Topic: Neuroscience

A team of international researchers found a specific brain network called SCAN that plays a critical role in Parkinson's disease. They used transcranial magnetic stimulation to target this network and saw significant symptom improvement.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive condition that affects over 10 million people worldwide. It causes symptoms like tremors, difficulty moving, sleep problems, and cognitive decline. Current treatments can reduce symptoms but do not stop the disease from advancing.

An international research team led by China's Changping Laboratory, working with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, identified a specific brain region linked to Parkinson's disease. They found that the somato-cognitive action network (SCAN) plays a critical role in the disorder.

The researchers used transcranial magnetic stimulation to target SCAN and saw patients experience more than twice the symptom improvement compared to when nearby brain areas were stimulated. This challenges long-standing views of Parkinson's disease and points towards new treatment approaches.

The team, led by Nico U. Dosenbach, MD, PhD, found that disruptions in SCAN could explain the disease's broad range of symptoms and serve as a treatment target. They analyzed brain imaging data from over 800 participants across multiple research centers in the United States and China.

Their analysis showed that Parkinson's disease is marked by excessive connectivity between SCAN and the subcortex, a brain region involved in emotion, memory, and motor control. Treatments worked best when they reduced this overconnection, restoring a more balanced relationship between these regions.

The researchers developed a precision treatment system designed to target SCAN without surgery and with millimeter-level accuracy using transcranial magnetic stimulation.

This work demonstrates that Parkinson's is a SCAN disorder, and the data strongly suggest that if you target the SCAN in a personalized, precise manner, you can treat Parkinson's more successfully than was previously possible.

Understanding SCAN and Its Role in Movement and Thought Dosenbach first described the SCAN in Nature in 2023. The network is located within the motor cortex, responsible for controlling body movements. Its job is to translate planned actions into physical motion and then monitor how those actions unfold.

Because Parkinson's disease affects far more than movement alone, influencing digestion, sleep, motivation, and thinking, senior author Hesheng Liu, PhD, joined forces with Dosenbach to investigate whether disruptions in SCAN could explain the disease's broad range of symptoms and serve as a treatment target.

Why It Matters

This discovery has significant implications for treating Parkinson's disease. By targeting the specific brain network responsible for the disorder, researchers may be able to develop more effective treatments that slow or reverse the progression of the disease.

Key Facts

• Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological condition affecting over 10 million people worldwide.
• The somato-cognitive action network (SCAN) plays a critical role in Parkinson's disease.
• Transcranial magnetic stimulation can target SCAN and improve symptoms by more than twice compared to nearby brain areas.
• Disruptions in SCAN could explain the disease's broad range of symptoms and serve as a treatment target.
• Researchers developed a precision treatment system designed to target SCAN without surgery and with millimeter-level accuracy.

Key Terms

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

A non-invasive experimental technique that uses magnetic fields to stimulate brain activity.

Implications

This discovery has significant implications for treating Parkinson's disease. By targeting the specific brain network responsible for the disorder, researchers may be able to develop more effective treatments that slow or reverse the progression of the disease.