Content–state dimensions characterize different types of neuronal markers of consciousness
Neuroscience of Consciousness July 12, 2024 P. Pérez, D. Manasova, B. Hermann et al.
A framework is introduced that characterizes neuronal markers of consciousness along two dimensions: how well they distinguish conscious from non-conscious states (x-axis) and how well they distinguish different conscious contents (y-axis). Using electroencephalography markers of connectivity, complexity, and spectral summaries, the framework is applied to healthy participants during a nap and patients with disorders of consciousness for the state dimension, and to healthy participants in visual awareness and auditory local-global paradigms for the content dimension. Separate clusters of markers with correlated and anticorrelated dynamics emerge, highlighting the complex relationship between the state and content of consciousness and the need to consider them together.