title: Consciousness: a neurological perspective.
abstract: Consciousness is a state so essentially entwined with human experience, yet so difficult to conceptually define and measure. In this article, we explore how a bidimensional model of consciousness involving both level of arousal and subjective awareness of the contents of consciousness can be used to differentiate a range of healthy and altered conscious states. These include the different sleep stages of healthy individuals and the altered states of consciousness associated with neurological conditions such as epilepsy, vegetative state and coma. In particular, we discuss how arousal and awareness are positively correlated in normal physiological states with the exception of REM sleep, while a disturbance in this relationship is characteristic of vegetative state, minimally conscious state, complex partial seizures and sleepwalking.
authors: Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Birmingham and BSMHFT, Birmingham, United Kingdom. A.Cavanna@ion.ucl.ac.uk
authors: Andrea E
authors: AE
authors: Cavanna
authors: Sachin
authors: S
authors: Shah
authors: Clare M
authors: CM
authors: Eddy
authors: Adrian
authors: A
authors: Williams
authors: Hugh
authors: H
authors: Rickards
mesh_terms: D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology*; D003244:Consciousness Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans