Unravelling consciousness and brain function through the lens of time, space, and information
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Disentangling how cognitive functions emerge from the interplay of brain dynamics and network architecture is among the major challenges that neuroscientists face. Pharmacological and pathological perturbations of consciousness provide a lens to investigate these complex challenges. Here, we review how recent advances about consciousness and the brain’s functional organisation have been driven by a common denominator: decomposing brain function into fundamental constituents of time, space, and information. Whereas unconsciousness increases structure–function coupling across scales, psychedelics may decouple brain function from structure. Convergent effects also emerge: anaesthetics, psychedelics, and disorders of consciousness can exhibit similar reconfigurations of the brain’s unimodal–transmodal functional axis. Decomposition approaches reveal the potential to translate discoveries across species, with computational modelling providing a path towards mechanistic integration.
Date Issued
2024-07
Date Acceptance
2024-05-01
Citation
Trends in Neurosciences, 2024, 47 (7), pp.551-568
ISSN
0166-2236
Publisher
Cell Press
Start Page
551
End Page
568
Journal / Book Title
Trends in Neurosciences
Volume
47
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2024.05.007
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2024-05-31