Scientists have discovered that the way the brain “links” and organizes memories may be a key to understanding schizophrenia and the mechanisms behind its development.

The study’s findings were published in Nature Neuroscience.

Researchers concluded that memories in the brain do not exist in isolation. Instead, they are grouped into interconnected structures that form stable “packages of experience.”

The interaction between the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus determines whether different events become linked together or remain separate.

Experiments in mice showed that the brain’s prefrontal cortex directly influences which neurons in the hippocampus are recruited during the formation of new memories. When this process is disrupted, the brain may create incorrect or excessive connections between unrelated events.

According to the researchers, such “false associations” may represent one of the mechanisms behind cognitive distortions in schizophrenia, where the brain connects experiences that are not actually related.

The authors also emphasize that understanding this mechanism is important not only for psychiatry, but also for research into age-related cognitive decline, in which the brain’s ability to properly organize memories is likewise impaired.