Network dynamics scale with levels of awareness
bioRxiv Preprint Server April 12, 2021 Peter Coppola, Lennart R.b. Spindler, Andrea I. Luppi et al. preprint
The diversity of brain dynamics within small-world network topology, measured as sample entropy (dSW-E), consistently predicts levels of awareness across sedation and disorders of consciousness, even after accounting for underlying functional connectivity dynamics. Both subcortical and cortical areas show predictive value, but subcortical regions exhibit higher and more robust effect sizes. The dynamic reorganization of the functional information architecture, especially in the subcortex, emerges with awareness and offers explanatory power beyond the complexity of dynamic functional connectivity alone.