Neuroentropy and Consciousness: A Meta-Analytic Review
BRAIN BROAD RESEARCH IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEUROSCIENCE December 5, 2025 José Luis Díaz Palencia
Higher neuroentropy—the complexity or diversity of brain activity—characterizes wakefulness, REM sleep, and psychedelic states, while reduced entropy marks anesthesia, deep NREM sleep, and disorders of consciousness. Psychedelic substances pharmacologically increase entropy, corresponding to vivid, varied experience; unconscious states show low-complexity dynamics. Entropy measures have clinical value for anesthesia monitoring and detecting covert awareness. Challenges remain in metric selection, distinguishing meaningful complexity from noise, and mapping entropy to the content of consciousness. Overall, neuroentropy serves as a physiologically grounded index for level of consciousness and its alterations.