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Memory, Learning, and Neural Adaptation in the Age of Cognitive Offloading

August 30–September 4, 2026

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Barbara A. Oakley and Terrence J. Sejnowski, Chairs

Program Advisory Committee

April A. Benasich, Ken-Zen Chen, Kenji Doya, Julia R. Lupp, Barbara A. Oakley, Terrence J. Sejnowski

Goals of the Forum

  • How does proceduralization of knowledge occur when information is constantly externalized?
  • What happens to prediction error mechanisms when answers come from AI rather than internal generation?
  • How do neural manifolds form when the brain rarely engages in the effortful processing required for deep encoding?
  • How does constant digital engagement affect the natural alternation between focused attention networks and default mode activity?

Background

Neural learning mechanisms are designed to function with information that the brain holds and manipulates internally. Knowledge is not stored as isolated facts; it is organized into schemata that represent knowledge and inform its use. Critical discoveries (e.g., engrams, the transition from declarative to procedural memory systems, the formation of neural manifolds) have enhanced our understanding of learning, yet neural learning systems are remarkably sensitive to environmental influences. Socioeconomic factors can significantly shape functional connectivity between key learning networks. Children from enriched educational environments, e.g., show distinct patterns of connectivity between the cingulo-opercular and default mode networks, with reduced connectivity associated with better cognitive performance. The ubiquitous use of digital tools and AI systems has created an unprecedented natural experiment in cognitive offloading.

Although humans naturally use external tools to enhance cognitive abilities, excessive reliance can weaken internal mental frameworks. For example, when students repeatedly outsource cognitive processes to technology, they develop “biological pointers” and remember where to find information rather than the information itself. This illusion of knowledge undermines schema formation and deeper understanding. Constant task engagement is demanded by digital interfaces (e.g., through notifications and endless streams of content) and may inhibit mind-wandering periods when the default mode network becomes active, thus potentially suppressing the neural states necessary for creativity, insight, and memory consolidation.

This Forum seeks to understand how cognitive offloading and constant distracted focused attention affects the fundamental neural mechanisms of learning.

Group 1: Neural Mechanisms of Learning, Memory, and Action

  • How does cognitive offloading impact the formation of engrams and schemata and affect different consolidation processes (synaptic vs. systems)?
  • What mechanisms govern the transition from declarative to procedural memory? Do these mechanisms change with age?
  • How does the "Eighty-Five Percent Rule" for optimal learning apply when difficulty is offloaded to technology?
  • What is selected from long-term working memory to bridge immediate experience and lasting knowledge?
How do socioeconomic advantages in early life create neural scaffolding that may protect against or exacerbate cognitive offloading effects?

Group 2: Neural Mechanisms of Habit, Motivation, and Curiosity

  • What are the neural foundations of habit, motivation, and curiosity?
  • How do error signals contribute to curiosity and skill acquisition? Are there cognitive offloading effects?
  • What neural signatures indicate successful transfer from declarative to procedural systems?
  • What are the neural consequences of digital use on mind-wandering and reflection?
  • What are the consequences of digital use on the default mode network in terms of creativity and insight generation?

Group 3: Neural Dynamics of Knowledge Organization

  • How is cognition flexible or inflexible in various contexts?
  • How do schemata form through internal processing versus external reference?
  • What is the relationship between neural manifolds and conceptual understanding?
  • How does cognitive offloading affect knowledge acquisition and storage (e.g., dimensionality reduction in neural representations)?
  • Can we measure schema impoverishment resulting from excessive reliance on external tools?
  • What computational optimization principles might inform when cognitive offloading is beneficial versus detrimental?

Group 4: Learning in Technology-Mediated and Socioeconomically Diverse Environments

  • How does the use of AI affect awareness and self-regulated learning?
  • How does the impact of technology use on memory formation differ across stages of development?
  • What design strategies could enhance the development of AI tools?
  • Given global declines in measured cognitive performance, what changes are needed to design, deploy, and evaluate educational technologies?