Switching between Neural Networks Is Necessary for Consciousness Recovery after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

• Published in: Human physiology Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 46 - 55
• Main Authors: Oknina, L. B., Masherow, E. L., Zaitsev, O. S., Alexandrova, E. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01-02-2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Consciousness; Discriminant analysis; Event-related potentials; Human Physiology; Life Sciences; Neural networks; Sleep and wakefulness; Traumatic brain injury; minimally consciousness state; functional connectivity; unresponsive wakefulness syndrome; severe traumatic brain injury; consciousness recovery
• ISSN: 0362-1197; 1608-3164
• DOI: 10.1134/S0362119722010121

Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead to one of the forms of disorders of consciousness, among which are of particular interest are unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) and the minimally conscious state (MCS). The aim of the study was to analyze functional connectivity when listening to sounds in patients with TBI. Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in 20 TBI patients and 20 healthy volunteers. Functional connectivity was calculated using the Granger method. The application of discriminant analysis to the assessment of the values of functional connectivity improves the identification of patients with UWS and MCS. The most significant are functional connectivity between the right parietal and left parietal areas, and functional connectivity between the left parietal and right frontal areas. To a lesser extent, the identification accuracy is influenced by the values of functional connectivity within the right frontal area, as well as its connectivity with the left frontal area. The data obtained suggest that one of the key conditions for the consciousness recovery is the preservation of the ability to switch activity between functional networks that provide voluntary and involuntary attention.