Organised and Dissipated Neural Energy: A Two-Dimensional Marker of Phenomenal State from Resting EEG

Abstract A fundamental question for consciousness science is what changes in the brain when phenomenal experience arises or restructures. Current EEG metrics of consciousness fall into two classes: empirically calibrated clinical indices (Bispectral Index, Odd Ratio Product) and theoretically motivated complexity measures (Lempel-Ziv complexity, Perturbational Complexity Index). Both classes share a critical limitation: they are one-dimensional, tracking only the level of consciousness, not its internal structure. We introduce a two-dimensional framework built on a single theoretically grounded metric: η (spatial efficiency), defined as the ratio of organised oscillatory power to total oscillatory power across five frequency bands. η = ||Ψ|| / ||A||, where Ψ is the Effective Power Vector (amplitude weighted by spatial pattern stability Sγ) and A is the total amplitude vector. η is amplitude-independent by construction and is motivated simultaneously by the Free Energy Principle (Friston 2010), Global Workspace Theory (Dehaene EEG; spatial organisation; sleep; propofol sedation; global workspace theory; free energy principle; Odd Ratio Product; spatial efficiency