The hippocampus is known to be the long-term memory section of the brain, but scientists from the Ruhr-University Bochum believe they have found a separate, new function for it: conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution sounds like the job of hostage negotiator, but it’s a daily occurrence in human life. In this case, conflict resolution signifies when one is confronted with a conflict of which decision to make—like trying to decide if you can make a left turn in spotty traffic and not get hit by oncoming cars. Another (fun to test) example involves the Stroop Effect, which often is where a viewer is asked to say that the color of a word, instead of the word that is written. (Like “RED” written in green, where participants are looking to say green.)
Deciding fast in situations of conflict
In the experiment, the researchers tested conflict resolution with an auditory form of the Stroop test. Participants reacted to the words “high” and “low”—but these words were said variably in a high or low tone. The participants were tasked with stating what the tone of the word was, while ignoring what the word meant. And if the word and the tone didn’t correspond—like if “low” was said in a high-pitch voice—a conflict was generated, forcing the participants to make a decision on how to react.
As these conflicts unfolded, the scientists measured hippocampus activity via two methods. Some epilepsy patients have EEG electrodes implanted in their brains in order to plan surgeries; 9 of these patients allowed them to measure the brain activity in the hippocampus directly, co-author Nikolai Axmacher told redOrbit via email. In 27 non-epileptic patients, a functional MRI (fMRI) was used.
“Both methods revealed converging evidence that the hippocampus is recruited in a regionally specific manner during response conflict,” the authors wrote in their paper, which is featured in Current Biology. Or in other words: It seems that the hippocampus is not only for memory, but to help resolve conflicts.
“Our data show first of all a completely new function of the Hippocampus — processing of activity conflicts,” Carina Oehrn from the Department of Epileptology at the University Hospital of Bonn said in a press release. “However, in order to answer the question how that function interacts with memory processes, we will have to carry out additional tests.”
Dr. Axmacher speculated further on how memory could play a role in decision making: “Perhaps the memory system becomes particularly active if a conflict has been successfully resolved. Permanently unsolved conflicts can’t be used for learning helpful lessons for the future. According to our model, the brain works like a filter. It responds strongly to resolved conflicts, but not to unsolved conflicts or standard situations. However, we have to verify this hypothesis in additional studies.”
(Image credit: Thinkstock)
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