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The Liege node investigates the notion of the "basic self" from the neuroscientific perspective. In other words, we are interested in the necessary conditions that give rise to subjectivity as it is expressed in healthy volunteers and as it is demolished in patients with disorders of consciousness, i.e., coma, vegetative and minimally conscious states .

The brain's activity at rest has been suggested to be of particular importance to consciousness as it not only mediates conscious perception but also disappears in devastating conditions, such as brain death. More particularly, when the brain is free from external stimulation, it exhibits the activity of two cerebral networks with opposed functionality: an "extrinsic" (linked to the perception of environmental stimuli) and an "intrinsic" (linked to self-related processes, e.g. mental imagery). Given the importance of resting state to consciousness, we are initially interested to behaviorally quantify these two systems, secondly to investigate their relational flexibility and lastly to determine their conscious behavioral counterpart.

Publications

International Journals:

• Vanhaudenhuyse+, A., Demertzi+, A., Schabus, M., Noirhomme, Q., Bredart, S., Boly, M., et al. (in press). Two distinct neural networks mediate the awareness of environment and of self. J Cogn Neurosci.

• + Equally contributed

• Demertzi, A., Schnakers, C., Ledoux, D., Chatelle, C., Bruno, M. A., Vanhaudenhuyse, A., et al. (2009). Different beliefs about pain perception in the vegetative and minimally conscious states: a European survey of medical and paramedical professionals. Prog Brain Res, 177, 329-338.

• Demertzi, A., Liew, C., Ledoux, D., Bruno, M. A., Sharpe, M., Laureys, S., et al. (2009). Dualism persists in the science of mind. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci., 1157, 1-9.

• Demertzi, A., Vanhaudenhuyse, A., Bruno, M. A., Schnakers, C., Boly, M., Boveroux, P., et al. (2008). Is there anybody in there? Detecting awareness in disorders of consciousness. Expert. Rev. Neurother., 8(11), 1719-1730.

Book chapters:

Demertzi, A., Laureys, S., & Boly, M. (2009). Coma, persistent vegetative states, and diminished consciousness. In W. P. Banks (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Consciousness (pp. 147-156). Oxford: Elsevier.