Neuroscience: The Key to Consciousness May Not Be under the Streetlight
J. Knotts, Brian Odegaard, Hakwan Lau
Current Biology July 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.033 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Anesthetized rats |
| Intervention | pharmacological stimulation |
| Key findings | Direct pharmacological stimulation of the prefrontal cortex restores wakefulness in anesthetized rats. |
Abstract
Key theories of consciousness predict that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays important roles, but there has been relatively little causal evidence showing that manipulation of activity in the region can broadly affect conscious experiences. A new study provides crucial findings to help resolve this issue, showing that direct pharmacological stimulation of PFC restores wakefulness in anesthetized rats.