Scientists have uncovered the mechanism of the brain's work under uncertainty

Scientists have found that the brain not only increases activity during difficult decisions, but also changes the interaction between its areas depending on what information a person needs at a particular moment. Researchers have found that the fronto-parietal cortex, one of the key decision—making centers, dynamically rebuilds connections with other areas of the brain when a person is faced with uncertainty. How the brain changes the way it processes information in moments of uncertainty is described in the Izvestia article.

How the brain gathers information to solve

The human brain is constantly processing a huge amount of information. Even an ordinary car trip requires simultaneously remembering the route, driving the car, and responding to unexpected circumstances, such as a change in the traffic situation or the appearance of an obstacle.

The frontal-parietal cortex plays an important role in coordinating this flow. It receives signals from different areas of the brain, determines which information is most important, and helps organize a suitable response. At the same time, this network does not just collect all incoming data. Depending on the situation, the fronto-parietal cortex can filter out some of the information and pay more attention to the signals that are more important for a particular decision.

Previously, researchers led by Professor Kai Hwang found that the fronto-parietal cortex forms a kind of generalized representation of information coming from other areas of the brain. It evaluates even incomplete and uncertain signals, combines them, and helps other sites choose the appropriate response. In a new study published in the journal Science Daily, scientists wanted to understand how flexibly the frontal-parietal cortex changes its interaction with other areas when the requirements of a task or the situation itself change.

To do this, the researchers recruited 38 people between the ages of 18 and 35. Participants had to learn how to associate different combinations of colors, faces, and scenes with specific actions — by pressing a button with the index or middle finger of the right or left hand. The scientists then changed the previously learned combinations, forcing the participants to recognize the changes, relearn and choose the right reaction.

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Uncertainty causes the brain to change connections

Changing the rules created a situation of uncertainty for the participants. If a person started making mistakes, he had to determine the reason: the context had changed or he simply misunderstood the initial information. This is what allowed scientists to observe how the work of the frontal-parietal cortex changes in conditions of uncertainty.

The researchers combined data on the participants' behavior with the results of functional MRI. Then they created a computational model that allowed them to separate the signals coming from different areas of the brain and trace how the fronto-parietal cortex combines this information.

Thus, a complex solution may require the brain not to maximize the activity of one area, but to fine-tune the interaction between several systems. The results show that the fronto-parietal cortex is able to change the communication pattern depending on current information needs.

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Why is the ability to take context into account important?

The researchers believe that the findings may help to better understand conditions in which it is difficult for a person to change behavior depending on circumstances. One example, scientists call ADHD, in which there may be problems with impulse control or regulating behavior in different situations. For example, it may be difficult for a person to change their habitual reaction depending on the context — not to speak too loudly where silence is required, or to overcome difficulties controlling impulsive behavior.

The researcher suggests that if the integration function does not work correctly, the brain may not use the necessary context to select the appropriate response. Therefore, understanding how the fronto-parietal cortex combines information from different sources may be important for further study of such disorders.

However, the authors do not claim that the new study explains the mechanism of a particular mental disorder. The work shows the fundamental principle of the brain: its "information center" is able to change the interaction with other areas depending on the situation and the uncertainty that arises.