Complex dynamics generated by the interactions between morphofunctional elements of the brain are presently being considered as the basis of consciousness. However, how conscious states emerge from the specific dynamics generated by these cerebral interactions is a core but unresolved question in modern neuroscience. As a result of the multidisciplinary interaction of statistical physics, biomedicine, mathematics, computer science and social sciences, complex network theory provides an ideal framework for studying how consciousness and cognition arise from the human brain. Thus, dynamical complexity network analysis, from the natural and computational systems considered in both the topological and temporal domains, provides an interesting framework to understand how the underlying cerebral morphofunctional interactions give rise to the emergence of consciousness.
The present Research Topic article collection aims to be a meeting point for all those who are interested in the study of consciousness through the analysis of complex brain networks, and the effective connectivity, and communication dynamics, that can offer insight into the mechanisms of information processing by the brain and their breakdown in disorders of consciousness.
Papers exploring any of the following aspects, but not limited to, are particularly welcome in this research topic article collection:
-New approaches for the quantification and analysis of the topological (e.g., graph theory) or the anatomical (e.g., connectome) properties of complex dynamic networks within the human brain in healthy and disease conditions.
-Computational models focused on the understanding of the relation between the architecture of the global brain network and the dynamics of the corresponding cognitive phenomena (i.e., attention, working memory), and the result of their integration (i.e., consciousness).
-Empirical studies of the spatial and temporal activity of the brain during the performance of cognitive functions, and the probabilistic flow in brain-wide activity, including the analysis of EEG, MEG, fMRI or the complexity of brain responses to transcranial and intracranial stimulations.
-Strategies for the characterization of different levels of consciousness in healthy population, including subjective states (i.e, meditation, hypnosis), pharmacological approaches (i.e., anesthesia) and clinical settings (e.g., locked-in syndrome, coma, vegetative state, epilepsy), that explicitly consider the temporal dimension in their proposals.
-Those frameworks focused on studying dynamic aspects of synchronization, coordination and binding between networks oriented to study how the brain produces a conscious experience, which may (or not) include their breakdown in disorders of consciousness.
-The development of assistive technology with diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitation aims in disorders of consciousness, especially welcome as personalized (individual) approaches.
Complex dynamics generated by the interactions between morphofunctional elements of the brain are presently being considered as the basis of consciousness. However, how conscious states emerge from the specific dynamics generated by these cerebral interactions is a core but unresolved question in modern neuroscience. As a result of the multidisciplinary interaction of statistical physics, biomedicine, mathematics, computer science and social sciences, complex network theory provides an ideal framework for studying how consciousness and cognition arise from the human brain. Thus, dynamical complexity network analysis, from the natural and computational systems considered in both the topological and temporal domains, provides an interesting framework to understand how the underlying cerebral morphofunctional interactions give rise to the emergence of consciousness.
The present Research Topic article collection aims to be a meeting point for all those who are interested in the study of consciousness through the analysis of complex brain networks, and the effective connectivity, and communication dynamics, that can offer insight into the mechanisms of information processing by the brain and their breakdown in disorders of consciousness.
Papers exploring any of the following aspects, but not limited to, are particularly welcome in this research topic article collection:
-New approaches for the quantification and analysis of the topological (e.g., graph theory) or the anatomical (e.g., connectome) properties of complex dynamic networks within the human brain in healthy and disease conditions.
-Computational models focused on the understanding of the relation between the architecture of the global brain network and the dynamics of the corresponding cognitive phenomena (i.e., attention, working memory), and the result of their integration (i.e., consciousness).
-Empirical studies of the spatial and temporal activity of the brain during the performance of cognitive functions, and the probabilistic flow in brain-wide activity, including the analysis of EEG, MEG, fMRI or the complexity of brain responses to transcranial and intracranial stimulations.
-Strategies for the characterization of different levels of consciousness in healthy population, including subjective states (i.e, meditation, hypnosis), pharmacological approaches (i.e., anesthesia) and clinical settings (e.g., locked-in syndrome, coma, vegetative state, epilepsy), that explicitly consider the temporal dimension in their proposals.
-Those frameworks focused on studying dynamic aspects of synchronization, coordination and binding between networks oriented to study how the brain produces a conscious experience, which may (or not) include their breakdown in disorders of consciousness.
-The development of assistive technology with diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitation aims in disorders of consciousness, especially welcome as personalized (individual) approaches.
