The brain changes storage areas depending on the importance of memory – GIGAZINE

The brain remembers a variety of things, such as “what you do after you wake up in the morning,” “the bus timetable,” and “the scenery you saw 10 years ago.” A research team from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Harvard University has suggested that the brain may change memory storage areas depending on the importance of the memory.

Organizing memories for generalization in complementary learning systems | Nature Neuroscience
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-023-01382-9

New theory better explains how the brain stores memories | Janelia Research Campus
https://www.janelia.org/news/new-theory-better-explains-how-the-brain-stores-memories

It is believed that memories such as everyday events and learned content are first stored in the hippocampus and ultimately in the cerebral neocortex. Recent research suggests that some memories are permanently stored in the hippocampus without moving to the neocortex, but the criteria for selecting memories that are stored in the hippocampus and neocortex are not clear. not.

In order to clarify the mechanism by which memory storage areas are determined, the research team built an artificial neural network on a computer and analyzed the effects of differences in memory type and storage area on memory ability.

As a result of the analysis, the model that adopted the method of “storing memories that are easy to apply to other situations in the cerebral neocortex” had better memory ability than the model that adopted the method of “storing any memory in the cerebral neocortex.” It became clear that it could be kept high. Based on these results, the research team concluded that “the transfer of memories from the hippocampus to the cerebral neocortex depends not on the passage of time since the memory, but on whether the memory can be applied to other situations.” I’m guessing.

For example, for the child pictured in the lower left of the image below, memories such as “Birds can swim, fly, and catch fish” and “Strawberries are sweet” are likely to be used in the future. , is thought to be stored in the cerebral neocortex. On the other hand, memories that will not be used repeatedly in the future, such as “Strawberries and my father’s shirt are the same color,” are thought to remain in the hippocampus.

This research was conducted using an artificial neural network built on a computer, so it cannot be said that it directly applies to humans. For this reason, it is necessary to verify the theory derived from this research through experiments using humans and animals.