Source-resolved electroencephalogram microstates reveal opposing prefrontal-posterior dynamics and a candidate temporal-to-precuneus pathway in disorders of consciousness
Abstract
IntroductionObjective and circuit-level biomarkers of consciousness are urgently needed for disorders of consciousness.MethodsWe recorded high-density electroencephalography from 33 patients with disorders of consciousness (17 vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, 16 minimally conscious state) and 19 healthy controls during rest and auditory stimulation, and combined source-localized microstate analysis with hypothesis-generating Granger causality analysis.ResultsSource microstate 3 (right prefrontal) and microstate 4 (parieto-occipital-temporal) showed diametrically opposite dynamics: microstate 3 was enhanced in the vegetative state whereas microstate 4 coverage and occurrence were higher in the minimally conscious state, revealing a fronto-posterior opponent imbalance. In repeated internal cross-validation within this cohort, microstate 4 occurrence discriminated the two patient groups (area under the curve = 0.812, 95% confidence interval 0.647–0.945). Hypothesis-generating connectivity analysis nominally implicated stronger right middle temporal-to-precuneus information flow in the minimally conscious state, a signal that did not survive network-level multiplicity correction.DiscussionSource-resolved microstates thus reveal opposing cortical dynamics associated with consciousness level.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026sourceresolved,
title = {{Source-resolved electroencephalogram microstates reveal opposing prefrontal-posterior dynamics and a candidate temporal-to-precuneus pathway in disorders of consciousness}},
author = {Kun Li and Shiyu Zhang and Xu Hu and Zhigang Yan and Jijun Wang and Yongli Jiang and Feng Feng and Kexiang Gao and Xiaolong Sun and Hua Yuan},
journal = {Frontiers in Neuroscience},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fnins.2026.1995232},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2026.1995232},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Source-resolved electroencephalogram microstates reveal opposing prefrontal-posterior dynamics and a candidate temporal-to-precuneus pathway in disorders of consciousness
AU - Kun Li
AU - Shiyu Zhang
AU - Xu Hu
AU - Zhigang Yan
AU - Jijun Wang
AU - Yongli Jiang
AU - Feng Feng
AU - Kexiang Gao
AU - Xiaolong Sun
AU - Hua Yuan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Frontiers in Neuroscience
DO - 10.3389/fnins.2026.1995232
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2026.1995232
AB - IntroductionObjective and circuit-level biomarkers of consciousness are urgently needed for disorders of consciousness.MethodsWe recorded high-density electroencephalography from 33 patients with disorders of consciousness (17 vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, 16 minimally conscious state) and 19 healthy controls during rest and auditory stimulation, and combined source-localized microstate analysis with hypothesis-generating Granger causality analysis.ResultsSource microstate 3 (right prefrontal) and microstate 4 (parieto-occipital-temporal) showed diametrically opposite dynamics: microstate 3 was enhanced in the vegetative state whereas microstate 4 coverage and occurrence were higher in the minimally conscious state, revealing a fronto-posterior opponent imbalance. In repeated internal cross-validation within this cohort, microstate 4 occurrence discriminated the two patient groups (area under the curve = 0.812, 95% confidence interval 0.647–0.945). Hypothesis-generating connectivity analysis nominally implicated stronger right middle temporal-to-precuneus information flow in the minimally conscious state, a signal that did not survive network-level multiplicity correction.DiscussionSource-resolved microstates thus reveal opposing cortical dynamics associated with consciousness level.
SN - 1662-453X
ER -