Does the brain have an off switch

But scientists have never understood which part of the brain controls when you're conscious and when you're not.Because of her epilepsy, this woman had part of her hippocampus removed, so her brain is far from that of a normal person.One moment you're conscious, the next you're not.When the team zapped the area with high frequency electrical impulses, the woman lost consciousness.She stopped reading and stared blankly into space, she didn't respond to auditory or visual commands and her breathing slowed.

Every one of us loses consciousness on a daily basis:Researchers have known for about 30 years that while inhibiting a certain area of the brain, the substantia nigra pars recticulata (snpr) can help stop a seizure, the circuits by which the snpr.Other studies have shown the.The outer portion contains neurons, and the inner area communicates with the cerebral cortex.Watching the brain switch off 'self'.