Brain Networks in Disorders of Consciousness

Dear Colleagues,

Disorders of consciousness (DOC) represent a big and multi-perspective challenge of contemporary clinical neuroscience. First, measuring consciousness and identifying the mechanisms of unconsciousness are still open issues that neuroimaging and neurophysiology are trying to answer with different and complementary approaches. Second, the identification of the level of gravity of a patient with DOC still has some margins of uncertainty; this implies that even prognostic methods are still not optimal. Third, conventional medical interventions and therapies often do not have a substantial impact on the clinical course in these patients. New interventions based on invasive or non-invasive neuromodulatory approaches are emerging, but are still investigational. Nevertheless, DOC represent an increasing burden for the different health care systems worldwide. The concept of this Special Issue is to look at DOC from a brain network perspective; this is now possible thanks to the impressive advancements that have occurred in neuroimaging and neurophysiological investigations in recent years. An integrated network-based approach will hopefully help to better understand the neural mechanisms underlying consciousness (the most complex—and still unsolved—brain construct) and its dysfunctions, for which there is room for rehabilitative and therapeutic interventions currently and in the future.  

Prof. Dr. Simone Rossi
Prof. Dr. Mario Rosanova
Guest Editors

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