Understanding the neural correlates of consciousness has important ramifications for the theoretical understanding of consciousness and for clinical anaesthesia. A major limitation of prior studies is the use of responsiveness as an index of consciousness. We identified a collection of measures derived from unresponsive subjects and more specifically their association with consciousness (any...
The neural mechanisms through which individuals lose sensory awareness of their environment during anesthesia remains poorly understood despite being of vital importance to the field. Prior research has not distinguished between sensory awareness of the environment (connectedness) and consciousness itself. In the current study, we investigated the neural correlates of sensory awareness by...
Background: How conscious experience becomes disconnected from the environment, or disappears, across arousal states is unknown. We sought to identify the neural correlates of sensory disconnection and unconsciousness using a novel serial awakening paradigm. Methods: Volunteers were recruited for sedation with dexmedetomidine i.v., propofol i.v., or natural sleep with high-density EEG...