Brain connectivity profiles across altered states of consciousness

This study aims to understand how changes in connectivity and information flow within and between brain hemispheres relate to different states of consciousness. Building on the view of the brain as a complex, hierarchical system, we investigate how patterns of integration and differentiation—key features of conscious processing—are reflected in functional connectivity. By analyzing resting-state fMRI data across diverse conditions such as sleep, psychedelic states, and neurodegeneration, and modeling them through the Ising spin-glass formalism, we seek to uncover the mechanistic principles that govern transitions in brain dynamics and complexity underlying conscious experience.