Scientists Uncover the Brain’s Hidden Learning Blocks

Scientists uncover the brain’s hidden learning blocks

Princeton researchers found that the brain excels at learning because it reuses modular “cognitive blocks” across many tasks. Monkeys switching between visual categorization challenges revealed that the prefrontal cortex assembles these blocks like Legos to create new behaviors. This flexibility explains why humans learn quickly while AI models often forget old skills. The insights may help build better AI and new clinical treatments for impaire…

'Cognitive Legos' help the brain build complex behaviors

Artificial intelligence may write award-winning essays and diagnose disease with remarkable accuracy, but biological brains still hold the upper hand in at least one crucial domain: flexibility.