{"id":31966,"date":"2021-10-14T00:00:10","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T07:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vermont.salk.edu\/?post_type=disclosure&p=31966"},"modified":"2024-01-30T14:30:19","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T22:30:19","slug":"how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements","status":"publish","type":"disclosure","link":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/","title":{"rendered":"How the brain ignores distracting information to coordinate movements"},"content":{"rendered":"

LA JOLLA\u2014As you read this article, touch receptors in your skin are sensing your environment. Your clothes and jewelry, the chair you\u2019re sitting on, the computer keyboard or mobile device you\u2019re using, even your fingers as they brush one another unintentionally\u2014each touch activates collections of nerve cells. But, unless a stimulus is particularly unexpected or required to help you orient your own movements, your brain ignores many of these inputs.<\/p>\n

Now, Salk researchers have discovered how neurons in a small area of the mammalian brain help filter distracting or disruptive signals\u2014specifically from the hands\u2014to coordinate dexterous movements. Their results, published in the journal Wissenschaft<\/em><\/a> on October 14, 2021, may hold lessons in how the brain filters other sensory information as well.<\/p>\n

\"Inhibitory
Inhibitory neuron cell bodies (red) in the brainstem with their axonal projections (green) onto the cuneate cells (blue) that transmit touch information. This circuit regulates information conveyed by touch receptors in the hands as it enters the brain.
Klicken Sie hier<\/a> f\u00fcr ein hochaufl\u00f6sendes Bild.
Kredit: Salk Institut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThese findings have implications not only for gaining a better understanding of how our nervous system interacts with the world, but also for teaching us how to build better prosthetics and robots, and how to more effectively repair neural circuitry after disease or injury,\u201d says Eiman Azim<\/a>, assistant professor in Salk\u2019s Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory and the William Scandling Developmental Chair.<\/p>\n

Scientists have long known that input from the hands is needed to coordinate dexterous movements, from throwing a ball to playing a musical instrument. In one classic experiment, volunteers with anesthetized, numb fingertips found it extremely difficult to pick up and light a match.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a common misconception that the brain sends a signal and you just perform the resulting movement,\u201d says Azim. \u201cBut in reality, the brain is constantly incorporating feedback information about the state of your limbs and fingers and adjusting its output in response.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the brain responded to every signal from the body, it would quickly become overwhelmed\u2014as happens with some sensory processing disorders. Azim and his colleagues wanted to identify exactly how a healthy brain manages to pick and choose which tactile signals to take into account to coordinate dexterous movements like manipulating objects.<\/p>\n

They used a combination of tools in mice to study cells within a small area in the brainstem called the cuneate nucleus, which is the first area signals from the hand enter the brain. While it was known that sensory information passes through the cuneate nucleus, the team discovered that a set of neurons in this region actually controls how much information from the hands eventually passes on to other parts of the brain. By manipulating those circuits to allow more or less tactile feedback through, Azim\u2019s team could influence how mice perform dexterous tasks\u2014such as pulling a rope or learning to distinguish textures\u2014to earn rewards.<\/p>\n

\"From
From left: James Conner and Eiman Azim.
Klicken Sie hier<\/a> f\u00fcr ein hochaufl\u00f6sendes Bild.
Kredit: Salk Institut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe cuneate nucleus is often referred to as a relay station, as if information was just passing through it,\u201d says Staff Researcher James Conner, first author of the new paper. \u201cBut it turns out that sensory information is actually being modulated in this structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conner and Azim went on to show how different parts of the cortex in mice\u2014the region responsible for more complex, adaptive behavior\u2014can in turn control the neurons of the cuneate to dictate how strongly they\u2019re filtering sensory information from the hands.<\/p>\n

Today, despite decades of work, most prosthetics and robots struggle to be nimble-fingered and carry out small, precise hand movements. Azim and Conner say their work could help inform the design of better processes to integrate sensory information from artificial fingers into these kinds of systems to improve their dexterity. It also could have implications for understanding sensory processing disorders or troubleshooting what goes wrong in the brain when the flow of sensory information is thrown out of balance.<\/p>\n

\u201cSensory systems have evolved to have very high sensitivity in order to maximize protective responses to external threats. But our own actions can activate these sensory systems, thereby generating feedback signals that can be disruptive to our intended actions,\u201d says Conner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re constantly bombarded with information from the world, and the brain needs ways to decide what comes through and what doesn\u2019t,\u201d says Azim. \u201cIt\u2019s not just tactile feedback, but visual and olfactory and auditory, temperature and pain\u2014the lessons we\u2019re learning about this circuitry likely apply in general ways to how the brain modulates these types of feedback as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other authors included Andrew Bohannon, Masakazu Igarashi, James Taniguchi and Nicholas Baltar of Salk.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":31982,"template":"","faculty":[291],"disease-research":[124,464],"class_list":["post-31966","disclosure","type-disclosure","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","faculty-eiman-azim","disease-research-neuroscience-and-neurological-disorders","disease-research-perception"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow the brain ignores distracting information to coordinate movements - Salk Institute for Biological Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How the brain ignores distracting information to coordinate movements - Salk Institute for Biological Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LA JOLLA\u2014As you read this article, touch receptors in your skin are sensing your environment. Your clothes and jewelry, the chair you\u2019re sitting on, the computer keyboard or mobile device you\u2019re using, even your fingers as they brush one another unintentionally\u2014each touch activates collections of nerve cells. But, unless a stimulus is particularly unexpected or required to help you orient your own movements, your brain ignores many of these inputs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-30T22:30:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Azim-Science-Image-767.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"767\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"767\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\\\/\",\"name\":\"How the brain ignores distracting information to coordinate movements - Salk Institute for Biological Studies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/Azim-Science-Image-767.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-14T07:00:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-30T22:30:19+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/Azim-Science-Image-767.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/Azim-Science-Image-767.jpg\",\"width\":767,\"height\":767},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How the brain ignores distracting information to coordinate movements\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\",\"description\":\"The Power of Science\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/salk_logo_696.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/salk_logo_696.jpg\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How the brain ignores distracting information to coordinate movements - Salk Institute for Biological Studies","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"How the brain ignores distracting information to coordinate movements - Salk Institute for Biological Studies","og_description":"LA JOLLA\u2014As you read this article, touch receptors in your skin are sensing your environment. Your clothes and jewelry, the chair you\u2019re sitting on, the computer keyboard or mobile device you\u2019re using, even your fingers as they brush one another unintentionally\u2014each touch activates collections of nerve cells. But, unless a stimulus is particularly unexpected or required to help you orient your own movements, your brain ignores many of these inputs.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/","og_site_name":"Salk Institute for Biological Studies","article_modified_time":"2024-01-30T22:30:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":767,"height":767,"url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Azim-Science-Image-767.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/","name":"How the brain ignores distracting information to coordinate movements - Salk Institute for Biological Studies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Azim-Science-Image-767.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-14T07:00:10+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-30T22:30:19+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"de-DE","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de-DE","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Azim-Science-Image-767.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Azim-Science-Image-767.jpg","width":767,"height":767},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/how-the-brain-ignores-distracting-information-to-coordinate-movements\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How the brain ignores distracting information to coordinate movements"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/","name":"Salk-Institut f\u00fcr biologische Studien","description":"Die Macht der Wissenschaft","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"de-DE"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#organization","name":"Salk-Institut f\u00fcr biologische Studien","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de-DE","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/salk_logo_696.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/salk_logo_696.jpg","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"Salk Institute for Biological Studies"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"ACF":{"hero":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/azim-press-release-image.jpg","line_1":"How the brain ignores distracting information to coordinate movements","line_2":"The latest research has implications for understanding sensory disorders and building better prosthetics and robots that can fine-tune their movements based on what they touch.","poster_quote":"","paper_url":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.abh1123","journal_title":"Science","paper_author_list":"James M. Conner, Andrew Bohannon, Masakazu Igarashi, James Taniguchi, Nicholas Baltar and Eiman Azim","doi":"10.1126\/science.abh1123","paper_title":"Modulation of tactile feedback for the execution of dexterous movement","subhead":"The latest research has implications for understanding sensory disorders and building better prosthetics and robots that can fine-tune their movements based on what they touch.","home_photo":"","listing_photo":"","legacy_boilerplate":[],"hide_boilerplate":[],"disable_date":false,"listing_excerpt":"","descriptive_blurb":"","has_journal_cover":false,"og_image_override":false,"gallery":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure\/31966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/disclosure"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure\/31966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32021,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure\/31966\/revisions\/32021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"faculty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty?post=31966"},{"taxonomy":"disease-research","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disease-research?post=31966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}