--- title: "Neuroscientist Says We’re All Wrong About Root of Consciousness in Our Brains" description: "If you don't know anything about neuroscience, that's okay — one researcher's striking theory might send us all back to the start anyway." date: "2025-09-28" modified: "2025-09-28" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/health-medicine/neuroscience-brain-consciousness" categories: - "Brain" - "Health & Medicine" - "Neuroscience and Brain" --- # Neuroscientist Says We’re All Wrong About Root of Consciousness in Our Brains ![A researcher went back over 100 years of brain science that lead him to a radical conclusion about consciousness.]() *Photo Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images* If you don't know anything about neuroscience, that's okay — one researcher's striking theory might send us all back to the start anyway. Peter Coppola is a visiting neuroscience researcher at the University of Cambridge, where he recently [finished a review]() of over 100 years of brain science. The goal, he [wrote afterward in ]()*[The Conversation]()*, was to chart a hierarchy of the brain, to see which regions were more important for consciousness. To undertake the exhaustive study, Coppola turned over every rock in the field of neuroscience, from [extreme surgical studies]() of cats and monkeys to the effect of [electrical pulses]() and [magnetic stimulation]() on the brain. The results of his survey, he says, is a body of evidence that challenges the most widely understood theories of consciousness to date. Consciousness is typically defined as [immediate awareness]() of our feelings, emotions, and experiences. Because we experience consciousness from the comfort of our own minds, it's what's known as a subjective phenomenon. Science, however, is an objective practice, using observable truths rather than personal experience. We don't have to be Isaac Newton to understand that an apple fell onto his head. As a result, consciousness as a concept is extremely hard to study, resulting in a surprisingly shaky understanding of the phenomenon, even though it's central to everyone's existence. While theories of consciousness can generally be broken into [four competing schools](), they each tend to agree that at least [some part]() of the neocortex — the wrinkled outer layer of the brain — is necessary for consciousness. The aim of Coppola's study is to test that assertion. The neuroscientist's research breaks the human brain down to three regions — the cortex, the subcortex, and the cerebellum — to find cases where one or some of those sections have been altered, and examine their effects on consciousness. Though one might expect to find the neocortex was a non-starter, the researcher instead found evidence suggesting that it's not all that important. For example, Coppola writes, "people born without the cerebellum, or the front of their cortex, can still appear conscious and live quite normal lives. However, damaging the cerebellum later in life can trigger hallucinations or change your emotions completely." Some cases, like children born with a chunk of their neocortex missing, defy easy explanation. "According to medical textbooks, these people should be in a permanent vegetative state," Coppola observes. On the contrary, [recent research suggests]() these patients are in fact conscious, exhibiting many [typical behaviors]() of children with a fully formed neocortex. Similar results were observed in adult animals. There are a few possible explanations for why this is, the researcher explains: either the neocortex, a [relatively new]() part of our anatomy as evolution goes, isn't needed for baseline consciousness, or else that when someone is born with a deficient cortex, the other two regions of the brain learn to compensate. "This means we may have to review our theories of consciousness," Coppola concludes. "In turn, this may influence patient care as well as how we think about animal rights. In fact, consciousness might be more common than we realized." **More on neuroscience:** *[In Major Breakthrough, Scientists Successfully Treat Devastating Brain Disease Huntington’s for the First Time]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()