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Hippocampal and medial prefrontal cortices encode structural task representations following progressive and
1School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.
Plos Computational Biology
|October 17, 2022
Summary
Progressive training enhances memory generalization through encoding-based mechanisms, utilizing structural representations in the hippocampus (HIP) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) for better inference.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
- Learning and Memory
Background:
- Memory generalization can rely on encoding or retrieval mechanisms.
- Training schedules may influence individual preferences for these mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the impact of progressive vs. interleaved training on generalization.
- Examine the role of overnight consolidation in memory generalization.
- Explore neural correlates of generalization using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Main Methods:
- Participants completed a transitive inference task with progressive or interleaved training over consecutive days.
- fMRI data was collected during testing to assess brain activity.
- Behavioral performance and blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal patterns were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Progressive training led to superior inference performance compared to interleaved training.
- Performance improved for pairs more distant in the transitive hierarchy.
- BOLD pattern similarity in the hippocampus (HIP) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) correlated with hierarchical distances.
Conclusions:
- Humans favor encoding-based mechanisms for memory generalization, creating map-like relational codes.
- These codes are represented in the HIP and MPFC regardless of training schedule.
- While these representations support generalization, they are not always sufficient for accurate inference.
