Citation

Långsjö JW, Alkire MT, Kaskinoro K, Hayama H, Maksimow A, Kaisti KK, Aalto S, Aantaa R, Jääskeläinen SK, Revonsuo A, Scheinin H. J. Neurosci. 2012; 32(14): 4935-4943.

Affiliation

Turku PET Centre, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, FI-20521 Turku, Finland, Department of Anesthesiology, Seinäjoki Central Hospital, 60220 Seinäjoki, Finland, VA Long Beach Healthcare system (Long Beach, California, 90822), Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Care and the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California-Irvine, California 92868, Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care, Emergency Care, and Pain Medicine, Turku University Hospital, FI-20521 Turku, Finland, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Turku University Hospital, FI-20521 Turku, Finland, Department of Psychology, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland and School of Humanities and Informatics, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden, Department of Pharmacology, Drug Development and Therapeutics, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland, Pulssi Medical Centre, 20100 Turku, Finland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Society for Neuroscience)

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4962-11.2012

PMID

22492049

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges of modern neuroscience is to discover the neural mechanisms of consciousness and to explain how they produce the conscious state. We sought the underlying neural substrate of human consciousness by manipulating the level of consciousness in volunteers with anesthetic agents and visualizing the resultant changes in brain activity using regional cerebral blood flow imaging with positron emission tomography. Study design and methodology were chosen to dissociate the state-related changes in consciousness from the effects of the anesthetic drugs. We found the emergence of consciousness, as assessed with a motor response to a spoken command, to be associated with the activation of a core network involving subcortical and limbic regions that become functionally coupled with parts of frontal and inferior parietal cortices upon awakening from unconsciousness. The neural core of consciousness thus involves forebrain arousal acting to link motor intentions originating in posterior sensory integration regions with motor action control arising in more anterior brain regions. These findings reveal the clearest picture yet of the minimal neural correlates required for a conscious state to emerge.

Language: en