Cervello: scoperta area che dirige il “traffico”

Author Summary

This study provides clear evidence for a bottleneck in our memory system between learning new and remembering old information. The ability to continuously learn and remember is usually taken for granted. Virtually all interactive situations we encounter require concurrent learning and remembering. For example, normal social communication requires that we process the new information that another person is providing. While listening, we are usually already retrieving information in preparation of an appropriate reply. Other examples include driving through an unfamiliar city while interpreting familiar traffic signs, or encountering novel products during shopping while remembering what we need. Although these examples clearly illustrate the importance of the simultaneous occurrence of learning and remembering, this study shows that remembering and learning compete for resources when both processes happen within a brief period. The study also examined the neural consequences of the competition between learning and remembering using functional MRI (fMRI). In line with the behavioral competition, the neuroimaging results showed a clear suppression of learning-related brain activity as a result of concurrent remembering. Finally, the study provides evidence that a specific region in the prefrontal cortex can resolve the bottleneck, possibly by allowing rapid switching between learning and remembering

Ovviamente le neuroscenzie sono un'area delle scienze biologiche più all'avanguardia, quindi ogni nuova scoperta va presa cum grano salis.