Statistical Mechanics of Consciousness

Synopsis

The quest to understand the relation between consciousness and organization of matter has been going on for decades. Recordings of brain activity show constant change in configurations of cellular connections to cope with continuous flux of information from sensory stimuli. Recently, a correlation between different states of consciousness and statistical ensembles of fluctuations in brain coordinated activity has been observed, in agreement with the laws of thermodynamics. In this talk, I will concisely review three different neurophysiological recording techniques (MEG, EEG, iEEG) then discuss how consciousness emerges from maximization of information and optimal organization of brain activity.