Nerve cells in the brain are constantly bombarded with information from various senses simultaneously. How can the brain prioritize what’s most important?
Imagine a friend meeting you at the station and showing you the way home. You will have to find your own way back. After that, remembering only the smell of freshly baked bread at a kiosk or the noise of a construction site won’t help you find your way. So what happens in our brains when we have to prioritize among the large number of impressions we receive?
In a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers at the University of Oslo have revealed that brain cells have a type of volume control function. When you’re focused on a task, you can set certain signals to be amplified over others.
Mouse in “The Matrix”
To understand this process, the researchers had mice run on Styrofoam wheels while navigating a virtual maze similar to a VR game. At the same time, they monitored nerve cell signals in the brain using a microscope. When the mouse reaches a certain point, for example between two green towers, it receives a reward in the form of a drop of sugar water.
At first, the rats licked randomly to get a reward, but gradually they learned the specific locations to receive the sugar water and formed a spatial memory. ”
Koen Vervaeke, Professor, Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences
put on the brakes put on the brakes
Certain brain cells act as “brakes” to inhibit neural activity. When the mouse focuses on the task of finding its way, VIP cells intervene. They act as “brakes on brakes”.
“By inhibiting cells that are normally quiet, important signals are transmitted with greater intensity,” Vervaeke explains.
“What differentiates this feature from a passive volume control is that it is more like an intelligent amplifier. The VIP cell ensures that important signals picked up in the surroundings are clear and strong while suppressing extraneous background noise.”
This way you don’t just leave with the memories of freshly baked bread, you can start your journey back to the station.
concentration controls the process
When mice search for sugar water, this amplification mechanism prioritizes location information over irrelevant noise.
“The process appears to be influenced by how focused you are on the task you are performing,” the researchers say.
By observing only neuronal activity, the researchers were able to tell exactly where the mice were in the virtual maze. This is simply because the signal is much clearer and more accurate when the intelligent amplifier is activated.
Impact on dementia research
The brain regions responsible for spatial sensation and navigation were thoroughly mapped by Moser’s Nobel Prize-winning team. These areas are among the first areas affected when a person develops dementia.
“By understanding how these amplification mechanisms work in a healthy brain, we can better understand what happens when the control system fails and memories begin to be destroyed,” Verbeike says.
sauce:
Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo
Reference magazines:
Lenkie, N. others. (2025). Brain region-specific place cell gain regulation by VIP neurons. nature communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60679-4. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60679-4
