Topic: wakefulness

Objective and quantitative assessment of the level of consciousness is a medical demand in clinics and a theoretical challenge to be addressed. Although a growing body of literature suggests different measures to distinguish the levels of consciousness, a systematic comparison of different measures is lacking. Such a systematic comparison, however, is necessary since it assures us of the best solutions to the problem in terms of prediction accuracy and explanatory power but also simplicity and applicability. In this study, we propose taking a massive comparative approach to assess the level of

Sleep is classically presented as an all-or-nothing phenomenon. Yet, there is increasing evidence showing that sleep and wakefulness can actually intermingle and that wake-like and sleep-like activity can be observed concomitantly in different brain regions. I will here explore the implications of this conception of sleep as a local phenomenon for cognition and consciousness. In the first part of my presentation, I will show how local modulations of sleep depth during sleep could support the processing of sensory information by sleepers. I will also how, under certain circumstances, sleepers c

The human brain is a heavily interconnected structure giving rise to complex functions. While brain functionality is mostly revealed during wakefulness, the sleeping brain might offer another view into physiological and pathological brain connectivity. Furthermore, there is a large body of evidence supporting that sleep mediates plastic changes in brain connectivity. Although brain plasticity depends on environmental input which is provided in the waking state, disconnection during sleep might be necessary for integrating new into existing information and at the same time restoring brain effic