Shearer Cal M, Rawson Annalise B, Barron Helen C, O'Reilly Jill X
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Medical Research Council Brain Network Dynamics Unit, Nuffield Department for Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 9;15(1):24724. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-06742-y.
Efficient and flexible cognition relies upon cognitive maps-representations of concepts and the relations between them. Cognitive maps integrate relations that were learned separately into a cohesive whole. Memory reactivation during rest and sleep may contribute to cognitive map formation in two ways: by simply strengthening memories for directly experienced relations, or by reorganising concepts and creating new relations that capture the underlying structure. We designed a multi-stage learning task to test whether reactivation during rest is involved in restructuring memories as opposed to simply consolidating what was experienced. We causally manipulated memory reactivation during rest using awake, contextual targeted memory reactivation. We found that promoting memory reactivation during rest qualitatively reorganises the cognitive map by forming 'shortcuts' between events which have not been experienced together. These shortcuts in memory extend beyond direct experience to facilitate our ability to make novel inferences. Using a series of control tests we show that inference performance cannot be explained by quantitative strengthening of the experienced component links. Interestingly, we show that representing a shortcut may come with limitations, as shortcuts cannot be readily updated in response to rapid changes in the environment. Together, these findings reveal how memories are reorganised during awake rest to construct a cognitive map of our environment, while highlighting the constraints set by a trade-off between efficient and flexible behaviour.
高效且灵活的认知依赖于认知地图——概念及其之间关系的表征。认知地图将分别习得的关系整合为一个连贯的整体。休息和睡眠期间的记忆重新激活可能通过两种方式促进认知地图的形成：一是简单地强化对直接体验到的关系的记忆，二是重新组织概念并创建捕捉潜在结构的新关系。我们设计了一个多阶段学习任务，以测试休息期间的重新激活是否参与记忆重组，而非仅仅巩固所经历的内容。我们通过清醒状态下的情境靶向记忆重新激活，对休息期间的记忆重新激活进行了因果操纵。我们发现，促进休息期间的记忆重新激活会通过在未共同经历的事件之间形成“捷径”，从质上重新组织认知地图。这些记忆中的捷径超出了直接体验的范围，有助于我们进行新颖推理的能力。通过一系列对照测试，我们表明推理表现无法通过对体验到的组成部分链接进行定量强化来解释。有趣的是，我们表明表征一条捷径可能存在局限性，因为捷径无法轻易根据环境的快速变化进行更新。总之，这些发现揭示了清醒休息期间记忆是如何重新组织以构建我们环境的认知地图的，同时突出了高效与灵活行为之间权衡所带来 的限制。
