Fractal Dimension of Cortical Functional Connectivity Networks Predicts Severity in Disorders of Consciousness
bioRxiv Preprint Server October 1, 2019 Tf. Varley, M. Craig, R. Adapa et al. preprint
Brain activity's fractal dimension—a measure of complexity—decreases with loss of consciousness. Healthy volunteers showed higher fractal dimension than patients in a minimally conscious state, who in turn showed higher dimension than those in a vegetative state, regardless of injury cause. Fractal dimension of functional connectivity networks, adjacency matrices, and BOLD time-series all correlated with level of consciousness. These findings support the idea that consciousness requires complex, critically organized brain activity, consistent with prior EEG, MEG, and fMRI work.