Questions about the nature of consciousness remain among the most perplexing areas of modern scientific research, with implications for neuroscience and the human mind, as well as our broader concept of reality.
In 2025, many new thresholds in this complex area of study were crossed, with empirical inquiry into our questions about the nature of consciousness occurring within fields such as neuroscience, psychology, and medicine. Many advancements in this area over the last year have also challenged long-held assumptions about where and how consciousness originates, how widespread it may be, and how profoundly altered states can reshape human perception.
Here’s a look at just a few of the major stories involving consciousness, the mind, awareness, and the science behind it all that The Debrief has covered in 2025.
Did ‘Universal Consciousness’ Exist Before the Big Bang?
Among the year’s most provocative work about consciousness, one controversial peer-reviewed paper published in AIP Advances proposed that “universal consciousness” may have existed before the Big Bang, functioning not as a byproduct of matter but as a foundational feature of reality itself.
Such claims are nothing new and remain hotly debated by researchers, although they reflect a growing willingness among scientists to explore questions about consciousness, whether it is purely emergent or could play a deeper role in shaping the universe. The result has been a reignition of discussions long relegated to philosophy, now increasingly framed through modern cosmology and theoretical physics.
Consciousness May Be Far More Widespread Than Previously Believed
Closer to Earth, neuroscientists and cognitive researchers have increasingly argued that consciousness may be far older and more widespread than traditionally believed. Studies examining simple organisms, brain networks, and evolutionary pathways this year, undertaken by researchers at Ruhr University Bochum, suggested that rudimentary forms of awareness could predate complex nervous systems throughout the animal kingdom.
Rather than being the apex of the human evolutionary process, the researchers argue in a pair of papers that appeared in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, consciousness “rather represents a more basic cognitive process, possibly shared with other animal phyla.” This reframing has major implications not only for how scientists define consciousness but also for how humans understand their relationship to other life forms.
Psychedelic Therapy and Related Discoveries
Perhaps the most tangible advances came from renewed interest in altered states of consciousness, particularly through psychedelic research. Multiple studies in 2025 demonstrated that psychedelic compounds can rapidly reorganize brain networks, temporarily dissolving rigid patterns of thought associated with depression, trauma, and addiction.
At the same time, scientists explored non-drug pathways to similar states, such as research into ancient breathwork techniques combined with modern neuroscience that suggests altered states resembling psychedelic experiences could be induced through controlled breathing alone.
Additionally, long-term studies also continued to examine the social and spiritual dimensions of psychedelic experiences. Decades of research now suggest that such states often produce a heightened sense of connection—to other people, to nature, and to perceived transcendent realities. In 2025, experiments involving participants from diverse religious backgrounds highlighted how profoundly personal belief systems shape the interpretation of these experiences, even when the underlying neurochemical mechanisms are shared.
Pitting Consciousness Theories Against Each Other
Meanwhile, researchers made rare progress on a long-standing scientific impasse: competing theories of consciousness. Chris Plain, reporting for The Debrief in May on a 2025 Allen Institute study, described Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and the Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT), a pair of differing approaches to consciousness.
The resulting research revealed functional connections between neurons within the visual areas of the brain and the brain’s frontal areas, which the researchers behind the study say helps them “understand how our perceptions tie to our thoughts” while also reducing the typical emphasis on “the importance of the prefrontal cortex in consciousness, suggesting that while it’s important for reasoning and planning, consciousness itself may be linked with sensory processing and perception.”
University of Virginia Researchers Study Support Gaps for NDE Experiencers
Finally, 2025 saw increased attention to near-death experiences (NDEs) as a legitimate area of study. Researchers at the University of Virginia identified significant gaps in psychological and medical support for people who report NDEs, many of whom struggle to integrate these experiences into their lives. While interpretations of NDEs vary widely, the research emphasized a growing consensus: regardless of cause, such experiences can be deeply transformative—and ignoring their impact may carry real mental health consequences.
Taken together, these stories reveal a year in which consciousness research moved decisively out of the shadows. Whether probing the origins of awareness in the early universe, mapping its neural signatures, or exploring its therapeutic potential, scientists in 2025 treated consciousness not as an unspeakable mystery—but as a frontier worth confronting directly.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.