The role of spatial boundaries in shaping long-term event representations

• Published in: Cognition Vol. 154; pp. 151 - 164
• Main Authors: Horner, Aidan J., Bisby, James A., Wang, Aijing, Bogus, Katrina, Burgess, Neil
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.09.2016; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Computational modelling; Episodic memory; Event segmentation; Female; Humans; Male; Memory, Episodic; Memory, Long-Term; Models, Psychological; Original; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Photic Stimulation; Recognition, Psychology; Space Perception; Spatial memory; Time Perception; Virtual reality; Young Adult; Event segmentation; Episodic memory; Computational modelling; Virtual reality; Spatial memory
• ISSN: 0010-0277; 1873-7838
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2016.05.013

When remembering the past, we typically recall ‘events’ that are bounded in time and space. However, as we navigate our environment our senses receive a continuous stream of information. How do we create discrete long-term episodic memories from continuous input? Although previous research has provided evidence for a role of spatial boundaries in the online segmentation of our sensory experience within working memory, it is not known how this segmentation contributes to subsequent long-term episodic memory. Here we show that the presence of a spatial boundary at encoding (a doorway between two rooms) impairs participants’ later ability to remember the order that objects were presented in. A sequence of two objects presented in the same room in a virtual reality environment is more accurately remembered than a sequence of two objects presented in adjoining rooms. The results are captured by a simple model in which items are associated to a context representation that changes gradually over time, and changes more rapidly when crossing a spatial boundary. We therefore provide the first evidence that the structure of long-term episodic memory is shaped by the presence of a spatial boundary and provide constraints on the nature of the interaction between working memory and long-term memory.