Science and technology | Silent synapses
How adult brains learn the new without forgetting the old
They keep a stock of unused synapses in reserve, to be activated as needed
Learning new things is hard. Remembering what has already been learned is harder. Any successful learning system, be it a brain or a piece of artificial-intelligence software, must strike the right balance between stability and flexibility. It must be stable enough to remember important old things yet flexible enough to learn new ones without destroying old memory traces—preferably for as long as it exists.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline "Silent synapses"
More from Science and technology
To stay fit, future Moon-dwellers will need special workouts
Running around the inside of a barrel might help
Wind turbines keep getting bigger
That poses a giant transport problem
New crop-spraying technologies are more efficient than ever
Pesticide use could be cut by up to 90%