Your ability to keep a thought in your head is controlled by a tiny power switch that manages your brain’s energy.
Researchers found that thyroid hormones act like a gatekeeper for our working memory. By adjusting the strength of connections in the brain, these hormones decide whether you have enough energy to focus on a complex task or if your brain needs to 'power down.'
Thyroid Hormone Controls Working Memory Mode by Modulating Cortico-Thalamic Communication
SSRN · 6531522
Because complex cognitive functions are energy intensive, coordinating brain activity with the animal’s metabolic state is often critical for survival. Based on the involvement of the thyroid hormone in controlling energy homeostasis along with the observation that hypothyroidism leads to reductions in high-level cognitive functions such as working memory, this hormone has been proposed as a key signal coupling brain activity to metabolic state. However, it remains unclear how the thyroid hormon