Returning from oblivion: imaging the neural core of consciousness
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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.
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The thalamus is activated during spontaneous and pharmacologically induced emergence from anesthesia.
“the thalamus has also been found to be activated during both spontaneous [133] and pharmacologically induced [134] emergence from anesthesia.”
From The Biology of General Anesthesia from Paramecium to Primate (2019) · cites this paper as [133]
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- Authors
- Långsjö, J. W., Alkire, M. T., Kaskinoro, K., Hayama, H., Maksimow, A., Kaisti, K. K., Aalto, S., Aantaa, R., Jääskeläinen, S. K., Revonsuo, A., & Scheinin, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Turku (FI)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Corresponding author
- Scheinin, Harry
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2012-04-04
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 14
- Pages
- 4935-4943
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC6620928
- OpenAlex
- W2107508491
- Cited by
- 205
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 34.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Suomen Lääketieteen Säätiö
- Academy of Finland (8111818)
- Turun Yliopistollinen Keskussairaala (13323)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Keywords
- neural correlates of consciousness, anesthetic-induced unconsciousness, regional cerebral blood flow, emergence of consciousness, inferior parietal cortex, frontal cortex, arousal, motor response, sensory integration
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anesthesia, General, Brain, Brain Mapping, Consciousness, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Male, Nerve Net, Neurons, Parietal Lobe, Wakefulness, Young Adult
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