The button that switches consciousness on and off

A point in the brain that can turn consciousness off has been revealed.

New studies carried out at George Washington University (D.C.) have recently gained access to the switch that can turn on and off the state of consciousness of a woman with episodes of eplastic seizures. of a woman with episodes of epliepsia. This has been made possible by stimulating a brain area with electrical impulses.

Turning consciousness on and off: new studies

The conclusions of the research indicate that it is highly probable that consciousness is the product of the integration of activities of different brain areas, the result of the combination of all perceptual stimuli in a single experience.

Years ago, the British researcher Francis Crick argued that the brain area known as the claustrum could be the epicenter of consciousnessThe stimulation in some areas of the brain, integrating all the information that the various neural networks send uninterruptedly.

Stimulation in some areas of the brain

The new research provides new evidence that Crick's hypothesis may be true. The study reached this conclusion by testing stimulation of different regions of the brain of an epilepsy patient and monitoring the resulting activity to determine the epicenter of the seizures.

It was reported that stimulation with electricity (an electrode located in the right claustrum and anterior cingulate cortex) caused the patient to go from a conscious to an unconscious state. Her motor activity was interrupted, her breathing slowed, and she did not respond to physicians' questions.. By the time the researchers stopped the electrical stimulation, the woman regained consciousness and did not remember anything that had happened.

The key is in the cloister

The research, published in Epilepsy & Behaviorshowed that although consciousness is a complex process in which different structures, regions and networks are involved, the claustrum could be in charge of centralizing the product, and therefore the brain switch of consciousness could be found in it. the cerebral switch of the consciousness would be found in this one..

The study has only been carried out for the moment on a single person, and it will be necessary to verify the results with a larger sample in order to confirm the relevance of this discovery. If so, it could mark a before and after in the understanding of the functioning of human consciousness.

Bibliographical references:

• Original study: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22329762.700...