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Consciousness-specific dynamic interactions of brain integration and functional diversity.

ABSTRACT: Prominent theories of consciousness emphasise different aspects of neurobiology, such as the integration and diversity of information processing within the brain. Here, we combine graph theory and dynamic functional connectivity to compare resting-state functional MRI data from awake volunteers, propofol-anaesthetised volunteers, and patients with disorders of consciousness, in order to identify consciousness-specific patterns of brain function. We demonstrate that cortical networks are especially affected by loss of consciousness during temporal states of high integration, exhibiting reduced functional diversity and compromised informational capacity, whereas thalamo-cortical functional disconnections emerge during states of higher segregation. Spatially, posterior regions of the brain's default mode network exhibit reductions in both functional diversity and integration with the rest of the brain during unconsciousness. These results show that human consciousness relies on spatio-temporal interactions between brain integration and functional diversity, whose breakdown may represent a generalisable biomarker of loss of consciousness, with potential relevance for clinical practice.

SUBMITTER: Luppi AI

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6787094 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Consciousness-specific dynamic interactions of brain integration and functional diversity.

Luppi Andrea I AI Craig Michael M MM Pappas Ioannis I Finoia Paola P Williams Guy B GB Allanson Judith J Pickard John D JD Owen Adrian M AM Naci Lorina L Menon David K DK Stamatakis Emmanuel A EA

Nature communications 20191010 1

Prominent theories of consciousness emphasise different aspects of neurobiology, such as the integration and diversity of information processing within the brain. Here, we combine graph theory and dynamic functional connectivity to compare resting-state functional MRI data from awake volunteers, propofol-anaesthetised volunteers, and patients with disorders of consciousness, in order to identify consciousness-specific patterns of brain function. We demonstrate that cortical networks are especial ...[more]

PMID: 31601811

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Project description:Recent experimental evidence on patients with disorders of consciousness revealed that observing brain-heart interactions helps to detect residual consciousness, even in patients with absence of behavioral signs of consciousness. Those findings support hypotheses suggesting that visceral activity is involved in the neurobiology of consciousness, and sum to the existing evidence in healthy participants in which the neural responses to heartbeats reveal perceptual and self-consciousness. More evidence obtained through mathematical modeling of physiological dynamics revealed that emotion processing is prompted by an initial modulation from ascending vagal inputs to the brain, followed by sustained bidirectional brain-heart interactions. Those findings support long-lasting hypotheses on the causal role of bodily activity in emotions, feelings, and potentially consciousness. In this paper, the theoretical landscape on the potential role of heartbeats in cognition and consciousness is reviewed, as well as the experimental evidence supporting these hypotheses. I advocate for methodological developments on the estimation of brain-heart interactions to uncover the role of cardiac inputs in the origin, levels, and contents of consciousness. The ongoing evidence depicts interactions further than the cortical responses evoked by each heartbeat, suggesting the potential presence of non-linear, complex, and bidirectional communication between brain and heartbeat dynamics. Further developments on methodologies to analyze brain-heart interactions may contribute to a better understanding of the physiological dynamics involved in homeostatic-allostatic control, cognitive functions, and consciousness. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Neural responses to heartbeats reveal residual consciousness after brain damage.• Brain-heart interactions (BHI) may be involved in the neurobiology of consciousness.• Emotions and feelings imply bidirectional BHI and are prompted by ascending vagal inputs.• Developments on BHI measurement may help to uncover further links with consciousness.• Hypotheses on the role of BHI in consciousness should consider complex interactions.

Dataset Information

Consciousness-specific dynamic interactions of brain integration and functional diversity.

Publications

Consciousness-specific dynamic interactions of brain integration and functional diversity.

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