The ability to sense regular patterns is fundamental to making sense of the world. Stimulus from the environment activates a group of neurons in the frontoparietal region of the brain called the multiple demand network (MDN) that’s known to be involved in the organization and control of cognitive functions and general intelligence. Both normal aging and brain diseases can affect the MDN’s ability to detect changes or deviations from regular patterns of sensory stimuli, such as noticing that a road sign is an unusual color while driving down the highway.
New research published March 8 in The Journal of Neuroscience finds that disruption of the MDN is a common feature of various forms of dementia. According to the study, damage to any of the nodes of the MDN makes patients struggle to cope with changes in their environments, revealing a standard mechanism for this symptom.
“There has been some previous ...
