Beyond nature, nurture, and chance: Individual agency shapes divergent learning biographies and brain connectome

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Warsha Barde - , Chair of Genomics of Regeneration, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) - Partner Site Dresden (Author)
  • Jonas Renner - , Chair of Genomics of Regeneration, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) - Partner Site Dresden (Author)
  • Brett Emery - , German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) - Partner Site Dresden (Author)
  • Shahrukh Khanzada - , German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) - Partner Site Dresden (Author)
  • Xin Hu - , German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) - Partner Site Dresden (Author)
  • Alexander Garthe - , German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) - Partner Site Dresden, Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD) (Author)
  • Annette E. Rünker - , Chair of Genomics of Regeneration, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) - Partner Site Dresden (Author)
  • Hayder Amin - , German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) - Partner Site Dresden (Author)
  • Gerd Kempermann - , Chair of Genomics of Regeneration, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) - Partner Site Dresden (Author)

Abstract

Individual choices shape life course trajectories of brain structure and function beyond genes and environment. We hypothesized that individual task engagement in response to a learning program results in individualized learning biographies and connectomics. Genetically identical female mice living in one large shared enclosure freely engaged in self-paced, automatically administered and monitored learning tasks. We discovered growing and increasingly stable interindividual differences in learning trajectories. Adult hippocampal neurogenesis and connectivity as assessed by a high-density multielectrode array positively correlated with the variation in exploration and learning efficiency. During some tasks, divergence transiently collapsed, highlighting the sustained significance of context for individualization. Thus, equal environments and equal genes do not result in equal learning biographies because life confronts individuals with choices that lead to divergent paths.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbereads7297
Number of pages11
JournalScience advances
Volume11
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 10 Jan 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 39792659
ORCID /0000-0002-5304-4061/work/178384673
ORCID /0000-0002-2524-1041/work/178384687
ORCID /0000-0001-9614-4567/work/178384808

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas