Neurophysiologists from the United States of America have come close to understanding the biological processes that control human consciousness. An article on the origins of consciousness appeared in Neurology.
The study, carried out by scientists at the Beth Israel Medical Center in Boston, as well as their colleagues at Harvard University, not only answers the age-old question about the specific location of consciousness, but also opens up grandiose prospects, for example, in the treatment of people in coma.
Scientists have analyzed several dozen patients who have received a variety of brain injuries. Some of these people were in a vegetative state.
Having studied the characteristics of brain lesions, the researchers found a clear correlation between trauma to a specific part of the brain stem and coma.
The result of the study, therefore, was the discovery of the very area of the brain that is responsible for maintaining consciousness.
“The fact that a coma is caused by damage to specific neural circuits opens up completely new approaches to the treatment of people in a vegetative state,” said lead author of the study, Aaron Boes.
Kolesnikov Andrey