Multisensory integration in peripersonal space indexes consciousness states in sleep and disorders of consciousness.
Cell reports. Medicine April 21, 2026 Tommaso Bertoni, Giulia Ricci, Jane Jöhr et al.
A neural marker based on high-beta oscillations measured during a simple audiotactile task can detect consciousness and predict recovery in patients with disorders of consciousness. The marker, derived from the peripersonal space system, was present in healthy participants during wakefulness and dreaming but absent in dreamless sleep. In 72 patients with disorders of consciousness, the marker correlated with behavioral measures of consciousness and predicted recovery at discharge. The marker was also associated with forebrain mesocircuit integrity, suggesting a bedside-compatible tool for detecting covert consciousness and guiding clinical decisions in unresponsive patients.