Cited research: Neuron 66, 438–448 (2010)

Many species can learn a new rule by trial and error. But is such learning a gradual process, or does it come all at once in a 'eureka!' moment?

Daniel Durstewitz at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, Jeremy Seamans at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and their colleagues planted electrodes in a brain region called the prefrontal cortex in male rats. They then observed patterns of neural activity while the rats learned a new rule to obtain a food reward.

In many cases, an abrupt shift in neuronal activity corresponded with a change in the strategy an animal used. Such neural and behavioural transition points may correspond to moments of 'sudden insight', the authors suggest. L.O.-S.