Dynamical structure-function correlations provide robust and generalizable signatures of consciousness in humans
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging evolves through a repertoire of functional connectivity patterns which might reflect ongoing cognition, as well as the contents of conscious awareness. We investigated whether the dynamic exploration of these states can provide robust and generalizable markers for the state of consciousness in human participants, across loss of consciousness induced by general anaesthesia or slow wave sleep. By clustering transient states of functional connectivity, we demonstrated that brain activity during unconsciousness is dominated by a recurrent pattern primarily mediated by structural connectivity and with a reduced capacity to transition to other patterns. Our results provide evidence supporting the pronounced differences between conscious and unconscious brain states in terms of whole-brain dynamics; in particular, the maintenance of rich brain dynamics measured by entropy is a critical aspect of conscious awareness. Collectively, our results may have significant implications for our understanding of consciousness and the neural basis of human awareness, as well as for the discovery of robust signatures of consciousness that are generalizable among different brain conditions.
Authors
- Jacobo Diego Sitt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3878-4846)
- Alain Destexhe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7405-0455)
- Adrian M. Owen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5738-3765)
- Rodrigo Cofré (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7498-7122)
- Enzo Tagliazucchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0421-9993)
- Andrea I. Luppi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3461-6431)
- Lorina Naçi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9630-3978)
- Yonatan Sanz Perl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1270-5564)
- Pablo Castro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7262-0916)
Institutions
- Western University (CA)
- Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (CA)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Inserm (FR)
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ES)
- Trinity College Dublin (IE)
- Adolfo Ibáñez University (CL)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Universidad de Buenos Aires (AR)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Centro Científico Tecnológico - San Juan (AR)
- CEA Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Lab (FR)
- Institut du Cerveau (FR)
- McGill University (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Biology
- Published
- 2024-09-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06858-3
- Citations
- 19
- Primary Topic
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.51
Funders
- European Commission
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
- Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo
- Agencia Nacional de Promoción de la Investigación, el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación
- Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada