Rapid improvement of cognitive maps in the awake state

Abstract

Post‐navigation awake quiescence, relative to task engagement, benefits the accuracy of a new “cognitive map”. This effect is hypothesized to reflect awake quiescence, like sleep, being conducive to the consolidation and integration of new spatial memories. Sleep has been shown to improve cognitive map accuracy over time. It remained unknown whether awake quiescence can induce similar time‐related improvements in new cognitive maps, or whether it simply counteracts their decay. We examined this question via two experiments. In Experiment 1, using an established cognitive mapping paradigm, we reveal that map accuracy for a virtual town was significantly better in people whose memory was probed after 10 min of post‐navigation awake quiescence or ongoing cognitive engagement, relative to those whose memory was probed shortly after initial navigation. In Experiment 2, using a newly developed cognitive mapping task that involved a more complex and real‐life virtual town, we again found that map accuracy was superior in those whose memory was probed after 10 min of awake quiescence than those who were tested soon after navigation. These findings indicate that actual improvements in human memories are not restricted to sleep. Thus, contrary to conventional wisdom and theories, the passage of (day)time need not always result in forgetting.

A study on episodic memory reconsolidation that tells us more about consolidation

“…For labile new memories to be remembered they must be consolidated, that is, strengthened and stabilized, over time (Dudai 2004;Wixted 2004). Extensive research demonstrates that postencoding sleep and awake quiescence (quiet rest) are conducive to human episodic memory consolidation (Clemens et al 2005;Ferrara et al 2008;Lahl et al 2008;Wamsley et al 2010;Dewar et al 2012Dewar et al , 2014Gaskell et al 2014;Mercer 2015;Brokaw et al 2016;Craig and Dewar 2018;Craig et al 2019;Sacripante et al 2019). Sleep and wakeful rest are hypothesized to support consolidation by providing a state of reduced sensory input and task engagement (Hasselmo 1999;Wixted 2004;Mednick et al 2011;Dewar et al 2012Dewar et al , 2014Craig and Dewar 2018;Craig et al 2019).…”

The Black Box effect: sensory stimulation after learning interferes with the retention of long-term object location memory in rats

“…Invariably, those who rested performed better than those who did not in tests assessing their knowledge of where landmarks were located from various vantage points (Craig et al 2015(Craig et al , 2016a. Interestingly, when tested immediately after learning a route through a virtual town, participants made larger angular errors when pointing at the location of landmarks than when tested after the 10 min retention interval; this gain in accuracy, however, was notably stronger when they rested during the retention interval than when they engaged in a cognitive task (Craig et al 2019). The object location recognition protocol we used here leads to long-term memories that require the hippocampus for as long as they can be expressed (Hardt et al 2010;Migues et al 2014Migues et al , 2016.…”

Spatial navigation questionnaires as a supportive diagnostic tool in early Alzheimer’s disease

“…In addition, the hMWM involves navigation in a small, open space and therefore may have limited ecological validity for human navigation. To address this limitation, spatial navigation tasks based on complex realistic indoor 7 , 56 , 60 and outdoor 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 environments have recently been designed and adapted to more comprehensively measure spatial navigation behavior, including route learning, wayfinding, cognitive mapping, perspective taking, path integration, and landmark placement. Future research should compare spatial navigation performance in these complex, realistic environments with spatial navigation questionnaire scores and specific questions to more accurately assess the associations between real-world navigation and reported navigation abilities.…”