VISION
To be a global leader of excellence in consciousness studies
• To build a platform for multidisciplinary research in the domains of science, humanities and culture pertaining to consciousness by integrating Indian philosophical wisdom with neuroscience
• To undertake research studies to demonstrate the importance of tradition-based meditation techniques on consciousness and wellbeing
• To provide leadership in the domains of mind-brain-self and consciousness by creating opportunities for young scientists, faculty and visiting faculty
• To promote teaching and learning activities in various domains of consciousness
• To undertake Yoga and meditation-based intervention approaches into neuropsychiatric clinics for a holistic approach for research and patient care
Deciphering the underlying scientific basis of consciousness is one of the greatest challenges confronted by neuroscientists, philosophers, psychologists, mathematicians, quantum physicists, computer scientists, evolutionary biologists and others. India has a long tradition of exploring this concept from philosophical and cultural perspectives. However, deciphering consciousness using an integrated perspective by using the insights from modern neuroscience and our ancient philosophical and cultural traditions has not been attempted. NIMHANS by virtue of its indisputable competence in neuroscience and mind science will be a unique and most preferred institute to establish such a multi-disciplinary center for consciousness studies.
Renowned scientists and visionaries of yesteryears of NIMHANS, late Prof. T. Desiraju, late Prof. R.M. Verma and late Prof. R.L.Kapur, had recognized the importance of initiating and perpetuating studies to explore the neural basis of brain-mind-self and consciousness. In recognition of the efforts of these eminent scientists, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) funded a project on consciousness studies way back in 1980 to Prof. T. Desiraju, Prof & Head, Department of Neurophysiology. Prof. Desiraju and his team of scientists including Dr. B.L. Meti, Dr. B.R. Kanchan and Dr. Shirley Telles have undertaken studies especially on the neurophysiology of Yoga and Meditation as well as on the Yoga interventions in psychosomatic disorders have made significant impact in the scientific community across globe.
Imbibing inspiration from earlier studies, the present research team of NIMHANS under the leadership of Prof. Bindu M. Kutty from the Department of Neurophysiology took up consciousness studies in collaboration with research scientists from other institutions (NIAS, IISc and Navanalanda Mahavihara for Buddhist studies) as well as with faculty from NIMHANS. The team has initiated preliminary studies on neural mechanisms of meditation, meditation and cognition, meditation and sleep organization, meditation and well being, neurobiology of Schizophrenia , anxiety disorders and neurodegenerative disorders as a way to understand the neural basis of consciousness. Such intensive research studies over the last 20 years spanning several disciplines of cognition and consciousness have helped the team to acquire core competence and expertise. The research team at NIMHANS has developed expertise to explore the functions of brain and mind using tools such as EEG, ERP, MRI, fMRI and other psychometric scales.
Though the team has been able to work together on this intricate scientific problems with admirable coherence and attitude, it was always felt that there should be a comprehensive facility to explore in detail the emanating challenges of consciousness research studies. In view of this, ministry of Health and family welfare, Govt.of India sanctioned this multidisciplinary Center for Consciousness studies at NIMHANS and to explore in detail the relation between brain, mind, self and consciousness along illness to wellness spectrum.
Chairperson: Prof. D Nagaraja, Former Director, NIMHANS
| Dr. H. R. Nagendra, Chancellor, S-VYASA, Bengaluru | Prof. Ramesh Bijlani, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi |
| Dr. R Nagarathna, Dean, S-VYASA, Bengaluru | Prof. B. N. Gangadhar, Former Director, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, President, NMC Medical Assessment & Rating Board |
| Dr. W. Selvamurthy, President, Amity University, Chhattisgarh | Swami Atmapriyananda, Pro Chancellor, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute (RKMVERI), Belur Math, Howrah, West Bengal |
| Geshe Lharampa Dorjee Damdul, Director, Tibet House, New Delhi | Dr Ishwar V Basavaraddi, Director, Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, Ministry of AYUSH, Govt. of India, New Delhi |
| Dr. Shirley Telles, Director, Patanjali Research Foundation in Haridwar, India | Prof. Sisir Roy, NIAS, Bengaluru |
| Prof. Steven Laureys, Research Director, National Fund of Scientific Research (FNRS), Belgium | Prof. Narayanan Srinivasan, Head of the Department of Cognitive Science, IIT, Kanpur |
| Prof. Sangeetha Menon, Dean, NIAS, Bengaluru | Prof. Antonino Raffone, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy |
| Dr. C R Chandrashekar, Former Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Founder of Samadhana Counselling Trust Centre, Bengaluru | Dr. C R Mukundan, Former Professor, Dept. of Clinical Psychology, NIMHANS |
| Dr. Priti Dedhia, Director, Vipassana Research Institute, Igatpuri, Maharashtra | Dr. V N Jha, Founder Chairperson, Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi |
| Dr. B Mahadevan, Professor of Operations Management, Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru | Dr. Ellora Sen, Scientist F, NBRC |
| Mr. Sridharan, Senior Yoga Consultant, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram | SpARC Wing, Rajayoga Education and Research Foundation (RERF), Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India |
| Prof. Bindu M. Kutty, Officer In-charge, CCS, Dept. of Neurophysiology | Prof. John P. John, Dept. of Psychiatry |
| Prof. Seema Mehrotra, Dept. of Clinical Psychology | Prof. G. Venkatasubramanian, Dept. of Psychiatry |
| Prof. Ravi Yadav, Dept. of Neurology | Prof. Shivarama Varambally, Dept. of Psychiatry |
| Prof. Srinivas Bharath, Dept. of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neurotoxicology | Prof. Kishore Kumar Ramakrishna, Department of Integrative Medicine |
| Prof. Rose Dawn, Dept. of Neuroimaging & Interventional Radiology | Prof. Nupur Pruthi, Dept. of Neurosurgery |
| Dr. Monojit Debnath, Additional Professor, Dept. Human Genetics | Dr. Kaviraja Udupa, Dept. of Neurophysiology |
| Dr. R. Subasree, Dept. of Neurology | Dr. P N Ravindra, Dept. of Neurophysiology |
| Dr. Shantala Hegde, Dept. of Clinical Psychology | Dr. Jyotsna Agrawal, Dept. of Clinical Psychology |
| Dr. Sriganesh Kamat, Dept. of Neuroanaesthesia and Neurocritical Care | Dr. Bharath Holla, Dept. of Psychiatry |
| Dr. Pooja Mailankody, Dept. of Neurology | Dr. Hemant Bhargav, Dept. of Integrative medicine |
| Dr. D V Seshagiri, Dept. of Neurology | Dr. B V Kathyayini, College of Nursing |
| Dr. Arun Sasidharan, Dept. of Neurophysiology | Dr. Ramajayam Govindaraj, Dept. of Neurophysiology |
1) 64-channel Passive Gel-based Digital EEG/ERP system(Synamps2-64, Compumedics-Neuroscan, USA) (1 No)
2) 128-channel Passive Saline-based Digital EEG/ERP system (Net Amps-300, EGI, USA) (1 No)
3) 64-channel Active + Passive Digital EEG/ERP system (actiCHamp Plus-64, Brain Products, Germany) (1 No)
4) Digital Polysomnography system (EEG-1200, Nihon Kohden, Japan) (2 Nos)
5) 40-channel Digital Polysomnography system (Galileo Mizar-40, EB Neuro, Italy) (1 No)
6) 14-channel wireless portable Digital EEG device (EPOC, EMOTIV, USA) (2 Nos)
7) 12-channel Analog PSG system (GRASS, USA) (1 No)
8) 4-channel tACS device with wireless software control (axxStim, Axxonet, India) (1 No)
9) 3D electrode position digitization System (2 Nos)
11) High Performance Computing System (1 No)
12) Network Attached Storage (1 No)
13) Workstations (SSD, 64GB RAM, 8C,16T, GPU,4K) (8 Nos)
14) Actigraphy watches (6 Nos)
15) Ballistocardiography based sleep monitoring devices (Dozee) (2 Nos)
15) PA system
