Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The JPB Foundation and Others Fund Brain Circuitry Research

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The JPB Foundation and Others Fund Brain Circuitry Research

Observational learning, offers a major evolutionary advantage, says Kay Tye, an MIT associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences and a member of MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory.

Tye and her colleagues at MIT have now identified the brain circuit that is required for this kind of learning. This circuit, which is distinct from the brain network used to learn from firsthand experiences, relies on input from a part of the brain responsible for interpreting social cues....