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Network Mapping of Connectivity Alterations in Disorder of Consciousness: Towards Targeted Neuromodulation
Article

Consciousness and the Dimensionality of DOC Patients via the Generalized Ising Model

1
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Western University, London ON N6G2V4, Canada
2
Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London ON N6A57, Canada
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School of Psychological Sciences and Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
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IRCCS SDN, Via E. Gianturco 113, 80143 Naples, Italy
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Clinical Scientific Institute Maugeri; Telese Terme Center; 82037 Telese Terme, Italy
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Department of Psychology, Western University, London ON N6A5C2, Canada
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Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Western University, London ON N6A5C1, Canada
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Neurology Unit, SM della Pietà General Hospital, 80035 Nola, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
These authors contributed equally.
J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9(5), 1342; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9051342
Received: 2 April 2020 / Revised: 29 April 2020 / Accepted: 29 April 2020 / Published: 4 May 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Networks in Disorders of Consciousness)
The data from patients with severe brain injuries show complex brain functions. Due to the difficulties associated with these complex data, computational modeling is an especially useful tool to examine the structure–function relationship in these populations. By using computational modeling for patients with a disorder of consciousness (DoC), not only we can understand the changes of information transfer, but we also can test changes to different states of consciousness by hypothetically changing the anatomical structure. The generalized Ising model (GIM), which specializes in using structural connectivity to simulate functional connectivity, has been proven to effectively capture the relationship between anatomical structures and the spontaneous fluctuations of healthy controls (HCs). In the present study we implemented the GIM in 25 HCs as well as in 13 DoC patients diagnosed at three different states of consciousness. Simulated data were analyzed and the criticality and dimensionality were calculated for both groups; together, those values capture the level of information transfer in the brain. Ratifying previous studies, criticality was observed in simulations of HCs. We were also able to observe criticality for DoC patients, concluding that the GIM is generalizable for DoC patients. Furthermore, dimensionality increased for the DoC group as compared to healthy controls, and could distinguish different diagnostic groups of DoC patients. View Full-Text
Keywords: disorder of consciousness; generalized Ising model; dimensionality of the brain; structural connectome; functional connectivity disorder of consciousness; generalized Ising model; dimensionality of the brain; structural connectome; functional connectivity
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MDPI and ACS Style

Abeyasinghe, P.M.; Aiello, M.; Nichols, E.S.; Cavaliere, C.; Fiorenza, S.; Masotta, O.; Borrelli, P.; Owen, A.M.; Estraneo, A.; Soddu, A. Consciousness and the Dimensionality of DOC Patients via the Generalized Ising Model. J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9, 1342. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9051342

AMA Style

Abeyasinghe PM, Aiello M, Nichols ES, Cavaliere C, Fiorenza S, Masotta O, Borrelli P, Owen AM, Estraneo A, Soddu A. Consciousness and the Dimensionality of DOC Patients via the Generalized Ising Model. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2020; 9(5):1342. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9051342

Chicago/Turabian Style

Abeyasinghe, Pubuditha M., Marco Aiello, Emily S. Nichols, Carlo Cavaliere, Salvatore Fiorenza, Orsola Masotta, Pasquale Borrelli, Adrian M. Owen, Anna Estraneo, and Andrea Soddu. 2020. "Consciousness and the Dimensionality of DOC Patients via the Generalized Ising Model" Journal of Clinical Medicine 9, no. 5: 1342. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9051342

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