Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Brain’s Stopping System Linked to Disrupting Thought

By R&D Editors | April 18, 2016

The study analyzes signals from the scalp in healthy volunteers as well as signals from electrode implants in the brains of people with Parkinson's disease. (Photo credit: Nathalie Belanger)How many times has this happened to you?

You’re on the cusp of saying something important and are interrupted by an urgent text message. But when you return to your conversation, you’re at a loss for words. Literally. The important thing you were about to say has vanished from your mind, leaving you wondering just what the heck was so important.

Publishing in Nature Communications, U.S. and U.K. researchers have delved deeper into this derailment of thought, and believe the brain system involved in this disruption of cognition may also play a part in interrupting or stopping bodily movements.

The University of California, San Diego and Oxford University researchers focused on the subthalamic nucleus (STN), which is a component of the brain’s stopping system. Positioned in the midbrain and part of the basal ganglia system, the STN is a lens-shaped cluster of tightly packed neurons.

From earlier research, the researchers knew the STN was utilized during stopping actions. According to University of California, San Diego neuroscientist Adam Aron, the STN may be particularly important for broad stops, the whole-body jolt that occurs during an unexpected event.

In their study, the researchers analyzed signals from the scalp in 20 healthy subjects, and signals from electrode implants from seven people with Parkinson’s disease.

The STN is often a target for deep brain stimulation for people with Parkinson’s, a disease that can cause tremors, and slowed-down movement and facial expression. According to the researchers, the STN, in people with Parkinson’s, may be working conversely and keeping them over-focused on actions.  

The experimental test involved participants memorizing a string of letters. Before the recall test, a tone was played. However, during some trials, the researchers replaced the tone with an unexpected birdsong, which had the potential to delineate thought.  

Looking at the recorded brain activity, the researchers found that unexpected events and body stopping have the same brain signature. If the STN was engaged heavily, the participants’ ability to recall the letters was more affected.

“An unexpected event appears to clear out what you were thinking,” said Aron in a statement. “The radically new idea is that just as the brain’s stopping mechanism is involved in stopping what we’re doing with our bodies it might also be responsible for interrupting and flushing out our thoughts.”

Now that a correlation has been established, the researchers said future investigations might probe into whether the STN is related to increased distractibility in conditions like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. 

 

R&D 100 AWARD ENTRIES NOW OPEN:

Establish your company as a technology leader! For more than 50 years, the R&D 100 Awards have showcased new products of technological significance. You can join this exclusive community! Learn more.

 

 

Related Articles Read More >

Open-source Boltz-2 can speed binding-affinity predictions 1,000-fold
Thermo Fisher’s new Orbitrap Excedion Pro targets complex biotherapeutics for drug development
FDA’s new ‘Elsa’ AI set to expedite clinical protocol reviews
Waters touts six-fold robustness with new Xevo TQ Absolute XR
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE