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2023
In this labyrinth of colored fibers captured by Yi Zuo, some of the brain's most fundamental functions are woven together: memory, learning, decision-making.
Because each memory leaves a physical imprint, a tiny but lasting change in the connections between neurons, called a synapse.
This image shows how these connections evolve when an animal learns a new gesture, adjusts its responses to a rule, or explores a novel behavior.
Here, the focus is on the frontal cortex, a region crucial for cognitive flexibility, the ability to adapt when circumstances change.
With age or in certain stress-related pathologies, this mental flexibility becomes more fragile.
Each visible branch then becomes more than a nerve thread: a memory in the making, a trace of past learning, or the possibility of a decision to come.
And in these images, we catch a glimpse of our ability to think, to change... and sometimes to forget.
