Functional compensation of the claustrum: lessons from low-grade glioma surgery

Excerpt

Despite many anatomical, histological and electrophysiological studies, essentially performed in animals, the function of the claustrum remains unclear [1]. We know only one lesional report in humans, which suggested, using somatosensory evoked potentials, that this structure might influence deeply the contralateral somatosensory cortex [2]. Recently, PET studies in healthy volunteers supported its involvement in motivational processes [3]. Moreover, because of a widespread connectivity of the claustrum, Crick and Koch proposed that this area could play a key role in consciousness [4]. Nevertheless, they also raised the following question “What happens when the claustrum, or parts of it, have been transiently or permanently removed? The answer to this important question is, unfortunately, not known” [5]. …