How conscious is the brain when we are unconscious? Under anesthesia, The neurons dedicated to hearing are activated when there is a sound, but we don't notice it. As if this information doesn't reach the rest of the brain because of the loss of neural connections caused by the anesthetic. However, these auditory messages do manage to penetrate deep into the brain!
A study published on May 6, 2026 in Nature Research by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas has shown that auditory information travels to the hippocampus, located at the base of the brain, and that this structure processes this information, despite the state of unconsciousness.This prompts us to rethink what it means to be unconscious. neurosurgeon Sameer Sheth, the study's director, stated in a press release. Ebehind the scenes, LThe brain does much more than we thought.”
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