(FUVEST 2011 2 Fase - 2 dia) Although the human br

(FUVEST 2011 — 2ª Fase - 2º dia)

     Although the human brain has an impressive amount of storage space for memories, it does not keep each one indefinitely. We tend to forget memories that are similar to one another – remembering instead more novel events or information. In fact, forgetting is important because it makes it easier to recall new memories.

     Although forgetting can be annoying, it sometimes helps us learn. In 2007 researchers at Columbia University showed that genetically modified mice that cannot generate new neurons in the hippocampus – a brain area involved in storing memories – do better on memory tasks than mice that create new neurons as usual. Learning new information does not require new neurons; it simply requires that existing neurons connect in new ways.

     Yet storing a memory does require the ability to sprout new neurons. Thus, the genetically modified mice could still learn new information, like the most recent location of food in the maze, but had no old memories of where food was hidden interfering with their most recent one. Forgetting, then, helps us remember.

Scientific American, July 13, 2010. Adaptado.

Baseando-se no texto, responda:

a) Qual é a importância do esquecimento para o cérebro humano?

b) No experimento mencionado no texto, por que os ratos geneticamente modificados aprenderam novas informações com mais facilidade que os outros ratos?