Brain network integration dynamics are associated with loss and recovery of consciousness induced by sevoflurane
Andrea I. Luppi, Daniel Golkowski, Andreas Ranft, Rüdiger Ilg, Denis Jordan, David K. Menon, Emmanuel A. Stamatakis
Human Brain Mapping March 19, 2021 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25405 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Healthy volunteers |
| Intervention | Sevoflurane |
| Dose | different concentrations; higher doses 3% vol and burst-suppression |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Consciousness Dynamic functional connectivity Functional integration Cognition Human brain Resting State FMRI Cognitive psychology |
| Citations | 72 |
| Key findings | The integrated sub-state of brain connectivity is especially vulnerable to anaesthesia, and its breakdown represents a generalisable biomarker of loss and recovery of consciousness. |
Abstract
Abstract The dynamic interplay of integration and segregation in the brain is at the core of leading theoretical accounts of consciousness. The human brain dynamically alternates between a sub‐state where integration predominates, and a predominantly segregated sub‐state, with different roles in supporting cognition and behaviour. Here, we combine graph theory and dynamic functional connectivity to compare resting‐state functional MRI data from healthy volunteers before, during, and after loss of responsiveness induced with different concentrations of the inhalational anaesthetic, sevoflurane. We show that dynamic states characterised by high brain integration are especially vulnerable to general anaesthesia, exhibiting attenuated complexity and diminished small‐world character. Crucially, these effects are reversed upon recovery, demonstrating their association with consciousness. Higher doses of sevoflurane (3% vol and burst‐suppression) also compromise the temporal balance of integration and segregation in the human brain. Additionally, we demonstrate that reduced anticorrelations between the brain's default mode and executive control networks dynamically reconfigure depending on the brain's state of integration or segregation. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the integrated sub‐state of brain connectivity is especially vulnerable to anaesthesia, in terms of both its complexity and information capacity, whose breakdown represents a generalisable biomarker of loss of consciousness and its recovery.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain | 2001 | Observational study | |
| Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 19
- Receptor-informed network control theory links LSD and psilocybin to a flattening of the brain's control energy landscape. Nature Communications October 3, 2022
- Distributed harmonic patterns of structure-function dependence orchestrate human consciousness. Communications Biology January 28, 2023
- A synergistic workspace for human consciousness revealed by Integrated Information Decomposition. Elife July 18, 2024
- What it is like to be a bit: an integrated information decomposition account of emergent mental phenomena Neuroscience of Consciousness November 1, 2021
- Unravelling consciousness and brain function through the lens of time, space, and information Trends in Neurosciences May 31, 2024
and 14 more in the library
Cites 33
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State Science September 7, 2006
- An information integration theory of consciousness BMC Neuroscience November 2, 2004
- A Theoretically Based Index of Consciousness Independent of Sensory Processing and Behavior Science Translational Medicine August 14, 2013
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
and 28 more in the library