You’ve Never Heard of the Most Important Part of Your Brain
A Needle in the Haystack
What is the most important part of the brain? The prefrontal cortex? The brain stem? Maybe something on a smaller scale like a neuron? While some people may first think of the thalamus, I suspect very few would narrow their pick down to one of its 60 lesser known nuclei. Seated deep in the center of the brain, the thalamus is best — and most simply — known as a “relay station,” a gate between raw sensory input and complex processing centers like the visual or somatosensory cortex. Even deeper within the thalamus is the centromedian nucleus (CM), thought to be a possible seat of consciousness and what I believe to be the most important part of the brain; however, it flies under the radar of academic and popular recognition.
If you have never heard of the CM (or any thalamic nuclei for that matter), you are not alone. When a former professor casually slipped in the CM’s supposed importance in lecture, I was shocked. How could something so crucial go so unacknowledged? By looking at the CM’s constant impact in your life and its ever-expanding clinical potential, I am sure it will change your mind too and show that that centromedian nucleus is the brain’s most indispensable part.
The Connections
