Colloque - Lionel Naccache : Exploring Consciousness at the Edge: Global Neuronal Workspace Framework & Neurology

Stanislas DehaeneChaire Psychologie cognitive expérimentaleAnnée 2025-2026Collège de FranceColloque : Seeing the Mind, Educating the BrainPart 1: Seeing and Decoding the MindExploring Consciousness at the Edge: Global Neuronal Workspace Framework & NeurologyColloque - Lionel Naccache : Exploring Consciousness at the Edge: Global Neuronal Workspace Framework & NeurologyLionel NaccacheRésuméAfter a brief synthetic introduction to the Global Neuronal Workspace (GNW) theoretical framework, I will show how the exploration of conscious state and conscious access in extreme neurological or physiological conditions can be mutually beneficial by: (i) improving medical and ethical care of patients, and (ii) enriching cognitive neuroscience of consciousness by testing key theoretical predictions in unusual situations. I will illustrate this bidirectional approach by focusing on Disorders of Consciousness (i.e.: vegetative states also coined unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, minimally conscious state and related conditions), but I will also address more briefly key recent findings in epilepsy, hemispherotomy and sleep.