bioRxiv
December 17, 2024
Dian Lyu, Ram Adapa, Robin L. Carhart-Harris et al.
preprint
The default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal control network (FPCN), typically anticorrelated at rest in healthy brains, show continuous rather than absolute anatomical boundaries in the posterior precuneus. Connectivity differences along the dorsal-ventral axis follow linear slopes, forming functional gradients that exist only within each network's territory. These gradients flatten in altered states of consciousness (ASC), with the gradient magnitude similarly impaired across different ASC types, while spatial entropy differs between psychedelic and sedative states. The findings suggest the DMN and FPCN, though appearing distinct, may originate from a single integrated mechanism, and the loss of functional differentiation between them characterizes altered conscious states.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
June 3, 2026
Sofia Pantis, Masaya Togo, Dian Lyu et al.
Direct electrical stimulation of the mid-thalamus, near the mediodorsal nucleus, alters conscious experience and reveals asymmetric brain connectivity. In 30 patients with focal epilepsy, 50 Hz stimulation changed conscious experience in 11 of 12 patients, producing visceral, emotional, or somatosensory sensations, often unpleasant. Single-pulse 0.5 Hz stimulation showed strong electrophysiological connectivity between the mid-thalamus and the insula, anterior and midcingulate, prefrontal cortices, and medial temporal lobe. Inflow signals from some cortical sites to the mid-thalamus were significantly stronger than outflow, indicating a clear directional asymmetry in thalamocortical connectivity.
Brain communications
January 1, 2026
Dorottya Szocs, Dian Lyu, Andrea I Luppi et al.
The pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus shows the strongest functional connectivity change with loss of consciousness under anesthesia in healthy volunteers, while the ventral-latero-ventral nucleus shows the strongest change in patients with disorders of consciousness. These nuclei exhibit distinct connectivity patterns with higher-order brain networks such as the default mode and executive control networks. In patients, the neural connectivity biomarker mirrored behavioral changes, suggesting potential clinical relevance for targeted deep brain stimulation therapy.