MIT Finds 1 Flexible Mouse Brain Module That Switches Between Sensory and Action Memory
Updated
Updated · sflorg.com · Aug 17
MIT Finds 1 Flexible Mouse Brain Module That Switches Between Sensory and Action Memory
3 articles · Updated · sflorg.com · Aug 17
Summary
MIT neuroscientists identified the first evidence in mice that a prefrontal cortex neuron cluster can switch roles, holding a sensory memory at one stage of a task and an action plan at the next.
Thousands of neurons were recorded while mice compared two tones, letting researchers track working-memory activity between the first and second tones and again before the animals chose a response.
Parietal cortex neurons appeared specialized for storing the tone itself, while the prefrontal module was repurposed across both memory phases, supporting the idea of reusable 'cognitive Lego' circuits.
The Nature Neuroscience study suggests flexible modules help brains handle many tasks with finite neurons and could guide future work on cognitive disorders and brain-inspired AI.