Abstract
Memory can profoundly influence new learning, presumably because memory optimizes exploration of to-be-learned material. Although hippocampus and frontoparietal networks have been implicated in memory-guided exploration, their specific and interactive roles have not been identified. We examined eye movements during fMRI scanning to identify neural correlates of the influences of memory retrieval on exploration and learning. After retrieval of one object in a multiobject array, viewing was strategically directed away from the retrieved object toward nonretrieved objects, such that exploration was directed toward to-be-learned content. Retrieved objects later served as optimal reminder cues, indicating that exploration caused memory to become structured around the retrieved content. Hippocampal activity was associated with memory retrieval, whereas frontoparietal activity varied with strategic viewing patterns deployed after retrieval, thus providing spatiotemporal dissociation of memory retrieval from memory-guided learning strategies. Time-lagged fMRI connectivity analyses indicated that hippocampal activity predicted frontoparietal activity to a greater extent for a condition in which retrieval guided exploration occurred than for a passive control condition in which exploration was not influenced by retrieval. This demonstrates network-level interaction effects specific to influences of memory on strategic exploration. These findings show how memory guides behavior during learning and demonstrate distinct yet interactive hippocampal–frontoparietal roles in implementing strategic exploration behaviors that determine the fate of evolving memory representations.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1324-1338 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal of cognitive neuroscience |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2017 |
Funding
Financial support was provided by grants F32NS087885 and R00NS069788 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and grants R21MH108863 and R01MH062500 from the National Institute of Mental Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. We thank Elise Gagnon and Bianca Marin for assistance with data collection and Peter Winter for helpful discussion. Neuroimaging was performed at the Center for Translational Imaging, supported by the Northwestern University Department of Radiology. This research was supported in part through the computational resources and staff contributions provided for the Quest high-performance computing facility at Northwestern University, which is jointly supported by the Office of the Provost, the Office for Research, and Northwestern University Information Technology.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cognitive Neuroscience