From Mouse Brains to Human Minds: Memory, Forgetting & Saying No

Think you're experiencing reality exactly as it happens? Think again! Your brain constantly makes sneaky predictions—guessing what you will see, hear, and feel before it even happens. It fills in gaps, bends your sense of time, and creates expectations based on past experiences. In other words, your brain is telling you stories. So if your brain shapes your entire world, how much of reality can you actually trust? And if your perception is just a clever illusion, who's really in charge—you or your brain?

Ever tried not to eat that last cookie? Or stopped yourself mid-sentence? Saying “no” or just understanding it might seem easy, but your brain has to slam the brakes. Behind the scenes, it's activating powerful control networks, like a mental stop sign. We discovered that even understanding words like “don’t” or “not” depends on these same brain systems. And when those systems break down, even understanding a simple “don’t” can become surprisingly difficult. It’s a reminder that language isn’t just about words—it’s about control, too.

As you may have experienced, learning new information does not always mean that we will remember it. And luckily, that is the case, life would be a nightmare if we would remember everything we see and experience. But, how is it possible that some memories can be remembered even if they happened long-time ago? The brain region that looks exactly like a sea horse (the hippocampus) has a lot do with it