<div dir="ltr"><p style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:proxima-nova,sans-serif;font-size:20px;line-height:26px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:26px">"In a <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/118/30/e2026289118.full.pdf" style="box-sizing:border-box;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(237,102,41);text-decoration-line:none">study published</a> in the <em style="box-sizing:border-box">Proceedings of the National Academies of Science</em>, we have now shown that conscious brain activity seems to be linked to the brain’s “<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-dopamine-and-is-it-to-blame-for-our-addictions-51268" style="box-sizing:border-box;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(237,102,41);text-decoration-line:none">pleasure chemical</a>,” dopamine.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:proxima-nova,sans-serif;font-size:20px;line-height:26px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:26px">The fact that the neural mechanisms that underpin consciousness disorders are difficult to characterize makes these conditions hard to diagnose and treat. Brain imaging has established that a network of interconnected brain regions, known as the default mode network, <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/35/46/15254.full.pdf" style="box-sizing:border-box;background-color:transparent;color:rgb(237,102,41);text-decoration-line:none">is involved</a> in self-awareness. This network has also been shown to be impaired in anesthesia and after brain damage that causes disorders of consciousness. Importantly, it seems to be crucial to conscious experience."</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:proxima-nova,sans-serif;font-size:20px;line-height:26px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:26px"><a href="https://singularityhub.com/2021/08/12/new-research-shows-dopamine-may-play-a-key-role-in-consciousness/">https://singularityhub.com/2021/08/12/new-research-shows-dopamine-may-play-a-key-role-in-consciousness/</a>  <br></p></div>