Annals of Neurology
August 20, 2015
Pengmin Qin, Xuehai Wu, Zirui Huang et al.
144 citations
Functional connectivity within two brain networks plays distinct roles in disorders of consciousness. Connectivity in the salience network, particularly between the supragenual anterior cingulate cortex and left anterior insula, was reduced in patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome compared to those in a minimally conscious state or fully conscious brain-lesioned patients. This connectivity correlated with behavioral signs of consciousness. In contrast, connectivity in the default-mode network, specifically between the posterior cingulate cortex and left lateral parietal cortex, was weaker in patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome who did not recover compared to those who later emerged from this state, suggesting this network predicts recovery of consciousness.
Human Brain Mapping
January 28, 2018
Jianfeng Zhang, Zirui Huang, Yali Chen et al.
70 citations
During anesthetic-induced unconsciousness, two temporal features of brain activity—long-range temporal correlations (measured by power-law exponent) and temporal variability (measured by standard deviation)—both decrease globally across the brain compared to wakefulness. The spatial relationship between these two features becomes altered, or 'decoupled,' primarily due to changes in the spatial pattern of long-range temporal correlations rather than temporal variability. This suggests that the topographical organization of long-range temporal correlations is crucial for maintaining optimal neural dynamics during normal consciousness, supporting the temporo-spatial theory of consciousness.
Physics of life reviews
July 1, 2025
Georg Northoff, Federico Zilio, Jianfeng Zhang
The contents of consciousness are shaped primarily through a non-additive pre-post-stimulus interaction that is temporal-dynamic and spatial-topographic in nature. This interaction accounts for the intrinsically subjective nature of conscious experience, which must be distinguished from the more objective modulation by cognitive, sensory, affective, and motor functions. The argument addresses neural features such as alpha power, phase dynamics, trial-to-trial variability, and fractal scale-free dynamics, and relates the approach to other theories like Dendritic Integration Theory, Global Neuronal Workspace Theory, and Integrated Information Theory.
Physics of life reviews
July 1, 2024
Georg Northoff, Federico Zilio, Jianfeng Zhang
Conscious perception depends not only on brain activity after a stimulus appears but also on the brain's ongoing, spontaneous activity before the stimulus. Reviewing recent findings, the authors show that pre-stimulus alpha power (a measure of brain oscillations) influences how vividly or confidently people experience a stimulus, while trial-to-trial variability in alpha activity before and after the stimulus shapes conscious content. The key proposal is that pre- and post-stimulus activity interact in a non-additive, not merely additive, way within the alpha frequency band, and this interaction operates across multiple levels from neurophysiology to phenomenology. This perspective aligns with the Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness, emphasizing that understanding consciousness requires examining brain activity across wider timescales.