ArticlePloS one2018
Single unit activities recorded in the thalamus and the overlying parietal cortex of subjects affected by disorders of consciousness.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Thalamus and consciousness: a systematic review on thalamic nuclei associated with consciousness.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Advances in local field potential research in prolonged disorders of consciousness: a narrative review.Chinese neurosurgical journal · 2026Review
- Deep brain stimulation and spinal cord stimulation for chronic disorders of consciousness: a decade of clinical evidence, mechanistic insights, and critical appraisal.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Review
- A shared central thalamus mechanism underlying diverse recoveries in disorders of consciousness.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Thalamic burst and tonic firing selectively indicate patients' consciousness level and recovery.Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.)) · 2025Article
- Revolutionizing treatment for disorders of consciousness: a multidisciplinary review of advancements in deep brain stimulation.Military Medical Research · 2024Review
- [Current progress on characteristics of intracranial electrophysiology related to prolonged disorders of consciousness].Sheng wu yi xue gong cheng xue za zhi = Journal of biomedical engineering = Shengwu yixue gongchengxue zazhi · 2024Review
- The Arousal-Related "Central Thalamus" Stimulation Site Simultaneously Innervates Multiple High-Level Frontal and Parietal Areas.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2023Article
- Individualized Thalamic Parcellation Reveals Alterations in Shape and Microstructure of Thalamic Nuclei in Patients with Disorder of Consciousness.Cerebral cortex communications · 2021Article
- 24-h polysomnographic recordings and electrophysiological spectral analyses from a cohort of patients with chronic disorders of consciousness.Journal of neurology · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The lack of direct neurophysiological recordings from the thalamus and the cortex hampers our understanding of vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome and minimally conscious state in humans. We obtained microelectrode recordings from the thalami and the homolateral parietal cortex of two vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome and one minimally conscious state patients during surgery for implantation of electrodes in both thalami for chronic deep brain stimulation. We found that activity of the thalamo-cortical networks differed among the two conditions. There were half the number of active neurons in the thalami of patients in vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome than in minimally conscious state. Coupling of thalamic neuron discharge with EEG phases also differed in the two conditions and thalamo-cortical cross-frequency coupling was limited to the minimally conscious state patient. When consciousness is physiologically or pharmacologically reversibly suspended there is a significant increase in bursting activity of the thalamic neurons. By contrast, in the thalami of our patients in both conditions fewer than 17% of the recorded neurons showed bursting activity. This indicates that these conditions differ from physiological suspension of consciousness and that increased thalamic inhibition is not prominent. Our findings, albeit obtained in a limited number of patients, unveil the neurophysiology of these conditions at single unit resolution and might be relevant for inspiring novel therapeutic options.
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