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Granato G, Baldassarre G. Bridging flexible goal-directed cognition and consciousness: The Goal-Aligning Representation Internal Manipulation theory. Neural Netw 2024; 176:106292. [PMID: 38657422 DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2024.106292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Goal-directed manipulation of internal representations is a key element of human flexible behaviour, while consciousness is commonly associated with higher-order cognition and human flexibility. Current perspectives have only partially linked these processes, thus preventing a clear understanding of how they jointly generate flexible cognition and behaviour. Moreover, these limitations prevent an effective exploitation of this knowledge for technological scopes. We propose a new theoretical perspective that extends our 'three-component theory of flexible cognition' toward higher-order cognition and consciousness, based on the systematic integration of key concepts from Cognitive Neuroscience and AI/Robotics. The theory proposes that the function of conscious processes is to support the alignment of representations with multi-level goals. This higher alignment leads to more flexible and effective behaviours. We analyse here our previous model of goal-directed flexible cognition (validated with more than 20 human populations) as a starting GARIM-inspired model. By bridging the main theories of consciousness and goal-directed behaviour, the theory has relevant implications for scientific and technological fields. In particular, it contributes to developing new experimental tasks and interpreting clinical evidence. Finally, it indicates directions for improving machine learning and robotics systems and for informing real-world applications (e.g., in digital-twin healthcare and roboethics).
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Granato
- Laboratory of Embodied Natural and Artificial Intelligence, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, Rome, Italy.
| | - Gianluca Baldassarre
- Laboratory of Embodied Natural and Artificial Intelligence, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council of Italy, Rome, Italy.
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2
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Motlagh SC, Joanisse M, Wang B, Mohsenzadeh Y. Unveiling the neural dynamics of conscious perception in rapid object recognition. Neuroimage 2024; 296:120668. [PMID: 38848982 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Our brain excels at recognizing objects, even when they flash by in a rapid sequence. However, the neural processes determining whether a target image in a rapid sequence can be recognized or not remains elusive. We used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the temporal dynamics of brain processes that shape perceptual outcomes in these challenging viewing conditions. Using naturalistic images and advanced multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) techniques, we probed the brain dynamics governing conscious object recognition. Our results show that although initially similar, the processes for when an object can or cannot be recognized diverge around 180 ms post-appearance, coinciding with feedback neural processes. Decoding analyses indicate that gist perception (partial conscious perception) can occur at ∼120 ms through feedforward mechanisms. In contrast, object identification (full conscious perception of the image) is resolved at ∼190 ms after target onset, suggesting involvement of recurrent processing. These findings underscore the importance of recurrent neural connections in object recognition and awareness in rapid visual presentations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saba Charmi Motlagh
- Western Center for Brain and Mind, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marc Joanisse
- Western Center for Brain and Mind, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Boyu Wang
- Western Center for Brain and Mind, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Computer Science, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yalda Mohsenzadeh
- Western Center for Brain and Mind, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Computer Science, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
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3
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Martín-Signes M, Chica AB, Bartolomeo P, Thiebaut de Schotten M. Streams of conscious visual experience. Commun Biol 2024; 7:908. [PMID: 39068236 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06593-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Consciousness, a cornerstone of human cognition, is believed to arise from complex neural interactions. Traditional views have focused on localized fronto-parietal networks or broader inter-regional dynamics. In our study, we leverage advanced fMRI techniques, including the novel Functionnectome framework, to unravel the intricate relationship between brain circuits and functional activity shaping visual consciousness. Our findings underscore the importance of the superior longitudinal fasciculus within the fronto-parietal fibers, linking conscious perception with spatial neglect. Additionally, our data reveal the critical contribution of the temporo-parietal fibers and the splenium of the corpus callosum in connecting visual information with conscious representation and their verbalization. Central to these networks is the thalamus, posited as a conductor in synchronizing these interactive processes. Contrasting traditional fMRI analyses with the Functionnectome approach, our results emphasize the important explanatory power of interactive mechanisms over localized activations for visual consciousness. This research paves the way for a comprehensive understanding of consciousness, highlighting the complex network of neural connections that lead to awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mar Martín-Signes
- Experimental Psychology Department, and Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC-UGR), University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives-UMR 5293, CNRS, CEA University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
| | - Ana B Chica
- Experimental Psychology Department, and Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC-UGR), University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Paolo Bartolomeo
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Michel Thiebaut de Schotten
- Groupe d'Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives-UMR 5293, CNRS, CEA University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
- Brain Connectivity and Behaviour Laboratory, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France.
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4
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Altmayer V, Sangare A, Calligaris C, Puybasset L, Perlbarg V, Naccache L, Sitt JD, Rohaut B. Functional and structural brain connectivity in disorders of consciousness. Brain Struct Funct 2024:10.1007/s00429-024-02839-8. [PMID: 39052096 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02839-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
Brain connectivity, allowing information to be shared between distinct cortical areas and thus to be processed in an integrated way, has long been considered critical for consciousness. However, the relationship between functional intercortical interactions and the structural connections thought to underlie them is poorly understood. In the present work, we explore both functional (with an EEG-based metric: the median weighted symbolic mutual information in the theta band) and structural (with a brain MRI-based metric: fractional anisotropy) connectivities in a cohort of 78 patients with disorders of consciousness. Both metrics could distinguish patients in a vegetative state from patients in minimally conscious state. Crucially, we discovered a significant positive correlation between functional and structural connectivities. Furthermore, we showed that this structure-function relationship is more specifically observed when considering structural connectivity within the intra- and inter-hemispheric long-distance cortico-cortical bundles involved in the Global Neuronal Workspace (GNW) theory of consciousness, thus supporting predictions of this model. Altogether, these results support the interest of multimodal assessments of brain connectivity in refining the diagnostic evaluation of patients with disorders of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Altmayer
- Sorbonne University, Paris, F-75013, France
- Department of Neurology, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Neuro-ICU, Paris, F-75013, France
| | - Aude Sangare
- Sorbonne University, Paris, F-75013, France
- Department of Neurophysiology, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, F-75013, France
- PICNIC-Lab, Paris Brain Institute, (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, Hôpital Pitié Salpêtrière, 47 bvd de l'hôpital, Paris, F-75013, France
| | - Charlotte Calligaris
- Sorbonne University, Paris, F-75013, France
- Department of Neurology, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Neuro-ICU, Paris, F-75013, France
| | - Louis Puybasset
- Sorbonne University, Paris, F-75013, France
- Department of Neuro-anesthesiology and Neurocritical Care, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, F-75013, France
| | | | - Lionel Naccache
- Sorbonne University, Paris, F-75013, France
- Department of Neurophysiology, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, F-75013, France
- PICNIC-Lab, Paris Brain Institute, (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, Hôpital Pitié Salpêtrière, 47 bvd de l'hôpital, Paris, F-75013, France
| | - Jacobo Diego Sitt
- PICNIC-Lab, Paris Brain Institute, (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, Hôpital Pitié Salpêtrière, 47 bvd de l'hôpital, Paris, F-75013, France
| | - Benjamin Rohaut
- Sorbonne University, Paris, F-75013, France.
- Department of Neurology, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Neuro-ICU, Paris, F-75013, France.
- PICNIC-Lab, Paris Brain Institute, (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, Hôpital Pitié Salpêtrière, 47 bvd de l'hôpital, Paris, F-75013, France.
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5
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Filimonov D, Krabbe A, Revonsuo A, Koivisto M. The influence of feature-based attention and response requirements on ERP correlates of auditory awareness. Neurosci Conscious 2024; 2024:niae031. [PMID: 39045031 PMCID: PMC11265865 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niae031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
In search for the neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs), it is important to isolate the true NCCs from their prerequisites, consequences, and co-occurring processes. To date, little is known about how attention affects the event-related potential (ERP) correlates of auditory awareness and there is contradictory evidence on whether one of them, the late positivity (LP), is affected by response requirements. By implementing a GO-NOGO design with target and nontarget stimuli, we controlled for feature-based attention and response requirements in the same experiment, while participants rated their awareness using a perceptual awareness scale. The results showed a prolonged auditory awareness negativity (AAN) for aware trials, which was influenced neither by attention nor by response requirement. The LP was affected by both attention and response requirements. Consistent with the levels of processing hypothesis, the LP was related to consciousness as a correlate of the processing of higher-level stimulus features, likely requiring access to a "global workspace." Our findings further suggest that AAN is a proper ERP correlate of auditory consciousness and thus a true NCC in the auditory modality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitri Filimonov
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Turku, Turku 20014, Finland
- Turku Brain and Mind Centre, University of Turku, Turku FI-20014, Finland
| | - Andreas Krabbe
- Turku Brain and Mind Centre, University of Turku, Turku FI-20014, Finland
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, FI-20014 Finland
- Faculty of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Arken Tehtaankatu 2, Turku 20500, Finland
| | - Antti Revonsuo
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Turku, Turku 20014, Finland
- Turku Brain and Mind Centre, University of Turku, Turku FI-20014, Finland
- Division of Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy, University of Skövde, Högskolevägen 1 PO Box 408 541 28, Skövde, Sweden
| | - Mika Koivisto
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Turku, Turku 20014, Finland
- Turku Brain and Mind Centre, University of Turku, Turku FI-20014, Finland
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6
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Luppi AI, Mediano PAM, Rosas FE, Allanson J, Pickard J, Carhart-Harris RL, Williams GB, Craig MM, Finoia P, Owen AM, Naci L, Menon DK, Bor D, Stamatakis EA. A synergistic workspace for human consciousness revealed by Integrated Information Decomposition. eLife 2024; 12:RP88173. [PMID: 39022924 PMCID: PMC11257694 DOI: 10.7554/elife.88173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Abstract
How is the information-processing architecture of the human brain organised, and how does its organisation support consciousness? Here, we combine network science and a rigorous information-theoretic notion of synergy to delineate a 'synergistic global workspace', comprising gateway regions that gather synergistic information from specialised modules across the human brain. This information is then integrated within the workspace and widely distributed via broadcaster regions. Through functional MRI analysis, we show that gateway regions of the synergistic workspace correspond to the human brain's default mode network, whereas broadcasters coincide with the executive control network. We find that loss of consciousness due to general anaesthesia or disorders of consciousness corresponds to diminished ability of the synergistic workspace to integrate information, which is restored upon recovery. Thus, loss of consciousness coincides with a breakdown of information integration within the synergistic workspace of the human brain. This work contributes to conceptual and empirical reconciliation between two prominent scientific theories of consciousness, the Global Neuronal Workspace and Integrated Information Theory, while also advancing our understanding of how the human brain supports consciousness through the synergistic integration of information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I Luppi
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- University Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Pedro AM Mediano
- Department of Psychology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Fernando E Rosas
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
- Center for Complexity Science, Imperial College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
- Data Science Institute, Imperial College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Judith Allanson
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- Department of Neurosciences, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation, Addenbrooke's HospitalCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - John Pickard
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- Division of Neurosurgery, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's HospitalCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Robin L Carhart-Harris
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
- Psychedelics Division - Neuroscape, Department of Neurology, University of CaliforniaSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Guy B Williams
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Michael M Craig
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- University Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Paola Finoia
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Adrian M Owen
- Department of Psychology and Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioLondonCanada
| | - Lorina Naci
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Lloyd Building, Trinity CollegeDublinIreland
| | - David K Menon
- University Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
- Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Daniel Bor
- Department of Psychology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- University Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
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7
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Grünbaum T, Christensen MS. The functional role of conscious sensation of movement. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 164:105813. [PMID: 39019245 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2024] [Revised: 06/25/2024] [Accepted: 07/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/19/2024]
Abstract
This paper proposes a new framework for investigating neural signals sufficient for a conscious sensation of movement and their role in motor control. We focus on signals sufficient for proprioceptive awareness, particularly from muscle spindle activation and from primary motor cortex (M1). Our review of muscle vibration studies reveals that afferent signals alone can induce conscious sensations of movement. Similarly, studies employing peripheral nerve blocks suggest that efferent signals from M1 are sufficient for sensations of movement. On this basis, we show that competing theories of motor control assign different roles to sensation of movement. According to motor command theories, sensation of movement corresponds to an estimation of the current state based on afferent signals, efferent signals, and predictions. In contrast, within active inference architectures, sensations correspond to proprioceptive predictions driven by efferent signals from M1. The focus on sensation of movement provides a way to critically compare and evaluate the two theories. Our analysis offers new insights into the functional roles of movement sensations in motor control and consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thor Grünbaum
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; CoInAct Research Group, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Section for Philosophy, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Mark Schram Christensen
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; CoInAct Research Group, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
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8
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Pérez P, Manasova D, Hermann B, Raimondo F, Rohaut B, Bekinschtein TA, Naccache L, Arzi A, Sitt JD. Content-state dimensions characterize different types of neuronal markers of consciousness. Neurosci Conscious 2024; 2024:niae027. [PMID: 39011546 PMCID: PMC11246840 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niae027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Identifying the neuronal markers of consciousness is key to supporting the different scientific theories of consciousness. Neuronal markers of consciousness can be defined to reflect either the brain signatures underlying specific conscious content or those supporting different states of consciousness, two aspects traditionally studied separately. In this paper, we introduce a framework to characterize markers according to their dynamics in both the "state" and "content" dimensions. The 2D space is defined by the marker's capacity to distinguish the conscious states from non-conscious states (on the x-axis) and the content (e.g. perceived versus unperceived or different levels of cognitive processing on the y-axis). According to the sign of the x- and y-axis, markers are separated into four quadrants in terms of how they distinguish the state and content dimensions. We implement the framework using three types of electroencephalography markers: markers of connectivity, markers of complexity, and spectral summaries. The neuronal markers of state are represented by the level of consciousness in (i) healthy participants during a nap and (ii) patients with disorders of consciousness. On the other hand, the neuronal markers of content are represented by (i) the conscious content in healthy participants' perception task using a visual awareness paradigm and (ii) conscious processing of hierarchical regularities using an auditory local-global paradigm. In both cases, we see separate clusters of markers with correlated and anticorrelated dynamics, shedding light on the complex relationship between the state and content of consciousness and emphasizing the importance of considering them simultaneously. This work presents an innovative framework for studying consciousness by examining neuronal markers in a 2D space, providing a valuable resource for future research, with potential applications using diverse experimental paradigms, neural recording techniques, and modeling investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Pérez
- Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute, Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris 75013, France
- Hospice Civils de Lyon—HCL, Département anesthésie-réanimation, Hôpital Edouard Herriot
- Neuro ICU, DMU Neurosciences, AP-HP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris 75013, France
| | - Dragana Manasova
- Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute, Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris 75013, France
- Université Paris Cité, Paris 75006, France
| | - Bertrand Hermann
- Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute, Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris 75013, France
- Université Paris Cité, Paris 75006, France
- Medical Intensive Care Unit, HEGP Hôpital, Assistance Publique—Hôpitaux de Paris-Centre (APHP-Centre), Paris 75015, France
| | - Federico Raimondo
- Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute, Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris 75013, France
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behaviour), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich 52428, Germany
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Benjamin Rohaut
- Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute, Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris 75013, France
- Neuro ICU, DMU Neurosciences, AP-HP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris 75013, France
| | - Tristán A Bekinschtein
- Consciousness and Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
| | - Lionel Naccache
- Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute, Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris 75013, France
- AP-HP, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Service de Neurophysiologie Clinique, Paris 75013, France
| | - Anat Arzi
- Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute, Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris 75013, France
- Consciousness and Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel Canada and Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Jacobo D Sitt
- Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute, Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris 75013, France
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9
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Türker B, Manasova D, Béranger B, Naccache L, Sergent C, Sitt JD. Distinct dynamic connectivity profiles promote enhanced conscious perception of auditory stimuli. Commun Biol 2024; 7:856. [PMID: 38997514 PMCID: PMC11245546 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06533-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The neuroscience of consciousness aims to identify neural markers that distinguish brain dynamics in healthy individuals from those in unconscious conditions. Recent research has revealed that specific brain connectivity patterns correlate with conscious states and diminish with loss of consciousness. However, the contribution of these patterns to shaping conscious processing remains unclear. Our study investigates the functional significance of these neural dynamics by examining their impact on participants' ability to process external information during wakefulness. Using fMRI recordings during an auditory detection task and rest, we show that ongoing dynamics are underpinned by brain patterns consistent with those identified in previous research. Detection of auditory stimuli at threshold is specifically improved when the connectivity pattern at stimulus presentation corresponds to patterns characteristic of conscious states. Conversely, the occurrence of these conscious state-associated patterns increases after detection, indicating a mutual influence between ongoing brain dynamics and conscious perception. Our findings suggest that certain brain configurations are more favorable to the conscious processing of external stimuli. Targeting these favorable patterns in patients with consciousness disorders may help identify windows of greater receptivity to the external world, guiding personalized treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Başak Türker
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, Inserm, CNRS, Paris, 75013, France.
| | - Dragana Manasova
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, Inserm, CNRS, Paris, 75013, France
- Université Paris Cité, Paris, 75006, France
| | - Benoît Béranger
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, Inserm, CNRS, Paris, 75013, France
| | - Lionel Naccache
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, Inserm, CNRS, Paris, 75013, France
| | - Claire Sergent
- Université Paris Cité, Paris, 75006, France
- Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center-INCC, UMR 8002, Paris, 75006, France
| | - Jacobo D Sitt
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, Inserm, CNRS, Paris, 75013, France.
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10
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Eisen AJ, Kozachkov L, Bastos AM, Donoghue JA, Mahnke MK, Brincat SL, Chandra S, Tauber J, Brown EN, Fiete IR, Miller EK. Propofol anesthesia destabilizes neural dynamics across cortex. Neuron 2024:S0896-6273(24)00446-X. [PMID: 39013467 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
Every day, hundreds of thousands of people undergo general anesthesia. One hypothesis is that anesthesia disrupts dynamic stability-the ability of the brain to balance excitability with the need to be stable and controllable. To test this hypothesis, we developed a method for quantifying changes in population-level dynamic stability in complex systems: delayed linear analysis for stability estimation (DeLASE). Propofol was used to transition animals between the awake state and anesthetized unconsciousness. DeLASE was applied to macaque cortex local field potentials (LFPs). We found that neural dynamics were more unstable in unconsciousness compared with the awake state. Cortical trajectories mirrored predictions from destabilized linear systems. We mimicked the effect of propofol in simulated neural networks by increasing inhibitory tone. This in turn destabilized the networks, as observed in the neural data. Our results suggest that anesthesia disrupts dynamical stability that is required for consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J Eisen
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; The K. Lisa Yang Integrative Computational Neuroscience Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Leo Kozachkov
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; The K. Lisa Yang Integrative Computational Neuroscience Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - André M Bastos
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Jacob A Donoghue
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Beacon Biosignals, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Meredith K Mahnke
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Scott L Brincat
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Sarthak Chandra
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; The K. Lisa Yang Integrative Computational Neuroscience Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - John Tauber
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Emery N Brown
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Ila R Fiete
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; The K. Lisa Yang Integrative Computational Neuroscience Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Earl K Miller
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
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11
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Onoda K, Akama H. Exploring complex and integrated information during sleep. Neurosci Conscious 2024; 2024:niae029. [PMID: 38974800 PMCID: PMC11227102 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niae029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The Integrated Information Theory is a theoretical framework that aims to elucidate the nature of consciousness by postulating that it emerges from the integration of information within a system, and that the degree of consciousness depends on the extent of information integration within the system. When consciousness is lost, the core complex of consciousness proposed by the Integrated Information Theory disintegrates, and Φ measures, which reflect the level of integrated information, are expected to diminish. This study examined the predictions of the Integrated Information Theory using the global brain network acquired via functional magnetic resonance imaging during various tasks and sleep. We discovered that the complex located within the frontoparietal network remained constant regardless of task content, while the regional distribution of the complex collapsed in the initial stages of sleep. Furthermore, Φ measures decreased as sleep progressed under limited analysis conditions. These findings align with predictions made by the Integrated Information Theory and support its postulates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keiichi Onoda
- Department of Psychology, Otemon Gakuin University, 2-1-15, Nishiai, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-8502, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Akama
- Department of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, Ookayama, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
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12
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Salti M, Gabay O, Bergerbest D. Beyond task response - A key to the subjective aspects of consciousness. Phys Life Rev 2024; 50:98-99. [PMID: 39003939 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2024.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2024] [Revised: 07/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Moti Salti
- Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel.
| | - Omer Gabay
- Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Dafna Bergerbest
- School of Behavioral Sciences, The Academic College of Tel-Aviv Yaffo, Tel-Aviv Yaffo 61083, Israel
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13
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Hauw F, Béranger B, Cohen L. Subtitled speech: the neural mechanisms of ticker-tape synaesthesia. Brain 2024; 147:2530-2541. [PMID: 38620012 PMCID: PMC11224615 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awae114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The acquisition of reading modifies areas of the brain associated with vision and with language, in addition to their connections. These changes enable reciprocal translation between orthography and the sounds and meaning of words. Individual variability in the pre-existing cerebral substrate contributes to the range of eventual reading abilities, extending to atypical developmental patterns, including dyslexia and reading-related synaesthesias. The present study is devoted to the little-studied but highly informative ticker-tape synaesthesia, in which speech perception triggers the vivid and irrepressible perception of words in their written form in the mind's eye. We scanned a group of 17 synaesthetes and 17 matched controls with functional MRI, while they listened to spoken sentences, words, numbers or pseudowords (Experiment 1), viewed images and written words (Experiment 2) or were at rest (Experiment 3). First, we found direct correlates of the ticker-tape synaesthesia phenomenon: during speech perception, as ticker-tape synaesthesia was active, synaesthetes showed over-activation of left perisylvian regions supporting phonology and of the occipitotemporal visual word form area, where orthography is represented. Second, we provided support to the hypothesis that ticker-tape synaesthesia results from atypical relationships between spoken and written language processing: the ticker-tape synaesthesia-related regions overlap closely with cortices activated during reading, and the overlap of speech-related and reading-related areas is larger in synaesthetes than in controls. Furthermore, the regions over-activated in ticker-tape synaesthesia overlap with regions under-activated in dyslexia. Third, during the resting state (i.e. in the absence of current ticker-tape synaesthesia), synaesthetes showed increased functional connectivity between left prefrontal and bilateral occipital regions. This pattern might reflect a lowered threshold for conscious access to visual mental contents and might imply a non-specific predisposition to all synaesthesias with a visual content. These data provide a rich and coherent account of ticker-tape synaesthesia as a non-detrimental developmental condition created by the interaction of reading acquisition with an atypical cerebral substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Hauw
- Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, Institut du Cerveau, ICM, Paris 75013, France
- AP-HP, Hôpital de La Pitié Salpêtrière, Fédération de Neurologie, Paris 75013, France
| | - Benoît Béranger
- Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, Institut du Cerveau, ICM, Paris 75013, France
| | - Laurent Cohen
- Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, Institut du Cerveau, ICM, Paris 75013, France
- AP-HP, Hôpital de La Pitié Salpêtrière, Fédération de Neurologie, Paris 75013, France
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14
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Luppi AI, Rosas FE, Mediano PAM, Demertzi A, Menon DK, Stamatakis EA. Unravelling consciousness and brain function through the lens of time, space, and information. Trends Neurosci 2024; 47:551-568. [PMID: 38824075 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2024.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024]
Abstract
Disentangling how cognitive functions emerge from the interplay of brain dynamics and network architecture is among the major challenges that neuroscientists face. Pharmacological and pathological perturbations of consciousness provide a lens to investigate these complex challenges. Here, we review how recent advances about consciousness and the brain's functional organisation have been driven by a common denominator: decomposing brain function into fundamental constituents of time, space, and information. Whereas unconsciousness increases structure-function coupling across scales, psychedelics may decouple brain function from structure. Convergent effects also emerge: anaesthetics, psychedelics, and disorders of consciousness can exhibit similar reconfigurations of the brain's unimodal-transmodal functional axis. Decomposition approaches reveal the potential to translate discoveries across species, with computational modelling providing a path towards mechanistic integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I Luppi
- Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; St John's College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Center for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | - Fernando E Rosas
- Center for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK; Center for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | - Athena Demertzi
- Physiology of Cognition Lab, GIGA-Cyclotron Research Center In Vivo Imaging, University of Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium; Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium; National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS), Brussels 1000, Belgium
| | - David K Menon
- Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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15
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Xiao Q, Zheng X, Wen Y, Yuan Z, Chen Z, Lan Y, Li S, Huang X, Zhong H, Xu C, Zhan C, Pan J, Xie Q. Individualized music induces theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling in patients with disorders of consciousness. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1395627. [PMID: 39010944 PMCID: PMC11248187 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1395627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective This study aimed to determine whether patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) could experience neural entrainment to individualized music, which explored the cross-modal influences of music on patients with DoC through phase-amplitude coupling (PAC). Furthermore, the study assessed the efficacy of individualized music or preferred music (PM) versus relaxing music (RM) in impacting patient outcomes, and examined the role of cross-modal influences in determining these outcomes. Methods Thirty-two patients with DoC [17 with vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) and 15 with minimally conscious state (MCS)], alongside 16 healthy controls (HCs), were recruited for this study. Neural activities in the frontal-parietal network were recorded using scalp electroencephalography (EEG) during baseline (BL), RM and PM. Cerebral-acoustic coherence (CACoh) was explored to investigate participants' abilitiy to track music, meanwhile, the phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) was utilized to evaluate the cross-modal influences of music. Three months post-intervention, the outcomes of patients with DoC were followed up using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). Results HCs and patients with MCS showed higher CACoh compared to VS/UWS patients within musical pulse frequency (p = 0.016, p = 0.045; p < 0.001, p = 0.048, for RM and PM, respectively, following Bonferroni correction). Only theta-gamma PAC demonstrated a significant interaction effect between groups and music conditions (F (2,44) = 2.685, p = 0.036). For HCs, the theta-gamma PAC in the frontal-parietal network was stronger in the PM condition compared to the RM (p = 0.016) and BL condition (p < 0.001). For patients with MCS, the theta-gamma PAC was stronger in the PM than in the BL (p = 0.040), while no difference was observed among the three music conditions in patients with VS/UWS. Additionally, we found that MCS patients who showed improved outcomes after 3 months exhibited evident neural responses to preferred music (p = 0.019). Furthermore, the ratio of theta-gamma coupling changes in PM relative to BL could predict clinical outcomes in MCS patients (r = 0.992, p < 0.001). Conclusion Individualized music may serve as a potential therapeutic method for patients with DoC through cross-modal influences, which rely on enhanced theta-gamma PAC within the consciousness-related network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiuyi Xiao
- Joint Research Centre for Disorders of Consciousness, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaochun Zheng
- Joint Research Centre for Disorders of Consciousness, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yun Wen
- Music and Reflection Incorporated, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Zhanxing Yuan
- Joint Research Centre for Disorders of Consciousness, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Zerong Chen
- Joint Research Centre for Disorders of Consciousness, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yue Lan
- Joint Research Centre for Disorders of Consciousness, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Shuiyan Li
- Joint Research Centre for Disorders of Consciousness, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiyan Huang
- Joint Research Centre for Disorders of Consciousness, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Haili Zhong
- Joint Research Centre for Disorders of Consciousness, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Chengwei Xu
- Joint Research Centre for Disorders of Consciousness, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Chang'an Zhan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Image Processing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Jiahui Pan
- School of Software, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Qiuyou Xie
- Joint Research Centre for Disorders of Consciousness, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
- Department of Hyperbaric Oxygen, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
- School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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16
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Fang Z, Dang Y, Li X, Zhao Q, Zhang M, Zhao H. Intracranial neural representation of phenomenal and access consciousness in the human brain. Neuroimage 2024; 297:120699. [PMID: 38944172 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2024] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/01/2024] Open
Abstract
After more than 30 years of extensive investigation, impressive progress has been made in identifying the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC). However, the functional role of spatiotemporally distinct consciousness-related neural activity in conscious perception is debated. An influential framework proposed that consciousness-related neural activities could be dissociated into two distinct processes: phenomenal and access consciousness. However, though hotly debated, its authenticity has not been examined in a single paradigm with more informative intracranial recordings. In the present study, we employed a visual awareness task and recorded the local field potential (LFP) of patients with electrodes implanted in cortical and subcortical regions. Overall, we found that the latency of visual awareness-related activity exhibited a bimodal distribution, and the recording sites with short and long latencies were largely separated in location, except in the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC). The mixture of short and long latencies in the lPFC indicates that it plays a critical role in linking phenomenal and access consciousness. However, the division between the two is not as simple as the central sulcus, as proposed previously. Moreover, in 4 patients with electrodes implanted in the bilateral prefrontal cortex, early awareness-related activity was confined to the contralateral side, while late awareness-related activity appeared on both sides. Finally, Granger causality analysis showed that awareness-related information flowed from the early sites to the late sites. These results provide the first LFP evidence of neural correlates of phenomenal and access consciousness, which sheds light on the spatiotemporal dynamics of NCC in the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zepeng Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Division of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yuanyuan Dang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
| | - Xiaoli Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Division of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Qianchuan Zhao
- Center for Intelligent and Networked Systems, Department of Automation, TNLIST, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Mingsha Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Division of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| | - Hulin Zhao
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
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17
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Mao R, Cavelli ML, Findlay G, Driessen K, Peterson MJ, Marshall W, Tononi G, Cirelli C. Behavioral and cortical arousal from sleep, muscimol-induced coma, and anesthesia by direct optogenetic stimulation of cortical neurons. iScience 2024; 27:109919. [PMID: 38812551 PMCID: PMC11134913 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
The cerebral cortex is widely considered part of the neural substrate of consciousness, but direct causal evidence is missing. Here, we tested in mice whether optogenetic activation of cortical neurons in posterior parietal cortex (PtA) or medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is sufficient for arousal from three behavioral states characterized by progressively deeper unresponsiveness: sleep, a coma-like state induced by muscimol injection in the midbrain, and deep sevoflurane-dexmedetomidine anesthesia. We find that cortical stimulation always awakens the mice from both NREM sleep and REM sleep, with PtA requiring weaker/shorter light pulses than mPFC. Moreover, in most cases light pulses produce both cortical activation (decrease in low frequencies) and behavioral arousal (recovery of the righting reflex) from brainstem coma, as well as cortical activation from anesthesia. These findings provide evidence that direct activation of cortical neurons is sufficient for behavioral and/or cortical arousal from sleep, brainstem coma, and anesthesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Mao
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
- Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
| | - Matias Lorenzo Cavelli
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
- Departamento de Fisiología de Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo 11800, Uruguay
| | - Graham Findlay
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
- Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
| | - Kort Driessen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
- Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
| | - Michael J. Peterson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
| | - William Marshall
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Giulio Tononi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
| | - Chiara Cirelli
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
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18
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Filimonov D, Tanskanen S, Revonsuo A, Koivisto M. Is auditory awareness graded or dichotomous: Electrophysiological correlates of consciousness at different depths of stimulus processing. Conscious Cogn 2024; 123:103720. [PMID: 38901129 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
The level-of-processing (LoP) hypothesis postulates that transition from unaware to aware visual stimuli is either graded or dichotomous depending on the depth of stimulus processing. Humans can be progressively aware of the low-level features, such as colors or shapes, while the high-level features, such as semantic category, enter consciousness in an all-or none fashion. Unlike in vision, sounds always unfold in time, which might require mechanisms dissimilar from visual processing. We tested the LoP hypothesis in hearing for the first time by presenting participants with words of different categories, spoken in different pitches near the perceptual threshold. We also assessed whether different electrophysiological correlates of consciousness, the auditory awareness negativity (AAN) and late positivity (LP), were associated with LoP. Our findings indicate that LoP also applies to the auditory modality. AAN is an early correlate of awareness independent of LoP, while LP was modulated by awareness, performance accuracy and the level of processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitri Filimonov
- Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Finland; Turku Brain and Mind Centre, University of Turku, Finland.
| | - Sampo Tanskanen
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, Finland; Turku Brain and Mind Centre, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Antti Revonsuo
- Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Finland; Turku Brain and Mind Centre, University of Turku, Finland; Division of Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy, University of Skövde, Sweden
| | - Mika Koivisto
- Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Finland; Turku Brain and Mind Centre, University of Turku, Finland
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19
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Gao X, Li Z, Chai J, Li S, Pan X, Liu J, Li L, Qin S, Kang Y, Zhu Y. Electroencephalographic insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of emergence delirium in children and corresponding clinical treatment strategies. Front Pharmacol 2024; 15:1349105. [PMID: 38962301 PMCID: PMC11219819 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1349105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Emergence delirium is a common postoperative complication in patients undergoing general anesthesia, especially in children. In severe cases, it can cause unnecessary self-harm, affect postoperative recovery, lead to parental dissatisfaction, and increase medical costs. With the widespread use of inhalation anesthetic drugs (such as sevoflurane and desflurane), the incidence of emergence delirium in children is gradually increasing; however, its pathogenesis in children is complex and unclear. Several studies have shown that age, pain, and anesthetic drugs are strongly associated with the occurrence of emergence delirium. Alterations in central neurophysiology are essential intermediate processes in the development of emergence delirium. Compared to adults, the pediatric nervous system is not fully developed; therefore, the pediatric electroencephalogram may vary slightly by age. Moreover, pain and anesthetic drugs can cause changes in the excitability of the central nervous system, resulting in electroencephalographic changes. In this paper, we review the pathogenesis of and prevention strategies for emergence delirium in children from the perspective of brain electrophysiology-especially for commonly used pharmacological treatments-to provide the basis for understanding the development of emergence delirium as well as its prevention and treatment, and to suggest future research direction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Gao
- Department of Anesthesiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Zhichao Li
- Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Chai
- Department of Anesthesiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Si Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Xuanyuan Pan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Jie Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Linxing Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Shangyuan Qin
- Department of Anesthesiology, Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shenyang, China
| | - Yihan Kang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Youzhuang Zhu
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
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20
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Knight RS, Chen T, Center EG, Gratton G, Fabiani M, Savazzi S, Mazzi C, Beck DM. Bypassing input to V1 in visual awareness: A TMS-EROS investigation. Neuropsychologia 2024; 198:108864. [PMID: 38521150 PMCID: PMC11194103 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
Early visual cortex (V1-V3) is believed to be critical for normal visual awareness by providing the necessary feedforward input. However, it remains unclear whether visual awareness can occur without further involvement of early visual cortex, such as re-entrant feedback. It has been challenging to determine the importance of feedback activity to these areas because of the difficulties in dissociating this activity from the initial feedforward activity. Here, we applied single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left posterior parietal cortex to elicit phosphenes in the absence of direct visual input to early visual cortex. Immediate neural activity after the TMS pulse was assessed using the event-related optical signal (EROS), which can measure activity under the TMS coil without artifacts. Our results show that: 1) The activity in posterior parietal cortex 50 ms after TMS was related to phosphene awareness, and 2) Activity related to awareness was observed in a small portion of V1 140 ms after TMS, but in contrast (3) Activity in V2 was a more robust correlate of awareness. Together, these results are consistent with interactive models proposing that sustained and recurrent loops of activity between cortical areas are necessary for visual awareness to emerge. In addition, we observed phosphene-related activations of the anteromedial cuneus and lateral occipital cortex, suggesting a functional network subserving awareness comprising these regions, the parietal cortex and early visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramisha S Knight
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois.405 N Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, USA; Aptima, Inc. 2555 University Blvd, Fairborn, OH, USA
| | - Tao Chen
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois.405 N Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois. 601 E John Street, Champaign, IL, USA.
| | - Evan G Center
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois.405 N Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois. 601 E John Street, Champaign, IL, USA; Center for Ubiquitous Computing, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Gabriele Gratton
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois.405 N Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois. 601 E John Street, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Monica Fabiani
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois.405 N Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois. 601 E John Street, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Silvia Savazzi
- Perception and Awareness (PandA) Lab, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Chiara Mazzi
- Perception and Awareness (PandA) Lab, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Diane M Beck
- Beckman Institute, University of Illinois.405 N Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois. 601 E John Street, Champaign, IL, USA.
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21
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Shallow MC, Tian L, Lin H, Lefton KB, Chen S, Dougherty JD, Culver JP, Lambo ME, Hengen KB. At the onset of active whisking, the input layer of barrel cortex exhibits a 24 h window of increased excitability that depends on prior experience. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.04.597353. [PMID: 38895408 PMCID: PMC11185658 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.04.597353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
The development of motor control over sensory organs is a critical milestone in sensory processing, enabling active exploration and shaping of the sensory environment. However, whether the onset of sensory organ motor control directly influences the development of corresponding sensory cortices remains unknown. Here, we exploit the late onset of whisking behavior in mice to address this question in the somatosensory system. Using ex vivo electrophysiology, we discovered a transient increase in the intrinsic excitability of excitatory neurons in layer IV of the barrel cortex, which processes whisker input, precisely coinciding with the onset of active whisking at postnatal day 14 (P14). This increase in neuronal gain was specific to layer IV, independent of changes in synaptic strength, and required prior sensory experience. Strikingly, the effect was not observed in layer II/III of the barrel cortex or in the visual cortex upon eye opening, suggesting a unique interaction between the development of active sensing and the thalamocortical input layer in the somatosensory system. Predictive modeling indicated that changes in active membrane conductances alone could reliably distinguish P14 neurons in control but not whisker-deprived hemispheres. Our findings demonstrate an experience-dependent, lamina-specific refinement of neuronal excitability tightly linked to the emergence of active whisking. This transient increase in the gain of the thalamic input layer coincides with a critical period for synaptic plasticity in downstream layers, suggesting a role in facilitating cortical maturation and sensory processing. Together, our results provide evidence for a direct interaction between the development of motor control and sensory cortex, offering new insights into the experience-dependent development and refinement of sensory systems. These findings have broad implications for understanding the interplay between motor and sensory development, and how the mechanisms of perception cooperate with behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lucy Tian
- Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis
| | - Hudson Lin
- Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis
| | - Katheryn B Lefton
- Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in Saint Louis
| | - Siyu Chen
- Department of Genetics, Washington University in Saint Louis
| | | | - Joe P Culver
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in Saint Louis
| | - Mary E Lambo
- Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis
| | - Keith B Hengen
- Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis
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22
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Kam C. Enhancing Enneagram Therapy with Contemporary Research on the Conscious and Unconscious Mind. Integr Psychol Behav Sci 2024; 58:711-730. [PMID: 35381962 DOI: 10.1007/s12124-022-09685-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The Enneagram is a personality framework with ancient philosophical underpinnings and cross cultural roots. It outlines nine different pathways of growth for nine different personalities. In recent years, it has started to gain traction in the peer reviewed level of research. Since the Enneagram has a conceptual versatility in addressing various levels and dimensions of the human psyche, it can both contribute and benefit from cross pollinating its insights with the latest scientific research on how the human mind works. One area of research that has the potential for this type of symbiotic partnership with the Enneagram is the study of the interaction between the conscious and unconscious mind. There is rich potential for the multi-leveled integration of contemporary findings on how the conscious and unconscious mind mutually interact with one another along with insights into personality structures from the Enneagram. These integrative insights have clinical implications and create possible directions for future research.
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23
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Chis-Ciure R, Melloni L, Northoff G. A measure centrality index for systematic empirical comparison of consciousness theories. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 161:105670. [PMID: 38615851 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2024] [Revised: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Consciousness science is marred by disparate constructs and methodologies, making it challenging to systematically compare theories. This foundational crisis casts doubts on the scientific character of the field itself. Addressing it, we propose a framework for systematically comparing consciousness theories by introducing a novel inter-theory classification interface, the Measure Centrality Index (MCI). Recognizing its gradient distribution, the MCI assesses the degree of importance a specific empirical measure has for a given consciousness theory. We apply the MCI to probe how the empirical measures of the Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNW), Integrated Information Theory (IIT), and Temporospatial Theory of Consciousness (TTC) would fare within the context of the other two. We demonstrate that direct comparison of IIT, GNW, and TTC is meaningful and valid for some measures like Lempel-Ziv Complexity (LZC), Autocorrelation Window (ACW), and possibly Mutual Information (MI). In contrast, it is problematic for others like the anatomical and physiological neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) due to their MCI-based differential weightings within the structure of the theories. In sum, we introduce and provide proof-of-principle of a novel systematic method for direct inter-theory empirical comparisons, thereby addressing isolated evolution of theories and confirmatory bias issues in the state-of-the-art neuroscience of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Chis-Ciure
- New York University (NYU), New York, USA; International Center for Neuroscience and Ethics (CINET), Tatiana Foundation, Madrid, Spain; Wolfram Physics Project, USA.
| | - Lucia Melloni
- Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Georg Northoff
- University of Ottawa, Institute of Mental Health Research at the Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Canada
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24
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Niedernhuber M, Schroeder AC, Lercher C, Bruegger M, Prates de Matos NM, Noreika V, Lenggenhager B. An interhemispheric frontoparietal network supports hypnotic states. Cortex 2024; 177:180-193. [PMID: 38865762 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
Understanding the neural substrate of altered conscious states is an important cultural, scientific, and clinical endeavour. Although hypnosis causes strong shifts in conscious perception and cognition, it remains largely unclear how hypnosis affects information processing in cortical networks. Here we manipulated the depth of hypnotic states to study information processing between cortical regions involved in attention and awareness. We used high-density Electroencephalography (EEG) to record resting-state cortical activity from 30 hypnosis experts during two hypnotic states with different depth. Each participant entered a light and a deep hypnotic state as well as two well-matched control states. Bridging top-down and lateralisation models of hypnosis, we found that interhemispheric frontoparietal connectivity distinguished hypnosis and control conditions, while no difference was found between the two hypnotic states. Using a graph-theoretic measure, we revealed that the amount of information passing through individual nodes (measured via betweenness centrality) is reduced during hypnosis relative to control states. Finally, we found that theta power was enhanced during hypnosis. Our result contributes to the current discussion around a role for theta power in bringing about hypnotic states, as well as other altered conscious states. Overall, our findings support the notion that altered top-down control in frontoparietal regions facilitates hypnosis by integrating information between cortical hemispheres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Niedernhuber
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Pl, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Binzmuehlestrasse 14, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | | | - Céline Lercher
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Binzmuehlestrasse 14, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mike Bruegger
- Center of Dental Medicine, University of Zurich, Plattenstrasse 11, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Valdas Noreika
- Department of Psychology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, United Kingdom
| | - Bigna Lenggenhager
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Binzmuehlestrasse 14, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Konstanzs, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, Germany
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25
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Fernández-Linsenbarth I, Mijancos-Martínez G, Bachiller A, Núñez P, Rodríguez-González V, Beño-Ruiz-de-la-Sierra RM, Roig-Herrero A, Arjona-Valladares A, Poza J, Mañanas MÁ, Molina V. Relation between task-related activity modulation and cortical inhibitory function in schizophrenia and healthy controls: a TMS-EEG study. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024; 274:837-847. [PMID: 38243018 PMCID: PMC11127880 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-023-01745-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Schizophrenia has been associated with a reduced task-related modulation of cortical activity assessed through electroencephalography (EEG). However, to the best of our knowledge, no study so far has assessed the underpinnings of this decreased EEG modulation in schizophrenia. A possible substrate of these findings could be a decreased inhibitory function, a replicated finding in the field. In this pilot study, our aim was to explore the association between EEG modulation during a cognitive task and the inhibitory system function in vivo in a sample including healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia. We hypothesized that the replicated decreased task-related activity modulation during a cognitive task in schizophrenia would be related to a hypofunction of the inhibitory system. For this purpose, 27 healthy controls and 22 patients with schizophrenia (including 13 first episodes) performed a 3-condition auditory oddball task from which the spectral entropy modulation was calculated. In addition, cortical reactivity-as an index of the inhibitory function-was assessed by the administration of 75 monophasic transcranial magnetic stimulation single pulses over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Our results replicated the task-related cortical activity modulation deficit in schizophrenia patients. Moreover, schizophrenia patients showed higher cortical reactivity following transcranial magnetic stimulation single pulses over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared to healthy controls. Cortical reactivity was inversely associated with EEG modulation, supporting the idea that a hypofunction of the inhibitory system could hamper the task-related modulation of EEG activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inés Fernández-Linsenbarth
- Psychiatry Department, School of Medicine, University of Valladolid, Av. Ramón y Cajal, 7, 47005, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Gema Mijancos-Martínez
- Biomedical Engineering Research Centre (CREB), Department of Automatic Control (ESAII), Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Research Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alejandro Bachiller
- Biomedical Engineering Research Centre (CREB), Department of Automatic Control (ESAII), Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Research Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pablo Núñez
- Coma Science Group, CIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
- Biomedical Engineering Group, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
- Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (BICER-BBN), CIBER of Bioengineering, Madrid, Spain
| | - Víctor Rodríguez-González
- Biomedical Engineering Group, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
- Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (BICER-BBN), CIBER of Bioengineering, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Alejandro Roig-Herrero
- Psychiatry Department, School of Medicine, University of Valladolid, Av. Ramón y Cajal, 7, 47005, Valladolid, Spain
- Imaging Processing Laboratory, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Antonio Arjona-Valladares
- Psychiatry Department, School of Medicine, University of Valladolid, Av. Ramón y Cajal, 7, 47005, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Jesús Poza
- Biomedical Engineering Group, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
- Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (BICER-BBN), CIBER of Bioengineering, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación en Matemáticas (IMUCA), University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Miguel Ángel Mañanas
- Biomedical Engineering Research Centre (CREB), Department of Automatic Control (ESAII), Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Research Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain
- Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (BICER-BBN), CIBER of Bioengineering, Madrid, Spain
| | - Vicente Molina
- Psychiatry Department, School of Medicine, University of Valladolid, Av. Ramón y Cajal, 7, 47005, Valladolid, Spain.
- Psychiatry Service, Clinical Hospital of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain.
- Neurosciences Institute of Castilla y Léon (INCYL), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.
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26
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Mashour GA, Lee U, Pal D, Li D. Consciousness and the Dying Brain. Anesthesiology 2024; 140:1221-1231. [PMID: 38603803 PMCID: PMC11096058 DOI: 10.1097/aln.0000000000004970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
The near-death experience has been reported since antiquity and is often characterized by the perception of light, interactions with other entities, and life recall. Near-death experiences can occur in a variety of situations, but they have been studied systematically after in-hospital cardiac arrest, with an incidence of 10 to 20%. Long attributed to metaphysical or supernatural causes, there have been recent advances in understanding the neurophysiologic basis of this unique category of conscious experience. This article reviews the epidemiology and neurobiology of near-death experiences, with a focus on clinical and laboratory evidence for a surge of neurophysiologic gamma oscillations and cortical connectivity after cardiac and respiratory arrest.
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Affiliation(s)
- George A. Mashour
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Consciousness Science, Neuroscience Graduate Program, Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - UnCheol Lee
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Dinesh Pal
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Consciousness Science and Neuroscience Graduate Program, Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Duan Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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27
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Doradzińska Ł, Bola M. Early Electrophysiological Correlates of Perceptual Consciousness Are Affected by Both Exogenous and Endogenous Attention. J Cogn Neurosci 2024; 36:1297-1324. [PMID: 38579265 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
It has been proposed that visual awareness negativity (VAN), which is an early ERP component, constitutes a neural correlate of visual consciousness that is independent of perceptual and cognitive mechanisms. In the present study, we investigated whether VAN is indeed a specific marker of phenomenal awareness or rather reflects the involvement of attention. To this end, we reanalyzed data collected in a previously published EEG experiment in which awareness of visual stimuli and two aspects that define attentional involvement, namely, the inherent saliency and task relevance of a stimulus, were manipulated orthogonally. During the experimental procedure, participants (n = 41) were presented with images of faces that were backward-masked or unmasked, fearful or neutral, and defined as task-relevant targets or task-irrelevant distractors. Single-trial ERP analysis revealed that VAN was highly dependent on attentional manipulations in the early time window (140-200 msec), up to the point that the effect of awareness was not observed for attentionally irrelevant stimuli (i.e., neutral faces presented as distractors). In the late time window (200-350 msec), VAN was present in all attentional conditions, but its amplitude was significantly higher in response to fearful faces and task-relevant face images than in response to neutral ones and task-irrelevant ones, respectively. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the amplitude of VAN is highly dependent on both exogenous (stimulus saliency) and endogenous attention (task requirements). Our results challenge the view that VAN constitutes an attention-independent correlate of phenomenal awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Łucja Doradzińska
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Michał Bola
- Centre for Brain Research, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
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28
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Kanai R, Fujisawa I. Toward a universal theory of consciousness. Neurosci Conscious 2024; 2024:niae022. [PMID: 38826771 PMCID: PMC11141593 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niae022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024] Open
Abstract
While falsifiability has been broadly discussed as a desirable property of a theory of consciousness, in this paper, we introduce the meta-theoretic concept of "Universality" as an additional desirable property for a theory of consciousness. The concept of universality, often assumed in physics, posits that the fundamental laws of nature are consistent and apply equally everywhere in the universe and remain constant over time. This assumption is crucial in science, acting as a guiding principle for developing and testing theories. When applied to theories of consciousness, universality can be defined as the ability of a theory to determine whether any fully described dynamical system is conscious or non-conscious. Importantly, for a theory to be universal, the determinant of consciousness needs to be defined as an intrinsic property of a system as opposed to replying on the interpretation of the external observer. The importance of universality originates from the consideration that given that consciousness is a natural phenomenon, it could in principle manifest in any physical system that satisfies a certain set of conditions whether it is biological or non-biological. To date, apart from a few exceptions, most existing theories do not possess this property. Instead, they tend to make predictions as to the neural correlates of consciousness based on the interpretations of brain functions, which makes those theories only applicable to brain-centric systems. While current functionalist theories of consciousness tend to be heavily reliant on our interpretations of brain functions, we argue that functionalist theories could be converted to a universal theory by specifying mathematical formulations of the constituent concepts. While neurobiological and functionalist theories retain their utility in practice, we will eventually need a universal theory to fully explain why certain types of systems possess consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryota Kanai
- President Office, Araya, Inc., Sanpo Sakuma Building, 1-11 Kanda Sakuma-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0025, Japan
| | - Ippei Fujisawa
- President Office, Araya, Inc., Sanpo Sakuma Building, 1-11 Kanda Sakuma-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0025, Japan
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29
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Lo CCH, Woo PYM, Cheung VCK. Task-based EEG and fMRI paradigms in a multimodal clinical diagnostic framework for disorders of consciousness. Rev Neurosci 2024; 0:revneuro-2023-0159. [PMID: 38804042 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2023-0159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Disorders of consciousness (DoC) are generally diagnosed by clinical assessment, which is a predominantly motor-driven process and accounts for up to 40 % of non-communication being misdiagnosed as unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) (previously known as prolonged/persistent vegetative state). Given the consequences of misdiagnosis, a more reliable and objective multimodal protocol to diagnosing DoC is needed, but has not been produced due to concerns regarding their interpretation and reliability. Of the techniques commonly used to detect consciousness in DoC, task-based paradigms (active paradigms) produce the most unequivocal result when findings are positive. It is well-established that command following (CF) reliably reflects preserved consciousness. Task-based electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can detect motor-independent CF and reveal preserved covert consciousness in up to 14 % of UWS patients. Accordingly, to improve the diagnostic accuracy of DoC, we propose a practical multimodal clinical decision framework centered on task-based EEG and fMRI, and complemented by measures like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS-EEG).
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Chun Hei Lo
- School of Biomedical Sciences, and Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
| | - Peter Yat Ming Woo
- Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
| | - Vincent C K Cheung
- School of Biomedical Sciences, and Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
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30
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Montagni E, Resta F, Tort-Colet N, Scaglione A, Mazzamuto G, Destexhe A, Pavone FS, Allegra Mascaro AL. Mapping brain state-dependent sensory responses across the mouse cortex. iScience 2024; 27:109692. [PMID: 38689637 PMCID: PMC11059133 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Sensory information must be integrated across a distributed brain network for stimulus processing and perception. Recent studies have revealed specific spatiotemporal patterns of cortical activation for the early and late components of sensory-evoked responses, which are associated with stimulus features and perception, respectively. Here, we investigated how the brain state influences the sensory-evoked activation across the mouse cortex. We utilized isoflurane to modulate the brain state and conducted wide-field calcium imaging of Thy1-GCaMP6f mice to monitor distributed activation evoked by multi-whisker stimulation. Our findings reveal that the level of anesthesia strongly shapes the spatiotemporal features and the functional connectivity of the sensory-activated network. As anesthesia levels decrease, we observe increasingly complex responses, accompanied by the emergence of the late component within the sensory-evoked response. The persistence of the late component under anesthesia raises new questions regarding the potential existence of perception during unconscious states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Montagni
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesco Resta
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- National Institute of Optics, National Research Council, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Núria Tort-Colet
- Paris-Saclay University, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences (NeuroPSI), Saclay, France
- Barcelonaβ Brain Research Center, Barcelona, Spain
- Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alessandro Scaglione
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Giacomo Mazzamuto
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- National Institute of Optics, National Research Council, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Alain Destexhe
- Paris-Saclay University, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences (NeuroPSI), Saclay, France
| | - Francesco Saverio Pavone
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- National Institute of Optics, National Research Council, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Anna Letizia Allegra Mascaro
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
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31
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Mudrik L, Hirschhorn R, Korisky U. Taking consciousness for real: Increasing the ecological validity of the study of conscious vs. unconscious processes. Neuron 2024; 112:1642-1656. [PMID: 38653247 PMCID: PMC11100345 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.03.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
The study of consciousness has developed well-controlled, rigorous methods for manipulating and measuring consciousness. Yet, in the process, experimental paradigms grew farther away from everyday conscious and unconscious processes, which raises the concern of ecological validity. In this review, we suggest that the field can benefit from adopting a more ecological approach, akin to other fields of cognitive science. There, this approach challenged some existing hypotheses, yielded stronger effects, and enabled new research questions. We argue that such a move is critical for studying consciousness, where experimental paradigms tend to be artificial and small effect sizes are relatively prevalent. We identify three paths for doing so-changing the stimuli and experimental settings, changing the measures, and changing the research questions themselves-and review works that have already started implementing such approaches. While acknowledging the inherent challenges, we call for increasing ecological validity in consciousness studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liad Mudrik
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
| | - Rony Hirschhorn
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Uri Korisky
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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32
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Panagiotaropoulos TI. An integrative view of the role of prefrontal cortex in consciousness. Neuron 2024; 112:1626-1641. [PMID: 38754374 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.04.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
The involvement of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in consciousness is an ongoing focus of intense investigation. An important question is whether representations of conscious contents and experiences in the PFC are confounded by post-perceptual processes related to cognitive functions. Here, I review recent findings suggesting that neuronal representations of consciously perceived contents-in the absence of post-perceptual processes-can indeed be observed in the PFC. Slower ongoing fluctuations in the electrophysiological state of the PFC seem to control the stability and updates of these prefrontal representations of conscious awareness. In addition to conscious perception, the PFC has been shown to play a critical role in controlling the levels of consciousness as observed during anesthesia, while prefrontal lesions can result in severe loss of perceptual awareness. Together, the convergence of these processes in the PFC suggests its integrative role in consciousness and highlights the complex nature of consciousness itself.
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33
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Mashour GA. Anesthesia and the neurobiology of consciousness. Neuron 2024; 112:1553-1567. [PMID: 38579714 PMCID: PMC11098701 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
In the 19th century, the discovery of general anesthesia revolutionized medical care. In the 21st century, anesthetics have become indispensable tools to study consciousness. Here, I review key aspects of the relationship between anesthesia and the neurobiology of consciousness, including interfaces of sleep and anesthetic mechanisms, anesthesia and primary sensory processing, the effects of anesthetics on large-scale functional brain networks, and mechanisms of arousal from anesthesia. I discuss the implications of the data derived from the anesthetized state for the science of consciousness and then conclude with outstanding questions, reflections, and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- George A Mashour
- Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, Department of Pharmacology, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
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34
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Storm JF, Klink PC, Aru J, Senn W, Goebel R, Pigorini A, Avanzini P, Vanduffel W, Roelfsema PR, Massimini M, Larkum ME, Pennartz CMA. An integrative, multiscale view on neural theories of consciousness. Neuron 2024; 112:1531-1552. [PMID: 38447578 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
How is conscious experience related to material brain processes? A variety of theories aiming to answer this age-old question have emerged from the recent surge in consciousness research, and some are now hotly debated. Although most researchers have so far focused on the development and validation of their preferred theory in relative isolation, this article, written by a group of scientists representing different theories, takes an alternative approach. Noting that various theories often try to explain different aspects or mechanistic levels of consciousness, we argue that the theories do not necessarily contradict each other. Instead, several of them may converge on fundamental neuronal mechanisms and be partly compatible and complementary, so that multiple theories can simultaneously contribute to our understanding. Here, we consider unifying, integration-oriented approaches that have so far been largely neglected, seeking to combine valuable elements from various theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan F Storm
- The Brain Signaling Group, Division of Physiology, IMB, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Domus Medica, Sognsvannsveien 9, Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway.
| | - P Christiaan Klink
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, the Netherlands; Laboratory of Visual Brain Therapy, Sorbonne Université, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de la Vision, Paris 75012, France
| | - Jaan Aru
- Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Walter Senn
- Department of Physiology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Rainer Goebel
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 EV Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Andrea Pigorini
- Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan 20122, Italy
| | - Pietro Avanzini
- Istituto di Neuroscienze, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 43125 Parma, Italy
| | - Wim Vanduffel
- Department of Neurosciences, Laboratory of Neuro and Psychophysiology, KU Leuven Medical School, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02144, USA
| | - Pieter R Roelfsema
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Laboratory of Visual Brain Therapy, Sorbonne Université, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de la Vision, Paris 75012, France; Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, VU University, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Neurosurgery, Academisch Medisch Centrum, Postbus 22660, 1100 DD Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Marcello Massimini
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences "L. Sacco", Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan 20157, Italy; Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Milan 20122, Italy; Azrieli Program in Brain, Mind and Consciousness, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada
| | - Matthew E Larkum
- Institute of Biology, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Neurocure Center for Excellence, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Cyriel M A Pennartz
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Center for Neuroscience, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Sciencepark 904, Amsterdam 1098 XH, the Netherlands; Research Priority Program Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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35
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Hense A, Peters A, Bruchmann M, Dellert T, Straube T. Electrophysiological correlates of sustained conscious perception. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10593. [PMID: 38719939 PMCID: PMC11078977 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61281-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Previous research on the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) in visual perception revealed an early event-related potential (ERP), the visual awareness negativity (VAN), to be associated with stimulus awareness. However, due to the use of brief stimulus presentations in previous studies, it remains unclear whether awareness-related negativities represent a transient onset-related response or correspond to the duration of a conscious percept. Studies are required that allow prolonged stimulus presentation under aware and unaware conditions. The present ERP study aimed to tackle this challenge by using a novel stimulation design. Male and female human participants (n = 62) performed a visual task while task-irrelevant line stimuli were presented in the background for either 500 or 1000 ms. The line stimuli sometimes contained a face, which needed so-called visual one-shot learning to be seen. Half of the participants were informed about the presence of the face, resulting in faces being perceived by the informed but not by the uninformed participants. Comparing ERPs between the informed and uninformed group revealed an enhanced negativity over occipitotemporal electrodes that persisted for the entire duration of stimulus presentation. Our results suggest that sustained visual awareness negativities (SVAN) are associated with the duration of stimulus presentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Hense
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, 48149, Münster, Germany.
| | - Antje Peters
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, 48149, Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Fliednerstr. 21, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Maximilian Bruchmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, 48149, Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Fliednerstr. 21, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Torge Dellert
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, 48149, Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Fliednerstr. 21, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, 48149, Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Fliednerstr. 21, 48149, Münster, Germany
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36
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Zeman A. Aphantasia and hyperphantasia: exploring imagery vividness extremes. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:467-480. [PMID: 38548492 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
The vividness of imagery varies between individuals. However, the existence of people in whom conscious, wakeful imagery is markedly reduced, or absent entirely, was neglected by psychology until the recent coinage of 'aphantasia' to describe this phenomenon. 'Hyperphantasia' denotes the converse - imagery whose vividness rivals perceptual experience. Around 1% and 3% of the population experience extreme aphantasia and hyperphantasia, respectively. Aphantasia runs in families, often affects imagery across several sense modalities, and is variably associated with reduced autobiographical memory, face recognition difficulty, and autism. Visual dreaming is often preserved. Subtypes of extreme imagery appear to be likely but are not yet well defined. Initial results suggest that alterations in connectivity between the frontoparietal and visual networks may provide the neural substrate for visual imagery extremes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Zeman
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK.
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Maffei A, Gambarota F, Liotti M, Dell'Acqua R, Tsuchiya N, Sessa P. Conscious perception of fear in faces: Insights from high-density EEG and perceptual awareness scale with threshold stimuli. Cortex 2024; 174:93-109. [PMID: 38493568 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Contrary to the extensive research on processing subliminal and/or unattended emotional facial expressions, only a minority of studies have investigated the neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs) of emotions conveyed by faces. In the present high-density electroencephalography (EEG) study, we first employed a staircase procedure to identify each participant's perceptual threshold of the emotion expressed by the face and then compared the EEG signals elicited in trials where the participants were aware with the activity elicited in trials where participants were unaware of the emotions expressed by these, otherwise identical, faces. Drawing on existing knowledge of the neural mechanisms of face processing and NCCs, we hypothesized that activity in frontal electrodes would be modulated in relation to participants' awareness of facial emotional content. More specifically, we hypothesized that the NCC of fear seen on someone else's face could be detected as a modulation of a later and more anterior (i.e., at frontal sites) event-related potential (ERP) than the face-sensitive N170. By adopting a data-driven approach and cluster-based statistics to the analysis of EEG signals, the results were clear-cut in showing that visual awareness of fear was associated with the modulation of a frontal ERP component in a 150-300 msec interval. These insights are dissected and contextualized in relation to prevailing theories of visual consciousness and their proposed NCC benchmarks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Maffei
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Filippo Gambarota
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Mario Liotti
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Roberto Dell'Acqua
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Naotsugu Tsuchiya
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health & School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Suita-shi, Osaka, Japan; Laboratory Head, Laboratory of Qualia Structure, ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, Japan.
| | - Paola Sessa
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
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38
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Sarton B, Tauber C, Fridman E, Péran P, Riu B, Vinour H, David A, Geeraerts T, Bounes F, Minville V, Delmas C, Salabert AS, Albucher JF, Bataille B, Olivot JM, Cariou A, Naccache L, Payoux P, Schiff N, Silva S. Neuroimmune activation is associated with neurological outcome in anoxic and traumatic coma. Brain 2024; 147:1321-1330. [PMID: 38412555 PMCID: PMC10994537 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awae045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The pathophysiological underpinnings of critically disrupted brain connectomes resulting in coma are poorly understood. Inflammation is potentially an important but still undervalued factor. Here, we present a first-in-human prospective study using the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO) radioligand 18F-DPA714 for PET imaging to allow in vivo neuroimmune activation quantification in patients with coma (n = 17) following either anoxia or traumatic brain injuries in comparison with age- and sex-matched controls. Our findings yielded novel evidence of an early inflammatory component predominantly located within key cortical and subcortical brain structures that are putatively implicated in consciousness emergence and maintenance after severe brain injury (i.e. mesocircuit and frontoparietal networks). We observed that traumatic and anoxic patients with coma have distinct neuroimmune activation profiles, both in terms of intensity and spatial distribution. Finally, we demonstrated that both the total amount and specific distribution of PET-measurable neuroinflammation within the brain mesocircuit were associated with the patient's recovery potential. We suggest that our results can be developed for use both as a new neuroprognostication tool and as a promising biometric to guide future clinical trials targeting glial activity very early after severe brain injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamine Sarton
- Critical Care Unit, University Teaching Hospital of Purpan, F-31059 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
- Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, Toulouse University, Inserm 1214, UPS, F-31300 Toulouse, France
| | - Clovis Tauber
- Imaging and Brain laboratory, UMRS Inserm U930, Université de Tours, F-37000 Tours, France
| | - Estéban Fridman
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Patrice Péran
- Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, Toulouse University, Inserm 1214, UPS, F-31300 Toulouse, France
| | - Beatrice Riu
- Critical Care Unit, University Teaching Hospital of Purpan, F-31059 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Hélène Vinour
- Critical Care Unit, University Teaching Hospital of Purpan, F-31059 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Adrian David
- Critical Care Unit, University Teaching Hospital of Purpan, F-31059 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Thomas Geeraerts
- Neurocritical Care Unit, University Teaching Hospital of Purpan, F-31059 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Fanny Bounes
- Critical Care Unit, University Teaching Hospital of Rangueil, F-31400 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Vincent Minville
- Critical Care Unit, University Teaching Hospital of Rangueil, F-31400 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Clément Delmas
- Cardiology Department, University Teaching Hospital of Purpan, F-31059 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Anne-Sophie Salabert
- Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, Toulouse University, Inserm 1214, UPS, F-31300 Toulouse, France
| | - Jean François Albucher
- Neurology Department, University Teaching Hospital of Purpan, F-31059 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Benoit Bataille
- Critical Care Unit, Hôtel Dieu Hospital, F-11100 Narbonne, France
| | - Jean Marc Olivot
- Neurology Department, University Teaching Hospital of Purpan, F-31059 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Alain Cariou
- Critical Care Unit, APHP, Cochin Hospital, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Lionel Naccache
- Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013 Paris, France
| | - Pierre Payoux
- Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, Toulouse University, Inserm 1214, UPS, F-31300 Toulouse, France
| | - Nicholas Schiff
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Stein Silva
- Critical Care Unit, University Teaching Hospital of Purpan, F-31059 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
- Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, Toulouse University, Inserm 1214, UPS, F-31300 Toulouse, France
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Kurtz P, van den Boogaard M, Girard TD, Hermann B. Acute encephalopathy in the ICU: a practical approach. Curr Opin Crit Care 2024; 30:106-120. [PMID: 38441156 DOI: 10.1097/mcc.0000000000001144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Acute encephalopathy (AE) - which frequently develops in critically ill patients with and without primary brain injury - is defined as an acute process that evolves rapidly and leads to changes in baseline cognitive status, ranging from delirium to coma. The diagnosis, monitoring, and management of AE is challenging. Here, we discuss advances in definitions, diagnostic approaches, therapeutic options, and implications to outcomes of the clinical spectrum of AE in ICU patients without primary brain injury. RECENT FINDINGS Understanding and definitions of delirium and coma have evolved. Delirium is a neurocognitive disorder involving impairment of attention and cognition, usually fluctuating, and developing over hours to days. Coma is a state of unresponsiveness, with absence of command following, intelligible speech, or visual pursuit, with no imaging or neurophysiological evidence of cognitive motor dissociation. The CAM-ICU(-7) and the ICDSC are validated, guideline-recommended tools for clinical delirium assessment, with identification of clinical subtypes and stratification of severity. In comatose patients, the roles of continuous EEG monitoring and neuroimaging have grown for the early detection of secondary brain injury and treatment of reversible causes. SUMMARY Evidence-based pharmacologic treatments for delirium are limited. Dexmedetomidine is effective for mechanically ventilated patients with delirium, while haloperidol has minimal effect of delirium but may have other benefits. Specific treatments for coma in nonprimary brain injury are still lacking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Kurtz
- D'Or Institute of Research and Education
- Instituto Estadual do Cérebro Paulo Niemeyer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Mark van den Boogaard
- Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Intensive Care, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Timothy D Girard
- Center for Research, Investigation, and Systems Modeling of Acute Illness (CRISMA) in the Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Bertrand Hermann
- Medical Intensive Care Unit, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris - Centre (APHP-Centre)
- INSERM UMR 1266, Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris (IPNP), Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
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40
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Rosenthal CR. When perception fades, the hippocampus may support implicit memory. Cogn Neurosci 2024; 15:75-76. [PMID: 38647200 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2024.2343654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Steinkrauss and Slotnick (2024) conclude that current evidence is insufficient to sustain a link between implicit memory and the hippocampus. However, behavioral protocols designed to minimize visual awareness, so that memoranda are objectively invisible both at study and at test, can yield brain-based signals of implicit memory, which circumvent several of the identified constraints. Furthermore, while differences in novelty and attention complicate the interpretation of hippocampal involvement in implicit memory tasks, these processes can occur with and without conscious awareness, suggesting a more complex interplay between the hippocampus and memory-related processes than an exclusive association with consciousness would indicate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clive R Rosenthal
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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41
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Luppi AI, Rosas FE, Mediano PAM, Menon DK, Stamatakis EA. Information decomposition and the informational architecture of the brain. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:352-368. [PMID: 38199949 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
To explain how the brain orchestrates information-processing for cognition, we must understand information itself. Importantly, information is not a monolithic entity. Information decomposition techniques provide a way to split information into its constituent elements: unique, redundant, and synergistic information. We review how disentangling synergistic and redundant interactions is redefining our understanding of integrative brain function and its neural organisation. To explain how the brain navigates the trade-offs between redundancy and synergy, we review converging evidence integrating the structural, molecular, and functional underpinnings of synergy and redundancy; their roles in cognition and computation; and how they might arise over evolution and development. Overall, disentangling synergistic and redundant information provides a guiding principle for understanding the informational architecture of the brain and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I Luppi
- Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Fernando E Rosas
- Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK; Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK; Centre for Complexity Science, Imperial College London, London, UK; Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Pedro A M Mediano
- Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London, UK; Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - David K Menon
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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Bellet ME, Gay M, Bellet J, Jarraya B, Dehaene S, van Kerkoerle T, Panagiotaropoulos TI. Spontaneously emerging internal models of visual sequences combine abstract and event-specific information in the prefrontal cortex. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113952. [PMID: 38483904 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
When exposed to sensory sequences, do macaque monkeys spontaneously form abstract internal models that generalize to novel experiences? Here, we show that neuronal populations in macaque ventrolateral prefrontal cortex jointly encode visual sequences by separate codes for the specific pictures presented and for their abstract sequential structure. We recorded prefrontal neurons while macaque monkeys passively viewed visual sequences and sequence mismatches in the local-global paradigm. Even without any overt task or response requirements, prefrontal populations spontaneously form representations of sequence structure, serial order, and image identity within distinct but superimposed neuronal subspaces. Representations of sequence structure rapidly update following single exposure to a mismatch sequence, while distinct populations represent mismatches for sequences of different complexity. Finally, those representations generalize across sequences following the same repetition structure but comprising different images. These results suggest that prefrontal populations spontaneously encode rich internal models of visual sequences reflecting both content-specific and abstract information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie E Bellet
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
| | - Marion Gay
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Joachim Bellet
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Bechir Jarraya
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Université Paris-Saclay, UVSQ, Versailles, France; Neuromodulation Pole, Foch Hospital, Suresnes, France
| | - Stanislas Dehaene
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Collège de France, Université Paris-Sciences-Lettres (PSL), Paris, France
| | - Timo van Kerkoerle
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Department of Neurophysics, Donders Center for Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Neurobiology and Aging, Biomedical Primate Research Center, Rijswijk, the Netherlands
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Hu Y, Du W, Qi J, Luo H, Zhang Z, Luo M, Wang Y. Comparative brain-wide mapping of ketamine- and isoflurane-activated nuclei and functional networks in the mouse brain. eLife 2024; 12:RP88420. [PMID: 38512722 PMCID: PMC10957177 DOI: 10.7554/elife.88420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Ketamine (KET) and isoflurane (ISO) are two widely used general anesthetics, yet their distinct and shared neurophysiological mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of the effects of KET and ISO on c-Fos expression across the mouse brain, utilizing hierarchical clustering and c-Fos-based functional network analysis to evaluate the responses of individual brain regions to each anesthetic. Our findings reveal that KET activates a wide range of brain regions, notably in the cortical and subcortical nuclei involved in sensory, motor, emotional, and reward processing, with the temporal association areas (TEa) as a strong hub, suggesting a top-down mechanism affecting consciousness by primarily targeting higher order cortical networks. In contrast, ISO predominantly influences brain regions in the hypothalamus, impacting neuroendocrine control, autonomic function, and homeostasis, with the locus coeruleus (LC) as a connector hub, indicating a bottom-up mechanism in anesthetic-induced unconsciousness. KET and ISO both activate brain areas involved in sensory processing, memory and cognition, reward and motivation, as well as autonomic and homeostatic control, highlighting their shared effects on various neural pathways. In conclusion, our results highlight the distinct but overlapping effects of KET and ISO, enriching our understanding of the mechanisms underlying general anesthesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Hu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Wenjie Du
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Jiangtao Qi
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Huoqing Luo
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Zhao Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Mengqiang Luo
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Yingwei Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan UniversityShanghaiChina
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44
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Negro N. (Dis)confirming theories of consciousness and their predictions: towards a Lakatosian consciousness science. Neurosci Conscious 2024; 2024:niae012. [PMID: 38495333 PMCID: PMC10944285 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niae012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The neuroscience of consciousness is undergoing a significant empirical acceleration thanks to several adversarial collaborations that intend to test different predictions of rival theories of consciousness. In this context, it is important to pair consciousness science with confirmation theory, the philosophical discipline that explores the interaction between evidence and hypotheses, in order to understand how exactly, and to what extent, specific experiments are challenging or validating theories of consciousness. In this paper, I examine this intricate relationship by adopting a Lakatosian lens. I propose that Lakatos' philosophy of science can aid consciousness scientists to better interpret adversarial collaborations in consciousness science and, more generally, to develop a confirmation-theoretic model of theory-appraisal in this field. I do so by suggesting that such a model be built upon three Lakatos-inspired criteria for assessing the relationship between empirical evidence and theoretical predictions: (i) the model should represent the 'distinction between prediction and accommodation'; (ii) the model should represent the 'structural relevance' of predictions; (iii) the model should represent the 'boldness' of the predictions. I argue that a Lakatosian model of theory-appraisal has both normative and descriptive virtues, and can move the debate forward by acknowledging that theory-appraisal needs to consider the diachronic development of theories, their logical structure, and their relationship with background beliefs and knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niccolò Negro
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo 69978, Israel
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45
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Apablaza-Yevenes DE, Corsi-Cabrera M, Martinez-Guerrero A, Northoff G, Romaniello C, Farinelli M, Bertoletti E, Müller MF, Muñoz-Torres Z. Stationary stable cross-correlation pattern and task specific deviations in unresponsive wakefulness syndrome as well as clinically healthy subjects. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0300075. [PMID: 38489260 PMCID: PMC10942032 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Brain dynamics is highly non-stationary, permanently subject to ever-changing external conditions and continuously monitoring and adjusting internal control mechanisms. Finding stationary structures in this system, as has been done recently, is therefore of great importance for understanding fundamental dynamic trade relationships. Here we analyse electroencephalographic recordings (EEG) of 13 subjects with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) during rest and while being influenced by different acoustic stimuli. We compare the results with a control group under the same experimental conditions and with clinically healthy subjects during overnight sleep. The main objective of this study is to investigate whether a stationary correlation pattern is also present in the UWS group, and if so, to what extent this structure resembles the one found in healthy subjects. Furthermore, we extract transient dynamical features via specific deviations from the stationary interrelation pattern. We find that (i) the UWS group is more heterogeneous than the two groups of healthy subjects, (ii) also the EEGs of the UWS group contain a stationary cross-correlation pattern, although it is less pronounced and shows less similarity to that found for healthy subjects and (iii) deviations from the stationary pattern are notably larger for the UWS than for the two groups of healthy subjects. The results suggest that the nervous system of subjects with UWS receive external stimuli but show an overreaching reaction to them, which may disturb opportune information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- David E. Apablaza-Yevenes
- Instituto de Ciencias Básicas y Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Morelos, México
| | - María Corsi-Cabrera
- Unidad de Investigación en Neurodesarrollo, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, México
| | | | - Georg Northoff
- Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | | | | | | | - Markus F. Müller
- Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad (C3), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Morelos, México
- Centro Internacional de Ciencias A.C., Morelos, México
| | - Zeidy Muñoz-Torres
- Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad (C3), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
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46
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Boyd JL. Moral considerability of brain organoids from the perspective of computational architecture. OXFORD OPEN NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 3:kvae004. [PMID: 38595940 PMCID: PMC10995847 DOI: 10.1093/oons/kvae004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Human brain organoids equipped with complex cytoarchitecture and closed-loop feedback from virtual environments could provide insights into neural mechanisms underlying cognition. Yet organoids with certain cognitive capacities might also merit moral consideration. A precautionary approach has been proposed to address these ethical concerns by focusing on the epistemological question of whether organoids possess neural structures for morally-relevant capacities that bear resemblance to those found in human brains. Critics challenge this similarity approach on philosophical, scientific, and practical grounds but do so without a suitable alternative. Here, I introduce an architectural approach that infers the potential for cognitive-like processing in brain organoids based on the pattern of information flow through the system. The kind of computational architecture acquired by an organoid then informs the kind of cognitive capacities that could, theoretically, be supported and empirically investigated. The implications of this approach for the moral considerability of brain organoids are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Lomax Boyd
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, 1809 Ashland Ave, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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47
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Trajkovic J, Di Gregorio F, Thut G, Romei V. Transcranial magnetic stimulation effects support an oscillatory model of ERP genesis. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1048-1058.e4. [PMID: 38377998 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Whether prestimulus oscillatory brain activity contributes to the generation of post-stimulus-evoked neural responses has long been debated, but findings remain inconclusive. We first investigated the hypothesized relationship via EEG recordings during a perceptual task with this correlational evidence causally probed subsequently by means of online rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation. Both approaches revealed a close link between prestimulus individual alpha frequency (IAF) and P1 latency, with faster IAF being related to shorter latencies, best explained via phase-reset mechanisms. Moreover, prestimulus alpha amplitude predicted P3 size, best explained via additive (correlational and causal evidence) and baseline shift mechanisms (correlational evidence), each with distinct prestimulus alpha contributors. Finally, in terms of performance, faster prestimulus IAF and shorter P1 latencies were both associated with higher task accuracy, while lower prestimulus alpha amplitudes and higher P3 amplitudes were associated with higher confidence ratings. Our results are in favor of the oscillatory model of ERP genesis and modulation, shedding new light on the mechanistic relationship between prestimulus oscillations and functionally relevant evoked components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelena Trajkovic
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, Cesena 47521, Italy; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Francesco Di Gregorio
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, Cesena 47521, Italy
| | - Gregor Thut
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, MVLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G128QB, UK
| | - Vincenzo Romei
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, Cesena 47521, Italy; Facultad de Lenguas y Educación, Universidad Antonio de Nebrija, Madrid 28015, Spain.
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Luppi AI, Uhrig L, Tasserie J, Signorelli CM, Stamatakis EA, Destexhe A, Jarraya B, Cofre R. Local orchestration of distributed functional patterns supporting loss and restoration of consciousness in the primate brain. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2171. [PMID: 38462641 PMCID: PMC10925605 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46382-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
A central challenge of neuroscience is to elucidate how brain function supports consciousness. Here, we combine the specificity of focal deep brain stimulation with fMRI coverage of the entire cortex, in awake and anaesthetised non-human primates. During propofol, sevoflurane, or ketamine anaesthesia, and subsequent restoration of responsiveness by electrical stimulation of the central thalamus, we investigate how loss of consciousness impacts distributed patterns of structure-function organisation across scales. We report that distributed brain activity under anaesthesia is increasingly constrained by brain structure across scales, coinciding with anaesthetic-induced collapse of multiple dimensions of hierarchical cortical organisation. These distributed signatures are observed across different anaesthetics, and they are reversed by electrical stimulation of the central thalamus, coinciding with recovery of behavioural markers of arousal. No such effects were observed upon stimulating the ventral lateral thalamus, demonstrating specificity. Overall, we identify consistent distributed signatures of consciousness that are orchestrated by specific thalamic nuclei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I Luppi
- Division of Anaesthesia and Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - Lynn Uhrig
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Necker Hospital, AP-HP, Université de Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Jordy Tasserie
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics, Department of Neurology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Camilo M Signorelli
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Movement Biomechanics, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1070, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, 7 Parks Rd, Oxford, OX1 3QG, UK
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- Division of Anaesthesia and Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Alain Destexhe
- Institute of Neuroscience (NeuroPSI), Paris-Saclay University, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Bechir Jarraya
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Department of Neurology, Hopital Foch, 92150, Suresnes, France
| | - Rodrigo Cofre
- Institute of Neuroscience (NeuroPSI), Paris-Saclay University, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
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49
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Li W, Cao D, Li J, Jiang T. Face-Specific Activity in the Ventral Stream Visual Cortex Linked to Conscious Face Perception. Neurosci Bull 2024:10.1007/s12264-024-01185-3. [PMID: 38457111 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-024-01185-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
When presented with visual stimuli of face images, the ventral stream visual cortex of the human brain exhibits face-specific activity that is modulated by the physical properties of the input images. However, it is still unclear whether this activity relates to conscious face perception. We explored this issue by using the human intracranial electroencephalography technique. Our results showed that face-specific activity in the ventral stream visual cortex was significantly higher when the subjects subjectively saw faces than when they did not, even when face stimuli were presented in both conditions. In addition, the face-specific neural activity exhibited a more reliable neural response and increased posterior-anterior direction information transfer in the "seen" condition than the "unseen" condition. Furthermore, the face-specific neural activity was significantly correlated with performance. These findings support the view that face-specific activity in the ventral stream visual cortex is linked to conscious face perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenlu Li
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Dan Cao
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Jin Li
- School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China.
| | - Tianzi Jiang
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
- Research Center for Augmented Intelligence, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou, 311100, China.
- Xiaoxiang Institute for Brain Health and Yongzhou Central Hospital, Yongzhou, 425000, China.
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50
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Rvachev MM. An operating principle of the cerebral cortex, and a cellular mechanism for attentional trial-and-error pattern learning and useful classification extraction. Front Neural Circuits 2024; 18:1280604. [PMID: 38505865 PMCID: PMC10950307 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2024.1280604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
A feature of the brains of intelligent animals is the ability to learn to respond to an ensemble of active neuronal inputs with a behaviorally appropriate ensemble of active neuronal outputs. Previously, a hypothesis was proposed on how this mechanism is implemented at the cellular level within the neocortical pyramidal neuron: the apical tuft or perisomatic inputs initiate "guess" neuron firings, while the basal dendrites identify input patterns based on excited synaptic clusters, with the cluster excitation strength adjusted based on reward feedback. This simple mechanism allows neurons to learn to classify their inputs in a surprisingly intelligent manner. Here, we revise and extend this hypothesis. We modify synaptic plasticity rules to align with behavioral time scale synaptic plasticity (BTSP) observed in hippocampal area CA1, making the framework more biophysically and behaviorally plausible. The neurons for the guess firings are selected in a voluntary manner via feedback connections to apical tufts in the neocortical layer 1, leading to dendritic Ca2+ spikes with burst firing, which are postulated to be neural correlates of attentional, aware processing. Once learned, the neuronal input classification is executed without voluntary or conscious control, enabling hierarchical incremental learning of classifications that is effective in our inherently classifiable world. In addition to voluntary, we propose that pyramidal neuron burst firing can be involuntary, also initiated via apical tuft inputs, drawing attention toward important cues such as novelty and noxious stimuli. We classify the excitations of neocortical pyramidal neurons into four categories based on their excitation pathway: attentional versus automatic and voluntary/acquired versus involuntary. Additionally, we hypothesize that dendrites within pyramidal neuron minicolumn bundles are coupled via depolarization cross-induction, enabling minicolumn functions such as the creation of powerful hierarchical "hyperneurons" and the internal representation of the external world. We suggest building blocks to extend the microcircuit theory to network-level processing, which, interestingly, yields variants resembling the artificial neural networks currently in use. On a more speculative note, we conjecture that principles of intelligence in universes governed by certain types of physical laws might resemble ours.
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