How the Brain Transitions from Conscious to Subliminal Perception.
Francesca Arese Lucini, Gino Del Ferraro, Mariano Sigman, Hernán A Makse
Neuroscience July 15, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.03.047 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Brain networks K-core percolation Percolation theory |
| Key points | The authors report that the innermost core of the conscious-state functional brain network corresponds to areas that remain active during subliminal perception, so the core coincides with the subliminal state. They propose that the conscious-to-subliminal transition is driven by k-core percolation, with loss of consciousness from inactivation of peripheral k-shells, and argue this places the network core in the unconscious rather than the conscious state. |
Abstract
We study the transition in the functional networks that characterize the human brains' conscious-state to an unconscious subliminal state of perception by using k-core percolation. We find that the most inner core (i.e., the most connected kernel) of the conscious-state functional network corresponds to areas which remain functionally active when the brain transitions from the conscious-state to the subliminal-state. That is, the inner core of the conscious network coincides with the subliminal-state. Mathematical modeling allows to interpret the conscious to subliminal transition as driven by k-core percolation, through which the conscious state is lost by the inactivation of the peripheral k-shells of the conscious functional network. Thus, the inner core and most robust component of the conscious brain corresponds to the unconscious subliminal state. This finding imposes constraints to theoretical models of consciousness, in that the location of the core of the functional brain network is in the unconscious part of the brain rather than in the conscious state as previously thought.