Speculative Fact #203: Parents Rejoice! We've Found the Off Switch.

The claustrum: it's a part of the brain I bet you've never heard of, but it's surprisingly important. According to researchers, this is where information and volition rally together to interact with the outside world. In one experiment, an epilepsy patient had their claustrum electrically stimulated. The patient stopped all activity but did not fall asleep. When the stimulation ended, the patient had no recollection of anything that happened while their claustrum was so effected. In other words, they may have found the on/off switch for consciousness.  
     How could you use this in your story? Could your character be the next Manchurian Candidate? Or maybe technology will allow us to jack into the internet and translate our consciousness into binary code? A damaged claustrum might even allow for you to see things that have always been there hiding among us.  Lots of potential here.  

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