scholarly journals Statistical prediction of the future impairs episodic encoding of the present

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brynn E. Sherman ◽  
Nicholas B. Turk-Browne
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Predictive Model ◽  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Statistical Prediction ◽  
Behavioral Tests ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
Episodic Encoding ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
The Brain

AbstractMemory is typically thought of as enabling reminiscence about past experiences. However, memory also informs and guides processing of future experiences. These two functions of memory are often at odds: remembering specific experiences from the past requires storing idiosyncratic properties that define particular moments in space and time, but by definition such properties will not be shared with similar situations in the future and thus may not be applicable to future situations. We discovered that, when faced with this conflict, the brain prioritizes prediction over encoding. Behavioral tests of recognition and source recall showed that items allowing for prediction of what will appear next based on learned regularities were less likely to be encoded into memory. Brain imaging revealed that the hippocampus was responsible for this interference between statistical learning and episodic memory. The more that the hippocampus predicted the category of an upcoming item, the worse the current item was encoded. This competition may serve an adaptive purpose, focusing encoding on experiences for which we do not yet have a predictive model.

scholarly journals Statistical prediction of the future impairs episodic encoding of the present

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (37) ◽  
pp. 22760-22770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brynn E. Sherman ◽  
Nicholas B. Turk-Browne
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Predictive Model ◽  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Statistical Prediction ◽  
Behavioral Tests ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
Episodic Encoding ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
The Brain

Memory is typically thought of as enabling reminiscence about past experiences. However, memory also informs and guides processing of future experiences. These two functions of memory are often at odds: Remembering specific experiences from the past requires storing idiosyncratic properties that define particular moments in space and time, but by definition such properties will not be shared with similar situations in the future and thus may not be applicable to future situations. We discovered that, when faced with this conflict, the brain prioritizes prediction over encoding. Behavioral tests of recognition and source recall showed that items allowing for prediction of what will appear next based on learned regularities were less likely to be encoded into memory. Brain imaging revealed that the hippocampus was responsible for this interference between statistical learning and episodic memory. The more that the hippocampus predicted the category of an upcoming item, the worse the current item was encoded. This competition may serve an adaptive purpose, focusing encoding on experiences for which we do not yet have a predictive model.

scholarly journals The construction system of the brain

2009 ◽  
Vol 364 (1521) ◽  
pp. 1263-1271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demis Hassabis ◽  
Eleanor A. Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
The Past ◽  
Isolation And Characterization ◽  
Reconstructive Process ◽  
The Future ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Underlying Processes ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Eventual Outcome

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.

scholarly journals Remembering the past and imagining the future: Identifying and enhancing the contribution of episodic memory

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L Schacter ◽  
Kevin P Madore
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
The Past ◽  
Brief Training ◽  
Episodic Simulation ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
The Future ◽  
Future Events ◽  
Past Experiences

Recent studies have shown that imagining or simulating future events relies on many of the same cognitive and neural processes as remembering past events. According to the constructive episodic simulation hypothesis, such overlap indicates that both remembered past and imagined future events rely heavily on episodic memory: future simulations are built on retrieved details of specific past experiences that are recombined into novel events. An alternative possibility is that commonalities between remembering and imagining reflect the influence of more general, non-episodic factors such as narrative style or communicative goals that shape the expression of both memory and imagination. We consider recent studies that distinguish the contributions of episodic and non-episodic processes in remembering the past and imagining the future by using an episodic specificity induction—brief training in recollecting the details of a past experience—and also extend this approach to the domains of problem solving and creative thinking. We conclude by suggesting that the specificity induction may target a process of event or scene construction that contributes to episodic memory as well as to imagination, problem solving, and creative thinking.

On the Limits of Time in the Brain

KronoScope ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-239
Author(s):  
Rémy Lestienne
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Inner Sense ◽  
The Past ◽  
Intellectual Abilities ◽  
The Future ◽  
Flow Of Time ◽  
Nested Hierarchy ◽  
Future Outcomes ◽  
The Brain

Abstract J.T. Fraser used to emphasize the uniqueness of the human brain in its capacity for apprehending the various dimensions of “nootemporality” (Fraser 1982 and 1987). Indeed, our brain allows us to sense the flow of time, to measure delays, to remember past events or to predict future outcomes. In these achievements, the human brain reveals itself far superior to its animal counterpart. Women and men are the only beings, I believe, who are able to think about what they will do the next day. This is because such a thought implies three intellectual abilities that are proper to mankind: the capacity to take their own thoughts as objects of their thinking, the ability of mental time travels—to the past thanks to their episodic memory or to the future—and the possibility to project very far into the future, as a consequence of their enlarged and complexified forebrain. But there are severe limits to our timing abilities of which we are often unaware. Our sensibility to the passing time, like other of our intellectual abilities, is often competing with other brain functions, because they use at least in part the same neural networks. This is particularly the case regarding attention. The deeper the level of attention required, the looser is our perception of the flow of time. When we pay attention to something, when we fix our attention, then our inner sense of the flux of time freezes. This limitation should not sound too unfamiliar to the reader of J.T. Fraser who wrote in his book Time, Conflict, and Human Values (1999) about “time as a nested hierarchy of unresolvable conflicts.”

scholarly journals A Blueprint for Recovery

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazanin Sepehry-Rad
Keyword(s):  
Built Environments ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
The City

Built environments inevitably serve as grand mnemonic elements that contain and transmit layers of culture and history. Failing to acknowledge the significance of difficult memories in the identity and culture of cities induces the gradual erosion of history as well as preventing movement toward a better future. In order to preserve the latent value in the identity of the city, architectural strategies should be implemented by which forgotten memories and hidden traces could be recalled to conscious narration. Recalling a story from the past, intentionally or unconsciously forgotten as a form of amnesia, can help re-contextualize memory images that awaken within us a new avenue to the future. This thesis intends to refine the dynamics of remembrance, illuminating the power of architecture as a medium for providing frames of perception and horizons of understanding of past experiences.

scholarly journals Implicações da noção de consciência histórica nas ciências humanas e sociais: um modo de projeção para o futuro e de posição em relação ao passado

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (68) ◽  
pp. 817-843
Author(s):  
Fábio César Junges ◽  
Tiago Anderson Brutti ◽  
Adair Adams
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
The Past ◽  
Human And Social Sciences ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Siglo Xx

Implicações da noção de consciência histórica nas ciências humanas e sociais: um modo de projeção para o futuro e de posição em relação ao passado Resumo: O presente texto, de caráter bibliográfico, discute o problema da consciência histórica com o objetivo de pensar o sentido dessa expressão na atualidade e as variações que esse conceito adquiriu ao longo da história das Ciências Humanas e Sociais, com ênfase no século XX. A hipótese é que a discussão a respeito da consciência histórica passou a se ocupar, na modernidade, com uma múltipla relatividade de pontos de vista, o que é destacado por Gadamer em sua análise sobre os preceitos implicados na definição do que significa “ter senso histórico”. É defendida a tese, portanto, de que a noção de consciência histórica não se limita ao conhecimento das experiências vivenciadas no passado, mas se apresenta como condição de possibilidade de projetar o futuro e se posicionar em relação ao passado, especialmente no que diz respeito às ciências humanas e sociais. A defesa desta ideia central é realizada por meio de dois gestos reflexivos, com apresentação, primeiramente, do marco teórico da consciência histórica e, posteriormente, de suas implicações na constituição das Ciências Humanas e Sociais. Palavras-chave: Ciências humanas e sociais. Senso histórico. Passado. Futuro. Implications of the notion of historical consciousness in human and social sciences: a mode of projection for the future and position in relation to the past Abstract: This bibliographic text discusses the problem of historical consciousness with the purpose of thinking about the meaning of this expression in the present time and the variations that this concept has acquired throughout the history of the Humanities and Social Sciences, with emphasis on the twentieth century. The hypothesis is that the discussion about historical consciousness has come to concern itself, in modernity, with a multiple relativity of points of view, which is highlighted by Gadamer in his analysis of the precepts involved in defining what “having a historical sense” means. Therefore, the thesis that the notion of historical consciousness is not limited to the knowledge of past experiences is defended, but is presented as a condition of possibility of projecting the future and positioning itself in relation to the past, especially with regard to humanities and social sciences. The defense of this central idea is made through two reflexive gestures, presenting, first, the theoretical framework of historical consciousness and, later, its implications in the constitution of the Human and Social Sciences. Keywords: Human and social sciences. Historical sense. Past. Future. Implicaciones de la noticia de conciencia histórica en las ciencias humanas y sociales: un modo de proyección para el futuro y de posición en relación al pasado Resumen: El presente texto, de carácter bibliográfico, discute el problema de la conciencia histórica con el propósito de pensar sobre el significado de esta expresión en la actualidad y las variaciones que este concepto ha adquirido a lo largo de la historia de las Humanidades y las Ciencias Sociales, con énfasis en el siglo XX. La hipótesis es que la discusión sobre la conciencia histórica ha llegado a ocuparse, en la modernidad, de una relatividad múltiple de puntos de vista, que Gadamer destaca en su análisis de los preceptos involucrados en la definición de lo que significa “tener un sentido histórico”. " Por lo tanto, se defiende la tesis de que la noción de conciencia histórica no se limita al conocimiento de experiencias pasadas, sino que se presenta como una condición de posibilidad de proyectar el futuro y posicionarse en relación con el pasado, especialmente con respecto a humanidades y ciencias sociales. La defensa de esta idea central se realiza a través de dos gestos reflexivos, presentando, primero, el marco teórico de la conciencia histórica y, luego, sus implicaciones en la constitución de las Ciencias Humanas y Sociales. Palabras clave: Ciencias Humanas y Sociales. Sentido histórico. Pasado. Futuro. Data de registro: 28/05/2019 Data de aceite: 24/10/2019

scholarly journals Predictability changes what we remember in familiar temporal contexts

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyojeong Kim ◽  
Margaret L. Schlichting ◽  
Alison R. Preston ◽  
Jarrod A. Lewis-Peacock
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Pattern Classification ◽  
Prediction Error ◽  
Fmri Data ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
Abstract Level ◽  
Episodic Memories ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThe human brain constantly anticipates the future based on memories of the past. Encountering a familiar situation reactivates memory of previous encounters which can trigger a prediction of what comes next to facilitate responsiveness. However, a prediction error can lead to pruning of the offending memory, a process that weakens its representation in the brain and leads to forgetting. Our goal in this study was to evaluate whether memories are spared from pruning in situations that allow for more abstract yet reliable predictions. We hypothesized that when the category, but not the identity, of a new stimulus can be anticipated, this will reduce pruning of existing memories and also reduce encoding of the specifics of new memories. Participants viewed a sequence of objects, some of which reappeared multiple times (“cues”), followed always by novel items. Half of the cues were followed by new items from different (unpredictable) categories, while others were followed by new items from a single (predictable) category. Pattern classification of fMRI data was used to identify category-specific predictions after each cue. Pruning was observed only in unpredictable contexts, while encoding of new items suffered more in predictable contexts. These findings demonstrate that how episodic memories are updated is influenced by the reliability of abstract-level predictions in familiar contexts.

scholarly journals Behavioral evidence for memory replay of video episodes in macaque monkeys

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuzhen Zuo ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Junghan Shin ◽  
Yudian Cai ◽  
Sang Wan Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Temporal Order ◽  
Irrelevant Information ◽  
Macaque Monkeys ◽  
The Past ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
Temporal Order Judgement ◽  
Behavioral Evidence ◽  
Past Experiences

ABSTRACTHumans recall the past by replaying fragments of events temporally. Here, we demonstrate a similar effect in macaques. We trained six rhesus monkeys with a temporal-order judgement (TOJ) task and collected 5000 TOJ trials. In each trial, they watched a naturalistic video of about 10 s comprising two across-context clips, and after a 2-s delay, performed TOJ between two frames from the video. The monkeys apply a non-linear forward, time-compressed replay mechanism during the temporal-order judgement. In contrast with humans, such compression of replay is however not sophisticated enough to allow them to skip over irrelevant information by compressing the encoded video globally. We also reveal that the monkeys detect event contextual boundaries and such detection facilitates recall by an increased rate of information accumulation. Demonstration of a time-compressed, forward replay like pattern in the macaque monkeys provides insights into the evolution of episodic memory in our lineage.Impact StatementMacaque monkeys temporally compress past experiences and use a forward-replay mechanism during judgment of temporal-order between episodes.

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