Consciousness disorders following traumatic brain injury (TBI) are alterations in consciousness due to damage to the brain parenchyma and/or brain vessels. As the number of TBI patients continues to increase, so does the number of patients with consciousness disorders following TBI. The patients′ quality of life was seriously affected due to a long course of illness and loss of most of independence. However, at present, the mechanisms of consciousness disorders in TBI are still unknown. The assessment of conscious state in patients with consciousness disorders following TBI mainly depends on scales, resulting in a high rate of misdiagnosis. Common interventions, including pharmacological interventions such as amantadine and zolpidem, as well as non-pharmacological interventions such as neuromodulation and sensory stimulation programs, fail to achieve extensive efficacy. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more accurate assessment indicators as well as effective therapeutic interventions. Various neurophysiological activities sustained by sleep are crucial for consciousness. Sleep regularity is likely to reflect the conscious state of patients with consciousness disorders following TBI. Sleep regularity is generally reflected through sleep architecture, including circadian rhythms and various sleep characteristics. Therefore, the authors reviewed the research progress in the application of sleep architecture in the assessment and recovery of conscious state in patients with consciousness disorders following TBI, so as to provide reference for its clinical application.

Near-death experience is a unique consciousness, a self-related, mysterious and unexplainable experience, which occurs in life-threatening and non-life-threatening situations, and could be classified as"classical near-death experiences"and"near-death-like experiences (NDEs-like)", respectively. The classical near-death experience corresponds to the internal awareness experienced in unresponsive conditions, which can be used to explore the disconnected states of consciousness of human beings. Meanwhile, the near-death-like experience is a more heterogeneous state, which brings more possibilities for future research. This article reviews the research progress of near-death experiences in different situations, such as cardiac arrest, syncope and meditative state, etc. Researchers found that people with rapid eye movement invasion are more likely to have NDEs and ketamine-induced general anesthesia can be used as a reversible and safe experimental model. Although many physiological and psychological explanations of near-death experiences have been proposed, the definition of the phenomenon, the mechanisms by which it occurs and the identification of near-death experiences remain controversial. Research on near-death experiences in China is still in its infancy. As a field of consciousness research, near-death experiences can be used to explore the mechanism of human consciousness in an unresponsive state, and to provide a new direction for the scientific research of clinical consciousness.

Near-death experience is a unique consciousness, a self-related, mysterious and unexplainable experience, which occurs in life-threatening and non-life-threatening situations, and could be classified as"classical near-death experiences"and"near-death-like experiences (NDEs-like)", respectively. The classical near-death experience corresponds to the internal awareness experienced in unresponsive conditions, which can be used to explore the disconnected states of consciousness of human beings. Meanwhile, the near-death-like experience is a more heterogeneous state, which brings more possibilities for future research. This article reviews the research progress of near-death experiences in different situations, such as cardiac arrest, syncope and meditative state, etc. Researchers found that people with rapid eye movement invasion are more likely to have NDEs and ketamine-induced general anesthesia can be used as a reversible and safe experimental model. Although many physiological and psychological explanations of near-death experiences have been proposed, the definition of the phenomenon, the mechanisms by which it occurs and the identification of near-death experiences remain controversial. Research on near-death experiences in China is still in its infancy. As a field of consciousness research, near-death experiences can be used to explore the mechanism of human consciousness in an unresponsive state, and to provide a new direction for the scientific research of clinical consciousness.