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Sleep and Neurophysiological Correlates of Activation of Consciousness on Awakening

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This article addresses contemporary concepts of the neurophysiological mechanisms of awakening from sleep and the results of our own electroencephalographic (EEG) studies of the temporospatial dynamics of activity in the cortical hemispheres using an experimental model developed by ourselves for investigation of consciousness in the sleep–waking paradigm. This model is based on continuous performance of a monotonous psychomotor test carried out lying down with the eyes closed, which in a 1-h experiment allows observation of several brief episodes of sleep with subsequent spontaneous awakening and recovery of psychomotor test performance. A necessary condition for recovery of activity after spontaneous awakening is the appearance of the EEG α rhythm, and the parameters of this rhythm determine the effectiveness of recovery of the psychomotor test and, thus, achievement of a particular level of consciousness, so this can be regarded as a neurophysiological correlate of the activation of consciousness on awakening. This experimental model for studies of consciousness may be useful for analysis of the neurophysiological mechanisms of its activation in patients with chronic impairments of consciousness and for seeking effective methods for the rehabilitation of such patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Moscow, Russia

    E. A. Cheremushkin, N. E. Petrenko & V. B. Dorokhov

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  1. E. A. Cheremushkin
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  2. N. E. Petrenko
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  3. V. B. Dorokhov
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Correspondence to E. A. Cheremushkin.

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Translated from Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S. S. Korsakova, Vol. 121, No. 4, Iss. 2, Insomnia, pp. 14–18, April, 2021.

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Cheremushkin, E.A., Petrenko, N.E. & Dorokhov, V.B. Sleep and Neurophysiological Correlates of Activation of Consciousness on Awakening. Neurosci Behav Physi 52, 213–217 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-022-01226-2

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