I’m looking for researchers studying whether consciousness has observable physical correlates, using methods like brain imaging or other standard lab tools. Work on unusual or psi-related claims would also be of interest, as long as the evidence is clearly distinguished from established findings.
Who studies the physical side of consciousness?
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ApricotWindow
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For mainstream neuroscience, look at Anil Seth, Christof Koch, Stanislas Dehaene, and Giulio Tononi. They approach consciousness in different ways, from linking brain activity to conscious perception to theories about how information is integrated or made available for report. None of those approaches is a settled answer, though.
Researchers usually study measurable correlates, such as brain activity during perception, sleep, or anesthesia. Imaging and electrical recordings can tell us a lot, but they are not a direct readout of subjective experience. Michael Levin is an interesting adjacent case because much of his work concerns bioelectric signaling and cognition-like processes in living systems, rather than being primarily a researcher of human consciousness.
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If you want the psi side too, Jessica Utts and Dean Radin are names associated with research on claims such as remote viewing and other psi effects. That is a separate, controversial area, not an established branch of neuroscience. The evidence and how it should be interpreted are disputed, so I’d keep it separate from research on neural correlates of consciousness.
For a useful starting point, check what each researcher actually measures and whether the result has been independently replicated. That helps distinguish a testable claim from a broad claim that consciousness must have some physical aspect.
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