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Abstract
A schema refers to a structured body of prior knowledge that captures common patterns across related experiences. Schemas have been studied separately in the realms of episodic memory and spatial navigation across different species and have been grounded in theories of memory consolidation, but there has been little attempt to integrate our understanding across domains, particularly in humans. We propose that experiences during navigation with many similarly structured environments give rise to the formation of spatial schemas (for example, the expected layout of modern cities) that share properties with but are distinct from cognitive maps (for example, the memory of a modern city) and event schemas (such as expected events in a modern city) at both cognitive and neural levels. We describe earlier theoretical frameworks and empirical findings relevant to spatial schemas, along with more targeted investigations of spatial schemas in human and non-human animals. Consideration of architecture and urban analytics, including the influence of scale and regionalization, on different properties of spatial schemas may provide a powerful approach to advance our understanding of spatial schemas.
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2
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Maxim P, Brown TI. Toward an Understanding of Cognitive Mapping Ability Through Manipulations and Measurement of Schemas and Stress. Top Cogn Sci 2023; 15:75-101. [PMID: 34612588 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Daily function depends on an ability to mentally map our environment. Environmental factors such as visibility and layout, and internal factors such as psychological stress, can challenge spatial memory and efficient navigation. Importantly, people vary dramatically in their ability to navigate flexibly and overcome such challenges. In this paper, we present an overview of "schema theory" and our view of its relevance to navigational memory research. We review several studies from our group and others, that integrate manipulations of environmental complexity and affective state in order to gain a richer understanding of the mechanisms that underlie individual differences in navigational memory. Our most recent data explicitly link such individual differences to ideas rooted in schema theory, and we discuss the potential for this work to advance our understanding of cognitive decline with aging. The data from this body of work highlight the powerful impacts of individual cognitive traits and affective states on the way people take advantage of environmental features and adopt navigational strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina Maxim
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology
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3
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Guo D, Yang J. Reactivation of schema representation in lateral occipital cortex supports successful memory encoding. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:5968-5980. [PMID: 36520467 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Schemas provide a scaffold onto which we can integrate new memories. Previous research has investigated the brain activity and connectivity underlying schema-related memory formation. However, how schemas are represented and reactivated in the brain, in order to enhance memory, remains unclear. To address this issue, we used an object–location spatial schema that was learned over multiple sessions, combined with similarity analyses of neural representations, to investigate the reactivation of schema representations of object–location memories when a new object–scene association is learned. In addition, we investigated how this reactivation affects subsequent memory performance under different strengths of schemas. We found that reactivation of a schema representation in the lateral occipital cortex (LOC) during object–scene encoding affected subsequent associative memory performance only in the schema-consistent condition and increased the functional connectivity between the LOC and the parahippocampal place area. Taken together, our findings provide new insight into how schema acts as a scaffold to support the integration of novel information into existing cortical networks and suggest a neural basis for schema-induced rapid cortical learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dingrong Guo
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behaviour and Mental Health, Peking University , 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Jiongjiong Yang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behaviour and Mental Health, Peking University , 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, China
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Graves KN, Sherman BE, Huberdeau D, Damisah E, Quraishi IH, Turk-Browne NB. Remembering the pattern: A longitudinal case study on statistical learning in spatial navigation and memory consolidation. Neuropsychologia 2022; 174:108341. [PMID: 35961387 PMCID: PMC9578695 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Revised: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/24/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Distinct brain systems are thought to support statistical learning over different timescales. Regularities encountered during online perceptual experience can be acquired rapidly by the hippocampus. Further processing during offline consolidation can establish these regularities gradually in cortical regions, including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). These mechanisms of statistical learning may be critical during spatial navigation, for which knowledge of the structure of an environment can facilitate future behavior. Rapid acquisition and prolonged retention of regularities have been investigated in isolation, but how they interact in the context of spatial navigation is unknown. We had the rare opportunity to study the brain systems underlying both rapid and gradual timescales of statistical learning using intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) longitudinally in the same patient over a period of three weeks. As hypothesized, spatial patterns were represented in the hippocampus but not mPFC for up to one week after statistical learning and then represented in the mPFC but not hippocampus two and three weeks after statistical learning. Taken together, these findings suggest that the hippocampus may contribute to the initial extraction of regularities prior to cortical consolidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn N Graves
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, 2 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
| | - Brynn E Sherman
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, 2 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - David Huberdeau
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, 2 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Eyiyemisi Damisah
- Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| | - Imran H Quraishi
- Department of Neurology, Yale University, 800 Howard Ave., New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Nicholas B Turk-Browne
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, 2 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, 100 College St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
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Zheng L, Gao Z, McAvan AS, Isham EA, Ekstrom AD. Partially overlapping spatial environments trigger reinstatement in hippocampus and schema representations in prefrontal cortex. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6231. [PMID: 34711830 PMCID: PMC8553856 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26560-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
When we remember a city that we have visited, we retrieve places related to finding our goal but also non-target locations within this environment. Yet, understanding how the human brain implements the neural computations underlying holistic retrieval remains unsolved, particularly for shared aspects of environments. Here, human participants learned and retrieved details from three partially overlapping environments while undergoing high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Our findings show reinstatement of stores even when they are not related to a specific trial probe, providing evidence for holistic environmental retrieval. For stores shared between cities, we find evidence for pattern separation (representational orthogonalization) in hippocampal subfield CA2/3/DG and repulsion in CA1 (differentiation beyond orthogonalization). Additionally, our findings demonstrate that medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) stores representations of the common spatial structure, termed schema, across environments. Together, our findings suggest how unique and common elements of multiple spatial environments are accessed computationally and neurally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Zheng
- grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XDepartment of Psychology, University of Arizona, 1503 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 USA ,grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XEvelyn McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, 1503 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
| | - Zhiyao Gao
- grid.5685.e0000 0004 1936 9668Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD UK
| | - Andrew S. McAvan
- grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XDepartment of Psychology, University of Arizona, 1503 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 USA ,grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XEvelyn McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, 1503 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
| | - Eve A. Isham
- grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XDepartment of Psychology, University of Arizona, 1503 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 USA ,grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XEvelyn McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, 1503 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
| | - Arne D. Ekstrom
- grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XDepartment of Psychology, University of Arizona, 1503 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 USA ,grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XEvelyn McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, 1503 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
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He Q, Beveridge EH, Starnes J, Goodroe SC, Brown TI. Environmental overlap and individual encoding strategy modulate memory interference in spatial navigation. Cognition 2020; 207:104508. [PMID: 33172657 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
There has been great interest in how previously acquired knowledge interacts with newly learned knowledge and how prior knowledge facilitates semantic and "schema" learning. In studies of episodic memory, it is broadly associated with interference. Very few studies have examined the balance between interference and facilitation over the course of temporally-extended events and its individual differences. In the present study, we recruited 120 participants for a two-day spatial navigation experiment, wherein participants on Day 2 navigated virtual routes that were learned from Day 1 while also learning new routes. Critically, half of the new mazes overlapped with the old mazes, while the other half did not, enabling us to examine interference and facilitation in the context of spatial episodic learning. Overall, we found that navigation performance in new mazes that overlapped with previously-learned routes was significantly worse than the new non-overlapping mazes, suggesting proactive interference. Interestingly, we found memory facilitation for new routes in familiar environments in locations where there was no direct overlap with the previously-learned routes. Cognitive map accuracy positively correlated with proactive interference. Moreover, participants with high self-report spatial ability and/or a preference for place-based learning experienced more proactive interference. Taken together, our results show that 1) both memory interference and facilitation can co-occur as a function of prior learning, 2) proactive interference within a route varied as a function of the degree of overlap with old knowledge, and 3) individual differences in spatial ability and strategy can modulate proactive interference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiliang He
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
| | | | - Jon Starnes
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
| | - Sarah C Goodroe
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, UK
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Hamm AG, Mattfeld AT. Distinct Neural Circuits Underlie Prospective and Concurrent Memory-Guided Behavior. Cell Rep 2020; 28:2541-2553.e4. [PMID: 31484067 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The past is the best predictor of the future. This simple postulate belies the complex neurobiological mechanisms that facilitate an individual's use of memory to guide decisions. Previous research has shown integration of memories bias decision-making. Alternatively, memories can prospectively guide our choices. Here, we elucidate the mechanisms and timing of hippocampal (HPC), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and striatal contributions during prospective memory-guided decision-making. We develop an associative learning task in which the correct choice is conditional on the preceding stimulus. Two distinct networks emerge: (1) a prospective circuit consisting of the HPC, putamen, mPFC, and other cortical regions, which exhibit increased activation preceding successful conditional decisions and (2) a concurrent circuit comprising the caudate, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and additional cortical structures that engage during the execution of correct conditional choices. Our findings demonstrate distinct neurobiological circuits through which memory prospectively biases decisions and influences choice execution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda G Hamm
- Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
| | - Aaron T Mattfeld
- Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA; Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
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van Kesteren MTR, Meeter M. How to optimize knowledge construction in the brain. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2020; 5:5. [PMID: 32655882 PMCID: PMC7339924 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-020-0064-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Well-structured knowledge allows us to quickly understand the world around us and make informed decisions to adequately control behavior. Knowledge structures, or schemas, are presumed to aid memory encoding and consolidation of new experiences so we cannot only remember the past, but also guide behavior in the present and predict the future. However, very strong schemas can also lead to unwanted side effects such as false memories and misconceptions. To overcome this overreliance on a schema, we should aim to create robust schemas that are on the one hand strong enough to help to remember and predict, but also malleable enough to avoid such undesirable side effects. This raises the question as to whether there are ways to deliberately influence knowledge construction processes, with the goal to reach such optimally balanced schemas. Here, we will discuss how the mnemonic processes in our brains build long-term knowledge and, more specifically, how different phases of memory formation (encoding, consolidation, retrieval, and reconsolidation) contribute to this schema build-up. We finally provide ways how to best keep a balance between generalized semantic and detailed episodic memories, which can prove very useful in, e.g., educational settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlieke Tina Renée van Kesteren
- Section of Education Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Institute of Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- LEARN! Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn Meeter
- Section of Education Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- LEARN! Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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van Kesteren MTR, Rignanese P, Gianferrara PG, Krabbendam L, Meeter M. Congruency and reactivation aid memory integration through reinstatement of prior knowledge. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4776. [PMID: 32179822 PMCID: PMC7075880 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61737-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Building knowledge schemas that organize information and guide future learning is of great importance in everyday life. Such knowledge building is suggested to occur through reinstatement of prior knowledge during new learning, yielding integration of new with old memories supported by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and medial temporal lobe (MTL). Congruency with prior knowledge is also known to enhance subsequent memory. Yet, how reactivation and congruency interact to optimize memory integration is unknown. To investigate this question, we used an adapted AB-AC inference paradigm in combination with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Participants first studied an AB-association followed by an AC-association, so B (a scene) and C (an object) were indirectly linked through A (a pseudoword). BC-associations were either congruent or incongruent with prior knowledge (e.g. bathduck or hammer in a bathroom), and participants reported subjective B-reactivation strength while learning AC. Behaviorally, both congruency and reactivation enhanced memory integration. In the brain, these behavioral effects related to univariate and multivariate parametric effects in the MTL, mPFC, and Parahippocampal Place Area (PPA). Moreover, mPFC exhibited larger PPA-connectivity for more congruent associations. These outcomes provide insights into the neural mechanisms underlying memory enhancement, which has value for educational learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlieke T R van Kesteren
- Section of Education Sciences and LEARN! Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. .,Institute of Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Paul Rignanese
- Unit of Neural Circuits Dynamics and Decision Making, Institut Pasteur, 75724, Paris, France
| | - Pierre G Gianferrara
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, 15289, United States
| | - Lydia Krabbendam
- Institute of Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Section of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Martijn Meeter
- Section of Education Sciences and LEARN! Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Kan IP, Rosenbaum RS, Verfaellie M. Schema processing across the lifespan: From theory to applications. Cogn Neuropsychol 2020; 37:1-7. [PMID: 32106740 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2020.1736019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Irene P Kan
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA
| | - R Shayna Rosenbaum
- Department of Psychology, Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) Program, York University, Toronto, Canada.,Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Canada
| | - Mieke Verfaellie
- Memory Disorders Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
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Alonso A, van der Meij J, Tse D, Genzel L. Naïve to expert: Considering the role of previous knowledge in memory. Brain Neurosci Adv 2020; 4:2398212820948686. [PMID: 32954007 PMCID: PMC7479862 DOI: 10.1177/2398212820948686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, most of our new memories are in some way or another related to what we have already experienced. However, in memory research, especially in non-human animal research, subjects are often mostly naïve to the world. But we know that previous knowledge will change how memories are processed and which brain areas are critical at which time point. Each process from encoding, consolidation, to memory retrieval will be affected. Here, we summarise previous knowledge effects on the neurobiology of memory in both humans and non-human animals, with a special focus on schemas - associative network structures. Furthermore, we propose a new theory on how there may be a continuous gradient from naïve to expert, which would modulate the importance and role of brain areas, such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Alonso
- Donders Centre for Brain,
Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jacqueline van der Meij
- Donders Centre for Brain,
Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Dorothy Tse
- Center for Discovery Brain
Sciences, Edinburgh Neuroscience, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh,
UK
| | - Lisa Genzel
- Donders Centre for Brain,
Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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