Researchers found the brain activity that happens when mice that are learning make the right choice, and know it. A new study links this specific type of brain activity with the short-term memory that animals, including humans, use for complex tasks. That type of memory, called working memory, is important for mental math, problem solving and remembering lists.
It’s a big part of learning and everyday life. The study also sheds some light on a type of brain activity, called synchronized gamma oscillations, that neuroscientists have been long interested in. For the study, neuroscientists associated with MIT and with RIKEN, a Japanese research institute, sent a bunch of mice down tunnels that ended in T intersections. One of the T’s arms led to food, while the other didn’t. Over the course of several trials, the mice learned and remembered which arm had food and which didn’t.
The researchers found that as trained mice approached the intersection, brain signals called synchronized gamma oscillations appeared just before the mice made the correct choice. The oscillations included brief waves of activity that happened in different parts of the brain simultaneously.