Editor's Note: This article was originally published at The Conversation. Consciousness is one of the most fascinating and elusive phenomena we humans face. Every single one of us experiences it but ...

Tucked underneath the brain's outer, wrinkly cortex is a deeply mysterious area, known as the claustrum. This region has long been known to exchange signals with much of the cortex, which is ...

Given its subjective nature, consciousness is already a controversial topic in the world of brain science. While some neuroscientists doubt that consciousness can even be studied, others still ...

Researching the human brain, a unique organ among organisms, is extremely challenging, so it still holds many mysteries. One way scientists have learned more about the brain is by studying people who ...

Three years ago, I asked, “What the heck is a claustrum?” In that post, I described the mystery of this oddly shaped brain region, located just below the cerebral cortex. Because the claustrum is ...

The claustrum seems to act as a switchboard, telling different parts of the brain when to turn on and off. But what happens when the switchboard operator steps away? A brain scan from Fred Barrett's ...

A new study at Hebrew University identified the function of a specific region in the brain in controlling our level of alertness, from states of deep sleep to states of vigilant and highly ...

The claustrum is a slender, bilateral subcortical structure that exhibits extensive reciprocal connectivity with multiple cortical regions. Recent studies have revealed its central role in modulating ...

Klaus M. Stiefel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...