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DTSTART:20070311T020000
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DTSTAMP:20260310T131653
DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20260317T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20260317T130000
SUMMARY:Lecture / Discussion:APPLIED PHYSICS | Consciousness as a Critical Phenomenon: Measuring and Modulating Consciousness Transitions during Anesthesia
DESCRIPTION:Understanding how consciousness emerges from neural activity remains a central challenge in neuroscience. A major obstacle is the lack of a principled framework to measure\, predict\, and modulate consciousness. Inspired by statistical physics—where macroscopic variables emerge from microscopic dynamics—we investigate whether consciousness can be understood as an emergent property of large-scale brain networks operating near criticality.\n\nIn this talk\, I present experimental and computational studies of brain state transitions during anesthesia\, a controlled model for the loss and recovery of consciousness. Using human and animal EEG data\, we estimate the deviation of brain dynamics from criticality and the proximity to a first-order dynamical regime. These measures allow us to predict the trajectory of recovery from anesthesia-induced unconsciousness and suggest potential strategies to modulate abnormal recovery\, such as prolonged emergence and coma.\n\nFinally\, I will discuss how this criticality-based framework may extend beyond anesthesia to other complex systems\, including chronic pain and artificial intelligence\, suggesting \nthat critical dynamics may provide a universal principle underlying consciousness-like behaviors in complex systems.\n\nFaculty Affiliate: Center for Consciousness Science\; Center for the Study of Complex Systems\; Michigan Psychedelic Center\; Neuroscience Graduate Program\, University of Michigan.
UID:146417-21899059@events.umich.edu
URL:https://events.umich.edu/event/146417
CLASS:PUBLIC
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CATEGORIES:Anesthesiology,Applied Physics,Medicine,Physics,Science,Seminar
LOCATION:West Hall - 340
CONTACT:
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