Systems and methods are provided for monitoring a subject, and particularly, for inferring an underlying brain state present in absence of current conditions. In some aspects, a method for monitoring the subject is provided including steps of receiving physiological feedback from at least one sensor configured to acquire physiological information from locations associated with a subject's brain, assembling a set of time-series data using the received physiological feedback, and identifying portions of the set of time-series data that indicate a burst suppression state. The method also includes identifying a burst characteristic profile associated with a burst pattern determined from the identified portions, and comparing the burst characteristic against a reference set of burst profiles. The method further includes determining, based on the comparison, a likelihood of a brain state of the subject underlying the burst suppression state, and generating a report indicative of the likelihood of the determined brain state.