronic pain. Kolbman N, Liu T, Guzzo P, Gilligan J, Mashour GA, Vanini G, Pal D. Current Biology. 2023 Dec 18.
- Ketamine and the paradox of anaesthetic state transitions. Mashour GA. BJA. 2023 Dec 12.
- Effect of prolonged sedation with dexmedetomidine, midazolam, propofol, and sevoflurane on sleep homeostasis in rats. Silverstein BH, Parkar A, Groenhout T, Fracz Z, Fryzel AM, Fields CW, Nelson A, Liu T, Vanini G, Mashour GA, Pal D. BJA. 2023 Dec 8.
Theoretical neurobiology of consciousness applied to human cerebral organoids. Owen M, Huang Z, Duclos C, Lavazza A, Grasso M, Hudetz AG. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics. 2023 Oct 18.
- Spontaneous and visual stimulation evoked firing sequences are distinct under desflurane anesthesia. Tanabe S, Lee H, Wang S, Hudetz AG. Neuroscience. 2023 Jul 18.
- Temporospatial nestedness in consciousness: An updated perspective on the Temporospatial Theory of Consciousness. Huang Z. Entropy (Basel). 2023 Jul 17.
- Editorial: Neuromodulation by digital and analog drugs in consciousness research. Hight DF, Hudetz AG, Hutt A. Front Syst Neurosci. 2023 Jun 27.
- Caffeine, Postoperative Delirium And Change In Outcomes after Surgery (CAPACHINOS)-2: protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Vlisides PE, Ragheb J, McKinney A, Mentz G, Runstadler N, Martinez S, Jewell E, Lee U, Vanini G, Schmitt EM, Inouye SK, Mashour GA. BMJ Open. 2023 May 15.
- Surge of neurophysiological coupling and connectivity of gamma oscillations in the dying human brain. Xu G, Mihaylova T, Li D, Tian F, Farrehi PM, Parent JM, Mashour GA, Wang MM, Borjigin J. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 May 9.
- Narcolepsy: Mending a broken neural circuit that controls arousal. Vanini G. Curr Biol. 2023 Apr 24.
- Arousal system stimulation and anesthetic state alter visuoparietal connectivity. Hutt A, Hudetz AG. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. 2023 Apr 17.
Classical and non-classical psychedelic drugs induce common network changes in human cortex. Dai R, Larkin TE, Huang Z, Tarnal V, Picton P, Vlisides PE, Janke E, McKinney A, Hudetz AG, Harris RE, Mashour GA. Neuroimage. 2023 Apr 7.
- Optogenetics reveals paradoxical network stabilizations in hippocampal CA1 and CA3. de Jong LW, Nejad MM, Yoon E, Cheng S, Diba K. Current Biology. 2023 April 5.
- Microstate analyses as an indicator of anesthesia-induced unconsciousness. Lapoint AP, Li D, Hudetz AG, Vlisides PE. Clinical Neurophysiology. 2023 March.
- The posterior dominant rhythm: an electroencephalographic biomarker for cognitive recovery after general anaesthesia. Labonte AK, Kafashan M, Huels ER, Blain-Moraes S, Basner M, Kelz MB, Mashour GA, Avidan MS, Palanca BJA; ReCCognition Study Group. Br J Anaesth. 2023 Feb.
- Linking and unlinking the paediatric brain: age-invariant neural correlates of general anaesthesia. Puglia MP, Mashour GA. Br J Anaesth. 2023 Feb.
- Functional geometry of the cortex encodes dimensions of consciousness. Huang Z, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG. Nature Communications. 2023 Jan 5.
- Indolethylamine N-methyltransferase (INMT) is not essential for endogenous tryptamine-dependent methylation activity in rats. Glynos NG, Carter L, Lee SJ, Kim Y, Kennedy RT, Mashour GA, Wang MM, Borjigin J. Scientific Reports. 2023 Jan 6.
- Brain Complexities and Anesthesia: Their Meaning and Measurement. Li D, Fabus MS, Sleigh JW. Anesthesiology. 2022 Sep 1.
- Prefrontal cortex as a key node in arousal circuitry. Mashour GA, Pal D, Brown EN. Trends Neurosci. 2022 Aug 19. Online ahead of print.
- Delirium and Cortical Complexity. Kim H, Lee UC, Vlisides PE. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2022 Aug 9. Online ahead of print.
- Linking and unlinking the paediatric brain: age-invariant neural correlates of general anaesthesia. Puglia MP, Mashour GA. Br J Anaesth. 2022 Jul 18. Online ahead of print.
- Modeling cortical synaptic effects of anesthesia and their cholinergic reversal. Eniwaye BP, Booth V, Hudetz AG, Zochowski M. PLoS Comput Biol. 2022 Jun 23. eCollection 2022 Jun.
Consciousness. Mashour GA. Anesth Analg. 2022 Jun 1. Epub 2022 May 10.
Urethane anaesthesia exhibits neurophysiological correlates of unconsciousness and is distinct from sleep. Mondino A, González J, Li D, Mateos D, Osorio L, Cavelli M, Castro-Nin JP, Serantes D, Costa A, Vanini G, Mashour GA, Torterolo P. Eur J Neurosci. 2022 May 11. Online ahead of print.
Inactivation of prefrontal cortex attenuates behavioral arousal induced by stimulation of basal forebrain during sevoflurane anesthesia. Dean JG, Fields CW, Brito MA, Silverstein BH, Rybicki-Kler C, Fryzel AM, Groenhout T, Liu T, Mashour GA, Pal D. Anesth Analg. 2022 Apr 18. Online ahead of print.
Neurobiological antecedents of multisite pain in children. Kaplan CM, Schrepf A, Mawla I, Ichesco E, Boehnke KF, Beltz A, Foxen-Craft E, Puglia MP 2nd, Tsodikov A, Williams DA, Hassett AL, Clauw DJ, Harte SE, Harris RE. Pain. 2022 Apr 1.
- Dynamic reconfiguration of frequency-specific cortical coactivation patterns during psychedelic and anesthetized states induced by ketamine. Li D, Vlisides PE, Mashour GA. Neuroimage. 2022 Apr 1.
- Constrained functional connectivity dynamics in pediatric surgical patients undergoing general anesthesia. Puglia MP, Vlisides PE, Kaplan CM, Jewell ES, Therrian M, Mashour GA, Li D. Anesthesiology. 2022 Mar 31.
- Explosive synchronization-based brain modulation reduces hypersensitivity in the brain network: A computational model study. Kim M, Harris RE, DaSilva AF, Lee U. Front Comput Neurosci. 2022 Mar 3.
- Propofol anesthesia: A leap into the void? Mashour GA, Sanders RD, Lee U. Anesthesiology. 2022 Mar.
- The posterior dominant rhythm: an electroencephalographic biomarker for cognitive recovery after general anaesthesia. Labonte AK, Kafashan M, Huels ER, Blain-Moraes S, Basner M, Kelz MB, Mashour GA, Avidan MS, Palanca BJA; ReCCognition Study Group.Br J Anaesth. 2022 Feb.
- Patient perspectives on delirium and cognitive dysfunction after surgery: a cross- sectional survey. Ragheb J, Khatibi N, McKinney A, Brooks J, Hill-Carruthers M, Vlisides PE. Br J Anaesth. 2022 Jan 24.
- Knowledge, perceptions, and use of psychedelics among individuals with fibromyalgia. Glynos NG, Pierce J, Davis AK, McAfee J, Boehnke KF. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2022 Jan 10.
- Cortical acetylcholine levels correlate with neurophysiologic complexity during subanesthetic ketamine and nitrous oxide exposure in rats. Brito MA, Li D, Fields CW, Rybicki-Kler C, Dean JG, Liu T, Mashour GA, Pal D. Anesth Analg. 2021 Dec 20.
- Delirium, caffeine, and perioperative cortical dynamics. Kim H, McKinney A, Brooks J, Mashour GA, Lee U, Vlisides PE. Front Hum Neurosci. 2021 Dec 20.
- Criticality creates a functional platform for network transitions between internal and external processing modes in the human brain. Kim M, Kim H, Huang Z, Mashour GA, Jordan D, Ilg R, Lee U. Front Syst Neurosci. 2021 Nov 25.
- Neurophysiologic complexity in children increases with developmental age and is reduced by general anesthesia. Puglia MP, Li D, Leis AM, Jewell ES, Kaplan CM, Therrian M, Kim M, Lee U, Mashour GA, Vlisides PE. Anesthesiology. 2021 Nov 1.
- Network model with reduced metabolic rate predicts spatial synchrony of neuronal activity. Joo P, Lee H, Wang S, Kim S, Hudetz AG. Front Comput Neurosci. 2021 Oct 7.
- Neuronal sequences during theta rely on behavior-dependent spatial maps. Parra-Barrero E, Diba K, Cheng S. Elife. 2021 Oct 18.
- Hippocampal sharp-wave ripples in cognitive map maintenance versus episodic simulation. Diba K. Neuron. 2021 Oct 6.
- Delirium and neuropsychological outcomes in critically Ill patients with COVID-19: a cohort study. Ragheb J, McKinney A, Zierau M, Brooks J, Hill-Caruthers M, Iskander M, Ahmed Y, Lobo R, Mentz G, Vlisides PE. BMJ Open. 2021 Sep 17.
- Asymmetric neural dynamics characterize loss and recovery of consciousness. Huang Z, Tarnal V, Vlisides PE, Janke EL, McKinney AM, Picton P, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG. Neuroimage. 2021 Aug 1.
- 3D-printed recoverable microdrive and base plate system for rodent electrophysiology. Vöröslakos M, Miyawaki H, Royer S, Diba K, Yoon E, Petersen PC, Buzsáki G. Bio Protoc. 2021 Aug 20.
- The cognitive neuraxis: Epidurals and postoperative delirium. Vlisides PE, Mashour GA. Anesthesiology. 2021 Aug 1.
- Differential classification of states of consciousness using envelope- and phase-based functional connectivity.. Duclos C, Maschke C, Mahdid Y, Berkun K, Castanheira JDS, Tarnal V, Picton P, Vanini G, Golmirzaie G, Janke E, Avidan MS, Kelz MB, Liuzzi L, Brookes MJ, Mashour GA, Blain- Moraes S. Neuroimage. 2021 Aug 15.
- The effects of intraoperative caffeine on postoperative opioid consumption and related outcomes after laparoscopic surgery: A randomized controlled trial. Vlisides PE, Li D, McKinney A, Brooks J, Leis AM, Mentz G, Tsodikov A, Zierau M, Ragheb J, Clauw DJ, Avidan MS, Vanini G, Mashour GA. Anesth Analg. 2021 Jul 1.
- Inactivation of prefrontal cortex delays emergence from sevoflurane anesthesia. Huels ER, Groenhout T, Fields CW, Liu T, Mashour GA, Pal D. Front Syst Neurosci. 2021 Jul 9.
- Anterior insula regulates brain network transitions that gate conscious access. Huang Z, Tarnal V, Vlisides PE, Janke EL, McKinney AM, Picton P, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG. Cell Rep. 2021 May 4.
- Higher-order sensorimotor circuit of the brain’s global network supports human consciousness. Qin P, Wu X, Wu C, Wu H, Zhang J, Huang Z, Weng X, Zang D, Qi Z, Tang W, Hiromi T, Tan J, Tanabe S, Fogel S, Hudetz AG, Yang Y, Stamatakis EA, Mao Y, Northoff G. Neuroimage. 2021 May 1.
- Recovery of consciousness and cognition after general anesthesia in humans. Mashour GA, Palanca BJ, Basner M, Li D, Wang W, Blain-Moraes S, Lin N, Maier K, Muench M, Tarnal V, Vanini G, Ochroch EA, Hogg R, Schwartz M, Maybrier H, Hardie R, Janke E, Golmirzaie G, Picton P, McKinstry-Wu AR, Avidan MS, Kelz MB. Elife. 2021 May 10.
- Glutamatergic neurons in the preoptic hypothalamus promote wakefulness, destabilize NREM sleep, suppress REM sleep, and regulate cortical dynamics. Mondino A, Hambrecht-Wiedbusch VS, Li D, York AK, Pal D, González J, Torterolo P, Mashour GA, Vanini G. J Neurosci. 2021 Apr 14.
- Roadmap for conducting neuroscience research in the COVID-19 era and beyond: Recommendations from the SNACC Research Committee. Vlisides PE, Vogt KM, Pal D, Schnell E, Armstead WM, Brambrink AM, Kuo P, Nelson P, Vacas S, Goettel N, Aglio LS, Farag E, Gorji R, García PS, Koerner IP. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol. 2021 Apr 1.
- Consciousness, anesthesia, and acetylcholine. Pal D, Mashour GA. Anesthesiology. 2021 Apr 1.
- Neural correlates of the shamanic state of consciousness. Huels ER, Kim H, Lee U, Bel-Bahar T, Colmenero AV, Nelson A, Blain-Moraes S, Mashour GA, Harris RE. Front Hum Neurosci. 2021 Mar 18.
- Differential effect of anesthesia on visual cortex neurons with diverse population coupling. Lee H, Tanabe S, Wang S, Hudetz AG. Neuroscience. 2021 Mar 15.
- Stroke in surgical patients. Vlisides PE, Moore LE. Anesthesiology. 2021 Mar 1.
- Brain network motifs are markers of loss and recovery of consciousness. Duclos C, Nadin D, Mahdid Y, Tarnal V, Picton P, Vanini G, Golmirzaie G, Janke E, Avidan MS, Kelz MB, Mashour GA, Blain-Moraes S. Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 16.
- Are intrinsic neural timescales related to sensory processing? Evidence from abnormal behavioral states. Zilio F, Gomez-Pilar J, Cao S, Zhang J, Zang D, Qi Z, Tan J, Hiromi T, Wu X, Fogel S, Huang Z, Hohmann MR, Fomina T, Synofzik M, Grosse-Wentrup M, Owen AM, Northoff G. Neuroimage. 2021 Feb 1.
- Cortical oscillations and connectivity during postoperative recovery. Zierau M, Li D, Lapointe AP, Ip KI, McKinney AM, Thompson A, Puglia MP, Vlisides PE. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol. 2021 Jan.
- Sleep-wake neurobiology. Vanini G, Torterolo P. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021.
- State-dependent cortical unit activity reflects dynamic brain state transitions in anesthesia. Lee H, Wang S, Hudetz AG. J Neurosci. 2020 Dec 2.
- Carbachol and nicotine in prefrontal cortex have differential effects on sleep-wake states. Parkar A, Fedrigon DC, Alam F, Vanini G, Mashour GA, Pal D. Front Neurosci. 2020 Nov 20.
- Alpha band frontal connectivity is a state-specific electroencephalographic correlate of unresponsiveness during exposure to dexmedetomidine and propofol. Kallionpää RE, Valli K, Scheinin A, Långsjö J, Maksimow A, Vahlberg T, Revonsuo A, Scheinin H, Mashour GA, Li D. Br J Anaesth. 2020 Oct.
- Management of acute ischemic stroke-specific focus on anesthetic management for mechanical thrombectomy. Businger J, Fort AC, Vlisides PE, Cobas M, Akca O. Anesth Analg. 2020 Oct.
- Deep anaesthesia. Vlisides PE, Avidan MS. Lancet. 2020 Sep 5.
- State-dependent and bandwidth-specific effects of ketamine and propofol on electroencephalographic complexity in rats. Brito MA, Li D, Mashour GA, Pal D. Front Syst Neurosci. 2020 Aug 11.
- Brain and behaviour in post-acute stroke: Reduction in seeking and posterior cingulate neuronal variability. Farinelli M, Cevolani D, Gestieri L, Romaniello C, Maffei M, Agati R, Leo MR, Huang Z, Pedone V, Northoff G. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2020 Aug.
- Rest-task modulation of fMRI-derived global signal topography is mediated by transient coactivation patterns. Zhang J, Huang Z, Tumati S, Northoff G. PLoS Biol. 2020 Jul 10.
- Perioperative care of patients at high risk for stroke during or after non-cardiac, non-neurological surgery: 2020 guidelines from the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care. Vlisides PE, Moore LE, Whalin MK, Robicsek SA, Gelb AW, Lele AV, Mashour GA. J Neurosurg Anesthesiol. 2020 Jul.
- Back in time and space: Comment on “Is temporo-spatial dynamics the “common currency” of brain and mind? In Quest of “Spatiotemporal Neuroscience”” by Georg Northoff et al. Huang Z. Phys Life Rev. 2020 Jul.
- Altered global brain signal during physiologic, pharmacologic, and pathologic states of unconsciousness in humans and rats. Tanabe S, Huang Z, Zhang J, Chen Y, Fogel S, Doyon J, Wu J, Xu J, Zhang J, Qin P, Wu X, Mao Y, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG, Northoff G. Anesthesiology. 2020 Jun.
- Desflurane anesthesia alters cortical layer-specific hierarchical interactions in rat cerebral cortex. Hudetz AG, Pillay S, Wang S, Lee H. Anesthesiology. 2020 May.
- A roadmap to advance delirium research: Recommendations from the NIDUS Scientific Think Tank. Oh ES, Akeju O, Avidan MS, Cunningham C, Hayden KM, Jones RN, Khachaturian AS, Khan BA, Marcantonio ER, Needham DM, Neufeld KJ, Rose L, Spence J, Tieges Z, Vlisides P, Inouye SK; NIDUS Writing Group. Alzheimers Dement. 2020 May.
- Progress and issues in second-order analysis of hippocampal replay. van der Meer MAA, Kemere C, Diba K. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2020 May 25.
- Temporal circuit of macroscale dynamic brain activity supports human consciousness. Huang Z, Zhang J, Wu J, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG. Sci Adv. 2020 Mar 11.
- Activation of preoptic GABAergic or glutamatergic neurons modulates sleep-wake architecture, but not anesthetic state transitions. Vanini G, Bassana M, Mast M, Mondino A, Cerda I, Phyle M, Chen V, Colmenero AV, Hambrecht-Wiedbusch VS, Mashour GA. Curr Biol. 2020 Mar 9.
- Can cognitive training improve perioperative brain health? Vlisides PE, Keage HAD, Lampit A. Anesth Analg. 2020 Mar.
- Pharmacologically informed machine learning approach for identifying pathological states of unconsciousness via resting-state fMRI. Campbell JM, Huang Z, Zhang J, Wu X, Qin P, Northoff G, Mashour GA, Hudetz AG. Neuroimage. 2020 Feb 1.
- Constructing a consciousness meter based on the combination of non-linear measurements and genetic algorithm-based support vector machine. Liang Z, Shao S, Lv Z, Li D, Sleigh JW, Li X, Zhang C, He J. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2020 Feb.
- Alpha oscillation, criticality, and responsiveness in complex brain networks. Kim M, Lee U. Netw Neurosci. 2020 Feb 1.
- Age-related changes in cortical connectivity during surgical anesthesia. Li D, Puglia MP, Lapointe AP, Ip KI, Zierau M, McKinney A, Vlisides PE. Front Aging N eurosci. 2020 Jan 10.
- Level of consciousness is dissociable from electroencephalographic measures of cortical connectivity, slow oscillations, and complexity. Pal D, Li D, Dean JG, Brito MA, Liu T, Fryzel AM, Hudetz AG, Mashour GA. J Neurosci. 2020 Jan 15.
- Targeting network hubs with noninvasive brain stimulation in patients with fibromyalgia. Kaplan CM, Harris RE, Lee U, DaSilva AF, Mashour GA, Harte SE. Pain. 2020 Jan.