Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
February 21, 2012
Hanbing Lu, Qihong Zou, Hong Gu et al.
627 citations
A brain network called the default mode network (DMN), previously studied mainly in humans and primates, also exists in rats. The DMN in rats is broadly similar to that in nonhuman primates and humans, suggesting it is a fundamental feature of mammalian brains. The network appears to integrate sensory and emotional information to guide behavior in anticipation of changing environmental conditions, despite the distinct evolutionary paths of rodents and primates. The findings help clarify the DMN's core functions, which remain poorly understood in humans.
NeuroImage
May 1, 2021
Pengmin Qin, Xuehai Wu, Changwei Wu et al.
51 citations
Consciousness depends on a network of brain regions that integrate sensory and motor information. Analyzing fMRI data from people in preserved (awake, fully conscious brain-injury survivors), reduced (N1-sleep, minimally conscious), and lost (N3-sleep, anesthesia, unresponsive wakefulness) states, plus a unique rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep group, researchers identified key hubs whose degree centrality—a measure of network importance—dropped significantly when consciousness was reduced or absent. These hubs included the supplementary motor area, bilateral supramarginal gyrus, supragenual/dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and left middle temporal gyrus. A higher-order sensorimotor circuit connecting these regions showed functional connectivity that correlated with consciousness levels across groups and remained active in REM sleep, suggesting this circuit supports consciousness and offers new targets for treating disorders of consciousness.