The new study looks at the 'zone of uncertainty' or ' zona incerta' inside the brain: we don't know much about it, but we do know that it seems to handle memory formation in tandem with the neocortex, the largest part of the cerebral cortex.

Top-down signals usually light up or excite neural pathways, whereas these types are inhibitors, suppressing and blocking off these routes as needed.

"However, combining this with the redistribution of inhibition that we see with learning shows that this pathway likely has even richer computational consequences for neocortical processing."

This is all relatively high-level neuroscience, but the conclusion is that we now know more about how a mysterious brain region influences memory and learning ability – and it does it in a peculiar and unexpected way that's of particular interest to scientists.

As more studies investigate the role of the zona incerta, we're starting to understand how much of an influence it has: it's now been linked to sleeping and feeding and pain and anxiety.

"Ultimately, this study will hopefully also inspire other researchers to keep exploring the role of long-range inhibition in regulating neocortical function, both from the zona incerta and from additional, yet-to-be-identified sources," says neuroscientist Johannes Letzkus from the University of Freiburg.