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This study aims to understand how prior knowledge and expectancy affect memory formation during visual scene processing.

May 11, 20260 citationsOpen Access

Schema and Prediction Error in Episodic Memory Encoding: how object–location expectancy in visual scenes influences memory formation

AGAndrea GreveMRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit KGKshipra GurunandanMRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit PRPetar P. RaykovMRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit

Key Points

This study aims to understand how prior knowledge and expectancy affect memory formation during visual scene processing.
Participants viewed 2D scene-object images in congruent, incongruent, and neutral locations.
Expectancy ratings were collected on a scale from -100 to +100.
Behavioural memory tests and fMRI scans were performed to assess memory retention.
Behavioural data confirmed a U-shaped relationship: better memory for congruent and incongruent trials (effect size not specified).
fMRI data did not support the predicted interaction between expectancy and memory within the mPFC and MTL.
Findings contribute to the understanding of how schema-related expectations impact memory encoding.

Abstract

Poster PresentationPrior knowledge generates expectations about where objects typically appear within scenes, which can facilitate memory when confirmed, yet also facilitate memory when violated.The SLIMM framework 1 attributes this to a U-shaped relationship between expectancy and memory, with dissociable neural contributions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), supporting schema-congruent information, and the medial temporal lobe (MTL), supporting schema-incongruent information.Building on prior research using immersive virtual-reality 2, we tested these predictions using 2D scene-object images in a series of pre-registered behavioural and fMRI studies.Participants viewed scenes in which a target object occupied a semantically congruent, incongruent or neutral location, and rated their expectancy on a scale from -100 to +100.Their memory was later tested by presenting the object again in different locations across three scenes, with the foil locations matched for congruency.The behavioural data confirmed the predicted U-shape, i.e., better memory for highly congruent and highly incongruent trials than neutral trials.The fMRI data, however, failed to show support for SLIMMs predictions of an interaction between expectancy and subsequent memory within the mPFC and MTL (hippocampus).We discuss these findings in relation to SLIMM and the broader literature on expectancy and memory.

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