Cited by 54Memory and Neural MechanismsMemory Processes and InfluencesSpatial Cognition and Navigation

Partially overlapping spatial environments trigger reinstatement in hippocampus and schema representations in prefrontal cortex

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Zheng, Li, Gao, Zhiyao, McAvan, Andrew S., Isham, Eve A., Ekstrom, Arne D.·2021·Nature Communications

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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  • Pattern separation keeps cognitive maps and gists distinct from one another, but they can work in concert with schemas to aid in navigation.

    “A process known as pattern separation [G] 65,66 keeps cognitive maps and gists distinct from one another, but they can work in concert with schemas to aid in navigation 38 .”

    From From cognitive maps to spatial schemas (2023) · cites this paper as [38]

  • Zheng et al. showed that the mPFC represents a common spatial structure across environments that have shared and unique elements.

    “In line with these ideas, Zheng et al. showed that the mPFC represents a common spatial structure across environments that have shared and unique elements 38 (see also Box 1).”

    From From cognitive maps to spatial schemas (2023) · cites this paper as [38]

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [39]Preston, A. R., Molitor, R. J., Pudhiyidath, A. & Schlichting, M. L. in Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference (Second Edition) (ed. John H. Byrne) 125–132 (Academic Press, 2017).

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Authors
Zheng, L., Gao, Z., McAvan, A. S., Isham, E. A., & Ekstrom, A. D.
Affiliations
  • University of Arizona (US)
  • University of York (GB)
Corresponding author
Ekstrom, Arne D.
Venue
Nature Communications
Published
2021-10-28
Volume
12
Issue
1
Pages
6231-6231
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3209873809
Cited by
54
References
110
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 9
FWCI
4.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
Funders
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS076856)
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
spatial memory, place memory, reinstatement, hippocampus, CA2/3, CA1, dentate gyrus, pattern separation, medial prefrontal cortex, schema representation
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Brain Mapping, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Mental Recall, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult, Memory, Episodic, Spatial Memory

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