The Brain Processes Language Even Under Anesthesia, a New Study Finds

Nestled in the core of the brain is the hippocampus, a little curve of tissue central to memory and learning. It serves as a processing center for our experiences, helping organize information as it comes in. The hippocampus does that when we’re awake—and, a new study suggests, even when we’re unconscious.

The Brain Processes Language Even Under Anesthesia, a New Study Finds. Nestled in the core of the brain is the hippocampus, a little curve of tissue central to memory and learning. It serves as a processing center for our experiences, helping organize information as it comes in. The hippocampus does that when we’re awake—and, a new study suggests, even when we’re unconscious. The small study, published recently in the journal Nature, drew on data from seven people who had surgery to remove portions of their brains as a treatment for epilepsy. It found surprising evidence that under general anesthesia, the hippocampus is still performing some of the language-processing tasks it does in the conscious brain. When doctors played episodes of a podcast in the operating room, neurons in the hippocampus seemed to be anticipating the next words in...