Journal
BEHAVIOURAL NEUROLOGY
Volume 24, Issue 1, Pages 67-74Publisher
HINDAWI LTD
DOI: 10.1155/2011/127864
Keywords
Consciousness; temporal lobe epilepsy; global workspace; synchrony
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The global workspace (GW) theory proposes that conscious processing results from coherent neuronal activity between widely distributed brain regions, with fronto-parietal associative cortices as key elements. In this model, transition between conscious and non conscious states are predicted to be caused by abrupt non-linear massive changes of the level of coherence within this distributed neural space. Epileptic seizures offer a unique model to explore the validity of this central hypothesis. Seizures are often characterized by the occurrence of brutal alterations of consciousness (AOC) which are largely negatively impacting patients' lives. Recently, we have shown that these sudden AOC are contemporary to non-linear increases of neural synchrony within distant cortico-cortical and cortico-thalamic networks. We interpreted these results in the light of GW theory, and suggested that excessive synchrony could prevent this distributed network to reach the minimal level of differentiation and complexity necessary to the coding of conscious representations. These observations both confirm some predictions of the GW model, and further specify the physiological window of neural coherence (minimum and maximum) associated with conscious processing.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available