Neuromodulation of subcortical network hubs by pharmacologic, electrical, or ultrasonic stimulation is a promising therapeutic strategy for patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC). However, optimal subcortical targets for therapeutic stimulation are not well established. Here, we leveraged 7 Tesla resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data from 168 healthy subjects from the Human...
Ketamine is a synthesized anesthetic drug that was used extensively as a surgical anesthetic in the 1960s. Currently, ketamine is being investigated extensively for its potential as a treatment for depression. However, the addictive nature of ketamine has become an issue that cannot be ignored at this stage. As of now, there is no clear understanding of the changes in striatal metabolites and...
Subcortical arousal systems are known to play a key role in controlling sustained changes in attention and conscious awareness. Recent studies indicate that these systems have a major influence on short-term dynamic modulation of visual attention, but their role across sensory modalities is not fully understood. In this study, we investigated shared subcortical arousal systems across sensory...
Consciousness is composed of arousal (i.e., wakefulness) and awareness. Substantial progress has been made in mapping the cortical networks that underlie awareness in the human brain, but knowledge about the subcortical networks that sustain arousal in humans is incomplete. Here, we aimed to map the connectivity of a proposed subcortical arousal network that sustains wakefulness in the human...
Consciousness is comprised of arousal (i.e., wakefulness) and awareness. Substantial progress has been made in mapping the cortical networks that modulate awareness in the human brain, but knowledge about the subcortical networks that sustain arousal is lacking. We integrated data from ex vivo diffusion MRI, immunohistochemistry, and in vivo 7 Tesla functional MRI to map the connectivity of a...
bioRxivJuly 14, 2021Jian Li, W. Curley, B. Guérin et al.
preprint
The default mode network (DMN) mediates self-awareness and introspection, core components of human consciousness. Therapies to restore consciousness in patients with severe brain injuries have historically targeted subcortical sites in the brainstem, thalamus, hypothalamus, basal forebrain, and basal ganglia, with the goal of reactivating cortical DMN nodes. However, the subcortical...
Five days of integrative body-mind training (IBMT) improves attention and self-regulation in comparison with the same amount of relaxation training. This paper explores the underlying mechanisms of this finding. We measured the physiological and brain changes at rest before, during, and after 5 days of IBMT and relaxation training. During and after training, the IBMT group showed significantly...