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Schemas

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A schema is a mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts (Bartlett, 1932). There are many different types of schemata, and they all have one thing in common: schemata are a method of organizing information that allows the brain to work more efficiently. When a schema is activated, the brain makes immediate assumptions about the person or object being observed.

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A schema is a mental framework that helps individuals organize and interpret information. Schemata, formed from previous experiences, influence how we process new information: how we encode it, the inferences we make, and how we retrieve it. For instance, a schema for what a typical classroom looks like might include desks, a teacher's desk, a whiteboard, and students in such an environment. This expectation helps us quickly understand and navigate new classrooms without needing to analyze...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 21, 2025

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Published on: October 13, 2023

The human brain uses spatial schemas to represent segmented environments.

Michael Peer¹, Russell A Epstein¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3710 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Current Biology : CB

|September 2, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

People mentally segment environments, using local spatial schemas and integrated maps. This cognitive segmentation, observed in the hippocampus and occipital place area (OPA), aids spatial understanding.

Keywords:

OPA RSC cognitive map fMRI hippocampus scene perception spatial memory

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Published on: November 14, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Spatial Cognition

Background:

Humans and animals utilize cognitive maps for environmental representation.
Psychological evidence suggests mental segmentation of complex environments into subspaces.
The neurocognitive basis of environmental segmentation remains an area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying mental segmentation of environments.
To examine how boundaries influence spatial encoding and representation.
To differentiate between integrated and segmented spatial map representations.

Main Methods:

Familiarization with a virtual courtyard environment divided by a river.
Behavioral testing to assess spatial judgments.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to analyze brain activity patterns.

Main Results:

Spatial judgments and fMRI activation patterns were influenced by the environmental division.
The hippocampus and occipital place area (OPA) showed schematic spatial codes, linking equivalent locations across subspaces.
The retrosplenial complex (RSC) exhibited responses consistent with an integrated spatial map.

Conclusions:

The brain employs both local spatial schemas and integrated spatial maps to represent segmented environments.
Mental segmentation can occur even when environmental components are simultaneously visible.
Schematization is hypothesized as a general mechanism for organizing complex knowledge structures.