Book1999
Consciousness
Allan Hobson
Presents waking consciousness, sleep and dreaming as different global states of the same brain, distinguished by which neuromodulatory systems are active.
PaidEntry
Sleep & Consciousness
The states the brain moves between, and the hard problem underneath.
10 topics · 18 curated works
Topics
- 01Foundations & Overviews2
- 02Sleep Architecture2
- 03Circadian Regulation of Sleep1
- 04Dreaming2
- 05Sleep Deprivation Effects2
- 06Anaesthesia & Unconsciousness2
- 07Theories of Consciousness1
- 08Global Workspace Theory2
- 09Integrated Information Theory2
- 10Altered States2
Reading in Sleep & Consciousness
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No prior grounding assumed.
Consciousness
Allan Hobson · 1999
Presents waking consciousness, sleep and dreaming as different global states of the same brain, distinguished by which neuromodulatory systems are…
+3 more at this level
Then
Assumes you know the vocabulary.
Regularly Occurring Periods of Eye Motility, and Concomitant Phenomena, During Sleep
Eugene Aserinsky & Nathaniel Kleitman · 1953
Reports periodic bursts of rapid eye movement during sleep accompanied by a distinct EEG pattern, identifying REM as a physiologically separate sleep…
+5 more at this level
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Primary sources and full treatments.
A Manual of Standardized Terminology, Techniques and Scoring System for Sleep Stages of Human Subjects
Allan Rechtschaffen & Anthony Kales · 1968
Establishes a standardised system for scoring human sleep stages from EEG, EOG and EMG that made sleep research results comparable across…
+7 more at this level
12 of 18 works
Book2002
Consciousness: A User's Guide
Adam Zeman
Surveys what neurology's loss-of-consciousness cases - coma, seizure, sleep, anaesthesia - reveal about what consciousness requires from the brain.
PaidEntry
Talk2017
Your Brain Hallucinates Your Conscious Reality
Anil Seth (TED)
Argues that perception is a controlled hallucination in which the brain's predictions are corrected by sensory error rather than built up from it, and extends the account to the sense of self.
link checked 17 Sept 2026FreeEntry
Book2017
Why We Sleep
Matthew Walker
Argues chronic sleep loss causes measurable harm across memory, immunity and mood, a popular synthesis later disputed for overstating the certainty of some of the underlying evidence.
PaidEntry
Paper1953
Regularly Occurring Periods of Eye Motility, and Concomitant Phenomena, During Sleep
Eugene Aserinsky & Nathaniel Kleitman
Reports periodic bursts of rapid eye movement during sleep accompanied by a distinct EEG pattern, identifying REM as a physiologically separate sleep stage.
link checked 17 Sept 2026FreeIntermediate
Paper1977
The Brain as a Dream State Generator: An Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis of the Dream Process
Allan Hobson & Robert McCarley
Proposes dreams arise when the forebrain synthesises a narrative from essentially random brainstem activation during REM sleep, rather than expressing a disguised unconscious wish.
PaidIntermediate
Paper1999
Stability, Precision, and Near-24-Hour Period of the Human Circadian Pacemaker
Charles Czeisler et al.
Shows the human circadian pacemaker runs close to 24 hours rather than the longer period long assumed from earlier studies confounded by artificial light exposure.
PaidIntermediate
Paper2006
Psilocybin Can Occasion Mystical-Type Experiences Having Substantial and Sustained Personal Meaning and Spiritual Significance
Roland Griffiths, William Richards, Una McCann & Robert Jesse
Reports that a single high dose of psilocybin under controlled conditions occasions experiences volunteers rate as among the most meaningful of their lives, restarting clinical research into psychedelics.
link checked 17 Sept 2026FreeIntermediate
Paper2008
Consciousness and Anesthesia
Michael Alkire, Anthony Hudetz & Giulio Tononi
Argues general anaesthetics produce unconsciousness by disrupting communication between brain regions rather than by silencing any single centre.
link checked 17 Sept 2026FreeIntermediate
Paper2012
Neural Correlates of the Psychedelic State as Determined by fMRI Studies With Psilocybin
Robin Carhart-Harris et al.
Shows psilocybin reduces activity and connectivity in the brain's default mode network hubs, arguing the psychedelic state results from disintegration rather than increased brain activity.
PaidIntermediate
Report1968
A Manual of Standardized Terminology, Techniques and Scoring System for Sleep Stages of Human Subjects
Allan Rechtschaffen & Anthony Kales
Establishes a standardised system for scoring human sleep stages from EEG, EOG and EMG that made sleep research results comparable across laboratories.
link checked 17 Sept 2026FreeAdvanced
Book1988
A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness
Bernard Baars
Proposes consciousness arises when information is broadcast from a limited-capacity global workspace to many specialised unconscious processors at once.
PaidAdvanced
In order written
1953 – 2019- 1953Regularly Occurring Periods of Eye Motility, and Concomitant Phenomena, During SleepEugene Aserinsky & Nathaniel Kleitman
- 1968A Manual of Standardized Terminology, Techniques and Scoring System for Sleep Stages of Human SubjectsAllan Rechtschaffen & Anthony Kales
- 1977The Brain as a Dream State Generator: An Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis of the Dream ProcessAllan Hobson & Robert McCarley
- 1988A Cognitive Theory of ConsciousnessBernard Baars
- 1998A Neuronal Model of a Global Workspace in Effortful Cognitive TasksStanislas Dehaene, Michel Kerszberg & Jean-Pierre Changeux
- 1999ConsciousnessAllan Hobson
- 1999Stability, Precision, and Near-24-Hour Period of the Human Circadian PacemakerCharles Czeisler et al.
- 2000Dreaming and REM Sleep Are Controlled by Different Brain MechanismsMark Solms
- 2001Consciousness and the BrainstemJosef Parvizi & Antonio Damasio
- 2002Consciousness: A User's GuideAdam Zeman
- 2003The Cumulative Cost of Additional Wakefulness: Dose-Response Effects on Neurobehavioral Functions and Sleep Physiology From Chronic Sleep Restriction and Total Sleep DeprivationHans Van Dongen, Greg Maislin, Janet Mullington & David Dinges
- 2004An Information Integration Theory of ConsciousnessGiulio Tononi
- 2006Psilocybin Can Occasion Mystical-Type Experiences Having Substantial and Sustained Personal Meaning and Spiritual SignificanceRoland Griffiths, William Richards, Una McCann & Robert Jesse
- 2008Consciousness and AnesthesiaMichael Alkire, Anthony Hudetz & Giulio Tononi
- 2012Neural Correlates of the Psychedelic State as Determined by fMRI Studies With PsilocybinRobin Carhart-Harris et al.
- 2017Your Brain Hallucinates Your Conscious RealityAnil Seth (TED)
- 2017Why We SleepMatthew Walker
- 2019The Unfolding Argument: Why IIT and Other Causal Structure Theories Cannot Explain ConsciousnessAdrien Doerig, Aaron Schurger, Kathryn Hess & Michael Herzog
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This subject genuinely sits in more than one domain. These fields approach the same ground with different methods.