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. 2023 Oct-Dec;23(4):100405.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100405. Epub 2023 Sep 7.

The claustrum and consciousness: An update

Yin Siang Liaw  1 , George J Augustine  1
Affiliations

The claustrum and consciousness: An update

Yin Siang Liaw et al. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2023 Oct-Dec.

Abstract

The seminal paper of Crick and Koch (2005) proposed that the claustrum, an enigmatic and thin grey matter structure that lies beside the insular cortex, may be involved in the processing of consciousness. As a result, this otherwise obscure structure has received ever-increasing interest in the search for neural correlates of consciousness. Here we review theories of consciousness and discuss the possible relationship between the claustrum and consciousness. We review relevant experimental evidence collected since the Crick and Koch (2005) paper and consider whether these findings support or contradict their hypothesis. We also explore how future experimental work can be designed to clarify how consciousness emerges from neural activity and to understand the role of the claustrum in consciousness.

Keywords: Claustrum; Consciousness.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
Hypothetical cortical islands of consciousness: (A) primary motor cortex; (B) ACC/PFC (Attention or working memory); (C) Broca's area (Verbal speech/report); (D) Somatosensory cortex; (E) Auditory cortex; and (F) Visual cortex. ACC: anterior cingulate cortex, CLA: claustrum, PFC: Prefrontal cortex Figure modified from Zhao et al. (2019).
Fig 2
Fig. 2
Illustration of the possible neural network for consciousness. The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is in control of awakening and arousal. The neurons in the posterior cerebral cortex are found to be involved in awareness and generation of consciousness content. The claustrum may act as the attentional hub for coordinating information transmission across cortical islands. CLA, claustrum; PVT, paraventricular; Th, thalamus; NCC, neural correlates of consciousness. Figuremodified from Zhao et al. (2019).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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