Researchers Map Neural Connections Key to Wakefulness in the Human Brain

May 23, 2024byDr. Monica M. Bertagnolli

Human consciousness requires a person to be both awake and aware. While neuroscientists have learned a great deal from research about the underlying brain networks that sustain awareness, surprisingly little has been known about the networks that keep us awake.

Now, an NIH-supported team of researchers has mapped the connectivity of a neural network they suggest is essential for wakefulness, or arousal, in the human brain. According to the researchers, this advance, reported inScience Translational Medicine, is essential for understanding human consciousness. It may also lead to new ways of understanding what happens in the brain when people lose consciousness, with potentially important implications for treating those who have entered a coma or vegetative state.