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"These data are interesting from a human health perspective, because the posterior cingulate cortex is the most metabolically active part of the brain when we are daydreaming or thinking to ourselves, and it is also one of the first parts of the brain to show damage in Alzheimer's disease," said Michael Platt, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology and evolutionary anthropology at Duke and senior author of the study.

"People with Alzheimer's become set in their ways and don't explore as much, which may be because this part of the brain is damaged," Platt said. "Likewise, in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, they can become fixed on certain activities or patterns of activity and can't disengage from them, which may also relate to changes in this part of the brain that renders them mentally unable to switch gears between exploring and exploiting."

More research is needed to learn about how this part of the brain functions, which might be crucial to the flexible adaptation of strategy in response to changing environments, Pearson said.

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