In either case, the ultimate goals are to develop techniques for assessing consciousness objectively in humans as well as other animals, and to understand the neural and psychological mechanisms that underlie it.A study in 2016 looked at lesions in specific areas of the brainstem that were associated with coma and vegetative states. A small region of the rostral dorsolateral pontine tegmentum in the brainstem was suggested to drive consciousness through functional connectivity with two cortical regions, the left ventral anterior insular cortex, and the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex. These three regions may work together as a triad to maintain consciousness. Measurement
Experimental research on consciousness presents special difficulties, due to the lack of a universally accepted operational definition. In the majority of experiments that are specifically about consciousness, the subjects are human, and the criterion used is verbal report:  in other words, subjects are asked to describe their experiences, and their descriptions are treated as observations of the contents of consciousness. For example, subjects who stare continuously at a Necker cube usually report that they experience it "flipping" between two 3D configurations, even though the stimulus itself remains the same. The objective is to understand the relationship between the conscious awareness of stimuli (as indicated by verbal report) and the effects the stimuli have on brain activity and behavior.
Uterine tachysystole is a condition of excessively frequent uterine contractions during pregnancy. It is most often seen in induced or augmented labor, though it can also occur during spontaneous labor.Because contraction counts are often measured over periods of ten minutes but averaged over periods of thirty minutes, there can be slight differences in how the cutoff is calculated. Generally it is defined as more frequently than once every two minutes. Although definitions may vary among studies, most use the terms defined by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (1999a) to describe increased uterine activity as follows:

Uterine tachysystole is defined as  more than 5 contractions in 10 minutes, averaged over a 30-minute window. Uterine hypertonus is described as a single contraction lasting longer than 2 minutes. Uterine hyperstimulation is when either condition leads to a nonreassuring fetal heart rate pattern.The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists amended these definitions in 2008. Uterine tachysystole is defined as more than 5 contractions in 10 minutes, averaged over a 30-minute period. The terms "hypertonus" and "hyperstimulation" are not recommended to be used. Uterine tachysystole has been reported to follow vaginally administered Prostaglandin E2 in 1 to 5 percent of women (Brindley and Sokol, 1988; Rayburn, 1989). It can be associated with placental abruption and perhaps with uterine leiomyomas. It can also refer to hyperstimulation with oxytocin. == References ==