Scientists Discover New Roles for Two Areas in Our Brain

We thought we knew the jobs of these areas, but it turns out they wear multiple hats

Hiya!

Learning about the human body is full of swirls and zigzags. Every discovery inspires new questions. Every revelation is met with doubt until the knowledge holds up against time and skepticism. The brain, and especially consciousness, are enigmas our species have dedicated thousands of years to understanding, with little success.

In school, when we learn about the brain, we’re given diagrams showing labeled regions with their functions listed in tidy bullet points as if we know all we need to know about the brain. When the truth is, we have no idea how much we don’t know. And even when we think we know, we rarely know it all. For instance, experts thought they knew the roles of two areas of the brain but recently found a new function they both have. Basically, they’re bouncers.

First Up, the Cuneate Nucleus

You may not be familiar with the cuneate nucleus (CN). In fact, if you’re like me, you’ve never even heard of it before this newsletter. I mean, it’s not exactly as well-known as, say, the cerebral cortex.

The cerebral cortex — the grey, wrinkly outer layer — isn’t just easy to see and access, but it has many essential responsibilities. It’s where the higher-level processes occur, like thinking, learning, and reasoning. It’s also where much of our memory, emotions, decision-making, personality, and intelligence reside. Even if you didn’t know the cerebral cortex is involved in so much, you probably at least know it’s part of the brain.

Whereas the CN is super small and difficult to access because it’s deep in our brainstem — in the flexible part near where the skull connects to the neck— nestled by life-dependent regions surrounding it. Plus, all previous research indicated the CN was nothing more than a passive relay station.

Experts assumed the CN’s purpose was just moving sensory information along from the body to the cerebral cortex, which is, let’s face it, not exactly the most exciting role. Thus, the cuneate nucleus fell into obscurity.

Still, it is an important job considering we need our sensory information about the outside world to reach our cerebral cortex so it can track our movements and location and instruct us on how to interact with the objects around us. This form of communication is called somatosensation — when electrochemical signals from our five senses travel along nerve fibers to the spinal cord and brain.

Considering the importance of the cerebral cortex’s other responsibilities, experts assumed it was also mostly responsible for filtering and selectively enhancing the sensory signals it received from the CN. But guess what? It doesn’t. New research shows the overlooked cuneate nucleus actually has that vital role.