Offline Brains: Information processing beyond awareness
We often define unconscious states by what is missing, but what remains? This theme explores the distinct computations, such as memory replay, synaptic maintenance, and sensory gating, that persist when consciousness is suspended. We ask: Do sleep, coma, and anesthesia represent rigid, distinct biological categories, or do they share a common "offline" architecture?
Featuring presentations from:
Derek Newman
Joaquim Streicher
Johann Pacheco-Veissière
And an introductory talk from:
Pinyao Liu
Derek Newman
Derek Newman is a PhD candidate at McGill University studying computational neuroscience and consciousness using neuroimaging. His research bridges dynamical systems, complexity science, and computational modeling, with a focus on quantifying brain complexity and network dynamics during anesthesia and in patients with severe brain injury. By combining nonlinear dynamics, information-theoretic features, and machine learning, he aims to build interpretable biomarkers that track brain state and predict recovery in disorders of consciousness.
Joaquim Streicher
Joaquim Streicher is a PhD candidate at Université de Montréal under the supervision of Catherine Duclos and Pedro Mediano (Imperial College London). He is also the founder of the Montreal Initiative for Consciousness (MONIC), a student association promoting scientific communication in consciousness science. His research focuses on characterizing altered states of consciousness using EEG and information-theoretic metrics, with the clinical aim of developing new anesthesia depth monitoring tools and diagnostic tools for patients with disorders of consciousness. He is also interested in building new frameworks and measures for testing consciousness beyond humans, including animals, biotechnologies, and AI systems.
Johann Pacheco-Veissière
Johann Pacheco-Veissière is currently a Research Assistant in the Neurophilosophy Lab at McGill University, and will begin an M.Sc. within the Psychedelics and Contemplation Lab this coming fall. His research utilises rTMS experiments to investigate theory of mind within the Neurophilosophy lab, and also focus on the neuroscience of meditative states in the Psychedelics and Contemplation Lab.