Consciousness and complexity: a consilience of evidence
Neuroscience of Consciousness January 1, 2021 Simone Sarasso, Adenauer G. Casali, Silvia Casarotto et al. 183 citations
A growing body of empirical studies has identified complexity-related measures as reliable markers of consciousness across conditions including sleep, anesthesia, hallucinatory states, coma, and related disorders. These measures were proposed independently by researchers working within different frameworks and using diverse methods. This paper systematically reviews that literature, identifies a common denominator among the measures, and traces it to theoretical principles and predictions made over 20 years ago. The authors highlight a consistent trajectory across two decades of consciousness research and offer a provisional taxonomy of the existing work. They argue that this convergence provides a solid foundation for designing future experiments and advancing the field.