Breakdown in the temporal and spatial organization of spontaneous brain activity during general anesthesia
Human Brain Mapping January 28, 2018 Jianfeng Zhang, Zirui Huang, Yali Chen et al. 70 citations
During anesthetic-induced unconsciousness, two temporal features of brain activity—long-range temporal correlations (measured by power-law exponent) and temporal variability (measured by standard deviation)—both decrease globally across the brain compared to wakefulness. The spatial relationship between these two features becomes altered, or 'decoupled,' primarily due to changes in the spatial pattern of long-range temporal correlations rather than temporal variability. This suggests that the topographical organization of long-range temporal correlations is crucial for maintaining optimal neural dynamics during normal consciousness, supporting the temporo-spatial theory of consciousness.