Dynamic topographies of intrinsic neural timescales: a key role for consciousness.
Computers in biology and medicine October 1, 2025 Andrea Buccellato, Di Zang, Yasir Çatal et al.
The brain's spontaneous activity has intrinsic durations—Intrinsic Neural Timescales (INTs)—that are hierarchically organized, with shorter durations in sensory regions and longer ones in association areas. This study shows that the topographic organization of INTs is not fixed but dynamically changes over time. Healthy individuals exhibit transitions between different INT states that are moderately predictable and show memory effects. In people with disorders of consciousness, these transitions become less predictable and show reduced memory effects, suggesting that the temporal richness of INT state transitions is important for maintaining normal consciousness.