Emory study finds silencing prefrontal cortex improves mouse problem solving

prefrontal cortex Emory University mouse study flexible behavior neurodiversity

Researchers at Emory University discovered that deactivating the prefrontal cortex in mice enables the animals to abandon a habitual "win‑stay" strategy and adopt a more efficient problem‑solving approach. The finding, published in Science Advances, shows that the prefrontal cortex can block flexible, out‑of‑the‑box thinking and that its silencing allows mice to switch to better strategies during a naturalistic sound‑stimulus task.

The work was led by senior author Robert Liu, professor of biology, with first author Kai Lu, a postdoctoral fellow in the Liu Lab. Using chemogenetic techniques, the team demonstrated the neural mechanism behind this behavioral shift, suggesting possible relevance for understanding human neurodiversity and certain cognitive disorders.

Entities

Emory University · Kai Lu · Prefrontal Cortex · Robert Liu · Science Advances

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 2 SOURCES] Robert Liu is senior author and professor of biology at Emory. www.azolifesciences.com · www.news-medical.net
[● 2 SOURCES] The experiments used chemogenetic techniques and a naturalistic sound‑stimulus behavior in rodents. www.azolifesciences.com · www.news-medical.net
[● 2 SOURCES] Findings may provide insights into human neurodiversity and certain cognitive disorders. www.azolifesciences.com · www.news-medical.net
[● 3 SOURCES] Silencing the prefrontal cortex in mice improves their ability to adopt new, better problem‑solving strategies. www.azolifesciences.com · ma-clinique.fr · www.news-medical.net
[● 3 SOURCES] The prefrontal cortex can block flexible, out‑of‑the‑box thinking in mice. www.azolifesciences.com · ma-clinique.fr · www.news-medical.net
[● 3 SOURCES] The research was conducted by biologists at Emory University. www.azolifesciences.com · ma-clinique.fr · www.news-medical.net
[● 3 SOURCES] The study was published in the journal Science Advances. www.azolifesciences.com · ma-clinique.fr · www.news-medical.net
[● 2 SOURCES] Kai Lu is first author and postdoctoral fellow in the Liu Lab. www.azolifesciences.com · www.news-medical.net

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Brain Executive Control Centers Block Creative Problem Solving in Mice [www.azolifesciences.com]

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La désactivation du cortex préfrontal aide les souris à adopter de meilleures stratégies [ma-clinique.fr]

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Traumatismes précoces, cette trace physique retrouvée dans le cerveau [www.24matins.fr]

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Silencing prefrontal cortex helps mice adopt better strategies [www.news-medical.net]

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