VOLUME LXXVIII | JUN 2023

The Brain’s GPS: Rethinking Memory and Learning

Just like using landmarks to navigate a foreign city, the brain has a system for quickly learning and recalling information. This ability, known as meta-learning, allows us to draw on past experiences to guide our learning process. Instead of blindly trial-and-erroring our way through new situations, our brain acts more like a GPS system, pinpointing key information to help us navigate more efficiently. For example, if we’re lost in a European city, instead of wandering aimlessly, we might look for tall spires or search for the main square on Google maps. Our brain does something similar by relying on a cognitive map, specifically the hippocampus, to mentally store and retrieve information. However, recent research suggests that this mapping system may function more like a modular meta-learning computational module than previously thought. This new understanding could revolutionize our knowledge of how the brain learns and remembers. To dive deeper into the research behind this breakthrough, check out the full article!

Farah Al-Mansour

Farah is a Middle Eastern-Canadian sociologist from Ottawa, examining the role of social structures in fostering personal growth. Her passion is highlighting stories of human adaptability, and promoting inclusive group strategies for realizing untapped potential.

A fundamental characteristic of biological intelligence is the ability to draw on past experience to guide and expedite learning; an ability often referred to as meta-learning (see Glossary). To give an example, if lost in a foreign European city, one would still be able to locate the main square of a city with ease. Rather than using an exhaustive, trial-and-error-like approach – weaving through different streets – one may for example look out for tall spires, a standard feature of cathedrals that are commonplace in the squares of European cities, or in modern times simply search for it on Google maps.
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