Neuroengineering - Mapping Consciousness - SBNeC - Brain Bee Ideas

Neuromodulation and Plasticity – When the Mind Rebuilds Itself Through the Living Body

NIRS fNIRS EEG ERP Neuroengineering Neuromodulation and Plasticity

Imagine consciousness as an invisible city inside your brain, made of electric streets, symbolic squares, and lights blinking in harmony. Neuroengineering is the urban planning of this city: it maps circuits, uncovers atrophies, and reveals places where your presence can be reborn. And now, glia — the support cells — and blood signals make this map even more alive.

Expanded biological structure: neurons, glia, and multiscale models

• A recent study presents a multiscale (3D–1D–0D) model of the neuro-glio-vascular unit, especially in the dorsal vagal complex. This model integrates neuronal activity, astroglial calcium signaling, and vascular dynamics (blood flow), demonstrating how astrocytes regulate cerebral vessels to optimize metabolism — essential for preparing symbolic states (Zone 2). Published in 2025 in the arXiv repository.
  
  

• Emerging models also highlight the role of the microenvironment architecture at the synaptic level, where astrocytes and the extracellular matrix shape synaptic geometry and influence consciousness states and symbolic signal transmission. Review published in the Egyptian Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery (2023).
  
  

Blood biomarkers and consciousness

• In clinical practice, blood biomarkers are gaining relevance for diagnosing disorders of consciousness (DoC). Highlights include neural, glial, inflammatory, and metabolic biomarkers, which help differentiate vegetative states, coma, and recovery potential. Review published in Frontiers in Neurology (2024).
  
  

• GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) has proven effective in identifying subtle injuries to the central nervous system, with important implications for understanding the structural degree of entrapment (Zone 3). Review published in Nature Reviews Neurology (2021).
  
  

• Other emerging directions include biomarkers such as S100B protein, released by astrocytes after brain injury, which may help map emotional or symbolic impact in ideological trajectories. Review published in Psychiatric Times (2024).
  
  

EEG and fNIRS: The bridge between glia, blood, and consciousness

• EEG → Advantages: high temporal resolution, ideal for capturing microstate transitions between modes of consciousness (e.g., from Zone 3 to Zone 2).
  Limitations: low spatial precision, vulnerable to movement and muscle artifacts.
  
  

• fNIRS → Advantages: accessible, portable; measures cortical surface oxygenation (HbO and HbR), reflecting symbolic activity in areas such as the insula and prefrontal cortex.
  Limitations: cannot capture deep structures or fully explain glio-vascular effects.
  
  

• Combined: EEG detects the “electrical spark”; fNIRS observes the “fuel flow” that sustains symbolic reorganization.
  
  

Innovative applications

1. Multiscale computational modeling guides the design of protocols to identify flow states (Zone 2) using EEG–fNIRS data.
   
   

2. Glial biomarkers (GFAP, S100B) can be used to assess the structural state of consciousness and the degree of symbolic entrapment.
   
   

3. Integration of imaging + biochemistry offers a consistent map between function and structure: if there is symbolic vascularization (via fNIRS), recent glial support (blood biomarker), and active microstate (EEG), then the Inner City is ready to restart.
   
   

Conclusion

In Neuroengineering, building maps of consciousness requires combining synaptic architecture (neuronal and glial), symbolic vascularization, and signals flowing in the blood. EEG and fNIRS provide the eyes and pulse of this inner city, while biomarkers such as GFAP and S100B reveal its invisible foundations. By integrating these levels, we can finally access the “place of being” of the mind — its unique way of existing as both body and symbol.