ICU sedation, delirium & recovery
Thalamic contributions to predictive coding and disconnected consciousness in human volunteers
Authors' conclusion
These findings support the proposal that disconnection emerges from loss of cortical synchronisation in proportion to the salience of sensory stimuli.
Study context
- Population
- Volunteer subjects presented an auditory oddball paradigm with EEG recording
- Participants
- 18 volunteers
- Comparison
- Wakefulness vs disconnection under dexmedetomidine sedation
- Outcome
- Association of computational model of surprise (prediction error) with EEG responses, compared across states
Methodological detailswithin-subject, serial awakening, source-reconstructed EEG
- Within-subject
- Serial awakening
- Source-reconstructed EEG
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Surprise–EEG association
- Awake: significant negative regression coefficient 33 to 356 ms after tone over frontal regions
- P<0.001
- Awake: positive coefficient posteriorly 37 to 400 ms
- P<0.001
Further findings
Voxel coactivation (synchronisation)
- Perturbed in disconnection: reduced synchrony with no impact of surprise
- P < 0.001
- Coactivation stronger while awake and significantly associated with level of surprise
Original publication
Thalamic contributions to predictive coding and disconnected consciousness in human volunteers. Br J Anaesth. Published 27 November 2025. doi:10.
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