Specific and nonspecific thalamocortical functional connectivity in normal and vegetative states. Conscious Cogn 2011 Jun;20(2):257-68
Date
11/17/2010Pubmed ID
21078562Pubmed Central ID
PMC3056940DOI
10.1016/j.concog.2010.08.003Scopus ID
2-s2.0-79955467449 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 45 CitationsAbstract
Recent theoretical advances describing consciousness from information and integration have highlighted the unique role of the thalamocortical system in leading to integrated information and thus, consciousness. Here, we examined the differential distributions of specific and nonspecific thalamocortical functional connections using resting-state fMRI in a group of healthy subjects and vegetative-state patients. We found that both thalamic systems were widely distributed, but they exhibited different patterns. Nonspecific connections were preferentially associated with brain regions involved in higher-order cognitive processing, self-awareness and introspective mentalizing (e.g., the dorsal prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices). In contrast, specific connections were prevalent in the ventral and posterior part of the prefrontal and precuneus, known involved in representing externally-directed attentions. Significant reductions of functional connectivity in both systems, especially the nonspecific system, were observed in VS. These data suggest that brain networks sustaining information and integration may be differentiated by the nature of their thalamic functional connectivity.
Author List
Zhou J, Liu X, Song W, Yang Y, Zhao Z, Ling F, Hudetz AG, Li SJMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
BrainBrain Mapping
Cerebellum
Consciousness
Gyrus Cinguli
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Neural Pathways
Persistent Vegetative State
Thalamic Nuclei
Thalamus
