Our memories of past events are typically not isolated, but they are linked to other related memories. This ability to establish connections between related memories is highly advantageous, as it helps us to recognize familiar patterns in new situations and make predictions that can inform our decisions.

Researchers at UCLA’s Brain Research Institute recently carried out a study on mice aimed at better understanding how the brain decides what memories are connected and which ones are not. Their paper, published in Nature Neuroscience, pinpoints brain regions that could play a role in the organization of memories into coherent pools of knowledge.

“Our lab has long been interested in understanding how the brain connects related memories,” André F. de Sousa, first author of the paper, told Medical Xpress. “In everyday life, new experiences are rarely processed in isolation. Instead, they are often shaped by what we have learned before. This ability allows us to link related events, build knowledge, and use past experiences to guide future behavior. However, this process needs to be carefully controlled.”