If it barks like a dog…

24 September 2009

One of the defining characteristics of human intelligence is our ability to use prior knowledge when dealing with new situations through the development of concepts. For example, we know that an animal that barks, has four legs, is furry and has a snout is likely to be a dog.

Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London have revealed that this ability is underpinned by a coupled circuit involving the hippocampus (an area of the brain responsible for learning and memory) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (used in decision making). Their findings suggest that the hippocampus creates and stores these concepts, and passes this information to the prefrontal cortex where it can be put to use, for example in making choices where rewards are at stake.

"Our study offers neurobiological insights into the remarkable capacity of humans to develop concepts based on their visual experiences," said Dr Dharshan Kumaran, who led the study. "It reveals how so-called 'memory' regions like the hippocampus team up with 'decision modules' in the prefrontal lobe to put this information to use."

Image credit: Annette Shaff/iStockphoto

Reference

Kumaran D et al. Tracking the emergence of conceptual knowledge during human decision making. Neuron 2009;63(6):889-901.