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

Poster Session D - Monday, March 9, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Andrea Greve^1,2, Kshipra Gurunandan¹, Petar P. Raykov¹, Richard N. Henson^1,3; ¹MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, ²Department of Psychology, ³Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge

Prior 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 SLIMM’s 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. [References: 1. Van Kesteren, M.T.R., et al. (2012). Trends in Neurosciences, 35, 211-219. 2. Quent, A., Greve, A. & Henson, R.N. (2022). Psychological Science.]

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic