Detached from reality

摘要

Dissociation is a behavioural state associated with epilepsy, use of certain drugs or trauma. In a dissociated state, people can detect stimuli but do not show affective responses. The neurobiological basis of this mysterious state is unknown. In a new study, Vesuna et al. provide evidence that dissociation is caused by slow rhythmic firing of deep neurons in the retrosplenial cortex (RSP) in mice or the homologous posteromedial cortex (PMC) in humans.