04/22/2026
Our kids get better at reasoning from memory as they grow up. But is it the same brain process getting stronger, or is something more fundamental changing in the brain?
In a new paper from our lab, we used brain imaging (fMRI) and computational modeling to test that question directly.
We scanned children (7–12) and adults in an fMRI while they completed a memory-based inference task, then modeled their response times to identify which strategy their brains were using to complete the task successfully.
Across both age groups, we found that the hippocampus guided inference decisions, stitching together separate memories to reach the correct answer.
In adults, a different brain region called the angular gyrus supported a faster, more direct route to the correct answer by organizing memories according to their relational structure rather than their episodic details. As a result, adults were able to make the inference directly rather than by stitching it together from separate memories.
Overall, we show that children and adults can both reason successfully from memory, but they do so using fundamentally different computations. So development into adulthood isn’t just the brain getting better at doing things; it’s reorganizing how knowledge is represented and used to guide decisions.
These findings reframe learning itself, because building structured knowledge may be what leads to more efficient reasoning, not just stronger memories.
Our findings have direct implications for academic success because the ability to generalize and draw connections across learning experiences is critical. It turns out that how knowledge is structured may matter more than how much is learned.
Read the full paper here: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.04.21.719709
