On October 16, a research team led by Xu Ninglong from the Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences made a groundbreaking discovery. They found that dendritic computation within cortical neurons plays a pivotal role in the cognitive process of flexible decision-making. This finding bridges a significant gap by providing direct evidence linking dendritic computation to higher-order cognitive functions. The research offers a theoretical basis for understanding the mechanisms underlying human brain intelligence and for developing innovative artificial intelligence systems. The related findings were published in the esteemed international academic journal Science on the same day.

Experiments have revealed distinct functional divisions within individual neurons: apical dendrites are responsible for encoding abstract thinking rules, assisting the brain in summarizing and judging behavioral logic. Meanwhile, the neuron’s cell body primarily processes sensory information. These two components work in tandem to facilitate the brain’s decision-making output. The study also confirmed that inhibiting dendritic activity significantly impairs the neuron’s decision-making ability, demonstrating that dendrites are the core computational structure for higher-order decision-making in the brain. This achievement has established a new paradigm in brain cognition research and holds promise for helping scientists design more efficient and adaptable artificial intelligence systems.