A team of scientists has identified areas of the brain that are activated when a person becomes aware of themself and their thoughts. This enigmatic process appears to be controlled by the thalamus, a central region of the brain already known for its function as a filter between sensory signals and the cerebral cortex, the portion of the brain that governs higher-level processes such as memory, thought, and personality.
Conscious perception is the ability of human beings to become aware of the stimuli received by their senses. It is a different state from simply being awake, where sensations are processed automatically and unreflectively. Rather, conscious perception requires a detailed and voluntary analysis of external stimuli. For example, we can breathe automatically, but we can also be aware of our breathing and modify its rhythm. Likewise, when listening to a song, we can pay attention to and differentiate the instruments that compose it.
Recently, neurologists have set out to find the part of the brain where this change in perception occurs. Researchers had traditionally suspected that such a function must be controlled by the cerebral cortex, because it is where advanced brain processing occurs. The thalamus has never been ruled out from being involved in conscious perception, however it has typically been assigned a minor role as a filter that prepares sensory information to the cortex. A new study recently published in Science redefines that view, positioning the thalamus as an active participant in conscious perception.
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