Brain Rewires Itself to Multitask: Scientists Discover

Topic: Neuroscience

Researchers at Georgetown University found that the brain can reorganize itself to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. They used fMRI and EEG scans to study how participants' brains changed as they practiced a sorting task over several weeks.

Scientists have long believed that humans cannot truly multitask, but researchers at Georgetown University have discovered new evidence that the brain physically reorganizes itself as people master a skill. This allows well-practiced tasks to become automatic.

The study involved participants who sorted morphed images of cars into two categories by identifying subtle visual differences using a smartphone app designed as a game. They completed over 30,000 sorting trials over a period of 5-10 weeks. The researchers examined the participants' brains with fMRI and EEG scans before training began and again after the practice period ended.

The study found that early in learning, the sorting task primarily activated the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive functions such as planning, reasoning, and conscious decision-making. However, after weeks of practice, brain activity had shifted, and the same categorization task was now being handled mainly by the temporal cortex, a region involved in memory and recognizing complex objects.

The researchers found that information from the newly developed car selective area in the temporal cortex could bypass the prefrontal cortex and travel directly to brain regions responsible for producing responses. This means that experience can remodel the brain to bypass the frontal bottleneck, allowing the prefrontal cortex to stay free for other tasks.

Why It Matters

This discovery has implications for our daily lives, such as how we learn new skills and why some behaviors are difficult to change. It may also help scientists better understand how habits form and how future artificial intelligence systems could become better at building new skills from previous learning.

Key Facts

• Researchers at Georgetown University found that the brain can reorganize itself to perform multiple tasks simultaneously.
• The study involved participants who sorted morphed images of cars into two categories over a period of 5-10 weeks.
• Brain activity shifted from the prefrontal cortex to the temporal cortex after weeks of practice.
• Information from the newly developed car selective area in the temporal cortex can bypass the prefrontal cortex and travel directly to brain regions responsible for producing responses.
• The study has implications for our daily lives, such as how we learn new skills and why some behaviors are difficult to change.

Key Terms

Prefrontal Cortex

A region of the brain responsible for executive functions such as planning, reasoning, and conscious decision-making.

Temporal Cortex

A region of the brain involved in memory and recognizing complex objects.

Implications

This discovery has implications for our daily lives, such as how we learn new skills and why some behaviors are difficult to change. It may also help scientists better understand how habits form and how future artificial intelligence systems could become better at building new skills from previous learning.