Your Brain Can Play Freeze!

13 Aug 2023

Your Brain Can Play Freeze!

Recommended for Secondary Grades

Hi there, seeker of knowledge! Did you know there’s a “pause button” in your brain? Yup! When you’re super focused on something, like playing a video game or reading an exciting story, your body can freeze, almost like a statue. Let’s take a magical journey and discover how our brain does this cool trick!

Once upon a time, scientists noticed that sometimes animals, like deer or bunnies, freeze when they’re scared or focused. They wanted to understand why. So, they took a trip deep inside the brain of mice to solve this mystery!

Brain’s Freeze Frame

The brain has a place called the pedunculopontine nucleus (let’s call it “PPN” to keep things easy!). PPN is like a mini control room in your brain. Think of it as a superhero headquarters.
Now, in this superhero headquarters (PPN), there are different kinds of workers or nerve cells. Some of them help you move, while others help you freeze.
In a magical experiment, scientists made mouse brain cells light up like little disco lights. When they played with these lights, they saw that some brain cells made the mice stop and go, just like hitting pause and play on a remote!
By now, you might be wondering, “What does this mean for us?” Well, we humans also have this super cool PPN in our brains. So, when you’re searching for where you left your toy or trying to win a game, this part helps you stop, think, and then play again.
But sometimes, just like how our toys can break, this “pause button” in our brain can act a little funny. Some people, like those with a condition called Parkinson’s, might freeze more than they want to. But thanks to the awesome scientists, we’re now closer to helping them!
So, in a nutshell (or maybe a brain-shell), our brains have this fantastic pause button that can make us freeze like a statue. It’s a superpower that helps us in many ways. And thanks to the brave mouse heroes and super-smart scientists, we’re learning more about this magical button every day. Isn’t the brain amazing? High-five to that!