Neural Network Dynamic Centers of EEG Alpha Rhythm for Objective Assessment of the State of Consciousness in Psychopathological Conditions

Modern neuroscience has developed ideas about consciousness as the interaction of two components: wakefulness and levels of consciousness. In schizophrenia and other psychopathological conditions, low-symptomatic transient disturbances in the activity and content of consciousness are often observed. Such patients lose the ability to effectively interact with environment and perform cognitive functions, and there is disorganization of goal-directed behavior. This indicates the patient’s incomplete awareness of his own personality and surrounding reality. The purpose of this research was to theoretically substantiate the functional relationship of the brain alpha regulatory system with the modulation of consciousness activity and to identify pathological EEG patterns of the alpha rhythm that characterize a decrease in the level of consciousness. According to the results of the study, patients with schizophrenia revealed a decrease in brain tone, dysfunction of the thalamo-cortical, alpha-regulatory and other cerebral systems that provide energy-informational influences on the cortex. More than 10 reliable EEG symptoms of decreased activity and content of consciousness have been identified, which we define as “sleep fragments.” The possible pathogenetic influence of these pathophysiological factors on the decrease in the efficiency of cognitive activity, cognitive reserve and the formation of neurocognitive deficit is substantiated.