The SPOT Grid: Naturalistic Images with Predefined Settings, Patterns, Objects, and Textures

2026-04-20

In the natural world, higher-level visual features (e.g., scenes and objects) systematically covarywith specific lower-level constituent features (e.g., textures and patterns). This natural covariationmakes it difficult to isolate aspects of behavior or brain activity that are specific to a single level ofthe feature hierarchy. For example, a particular neural or behavioral response may reflectrecognition of a “jungle” scene, or it may reflect sensitivity to the lower-level features — leaftextures, dense vertical lines, etc.— that constitute jungle scenes. To address this challenge, wedeveloped a novel approach for partially decoupling higher- and lower-level features innaturalistic images. We employed a Stable Diffusion image generation framework to create anaturalistic image set in which setting–object pairings and texture–pattern pairings are factoriallycombined, enabling systematic manipulation of higher-level and lower-level image content. Tovalidate our approach, we used state-of-the-art image processing models to confirm thathigher-level features are represented similarly regardless of their lower-level constituent featuresand, conversely, that lower-level features are represented similarly regardless of the higher-levelobjects/settings they constitute. We then confirmed that human participants can readily andrapidly categorize these features in our generated images. We present the image generationframework and introduce the SPOT (Settings, Patterns, Objects, Textures) Grid, a publiclyavailable stimulus set accompanied by image-specific metrics (upon request:forms.gle/X2HpzRYUGigFS1S27). This resource provides new opportunities for investigatinghierarchical visual representations, feature binding, and abstraction across perception, behavior,and the brain.

Prioritizing detailed item memories through post-encoding motivation requires consolidation

2026-01-14

Prioritizing memories that are motivationally salient is adaptive for goal-directed behavior, ensuring that information being retained is the most relevant to future goals. Past research demonstrates we can use value signals to adaptively modulate our memory. Crucially, however, the timing of value signals varies. Sometimes we know the significance of an upcoming event in advance, while other times, we are unaware of an event’s importance until after the fact. Does the timing of a value signal relative to encoding change the cognitive mechanism by which it shapes memory? To test this question, we developed a motivated encoding task where the motivational cue appeared either before or after encoding. Across two independent samples, pre-encoding motivation improved item memory regardless of test timing, while the benefit of post-encoding motivation only appeared after a 24-hour delay. For source memory, pre-encoding motivation reliably enhanced performance across conditions. In contrast, the effect of post-encoding motivation on source memory was more variable: it was significant across both test timings in Experiment 2, but was weaker and more variable in Experiment 1. Furthermore, the two conditions differently affected incidental memory organization; pre-encoding motivation enhanced item order memory relative to post-encoding motivation. These results reveal the dissociable effects of pre- and post-encoding motivation, and suggest that when we learn of an event’s importance might determine the mechanism by which we can strengthen its memory for future use.

The SPOT Grid: Naturalistic Images with Predefined Settings, Patterns, Objects, and Textures

PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · 2026-04-20

In the natural world, higher-level visual features (e.g., scenes and objects) systematically covary with specific lower-level constituent features (e.g., textures and patterns). This natural covariation makes it difficult to isolate aspects of behavior or brain activity that are specific to a single level of the feature hierarchy. For example, a particular neural or behavioral response may reflect recognition of a “jungle” scene, or it may reflect sensitivity to the lower-level features — leaf textures, dense vertical lines, etc. — that constitute jungle scenes. To address this challenge, we developed a novel approach for partially decoupling higher- and lower-level features in naturalistic images. We employed a Stable Diffusion image generation framework to create a naturalistic image set in which setting–object pairings and texture–pattern pairings are factorially combined, enabling systematic manipulation of higher-level and lower-level image content. To validate our approach, we used state-of-the-art image processing models to confirm that higher-level features are represented similarly regardless of their lower-level constituent features and, conversely, that lower-level features are represented similarly regardless of the higher-level objects/settings they constitute. We then confirmed that human participants can readily and rapidly categorize these features in our generated images. We present the image generation framework and introduce the SPOT (Settings, Patterns, Objects, Textures) Grid, a publicly available stimulus set accompanied by image-specific metrics (upon request: forms.gle/X2HpzRYUGigFS1S27). This resource provides new opportunities for investigating hierarchical visual representations, feature binding, and abstraction across perception, behavior, and the brain.

CommCon

OpenNeuro · 2026-01-01

Spatial contexts with reliable neural representations support reinstatement of subsequently placed objects

Nature Human Behaviour · 2026-01-02 · 1 citations

What are the neural properties that make spatial contexts effective scaffolds for storing and accessing memories? Here we hypothesized that spatial locations with stable and distinctive (that is, reliable) neural representations would best support memory for new experiences. To test this, participants learned the layout of a custom-built 23-room virtual reality 'memory palace' that they explored using a head-mounted display. The next day, participants underwent whole-brain fMRI while watching videos of the rooms, allowing us to measure the reliability of the neural activity pattern associated with each room. Participants then returned to virtual reality to encode 23 objects placed in each of the 23 rooms and later recalled the rooms and objects during fMRI. We found that our room reliability measure (computed before encoding) predicted object reinstatement during recall across cortex; this was driven not only by group-level reliability across participants but also by idiosyncratic reliability within participants. Moreover, this effect did not arise through enhanced retrieval of reliable rooms during recall, because the relationship between reliability and object reinstatement remained significant when controlling for room reinstatement during retrieval; this suggests that, instead, room reliability promotes improved binding of rooms to objects at encoding. Together, these results showcase how the quality of the neural representation of a spatial context can be quantified and used to 'audit' its utility as a memory scaffold for future experiences.

Learning reinforces curiosity for related information

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2026-04-24

Human curiosity is dynamic, however the principles governing its fluctuations remain debated. Here, we test two competing hypotheses about how past learning shapes subsequent curiosity and memory. The first, based on the "optimal arousal" theory, proposes that satisfying curiosity reduces subsequent curiosity. The second, grounded in reinforcement learning, suggests that satisfying curiosity strengthens it. To distinguish between these accounts, we analyzed information-seeking decisions from 5,831 participants, who chose whether to wait for answers to a range of questions. We examined how engagement with questions and answers, as well as information prediction errors, influenced subsequent curiosity. Reading satisfying answers increased curiosity compared to reading dissatisfying ones. Critically, this depended on semantic similarity: prior learning enhances subsequent curiosity only when new information is related to previously learned content. These results suggest that curiosity operates as an information-seeking policy learned through reinforcement. Humans may therefore seek information not only to improve future instrumental decisions, but also to learn what to be curious about.

Music-evoked reactivation during continuous perception is associated with enhanced subsequent recall of naturalistic events

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-07-06

Music is a potent cue for recalling personal experiences, yet the neural basis of music-evoked memory remains elusive. We address this question by using the full-length film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to examine how repeated musical themes reactivate previously encoded events in cortex and shape next-day recall. Participants in an fMRI study viewed either the original film (with repeated musical themes) or a no-music version. By comparing neural activity patterns between these groups, we found that music-evoked reactivation of neural patterns linked to earlier scenes in the default mode network was associated with improved subsequent recall. This relationship was specific to the music condition and persisted when we controlled for a proxy measure of initial encoding strength (spatial intersubject correlation), suggesting that music-evoked reactivation may play a role in making event memories stick that is distinct from what happens at initial encoding.

The Beholder’s Share: Bridging art and neuroscience to study individual differences in subjective experience

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-04-07 · 3 citations

Our experience of the world is inherently subjective, shaped by individual history, knowledge, and perspective. Art offers a framework within which this subjectivity is practiced and promoted, inviting viewers to engage in interpretation. According to art theory, different forms of art-ranging from the representational to the abstract-challenge these interpretive processes in different ways. Yet, much remains unknown about how art is subjectively interpreted. In this study, we sought to elucidate the neural and cognitive mechanisms that underlie the subjective interpretation of art. Using brain imaging and written descriptions, we quantified individual variability in responses to paintings by the same artists, contrasting figurative and abstract paintings. Our findings revealed that abstract art elicited greater interindividual variability in activity within higher-order, associative brain areas, particularly those comprising the default-mode network. By contrast, no such differences were found in early visual areas, suggesting that subjective variability arises from higher cognitive processes rather than differences in sensory processing. These findings provide insight into how the brain engages with and perceives different forms of art and imbues it with subjective interpretation.

Movie-watching evokes ripple-like activity within events and at event boundaries

Nature Communications · 2025-07-01 · 6 citations

Ripples are fast oscillatory events widely recognized as crucial markers for memory consolidation and neural plasticity. These transient bursts of activity are thought to coordinate information transfer between the hippocampus and neocortical areas, providing a temporal framework that supports the stabilization and integration of new memories. However, their role in human memory encoding during naturalistic scenarios remains unexplored. Here, we recorded intracranial electrophysiological data from ten epilepsy patients watching a movie. Ripples were analyzed in the hippocampus and neocortical regions (i.e., temporal and frontal cortex). Our results revealed a differential dynamical pattern of ripple occurrence during encoding. Enhanced hippocampal ripple recruitment was observed at event boundaries, reflecting hippocampal involvement in event segmentation, whereas higher ripple rates were seen within an event for cortical electrodes with higher ripple occurrence at the temporal cortex, reflecting whether an event was later recalled. These findings shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying memory encoding and provide insights into the potential role of ripples in the encoding of an event, suggesting an impact on the formation of long-term memories of distinct episodes. The neural processes involved in memory formation for realistic experiences remain poorly understood. Here, the authors found that ripple-like activity in the human hippocampus and neocortex tracks key moments during movie watching and predicts which events are later remembered.

The mentalizing network updates neural representations of romantic interest in response to social feedback

2025-04-15

In what ways are social evaluations of others interdependent with what we think they believe about us? In the current study, we were interested in how social feedback changes how we think about a potential romantic partner, as well as how often we think about them. We hypothesized that the mentalizing network would play a role in both of these processes, given that we consider both how we feel about someone and how we think they feel about us when evaluating romantic interest. During an fMRI scan, participants watched dating profile videos of eight different targets, and assessed each target on romantic interest. Participants watched two videos of each target: one before receiving social feedback from the target, and one after. Participants also completed a resting state scan after viewing each set of eight videos. We found that the mentalizing network played a role in forming and updating evaluations of romantic interest. Specifically, neural representations in this network responded most strongly to social feedback that was incongruent with one’s initial evaluation, likely because our romantic interest in another person is at least partially dependent on how we believe they feel about us. Within the mentalizing network, the right TPJ and the dmPFC most strongly represented romantic interest at the beginning of an encounter. In addition, representations in the TPJ and the Precuneus changed more in response to incongruent feedback, while reactivation frequency in the TPJ changed more in response to congruent feedback, further demonstrating the importance of interdependence in social evaluations.