Why can't I keep playing with my phone... Maybe there's something wrong with this small group of cells

▎WuXi AppTec content team editor, do you often start to distract yourself from brushing your phone just after studying or working.
.
.
An article in "Cognitive Science Trends" pointed out that this kind of distraction is likely to be related to the brain A tiny handful of cells are involved in the depths, and just looking at the size of your pupils can tell you how hard you're paying attention
.

During the course of the day, our attention is actually fluctuating, sometimes being highly focused on getting things done, but sometimes being distracted by the little things around us and easily distracted from doing other things
.

During this ever-changing process of attention, our brain activity also changes
.

In a state of inattentiveness, the neural activity of the brain is relatively slow, and the rhythm of neural fluctuations is relatively stable, mainly dominated by alpha oscillations
.

This neural activity inhibits sensory input, making us less sensitive to information from the outside world
.

Although it is widely recognized that alpha oscillations are involved in attention, the specific nerve cells and mechanisms involved remain unclear
.

▲ The nucleus locus coeruleus can change the activity of brain electrical signals, thereby affecting attention (Image source: Reference [2]) In the new study, the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and scientists at the University of Southern California focused on a subtle brain region , the locus coeruleus
.

The nucleus locus coeruleus is a tiny structure located in the brainstem.
The entire mass of cells is only 15 mm in size.
These nerve cells are the main producers of the key neurotransmitter in the brain, norepinephrine
.

And it happens that norepinephrine is related to behaviors such as attention and stress, which makes researchers more curious about the role of the locus coeruleus in controlling attention
.

Although they could not directly explore the changes of the locus coeruleus due to its deep location, the size of the pupil could indirectly reflect the activity of the locus coeruleus
.

By comparing changes in pupil size and neural oscillatory signals, the researchers found that when the pupil is larger, the nucleus locus coeruleus is active
.

Norepinephrine levels are also higher at this time, and the alpha oscillatory signal fades away
.

In addition to this, people with larger pupil responses, and those with more sensitive alpha oscillations, tend to be better at tasks that require attention
.

This suggests that the locus coeruleus can control the individual's attention through norepinephrine
.

Image credit: 123RF In animal models, the researchers also found that norepinephrine released from the locus coeruleus may affect neural activity in the thalamus
.

The thalamus happens to be the core brain region that manages alpha oscillations
.

Neurons in the thalamus emit rhythmic EEG signals when at rest, known as alpha oscillations during distraction, but this rhythm is disrupted when norepinephrine comes in
.

The research as a whole has identified a series of mechanisms from the locus coeruleus to inattention, perhaps a little norepinephrine injection when you feel inattentive.
.
.
Of course, this finding is not only related to daily life, it is related to Alzheimer's The treatment of Haimer's disease is also relevant
.

During aging, the locus coeruleus gradually accumulates precursors of tau proteins, which gradually cause damage to nerve cells and ultimately disrupt the individual's attentional response
.

The researchers pointed out that perhaps by supplementing norepinephrine to compensate for the damaged function of the locus coeruleus, cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease can be partially restored
.

Reference: [1] How the brain helps us focus our attention.
Retrieved Jan 10th, 2022 from https://medicalxpress.
com/news/2022-01-brain-focus-attention.
html[2] Martin J.
Dahl et al, Noradrenergic modulation of rhythmic neural activity shapes selective attention, Trends in Cognitive Sciences (2021).
DOI: 10.
1016/j.
tics.
2021.
10.
009