Scientists have identified a group of neurons located in an ancient region of the brain that plays a key role in helping animals focus. These cells appear to improve attention by filtering out distractions and directing the brain toward the most important information.
The discovery, made in mice by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, points to a brain system that is shared by all vertebrates, including humans. The findings could eventually help researchers develop more precise treatments for attention-related disorders.
"A hallmark of ADHD is that even faint distractors draw attention away -- and that's exactly what we see here when these neurons are silenced," said senior author Shreesh Mysore, a neuroscientist who studies neural circuits tied to behavior. "But the very next day, when the neurons are turned back on, the same animal can ignore distractors again, even very strong ones."
The federally funded study was recently published in Nature Communications and selected as an editorial highlight.
Ancient Brain Region Linked to Attention
