Watch a 3-D film of the brain as it loses consciousness

CerebralHack

For the first time researchers have watched the brain as it loses consciousness. A new imaging method constructs a 3-D movie of the brain as it changes while an anaesthetic drug takes effect.

The real-time 3-D images show that slipping into unconsciousness involves a change in electrical activity deep within the brain, scientists said.The shift is thought to alter the activity of certain groups of nerve cells and hinders communication between different parts of the brain.

Lead researcher Brian Pollard, of the University of Manchester, said the findings appear to support a hypothesis put forward by Professor Susan Greenfield, of Oxford University, about the nature of consciousness itself.

Professor Greenfield suggests consciousness is formed by different groups of brain cells, which work efficiently together, or not, depending on the available sensory stimulations, and that consciousness is not an all-or-none state but more like a dimmer switch, changing according to growth, mood or drugs.


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