Devising strategies is one of the most remarkable capacities that human beings possess and the one that most separates us from other animals. This skill, which can be applied to any aspect of life such as love or war, can lead to success. Where is that center of operations in our brain?
The Japanese neuroscientist Keiji Tanaka reveals in a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience that our strategies have a nerve center in our brain: the cingulate gyrus , an elongated area located right in the middle between the two hemispheres and about three centimeters below the skull.
To arrive at this certainty, the expert conducted an experiment with 17 expert shogi (Japanese chess) players on a medical imaging machine while projecting different moves onto their retina. The participants had six seconds to watch it and decide if they should attack or defend themselves as the best strategy for victory.
The experiment revealed – thanks to magnetic resonance imaging tests – that there is a unique and peculiar pattern of brain activity when we decide on a strategy and that it also differs from the brain activity generated when we perform specific movements. The strategy we plan is completely intuitive. Thus, the anterior part of the cingulate gyrus, the one located closest to the forehead, is the one that controls the defensive strategy . On the other hand, the rear area, at the other end, would represent the control center of the offensive strategy.
“Until now we knew many brain areas related to specific actions but the parts that determine the strategy had never been studied. My interpretation of the results is that this ability to decide a strategy very quickly develops through training and is very specific to each activity. Some people use it for shogi, others to run businesses and others to cook, for example, ”explains Tanaka.
