New Research Challenges Long-Held Beliefs About Where Consciousness Resides in the Brain
Cambridge, UK – A growing body of evidence is prompting neuroscientists to reconsider a basic assumption about consciousness: that it originates โprimarily โฃin the neocortex,โ the brain’s newest and most evolved region. Recent findings suggestโ that moreโ ancient brain structures may be sufficient forโ basic conscious โexperience, potentially reshaping our understanding of both human andโค animal awareness, and impacting patient care and animal rights considerations.
For decades,โ prevailing theories have positioned the neocortex as the seat of consciousness. โHowever, research highlighted by Peter Coppola, a Visiting Researcher at Cambridgeโ Neuroscience,โ University of โคCambridge,โ points to surprising capabilities โขin individualsโฃ and animals lacking โsignificant portions of thisโฃ brain region.
cases of childrenโฃ born with severely โฃunderdeveloped or missing neocortices – conditions previously thought to result โฃin a โpermanent โvegetative state – reveal instances ofโ emotional response, recognition โขof individuals, and even enjoyment of โmusic. These observations, documented in a 2025 studyโฃ published in โฃ Neurobiology โฃof Learning and Memory [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106333], suggest a level of conscious experience despite the absence of a fullyโค formed โฃneocortex.
further bolstering this โฃidea are decades of animal studies. Surgical removal of the neocortex โฃin mammals – including โrats, cats, and monkeys – doesn’t eliminate โcomplex behaviors. Animals continue to exhibitโ playfulness, emotional responses, parentalโ care, and โeven learning abilities, as demonstrated in research dating back to 1999 โข [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-8749.1999.tb00621.x] and 1975 [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763425003343?via%3Dihub]. Notably,even adult animals โขundergoingโ this procedure retain โขthese capabilities.
“Altogether, theโฃ evidence challenges โthe view thatโฃ the cortex is necessary for consciousness, as most major theories of consciousness suggest,” Coppola writes in an article republished fromโค The Conversation. “it truly seems that the oldest parts of the brain are enough for some basic forms of consciousness.”
While the neocortex and cerebellum appear to enhance and refine conscious experience, the research suggests that fundamental awareness โmay originateโข in the brain’s more primitive structures. This shift in outlook could have far-reaching implications,prompting a re-evaluation of current theories of consciousness,influencing โhow we approach patient care for individualsโ with โขsevere brain injuries,andโข potentially broadening our understanding of consciousness in the โคanimal kingdom.
Thisโ article is based on โขresearch originally published in the Conversation by โฃPeter โCoppola, Visiting Researcher, Cambridge Neuroscience, University of Cambridge [https://theconversation.com/major-theories-of-consciousness-may-have-been-focusing-on-the-wrong-part-of-the-brain-264609] and is republished under a Creative Commons license.