How Does Your Formulation of Lesion-Induced States of Diminished Consciousness Fit with AIM? Do You Suppose That Brain Stem Damage Affects Activation (A) and Modulation (M)?

Allan Hobson’s AIM model (Hobson, 1998) is build according to three main dimensions. The first component, Activation, describes brain’s activation processes and is closely linked to the level of consciousness. According to the model, the brain is highly active in wakefulness and REM sleep but will show much less activity during NREM sleep. The second component, Input/output gateway, controls the inhibition of external stimuli. When slowly falling asleep, the gateway shuts down and inhibits the external stimuli; the brain is no longer involved in processing external perceptions. Then the brain starts its oniric phase and the focus switches to internal inputs. Finally, the third dimension, Modulation, refers to the different ways of cognitive processing (executive functions), judgment, volition and memory. According to the model, those cognitive processes are lacking in REM sleep (i.e., the brain cannot keep a record of its conscious experience during dreaming as opposed to waking state) because of the changes between the aminergic system (norepinephrine and serotonin; dominant in waking but ineffective in REM sleep) and the cholinergic system (acetylcholine; unfettered in REM sleep).
These three dimensions maintain a dynamic and reciprocal interaction over the sleep-wake cycle’s variations (wakefulness, NREM and REM sleep) and each of them can be expressed with lower or higher intensities depending on the level of consciousness.