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How Neuroscience Backs Baars’ Global Workspace Theory

Exploring the Global Workspace Theory: Consciousness Unveiled. Join us as we unravel Bernard Baars’ groundbreaking Global Workspace Theory (GWT) and discover how our brain functions like a theater, spotlighting conscious experiences.

00:00:00 Introduction to Global Workspace Theory.
00:00:34 Global Broadcasting.
00:01:08 Evidence from Brain Imaging and EEG Studies.
00:01:35 Common Mechanism for Conscious Access.
00:02:21 Intracranial EEG Study by Gaillard and Colleagues.
00:02:56 Brain Activity Overdrive.
00:03:56 Neuronal Synchrony and Binocular Rivalry.
00:04:13 Rhythm of Awareness.
00:05:03 Dynamic Synchrony and Global Accessibility.
00:05:19 On-Air Sign for the Brain.
00:05:35 Long-Distance Coordination and Global Coherence.
00:06:04 The Brain Orchestra.
00:06:20 Global Workspace and Clinical Neurology.
00:06:49 Disrupting Global Connectivity.
00:07:22 Frontal Lobe Lesions and Blindsight.
00:08:01 Widespread Disconnection and Fading of Consciousness.
00:08:57 Recovery from Disorders of Consciousness.
00:09:16 Temporary Inactivation with TMS
00:10:12 Interrupting Broadcasting Hubs.
00:10:35 Restoring Connectivity and Consciousness.
00:11:26 Jump-Starting Thalamo-Cortical Circuits.
00:11:43 Re-Engaging the Global Workspace.
00:11:58 The Brain’s Internal News Feed.
00:12:31 Broadcasting and Subjective Experience.

Panpsychism and Explaining Consciousness — TED Talk — David Chalmers

Our consciousness is a fundamental aspect of our existence, says philosopher David Chalmers: “There’s nothing we know about more directly… but at the same time it’s the most mysterious phenomenon in the universe.” He shares some ways to think about the movie playing in our heads.

Single-Shot Parity Readout of a Minimal Kitaev Chain: A Breakthrough in Majorana Qubits

In a major technical leap published in Nature on February 11, 2026, an international research team led by QuTech (Delft University of Technology) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has demonstrated the first single-shot, real-time readout of the quantum information stored in Majorana qubits. This achievement addresses the “readout problem”—the long-standing experimental hurdle of measuring a non-locally distributed quantum state without compromising its inherent topological protection.

The study, titled “Single-shot parity readout of a minimal Kitaev chain,” utilizes a novel quantum capacitance technique to sense the global state of a “Kitaev minimal chain.” By constructing a bottom-up nanostructure of two semiconductor quantum dots coupled via a superconductor, the team successfully generated Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in a controlled, modular fashion. This “Lego-like” approach allowed the researchers to discriminate between the even and odd parity states (the 0 and 1 of the qubit) in real-time, effectively unlocking the “safe box” of topological information.

Brain Volumes After Hypertensive Pregnancy and Postpartum Blood Pressure Management: A POP-HT Randomized Clinical Trial Imaging Substudy

In a randomized clinical trial of women with prior HypertensivePregnancy, physician-optimized postpartum blood pressure self-management was associated with larger white matter brain volumes at 9 months compared with usual care.

Women with a history of preeclampsia receiving usual care had smaller volumes in subcortical regions (putamen, accumbens, pallidum) than those with gestational hypertension, differences that were not observed in the intervention group.

This randomized clinical trial indicates that a postpartum blood pressure management intervention after hypertensive disorders of pregnancy may be associated with favorable brain structure during the first year post partum. The intervention was linked to larger white matter volumes across women with hypertensive pregnancy (gestational hypertension and preeclampsia). In addition, women with a history of preeclampsia in the usual care arm showed smaller subcortical brain volumes at 6 to 9 months post partum than those with gestational hypertension; these differences were not evident among women in the intervention arm.

Both women with preeclampsia and gestational hypertension experience high blood pressure during pregnancy that frequently persists post partum.28 Lower white matter integrity has been reported from the peripartum period into later life.3,12,29 Hypertension-related white matter injury30,31 is associated with slower processing speed, executive dysfunction, and memory impairment.31 Although cognitive impact may not be obvious in the early postpartum period, white matter changes predict later cognitive decline and dementia,32 and converging longitudinal evidence suggests that reductions in white matter volume and integrity track cognitive decline, supporting the interpretation that better-preserved white matter is beneficial.33

Whether postpartum white matter changes are preventable or reversible had not been investigated. In this randomized clinical trial, a short-term blood pressure control intervention was associated with larger brain volumes several months later, when most participants were no longer taking antihypertensive medication. This is consistent with the postpartum period as a critical window for pregnancy-associated brain volume and blood pressure changes. Because baseline brain MRIs were not acquired, we cannot distinguish recovery of pregnancy-related changes from a slower postpregnancy decline relative to usual care.

Study of 65,000 college students links 16 hours a week on social media to higher loneliness

More than half of college students are lonely—and those who use social media the most are particularly likely to feel isolated, a study of tens of thousands of 18 to 24-year-olds in the US shows. Just 16 hours a week—two or so hours a day—on social media was linked with higher odds of loneliness, reports a paper in the Journal of American College Health.

The study’s authors said that academic institutions should educate students on the effects of social media use and encourage them to set time limits.

Researcher Dr. Madelyn Hill, now an assistant professor at Ohio University, who led the study while completing her doctoral work in University of Cincinnati’s School of Human Services in spring 2025, explains, We know that people who are lonely are more likely to become depressed. We also know that those who are lonely are more likely to die early.

A common biomarker of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder revealed

For decades, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BD) were treated as distinct and unrelated psychiatric disorders. Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder characterized by altered thinking and emotional patterns, hallucinations, false or irrational beliefs (i.e., delusions), cognitive deficits, and disorganized speech. BD, on the other hand, is marked by extreme mood swings, ranging between periods of high-energy (i.e., mania or hypomania) and depressive episodes.

While the symptoms of schizophrenia and BD are markedly different, many patients diagnosed with either of these conditions experience psychosis at least once in their lifetime. Psychosis is a mental state that causes people to lose touch with reality, experiencing hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, and irrational thinking patterns.

More recently, studies found that patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and BD sometimes share other overlapping symptoms, as well as common patterns in their genes and brain organization. This inspired the idea that these disorders are part of a shared psychosis spectrum, which would explain their common features and characteristics.

A spatial and projection-based transcriptomic atlas of paraventricular hypothalamic cell types

Li et al. present a spatial transcriptomic atlas of the mouse paraventricular hypothalamus (PVH) and provide molecular markers for parabrachial-and spinal cord-projecting PVH populations. They further show that Brs3-expressing PVH neurons regulate satiety, as they co-express Mc4r, cause weight gain when silenced, and reduce food intake via parabrachial projections.

The ageing immune system as a driver of systemic ageing

Ageing of the immune system is now realized to drive systemic ageing, and there is interest in targeting immune ageing in order to promote healthy ageing. Here, the authors detail how ageing affects different immune cell populations and discuss strategies to rejuvenate the immune system in order to extend healthspan.

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