Zirui Huang, PhD

I am a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Director of the Center for Consciousness Science at the University of Michigan Medical School. I have a multidisciplinary background spanning psychology, biology, cognitive neuroscience, and neuroimaging.

My research focuses on the neural mechanisms of consciousness and conscious cognition, with particular emphasis on how large-scale brain networks and thalamocortical systems support different states and contents of consciousness. Using multimodal neuroimaging, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), and advanced computational approaches, my work examines alterations of brain function associated with anesthesia, sleep, disorders of consciousness, and psychedelic states. I am also interested in translating mechanistic insights into causal and therapeutic approaches through noninvasive neuromodulation, particularly low-intensity focused ultrasound.

• Neural substrates and mechanisms of consciousness, including the boundaries between conscious and non-conscious processing.
• Neural signatures of conscious states across wakefulness, anesthesia, sleep, disorders of consciousness, and neuropsychiatric conditions.
• Spatiotemporal organization and large-scale brain dynamics underlying conscious cognition and altered states of consciousness.
• Perceptual awareness and conscious access.
• Causal modulation of brain networks and conscious states using noninvasive neuromodulation, including low-intensity focused ultrasound.