title: Mechanisms of cortical neural synchronization related to healthy and impaired consciousness: evidence by quantitative electroencephalographic studies.
abstract: In this paper, we review the contribution of our research group to the study of human consciousness by quantitative electroencephalographic (EEG) techniques. We posit that EEG techniques can be extremely useful for a direct measurement of brain electrophysiological activity related to human consciousness for their unsurpassable high temporal resolution (milliseconds). This activity can be expressed in terms of event-related potentials as well as changes of EEG rhythms of interest, for example the dominant alpha rhythms (about 8-12 Hz). The results of our studies, and those of several independent groups, lead support to the hypothesis that these techniques provide important insights about the neurophysiologic mechanisms underlying cortical neural synchronization/desynchronization and the regulation of neuromodulatory systems (e.g. dopaminergic, noradrenergic, cholinergic, etc.) at the basis of brain arousal and consciousness in healthy subjects and in patients with impairment of the consciousness. A possible interaction of these mechanisms and the drugs administered to patients with consciousness disorders is discussed.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Babiloni
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vecchio
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Buffo
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iacoboni
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pistoia
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sacco
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sara
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy, P. A. Moro 5, Rome, I-00185, Italy. claudio.babiloni@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Paolo Maria
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Rossini
mesh_terms: D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology*; D003244:Consciousness Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006801:Humans