Study finds practice can shift some tasks out of the brain’s control center

A new neuroscience study suggests the brain can learn to hand off a practiced task from an attention-heavy control region to an area tied to memory. The finding matters because it offers a biological explanation for how people can appear to do more than one thing at once after enough repetition.

The research, published Thursday in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, was led by Maximilian Riesenhuber, a professor of neuroscience at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Riesenhuber said the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in problem-solving, planning and abstract thought, is built to focus on one demand while suppressing distractions.

Neuroscientists have long thought that when people juggle tasks, the prefrontal cortex may be switching quickly between them. Riesenhuber and his colleagues reported a different mechanism: with practice, the brain can make one job more automatic and shift it to another region.

The experiment included 11 men and women ages 18 to 29. Over five to 10 weeks, the participants used an app-based game to sort computer-generated car images into two categories based on differences and similarities in shape, repeating the task more than 30,000 times.

Brain imaging at the start of the experiment showed the prefrontal cortex doing the work, according to the researchers. After weeks of practice, scans showed more reliance on the temporal cortex, a region involved in encoding long-term memories.

Riesenhuber said the prefrontal cortex appears to learn a task, package the information and build connections that allow the temporal cortex to take over. That automation, he said, can leave frontal brain areas available for other demands that require attention.

The study may help explain everyday skills that feel effortless after long practice. Riesenhuber pointed to driving: new drivers often need intense concentration, while experienced drivers can operate a car while talking or listening to music.

Michael Schoenberg, a licensed psychologist and professor in the department of neurosurgery and brain repair at the University of South Florida, said the findings also fit with specialized expertise. Schoenberg, who was not involved in the study, said trained clinicians can interpret EEG readings that look meaningless to others, and athletes can develop motor routines through repeated practice.

Riesenhuber said the same process may play a role in early development, including how children learn to recognize objects or respond to their names without conscious effort. He said people are not born knowing what objects mean, but learn to assign meaning automatically.

The researchers also found wide variation in how quickly participants shifted activity away from the prefrontal cortex and toward the temporal cortex. Riesenhuber said the reasons for that difference remain unknown.

Practice still takes time

Schoenberg said the work points to patience rather than shortcuts. He said the experiment required roughly four weeks before participants showed the shift, and that improving task juggling takes time to build new neural pathways.

Dr. David T. Jones, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said the brain still has limits. Jones said frustration can hurt performance because emotional self-criticism adds another mental task.

Jones said people often reduce strain by grouping information into chunks, as with phone numbers. Breaking a long number into smaller units can make several digits function as one item in memory, he said.

AI may affect skill-building

Schoenberg warned that heavy reliance on generative AI for work such as writing or data analysis could interfere with the practice needed to build expertise. He said the brain’s multitasking advantage depends on developing efficient pattern recognition through repeated effort.

This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.