Spatial gist extraction during human memory consolidation.
Open accessAbstract
Theories of memory consolidation suggest that initially rich, vivid memories become more gist-like over time. However, it is unclear whether gist-like representations reflect a loss of detail through degradation or the blending of experiences into statistical averages, and whether the strength of these representations increases, decreases, or remains stable over time. We report three behavioral experiments that address these questions by examining distributional learning during spatial navigation. In Experiment 1, human subjects navigated a virtual maze to find hidden objects with locations varying according to spatial distributions. After 15 minutes, 1 day, 7 days, or 28 days, we tested their navigation performance and explicit memory. In Experiment 2, we created spatial distributions with no object at their mean locations, thereby disentangling learned object exemplars from statistical averages. In Experiment 3, we created only a single, bimodal distribution to avoid possible confusion between distributions and administered tests after 15 minutes or 28 days. Across all experiments, and for both navigation and explicit tests, representations of the spatial distributions were present soon after exposure, but then receded over time. These findings suggest gist-like representations do not improve over time, helping to clarify the temporal dynamics of consolidation in human learning and memory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Statistical pattern recognition underlies spatial gist extraction and navigation search patterns in humans.
“A recent study that used a similar distributional learning paradigm during spatial navigation suggests that statistical pattern recognition also underlies spatial gist extraction and navigation search patterns in humans 119 .”
From From cognitive maps to spatial schemas (2023) · cites this paper as [119]
Pattern recognition is a neural mechanism for gist extraction and schema formation in mice and humans.
“Pattern recognition is a neural mechanism for gist extraction and schema formation in mice 1 and humans 119,120 .”
From From cognitive maps to spatial schemas (2023) · cites this paper as [119]
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- Authors
- Antony, J. W., Stiver, C. A., Graves, K. N., Osborne, J., Turk-Browne, N. B., & Bennion, K. A.
- Affiliations
- Princeton University (US)
- California Polytechnic State University (US)
- Yale University (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
- Published
- 2022-07
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 929-941
- ISSN
- 0278-7393 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1285
- OpenAlex
- W3160561871
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 1.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- public-domain
- Locations
- Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Sponsor name not included
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
- Keywords
- memory consolidation, distributional learning, spatial navigation, declarative memory, temporal dynamics of memory, spatial distribution, virtual maze, memory degradation, statistical averaging
- MeSH terms
- Memory Consolidation, Humans, Learning, Memory, Spatial Memory, Spatial Navigation
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