How cerebral cortex detects novelty A groundbreaking study on memory and prediction

A groundbreaking study, published in Neuron, has uncovered how the cerebral cortex functions as a "memory machine" that constantly detects novel stimuli to refine its future predictions.

The research, led by Yuriy Shymkiv under Professor Rafael Yuste’s guidance, focused on the auditory cortex of mice to better understand how the brain processes new information, according to a recent article by Neuroscience News.

The team found that neurons in the auditory cortex form “echoes” of sensory input, tracking the stimuli over time. These neuronal echoes not only create short-term memories of recent inputs but also help the brain distinguish between familiar and new information. The study reveals that novelty detection is key for perception, learning, and decision-making. These findings offer an explanation for why individuals with schizophrenia have difficulty differentiating new stimuli from previously encountered ones.

Through imaging experiments, the researchers observed that the auditory cortex of mice responded to sound stimuli not only based on the pitch but also on how novel the sound was. This allowed the brain to reinforce the perception of new experiences. The brain’s neural networks work in harmony to enhance the detection of novel stimuli, which improves predictions about the environment.

To validate their findings, the team built a neural network model that mimicked the behaviour observed in the mice. The model successfully replicated the cortical process of detecting new stimuli by forming an internal representation of the environment and adjusting it based on new input. This discovery supports the hypothesis that the cortical network, with its interconnected loops of neurons, naturally supports novelty detection as an emergent property.

Professor Yuste highlighted that this study offers a significant step toward understanding how the cerebral cortex works, particularly in relation to conditions like schizophrenia. The inability of individuals with schizophrenia to recognize new information could be attributed to a malfunction in this process, as the brain’s predictive capabilities may be impaired. The research emphasizes the role of neural networks, rather than individual neurons, in this complex function.

This study deepens our understanding of normal brain function and suggests that correcting malfunctions in novelty detection could help address disorders like schizophrenia. The findings also have implications for future research in neural network modelling and artificial intelligence.

By Vugar Khalilov