The cerebral cloister: the door to consciousness?

When we look at the night sky, we are attracted to that entire unexplored universe of distant stars, constellations and planets. They are unexplored worlds, territories never trodden and not yet understood. The brain cloister produces the same sensation in scientists. This area of ​​the brain was, until not long ago, one of the greatest mysteries of neuroscience.

To talk about the cloister is to refer to a region surrounded by mystery. This small, thin area housed beneath the neocortex was, until not long ago, a challenge and also an unfinished business. Because researchers are persistent, because neuroscience lovers do not want to and cannot leave anything to chance.

The fact that an unexplored corner of the brain existed has raised high expectations and abundant theories for decades. Now, it should be noted that this unique structure is very difficult to access, so much so that it has been necessary for technology to advance enough to allow us to reach that intricate point in the brain.

It was only a few months ago that it has finally been possible to probe claustral function at the molecular, physiological and behavioral levels. These are the data that have been obtained so far.

Cerebral cloister: location and characteristics

The cerebral cloister is just below the neocortex, a gray matter made up of neuronal axons that allows us to process information. As happens in multiple brain structures, The cloister is double, that is, there is one for each hemisphere and both are located right at the height of the ears.. This entire region is also surrounded by white matter.

It was not until 2020 that questions about the function and significance of this very fine area of ​​the brain began to be answered. If until now nothing has been known about the cerebral cloister, it is due to two reasons. The first because of its intricate location. The second is because very few patients or laboratory animals have experienced a lesion located in said area.

Now, things have already changed thanks to innovative engineering developed in Japan. The research has been carried out in the RIKEN Institute for Brain Sciences in Japan and they have been the ones who have finally unraveled the functions of the brain cloister.

They have done this thanks to a technique called optogenetics. It consists of the combination of genetic and optical methods to analyze the functions of certain cells in living tissues. It is done with absolute precision and without damaging any biological system. Therefore, let’s see what has been discovered about the cerebral cloister.

The entrance to consciousness

The experiments have been carried out with mice. The first thing that researchers have been able to observe is that When the neurons of the claustrum are stimulated, they in turn activate the inhibitory neurons of the cerebral cortex, and then the whole brain becomes silent. It is what they have called a “state of depression”, an experience similar to what we have when we sleep, but without dreams.

The cerebral cloister is therefore related to the activation or deactivation of consciousness.. It is an experience in which the conscious mind turns off and the electrical activity of the neurons begins to emit slow waves. This data is related to what Dr. Christof Koch theorized in 2017 when he saw how a woman with epilepsy fainted when precisely this brain area was stimulated.

Relaxation states and slow waves

Osaka University in Japan also carried out its own studies on the faculty in late 2020. Thus, when we sleep at night or simply when we relax enough, but without completely losing consciousness, this region is activated.

The cerebral cloister coordinates the generation of slow waves together with the neocortex. These types of waves of less than one hertz and with a relatively high amplitude achieve complete synchronization of the brain. And in that state, what we experience is calm, balance and disconnection from the conscious world.

Likewise, slow waves, in addition to promoting brain homeostasis, allow us to consolidate memories from the waking period. Therefore, this interesting structure transfers information and lays the foundations for long-term memory.

The cerebral cloister, the missing link of the mind

This is what the main specialized magazines have called the cloister or cerebral cloister: the missing link of the human mind. It is about that piece that we needed to put together to understand a little more the wonderful functions of this perfect machinery that is the brain.

Already in 2005, Nobel Prize in Medicine Francis Crick wrote a revealing scientific article just a few months before he died. In that work he anticipated what, according to him, was the cerebral cloister.

The truth is that Dr. Crick was not wrong. Now we know that in addition to regulating the states of consciousness and unconsciousness, It would also be related to the most decisive functions of the conscious world and, specifically, with higher cognitive functions.

Tasks such as reasoning, memory and attention would also be orchestrated by this little master of ceremonies. In the absence of further specifications, we are sure that In the coming months we will learn more information about this extraordinary structure.

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