Therapeutic interventions in patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness

Author: Thibaut, A. – The management of patients with severe brain injuries and prolonged disorders of consciousness raises important issues particularly with respect to their therapeutic options. The scarcity of treatment options is challenged by new clinical and neuroimaging data indicating that some patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness might benefit from therapeutic interventions, even […]

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Sleep-like cortical OFF-periods disrupt causality and complexity in the brain of unresponsive wakefulness syndrome patients

Authors: Rosanova, M., Fecchio, M., Casarotto, S., Sarasso, S., Casali, A.G., Pigorini, A., Comanducci, A., Seregni, F., Devalle, G., Citerio, G., Bodart, O., Boly, M., Gosseries, O., Laureys, S., Massimini, M. – Unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) patients may retain intact portions of the thalamocortical system that are spontaneously active and reactive to sensory stimuli but fail […]

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The spectral features of EEG responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation of the primary motor cortex depend on the amplitude of the motor evoked potentials

Authors: Fecchio, M., Pigorini, A., Comanducci, A., Sarasso, S., Casarotto, S., Premoli, I., Derchi, C.-C., Mazza, A., Russo, S., Resta, F., Ferrarelli, F., Mariotti, M., Ziemann, U., Massimini, M., Rosanova, M. – Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the primary motor cortex (M1) can excite both cortico-cortical and cortico-spinal axons resulting in TMS-evoked potentials (TEPs) and […]

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The spectral exponent of the resting EEG indexes the presence of consciousness during unresponsiveness induced by propofol, xenon, and ketamine

Authors: Colombo, M.A., Napolitani, M., Boly, M., Gosseries, O., Casarotto, S., Rosanova, M., Brichant, J.-F., Boveroux, P., Rex, S., Laureys, S., Massimini, M., Chieregato, A., Sarasso, S. – Despite the absence of responsiveness during anesthesia, conscious experience may persist. However, reliable, easily acquirable and interpretable neurophysiological markers of the presence of consciousness in unresponsive states […]

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Are There Islands of Awareness?

Authors: Bayne, T., Seth, A.K., Massimini, M. – Ordinary human experience is embedded in a web of causal relations that link the brain to the body and the wider environment. However, there might be conditions in which brain activity supports consciousness even when that activity is fully causally isolated from the body and its environment. […]

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Decreased integration of EEG source-space networks in disorders of consciousness

Authors: Rizkallah J., Annen, J., Modolo J., Gosseries O., Benquet P., Mortaheb S., Amoud H., Cassol H., Mheich A., Thibaut A., Chatelle C., Hassan M. – Increasing evidence links disorders of consciousness (DOC) with disruptions in functional connectivity between distant brain areas. However, to which extent the balance of brain network segregation and integration is modified in DOC […]

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COALIA: A Computational Model of Human EEG for Consciousness Research

Authors: Bensaid S., Modolo J., Merlet I., Wendling F., Benquet P. – Understanding the origin of the main physiological processes involved in consciousness is a major challenge of contemporary neuroscience, with crucial implications for the study of Disorders of Consciousness (DOC). The difficulties in achieving this task include the considerable quantity of experimental data in […]

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Neuropsychological and Neurophysiological Aspects of Brain-Computer-Interface (BCI)-Control in Paralysis

Authors: Modolo J., Hassan M., Wendling F., Benquet P. – Identifying the physiological processes underlying the emergence and maintenance of consciousness is one of the most fundamental problems of neuroscience, with implications ranging from fundamental neuroscience to the treatment of patients with disorders of consciousness (DOCs). One major challenge is to understand how cortical circuits […]

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Electroencephalographic slow wave dynamics and loss of behavioural responsiveness induced by ketamine in human volunteers

Authors: – Sleigh J, Pullon RM, Vlisides PE, Warnaby CE. BACKGROUND: Previous work on the electroencephalographic (EEG) effects of anaesthetic doses of ketamine has identified a characteristic signature of increased high frequency (beta-gamma) and theta waves alternating with episodic slow waves. It is unclear which EEG parameter is optimal for pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modelling of the hypnotic […]

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Evaluating Complexity of Fetal MEG Signals: A Comparison of Different Metrics and their Applicability

Authors: Moser J, Bensaid S, Kroupi E, Schleger F, Wendling F, Ruffini G, Preißl H. – In this work, we aim to investigate whether information based metrics of neural activity are a useful tool for the quantification of consciousness before and shortly after birth. Neural activity is measured using fetal magnetoencephalography (fMEG) in human fetuses and neonates. Based on […]

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