Functional geometry of the cortex encodes dimensions of consciousness
Open accessAbstract
Consciousness is a multidimensional phenomenon, but key dimensions such as awareness and wakefulness have been described conceptually rather than neurobiologically. We hypothesize that dimensions of consciousness are encoded in multiple neurofunctional dimensions of the brain. We analyze cortical gradients, which are continua of the brain's overarching functional geometry, to characterize these neurofunctional dimensions. We demonstrate that disruptions of human consciousness - due to pharmacological, neuropathological, or psychiatric causes - are associated with a degradation of one or more of the major cortical gradients depending on the state. Network-specific reconfigurations within the multidimensional cortical gradient space are associated with behavioral unresponsiveness of various etiologies, and these spatial reconfigurations correlate with a temporal disruption of structured transitions of dynamic brain states. In this work, we therefore provide a unifying neurofunctional framework for multiple dimensions of human consciousness in both health and disease.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Huang et al. (2023) identified three neurofunctional gradients using dimensionality reduction on resting state fMRI data that were differentially affected by administration of propofol or ketamine and in pathological conditions like unresponsive wakefulness syndrome and schizophrenia.
“Using dimensionality reduction on resting state fMRI data, they identified three neurofunctional gradients that were differentially affected by the administration of propofol or ketamine and in pathological conditions like unresponsive wakefulness syndrome and schizophrenia.”
From What does it mean for consciousness to be multidimensional? A narrative review (2024) · cites this paper as Huang et al., 2023
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
The organization of the human cerebral cortex estimated by intrinsic functional connectivity
Thomas Yeo, B. T., Krienen, F. M., Sepulcre, J., Sabuncu, M. R., Lashkari, D., Hollinshead, M., Roffman, J. L., Smoller, J. W., Zöllei, L., Polimeni, J. R., et al. (2011) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.00338.2011 · Cited by 9,182 · see citing works
The organization of the human cerebellum estimated by intrinsic functional connectivity
Buckner, R. L., Krienen, F. M., Castellanos, A., Diaz, J. C., & Yeo, B. T. T. (2011) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.00339.2011 · Cited by 7,304 · see citing works
Large-scale brain networks and psychopathology: a unifying triple network model
Menon, V. (2011) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2011.08.003 · Cited by 4,168 · see citing works
Local-global parcellation of the human cerebral cortex from intrinsic functional connectivity MRI
Schaefer, A., Kong, R., Gordon, E. M., Laumann, T. O., Zuo, X.-N., Holmes, A. J., Eickhoff, S. B., & Yeo, B. T. T. (2018) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhx179 · Cited by 3,657 · see citing works
Krystal, J. H. (1994) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1994.03950030035004 · Cited by 3,330 · see citing works
Situating the default-mode network along a principal gradient of macroscale cortical organization
Margulies, D. S., Ghosh, S. S., Goulas, A., Falkiewicz, M., Huntenburg, J. M., Langs, G., Bezgin, G., Eickhoff, S. B., Castellanos, F. X., Petrides, M., et al. (2016) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1608282113 · Cited by 2,321 · see citing works
Structural and Functional Brain Networks: From Connections to Cognition
Park, H.-J., & Friston, K. (2013) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1238411 · Cited by 2,106 · see citing works
Salience processing and insular cortical function and dysfunction
Uddin, L. Q. (2015) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn3857 · Cited by 2,083 · see citing works
Detecting awareness in the vegetative state
Owen, A. M., Coleman, M. R., Boly, M., Davis, M. H., Laureys, S., & Pickard, J. D. (2006) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1130197 · Cited by 1,978 · see citing works
Neural correlates of consciousness: progress and problems
Koch, C., Massimini, M., Boly, M., & Tononi, G. (2016) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn.2016.22 · Cited by 1,600 · see citing works
Willful Modulation of Brain Activity in Disorders of Consciousness
Monti, M. M., Vanhaudenhuyse, A., Coleman, M. R., Boly, M., Pickard, J. D., Tshibanda, L., Owen, A. M., & Laureys, S. (2010) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa0905370 · Cited by 1,469 · see citing works
General Anesthesia, Sleep, and Coma
Brown, E. N., Lydic, R., & Schiff, N. D. (2010) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmra0808281 · Cited by 1,346 · see citing works
Alkire, M. T., Hudetz, A. G., & Tononi, G. (2008) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1149213 · Cited by 1,245 · see citing works
Self-citationTowards a consensus regarding global signal regression for resting state functional connectivity MRI
Murphy, K., & Fox, M. (2016) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.11.052 · Cited by 1,043 · see citing works
Large-Scale Gradients in Human Cortical Organization
Huntenburg, J. M., Bazin, P., & Margulies, D. S. (2017) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2017.11.002 · Cited by 960 · see citing works
The neural correlate of (un)awareness: lessons from the vegetative state
Laureys, S. (2005) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2005.10.010 · Cited by 813 · see citing works
Topographic organization of the human subcortex unveiled with functional connectivity gradients
Tian, Y., Margulies, D. S., Breakspear, M. J., & Zalesky, A. (2020) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/s41593-020-00711-6 · Cited by 781 · see citing works
Pharmacologic effects of CI‐581, a new dissociative anesthetic, in man
Domino, E. F., Chodoff, P., & Corssen, G. (1965) · Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics · doi:10.1002/cpt196563279 · Cited by 753 · see citing works
Estimating sample size in functional MRI (fMRI) neuroimaging studies: Statistical power analyses
Desmond, J. E., & Glover, G. H. (2002) · Journal of Neuroscience Methods · doi:10.1016/s0165-0270(02)00121-8 · Cited by 716 · see citing works
Bedside detection of awareness in the vegetative state: a cohort study
Cruse, D., Chennu, S., Chatelle, C., Bekinschtein, T. A., Fernández‐Espejo, D., Pickard, J. D., Laureys, S., & Owen, A. M. (2011) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(11)61224-5 · Cited by 714 · see citing works
de Wael, R. V., Benkarim, O. M., Paquola, C., Larivière, S., Royer, J., Tavakol, S., Xu, T., Hong, S., Langs, G., Valk, S. L., et al. (2020) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-020-0794-7 · Cited by 670 · see citing works
Using Bayes factor hypothesis testing in neuroscience to establish evidence of absence
Keysers, C., Gazzola, V., & Wagenmakers, E.-J. (2020) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/s41593-020-0660-4 · Cited by 654 · see citing works
Liu, X., & Duyn, J. H. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1216856110 · Cited by 647 · see citing works
What constitutes the prefrontal cortex?
Carlén, M. (2017) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aan8868 · Cited by 561 · see citing works
Boly, M., Massimini, M., Tsuchiya, N., Postle, B. R., Koch, C., & Tononi, G. (2017) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3218-16.2017 · Cited by 557 · see citing works
Atypical functional connectome hierarchy in autism
Hong, S., de Wael, R. V., Bethlehem, R. A. I., Larivière, S., Paquola, C., Valk, S. L., Milham, M. P., Martino, A. D., Margulies, D. S., Smallwood, J., et al. (2019) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08944-1 · Cited by 538 · see citing works
Domino, E. F., & Warner, D. S. (2010) · Anesthesiology · doi:10.1097/aln.0b013e3181ed09a2 · Cited by 520 · see citing works
Cognitive Motor Dissociation Following Severe Brain Injuries
Schiff, N. D. (2015) · JAMA Neurology · doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2015.2899 · Cited by 477 · see citing works
Unresponsiveness ≠ unconsciousness
Sanders, R. D., Tononi, G., Laureys, S., Sleigh, J. W., & Warner, D. S. (2012) · Anesthesiology · doi:10.1097/aln.0b013e318249d0a7 · Cited by 474 · see citing works
Are there levels of consciousness?
Bayne, T., Hohwy, J., & Owen, A. M. (2016) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2016.03.009 · Cited by 438 · see citing works
Ketamine – More mechanisms of action than just NMDA blockade
SLEIGH, J. W., Harvey, M. G., Voss, L. J., & Denny, B. (2014) · Trends in Anaesthesia and Critical Care · doi:10.1016/j.tacc.2014.03.002 · Cited by 436 · see citing works
A phenome-wide examination of neural and cognitive function
Poldrack, R. A., Congdon, E. L., Triplett, W. T., Gorgolewski, K. J., Karlsgodt, K. H., Mumford, J. A., Sabb, F. W., Freimer, N. B., London, E. D., Cannon, T. D., et al. (2016) · Scientific Data · doi:10.1038/sdata.2016.110 · Cited by 414 · see citing works
Dimensions of Animal Consciousness
Birch, J., Schnell, A. K., & Clayton, N. S. (2020) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2020.07.007 · Cited by 406 · see citing works
Cellular Mechanisms of Conscious Processing
Aru, J., Suzuki, M., & Larkum, M. E. (2020) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2020.07.006 · Cited by 321 · see citing works
Bardin, J. C., Fins, J. J., Katz, D. I., Hersh, J. E., Heier, L., Tabelow, K., Dyke, J. P., Ballon, D., Schiff, N. D., & Voss, H. U. (2011) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awr005 · Cited by 272 · see citing works
Global waves synchronize the brain’s functional systems with fluctuating arousal
Raut, R. V., Snyder, A. Z., Mitra, A., Yellin, D., Fujii, N., Malach, R., & Raichle, M. E. (2021) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.abf2709 · Cited by 261 · see citing works
Co-activation patterns in resting-state fMRI signals
Liu, X., Zhang, N., Chang, C. E., & Duyn, J. H. (2018) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.01.041 · Cited by 232 · see citing works
Murphy, C., Jefferies, E., Rueschemeyer, S., Sormaz, M., Wang, H.-T., Margulies, D. S., & Smallwood, J. (2018) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.01.017 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Driesen, N. R., McCarthy, G., Bhagwagar, Z., Bloch, M., Calhoun, V, D'Souza, D. C., Gueorguieva, R., He, G., Ramachandran, R., Suckow, R. F., et al. (2013) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/mp.2012.194 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Temporal circuit of macroscale dynamic brain activity supports human consciousness
Huang, Z., Zhang, J., Wu, J., Mashour, G. A., & Hudetz, A. G. (2020) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaz0087 · Cited by 217 · see citing works
Self-citationDispersion of functional gradients across the adult lifespan
Bethlehem, R. A. I., Paquola, C., Seidlitz, J., Ronan, L., Bernhardt, B. C., & Tsvetanov, K. A. (2020) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117299 · Cited by 211 · see citing works
Subcortical contributions to large-scale network communication
Bell, P. T., & Shine, J. M. (2016) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.08.036 · Cited by 163 · see citing works
Dimensions of consciousness and the psychedelic state
Bayne, T., & Carter, O. (2018) · Neuroscience of Consciousness · doi:10.1093/nc/niy008 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Anterior insula regulates brain network transitions that gate conscious access
Huang, Z., Tarnal, V., Vlisides, P. E., Janke, E., McKinney, A., Picton, P., Mashour, G. A., & Hudetz, A. G. (2021) · Cell Reports · doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109081 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Self-citationLiu, X., Lauer, K. K., Ward, B. D., Rao, S. M., Li, S., & Hudetz, A. G. (2011) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.21385 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Self-citationCore and matrix thalamic sub-populations relate to spatio-temporal cortical connectivity gradients
Müller, E. J., Munn, B., Hearne, L. J., Smith, J. B., Fulcher, B., Arnatkevičiūtė, A., Lurie, D. J., Cocchi, L., & Shine, J. M. (2020) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117224 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
The neural correlates of ongoing conscious thought
Smallwood, J., Turnbull, A. G., Wang, H.-T., Ho, N. S. P., Poerio, G. L., Karapanagiotidis, T., Konu, D., Mckeown, B., Zhang, M., Murphy, C., et al. (2021) · iScience · doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.102132 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Subanaesthetic ketamine and altered states of consciousness in humans
Vlisides, P. E., Bel‐Bahar, T., Nelson, A. G., Chilton, K., Smith, E. E., Janke, E., Tarnal, V., Picton, P., Harris, R. E., & Mashour, G. A. (2018) · British Journal of Anaesthesia · doi:10.1016/j.bja.2018.03.011 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Self-citationHuang, Z., Liu, X., Mashour, G. A., & Hudetz, A. G. (2018) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.2545-17.2018 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Self-citationCompression of Cerebellar Functional Gradients in Schizophrenia
Dong, D., Luo, C., Guell, X., Wang, Y., He, H., Duan, M., Eickhoff, S. B., & Yao, D. (2020) · Schizophrenia Bulletin · doi:10.1093/schbul/sbaa016 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Huang, Z., Zhang, J., Jinsong, W., Qin, P., Wu, X., Wang, Z., 戴睿, Li, Y., 梁伟民, Mao, Y., et al. (2015) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.08.062 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Self-citationBrain Activity Fluctuations Propagate as Waves Traversing the Cortical Hierarchy
Gu, Y., Sainburg, L. E., Kuang, S., Han, F., Williams, J. W., Liu, Y., Zhang, N., Zhang, X., Leopold, D. A., & Liu, X. (2021) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhab064 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Shine, J. M., Hearne, L. J., Breakspear, M. J., Hwang, K., Müller, E. J., Sporns, O., Poldrack, R. A., Mattingley, J. B., & Cocchi, L. (2019) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2019.09.002 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Cognition in the Vegetative State
Monti, M. M. (2012) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032511-143050 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Mckeown, B., Strawson, W., Wang, H.-T., Karapanagiotidis, T., de Wael, R. V., Benkarim, O. M., Turnbull, A. G., Margulies, D. S., Jefferies, E., McCall, C., et al. (2020) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117072 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Luppi, A. I., Mediano, P. A. M., Rosas, F. E., Allanson, J. E., Pickard, J. D., Williams, G. B., Craig, M. M., Finoia, P., Peattie, A. R. D., Coppola, P., et al. (2022) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-022-03330-y · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Yousefi, B., & Keilholz, S. D. (2021) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117827 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Psychedelics as a treatment for disorders of consciousness
Scott, G., & Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2019) · Neuroscience of Consciousness · doi:10.1093/nc/niz003 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Perl, Y. S., Pallavicini, C., Ipiña, I. P., Athena Demertzi, A., Bonhomme, V. L., Martial, C., Panda, R., Annen, J., Ibáñez, A. M., Kringelbach, M. L., et al. (2021) · PLoS Computational Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009139 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Signal propagation via cortical hierarchies
Vázquez-Rodríguez, B., Liu, Z.-Q., Hagmann, P., & Mišić, B. (2020) · Network Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/netn_a_00153 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Disrupted neural variability during propofol‐induced sedation and unconsciousness
Huang, Z., Zhang, J., Wu, J., Liu, X., Xu, J., Zhang, J., Qin, P., Dai, R., Yang, Z. H., Mao, Y. Q., et al. (2018) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.24304 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Self-citationCross, N. E., Paquola, C., Pomares, F. B., Perrault, A. A., Jegou, A., Nguyen, A., Aydın, Ü., Bernhardt, B. C., Grova, C., & Dang‐Vu, T. T. (2020) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117547 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Grace, R. F. (2003) · Anaesthesia · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2044.2003.03341.x · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Disruption of Conscious Access in Schizophrenia
Berkovitch, L., Dehaene, S., & Gaillard, R. (2017) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2017.08.006 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Meng, Y., Yang, S., Chen, H., Li, J., Xu, Q., Zhang, Q., Lu, G., Zhang, Z., & Liao, W. (2021) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117831 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Brain imaging reveals covert consciousness during behavioral unresponsiveness induced by propofol
Huang, Z., Vlisides, P. E., Tarnal, V. C., Janke, E., Keefe, K. M., Collins, M. M., McKinney, A., Picton, P., Harris, R. E., Mashour, G. A., et al. (2018) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-31436-z · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Self-citationAsymmetric neural dynamics characterize loss and recovery of consciousness
Huang, Z., Tarnal, V., Vlisides, P. E., Janke, E., McKinney, A., Picton, P., Mashour, G. A., & Hudetz, A. G. (2021) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118042 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Self-citationCampbell, J. M., Huang, Z., Zhang, J., Wu, X., Qin, P., Northoff, G., Mashour, G. A., & Hudetz, A. G. (2019) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116316 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Self-citationLangs, G., Sweet, A., Danial Lashkari, A., Tie, Y., Rigolo, L., Golby, A. J., & Golland, P. (2014) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.08.029 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Walter, J. (2021) · Neuroscience of Consciousness · doi:10.1093/nc/niab047 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Consilience, clinical validation, and global disorders of consciousness
Peterson, A. H. (2016) · Neuroscience of Consciousness · doi:10.1093/nc/niw011 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Capturing covert consciousness
Mashour, G. A., & Avidan, M. S. (2013) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(13)60094-x · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Anesthesia and the neurobiology of consciousness
Mashour, G. A. (2024) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2024.03.002 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Self-citationWhat does it mean for consciousness to be multidimensional? A narrative review
Páleník, J. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1430262 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
- Authors
- Huang, Z., Mashour, G. A., & Hudetz, A. G.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- Corresponding author
- Huang, Zirui
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2023-01-05
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 72-72
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9814511
- OpenAlex
- W4313571673
- Cited by
- 101
- References
- 72
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 1 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 14.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (5T32GM103730-09, R01-GM103894)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Keywords
- consciousness, cortical gradients, awareness, wakefulness, dynamic brain states, consciousness disorders, brain network reconfiguration
- MeSH terms
- Brain, Brain Mapping, Consciousness, Humans, Wakefulness
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
