Disrupted hierarchical organization in disorders of consciousness revealed by fluctuation-dissipation deviations
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) October 3, 2025 Marian Martínez-Marín, Jakub Vohryzek, Anira Escrichs et al. 1 citation preprint
Consciousness levels after coma can be assessed by measuring how far the brain's dynamics are from equilibrium. Using fMRI data and individualized whole-brain models, researchers found that patients with disorders of consciousness—those in a minimally conscious state or unresponsive wakefulness syndrome—show brain activity closer to equilibrium than healthy controls, with the shift increasing as consciousness decreases. Disruptions in hierarchical drive were identified in default-mode network regions and subcortical hubs like the thalamus. Recovery of near-control hierarchy in the visual network distinguished minimally conscious from unresponsive patients, while limbic areas showed similar abnormalities in both groups. Deviation from the fluctuation-dissipation theorem offers a model-based biomarker for clinical stratification.