Nirosha Murugan

Consciousness has historically been tethered to neural correlates that position its causal structure within cellular circuits, pathways, and large-scale networks. These approaches have been empirically powerful, revealing reliable associations between patterns of neural activity and conscious states, yet they remain largely descriptive, emphasizing correlation rather than mechanism. In parallel, there has been increasing interest in contributions beyond canonical neural circuits, including the role of intracellular organization of structures like microtubules, bioenergetic processes, and mesoscale signaling architectures in shaping neural function. While growing evidence suggests that energy dynamics and structural organization within neurons influence information processing, a fundamental unresolved question is how such processes give rise to subjective experience, rather than merely refining molecular or cellular specificity. Here, we revisit the problem by asking not which structures produce consciousness, but what kind of physical process consciousness is. All physical processes involve the transfer, transduction, and transformation of energy as work is performed in material systems. If consciousness is produced by nervous systems as a physical process, it must entail the same relationship. Neuroscience already shows that conscious states covary with the differentiation and integration of neural activity, which can be reframed as patterns of dynamically organized energy landscapes. Within this framework, subcellular spaces are understood not as independent generators of experience, but as energetic interfaces where multiple energy modalities, including electrical, optical, and magnetic processes interact and can propagate information across scales. We synthesize recent findings showing that ultraweak photon emissions from brain tissue exhibit structured, entropic signatures that covary with established neural correlates of conscious states. We also review parallel perturbation studies using patterned magnetic fields and pulsed light, demonstrating that neural systems respond selectively to temporally structured energy inputs, with measurable effects on mitochondrial function, cytoskeletal dynamics, and neural activity. Together, these observations support an energy-based functional model of consciousness and motivate experimental strategies to probe how time-varying biophysical information shapes conscious states.

Nirosha earned her BSc in Behavioural Neuroscience, MSc in Biophysics, and PhD in Biomolecular Sciences at Laurentian University, where she pioneered quantum sensor-based technologies for non-invasive cancer detection, now commercialized through HelioFlux Inc. As a postdoctoral fellow in Michael Levin’s laboratory at Tufts University, she demonstrated that non neural systems use biophysical cues for decision making and, in collaboration with David Kaplan, developed a patented, silk hydrogel delivery system that induced limb regeneration in non-regenerative animals by leveraging the mechanical and bioelectric properties of the system. To learn more about her research and ongoing work in the Murugan Lab, visit themuruganlab.com.