Unravelling consciousness and brain function through the lens of time, space, and information
Andrea I. Luppi, Fernando E. Rosas, Pedro A. M. Mediano, Athena Demertzi, David K. Menon, Emmanuel A. Stamatakis
Trends in Neurosciences May 31, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2024.05.007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Cognitive science Function biology Unconsciousness Cognition Brain function Cognitive psychology |
| Citations | 23 |
| Key findings | Unconsciousness increases structure-function coupling across scales, while psychedelics may decouple brain function from structure; anaesthetics, psychedelics, and disorders of consciousness can produce similar reconfigurations of the brain's unimodal-transmodal functional axis. |
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.