Scientists map brain's return to focus

Rotating cortical waves help restore attention, put thought processes back on track after distractions, find researchers

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A study has described a brain process involving circling waves coordinated by neurones in the prefrontal cortex, which helps pay attention, in aiding one to get back to the task at hand following a distracted spell.

Researchers from the US’ Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) analysed electrical activity in the prefrontal cortex — a brain region known to help with higher-level functions, including paying attention — of monkeys.

Findings published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience showed a rotating wave in the brain highly coordinated by neurones in the cortex to put one's thought processes back on track.

"The rotating waves act like herders that steer the cortex back to the correct computational path," senior author Earl K. Miller, professor at MIT's The Picower Institute and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, said.