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Cited by 484Memory and Neural MechanismsMemory Processes and InfluencesCognitive Functions and Memory

The construction system of the brain

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Hassabis, Demis, Maguire, Eleanor A.·2009·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
DOI 10.1098/rstb.2008.0296PMC PMC2666702
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Abstract

The ability to construct a hypothetical situation in one's imagination prior to it actually occurring may afford greater accuracy in predicting its eventual outcome. The recollection of past experiences is also considered to be a reconstructive process with memories recreated from their component parts. Construction, therefore, plays a critical role in allowing us to plan for the future and remember the past. Conceptually, construction can be broken down into a number of constituent processes although little is known about their neural correlates. Moreover, it has been suggested that some of these processes may be shared by a number of other cognitive functions including spatial navigation and imagination. Recently, novel paradigms have been developed that allow for the isolation and characterization of these underlying processes and their associated neuroanatomy. Here, we selectively review this fast-growing literature and consider some implications for remembering the past and predicting the future.

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Crossref · 10.1098/rstb.2008.0296

Cites

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  • The hippocampus supports goal-directed learning and behaviour and also supports other advanced cognitive abilities that require prospection.

    “The ability of the hippocampus to support goal-directed learning and behaviour has been studied principally in spatial navigation (Buzsáki and Moser, 2013), but evidence suggests that this area also supports other advanced cognitive abilities that require prospection, such as imagination of fictive scenarios (Hassabis and Maguire, 2009).”

    From Active Inference, homeostatic regulation and adaptive behavioural control (2015) · cites this paper as Hassabis and Maguire, 2009

    Section 2, “Using imagination” (page unavailable), reports that patients with bilateral hippocampal damage could not richly imagine new fictitious experiences, supporting the cited example. But the paper also says these scenarios can be atemporal—not set in the future—and distinguishes imagining them from predicting future events. It therefore does not support the claim that this ability requires prospection. The spatial-navigation part of the citing sentence is attributed to a different source. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • The DMN is likely to support some of the most stable inferences available to embodied-embedded persons, with major nodes allowing for egocentric perspective, integrated memory, and even the foundations of selfhood.

    “Further, the DMN is likely to support some of the most stable inferences available to embodied–embedded persons, with major nodes allowing for egocentric perspective—i.e., providing a subjective point of view in generating world models with spatial, temporal, and causal coherence—integrated memory, and even the foundations of selfhood (Dennett, 1992; Hassabis and Maguire, 2009; Northoff, 2012;”

    From An Integrated World Modeling Theory (IWMT) of Consciousness (2020) · cites this paper as Hassabis and Maguire, 2009

    Section 3 links the construction network to the default network and describes internally constructed scenes that can support shifts in spatial or temporal perspective. Sections 2 and 4 discuss egocentric viewpoints, episodic memory, and self-related processing. The paper does not characterize the DMN as supporting especially stable inferences, causally coherent world models, or the foundations of selfhood. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • These capacities afford the possibility of constructing rich causal world models and are preconditions for coherent conscious experience.

    “These capacities afford the possibility of constructing rich causal world models (Hassabis and Maguire, 2009; Buchsbaum et al., 2012; Pearl and Mackenzie, 2018; MacKay, 2019), and as discussed below, preconditions for coherent conscious experience.”

    From An Integrated World Modeling Theory (IWMT) of Consciousness (2020) · cites this paper as Hassabis and Maguire, 2009

    Section 3, “The construction system,” describes integrating sensory and contextual elements into coherent imagined scenes. The Conclusion says such scenes allow rich simulation of possible future states and evaluation of outcomes, supporting the construction and planning aspect of the cited clause. The paper does not describe these simulations as causal world models. The sentence presents coherent conscious experience as the citing authors’ subsequent discussion, not as a claim attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • Impaired counterfactual modeling with medial temporal lobe damage suggests the role of spatiotemporal trajectories.

    “as suggested by impaired counterfactual modeling with medial temporal lobe damage (Hassabis and Maguire, 2009; MacKay, 2019)”

    From An Integrated World Modeling Theory (IWMT) of Consciousness (2020) · cites this paper as Hassabis and Maguire, 2009

    In §2, “Using imagination” (page unavailable), the paper reports that patients with bilateral hippocampal damage could not richly imagine new fictitious experiences; their scenes lacked coherent spatial context. It does not report a test of counterfactual modeling specifically, and it does not establish a role for spatiotemporal trajectories. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The default mode network is necessary for the brain's internal model.

    “I hypothesize, as others do (Mesulam, 2002; Hassabis and Maguire, 2009; Buckner, 2012), that the default mode network is necessary for the brain’s internal model.”

    From The theory of constructed emotion: an active inference account of interoception and categorization (2016) · cites this paper as Hassabis and Maguire, 2009

    Section 3, “The construction system” (page not available), links the construction network to rich internal representations and says its activity resembles that of the default network. Section 5, “Conclusion” (page not available), says scene construction supports internal rehearsal. Neither passage establishes that the default mode network is necessary for the brain’s internal model. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Bartlett F.C. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge, UK: 1932. Remembering. [Google Scholar]

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Authors
Hassabis, D., & Maguire, E. A.
Affiliations
Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging (GB)
ORCID
Venue
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Publisher
The Royal Society
Published
2009-05-12
Volume
364
Issue
1521
Pages
1263-1271
ISSN
  • 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-2970
DOI
10.1098/rstb.2008.0296
PMC
PMC2666702
OpenAlex
W2159210250
Cited by
483
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 25 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 42 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 25
FWCI
1.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Wellcome Trust (084218)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
Keywords
mental constructions, memory reconstruction, imagination, prediction, planning, neural correlates of memory, spatial navigation, cognitive neuroscience of memory, episodic memory
MeSH terms
Brain, Concept Formation, Humans, Imagination, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Memory, Models, Neurological

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