Adrian Owen

Dr. Adrian M. Owen OBE is a British-Canadian neuroscientist and author recognized for research in human consciousness, cognitive neuroscience, and neuroimaging. Owen is a professor of cognitive neuroscience and imaging in the Departments of Physiology & Pharmacology and Psychology at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He previously served as assistant director of the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University and held the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging at Western University. Owen's work has advanced understanding of how different brain regions contribute to cognition, memory, and consciousness, and he pioneered the use of touchscreen technologies to assess cognitive function and identify early signs of neurodegenerative diseases, as well as to study conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Owen is known for his discovery, published in Science, that some patients diagnosed as being in a vegetative state are actually aware and able to communicate using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). At the Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge, he developed the "tennis task," which asks patients to imagine playing tennis or walking through their house—activities that activate distinct brain regions during fMRI scans, indicating consciousness. In his book "Into the Gray Zone: A Neuroscientist Explores the Border Between Life and Death," Owen discusses findings that an estimated 20 percent of patients regarded as vegetative or non-responsive are more aware than previously believed, able to perceive and understand their surroundings despite being unable to communicate conventionally.

Owen's research uses fMRI and electroencephalography (EEG) to assess consciousness in patients with severe brain injuries. At Western University, he demonstrated that EEG technology could yield similar results to fMRI, allowing for more accessible bedside assessments. These findings were published in The Lancet. In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, co-authored by Owen and a team of neurologists, doctors, imaging experts, and research scientists, the phenomenon was termed "cognitive motor dissociation." His research also addresses neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Owen has served as deputy editor of The European Journal of Neuroscience and has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, in addition to his book "Into the Gray Zone: A Neuroscientist Explores the Border Between Life and Death." He founded the online platform Cambridge Brain Sciences and directs the Azrieli program in Brain, Mind, and Consciousness, funded by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Owen is also on the executive committee of the BrainsCAN initiative at the University of Western Ontario. His work has been featured in media outlets including BBC, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Channel 4, CNN, and The Sunday Times.

In his TEDxUWO talk, "The Quest for Consciousness," Owen highlighted research showing that a significant number of people in a vegetative state are fully conscious, though unable to respond externally. Owen was appointed Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to scientific research and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. His career has contributed to redefining the understanding of consciousness and improving the assessment of patients with severe brain injuries.