Signature of consciousness in the dynamics of resting-state brain activity

At rest, the brain is traversed by spontaneous functional connectivity patterns. Two hypotheses have been proposed for their origins: they may reflect a continuous stream of ongoing cognitive processes as well as random fluctuations shaped by a fixed anatomical connectivity matrix. Here we show that both sources contribute to the shaping of resting-state networks, yet with distinct contributions during consciousness and anesthesia. We measured dynamical functional connectivity with functional MRI during the resting state in awake and anesthetized monkeys. Under anesthesia, the more frequent functional connectivity patterns inherit the structure of anatomical connectivity, exhibit fewer small-world properties,…

• JS
  James S. McDonnell Foundation
• IN
  Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
• CN
  Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
• FR
  Fondation Roger de Spoelberch