The self and its resting state in consciousness: An investigation of the vegetative state
Human Brain Mapping July 1, 2013 Zirui Huang, Rui Dai, Xuehai Wu et al. 104 citations
Patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) show reduced brain activity in midline regions (anterior and posterior cingulate cortex) during self-referential thinking tasks compared to healthy individuals. The degree of signal reduction in the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex predicts their level of consciousness. These same midline regions also display abnormal resting-state functional connectivity and low-frequency fluctuations. The findings link self-referential processing, resting-state brain activity, and consciousness, suggesting that neural abnormalities in these areas contribute to DOC.