How New Information Triggers the Brain to Navigate Changing Environments

Annabelle Singer, McCamish Foundation Associate Professor, and co-researcher Stephanie Prince, uncovered how the brain rapidly adapts to new information during navigation, shedding light on cognitive flexibility. Using a virtual reality maze and neural recordings from mice, the study revealed that the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex play distinct roles when plans change.

The hippocampus simultaneously represents both old and new goals, while the prefrontal cortex quickly shifts focus to the new destination—often before movement begins. These findings, published in Nature Communications, help explain how healthy brains process change and may inform future research into neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and depression, where such adaptability is impaired.

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