Foundations of Human Consciousness: Imaging the Twilight Zone.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience February 24, 2021 Annalotta Scheinin, Oskari Kantonen, Michael Alkire et al. 92 citations
Consciousness often persists even when unresponsiveness occurs. In two experiments involving 76 healthy males, brain activity was measured during varying states of consciousness induced by propofol and dexmedetomidine (n = 39) and during sleep-deprived wakefulness and non-REM sleep (n = 37). Most participants reported internally generated experiences while unresponsive. Key brain regions, including the thalamus and cingulate cortices, were found critical for consciousness, showing consistent activity patterns regardless of anesthetic type or sleep state, highlighting a core network essential for conscious awareness.