Preserved fractal character of structural brain networks is associated with covert consciousness after severe brain injury.

ABSTRACT: Self-similarity is ubiquitous throughout natural phenomena, including the human brain. Recent evidence indicates that fractal dimension of functional brain networks, a measure of self-similarity, is diminished in patients diagnosed with disorders of consciousness arising from severe brain injury. Here, we set out to investigate whether loss of self-similarity is observed in the structural connectome of patients with disorders of consciousness. Using diffusion MRI tractography from N = 11 patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS), N = 10 patients diagnosed with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS), and N = 20 healthy controls, we show that fractal dimension of structural brain networks is diminished in DOC patients. Remarkably, we also show that fractal dimension of structural brain

SUBMITTER: Luppi AI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8102619 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature