Researchers of the Human Brain Project have coupled the measurements of brain waves associated with disorders of consciousness (DoC) with glucose usage in specific brain areas, identifying where in the brain the waves might be generated. The study for the first time adds the dimension of location and energy consumption to the reading of brain waves in DoC, and reveals the important role of subcortical areas in driving cortical activity associated with consciousness. The findings have been published in the journal Cell Reports.

The brain activity in healthy individuals and in patients with a DoC (such as coma and unresponsive wakefulness syndrome) can be studied by looking at the type of brain waves generated using electroencephalography (EEG). “At one end of the spectrum we