Hierarchical event segmentation of episodic memory in virtual reality
Li, Yue ; Johansson, Mikael LU
and Nikolaev, Andrey
LU
(2025)
In npj Science of Learning
10(1).
- Abstract
- Contextual shifts are crucial for episodic memory, setting event boundaries during event segmentation. While lab research provides insights, it often lacks the complexity of real-world experiences. We addressed this gap by examining perceptual and conceptual boundaries using virtual reality (VR). Participants acted as salespeople, interacting with customers in a VR environment. Spatial boundaries separated visually distinct booths, while conceptual boundaries were defined by customer requests. Memory was assessed through a recency discrimination task. Results indicated boundary crossings impaired sequence memory, consistent with previous findings. Crucially, conceptual boundaries, but not spatial boundaries, significantly influenced the... (More)
- Contextual shifts are crucial for episodic memory, setting event boundaries during event segmentation. While lab research provides insights, it often lacks the complexity of real-world experiences. We addressed this gap by examining perceptual and conceptual boundaries using virtual reality (VR). Participants acted as salespeople, interacting with customers in a VR environment. Spatial boundaries separated visually distinct booths, while conceptual boundaries were defined by customer requests. Memory was assessed through a recency discrimination task. Results indicated boundary crossings impaired sequence memory, consistent with previous findings. Crucially, conceptual boundaries, but not spatial boundaries, significantly influenced the accuracy of sequence memory, suggesting that top-down processes dominate bottom-up perceptual processes in naturalistic event segmentation. Confidence in correct responses indicated that perceived memory quality was highest when participants stayed within and did not cross both spatially and conceptually defined events. Findings highlight VR’s effectiveness for studying hierarchical contextual influences in interactive episodic memory tasks. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/911eb770-e885-4689-8c42-a41856108121
- author
- Li, Yue
; Johansson, Mikael
LU
and Nikolaev, Andrey
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-05-11
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- episodic memory, event segmentation, event boundaries, recency discrimination, virtual reality
- in
- npj Science of Learning
- volume
- 10
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 25
- publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:40348753
- scopus:105004924797
- ISSN
- 2056-7936
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41539-025-00321-6
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 911eb770-e885-4689-8c42-a41856108121
- date added to LUP
- 2025-05-01 10:29:13
- date last changed
- 2025-07-11 10:24:06
@article{911eb770-e885-4689-8c42-a41856108121,
abstract = {{Contextual shifts are crucial for episodic memory, setting event boundaries during event segmentation. While lab research provides insights, it often lacks the complexity of real-world experiences. We addressed this gap by examining perceptual and conceptual boundaries using virtual reality (VR). Participants acted as salespeople, interacting with customers in a VR environment. Spatial boundaries separated visually distinct booths, while conceptual boundaries were defined by customer requests. Memory was assessed through a recency discrimination task. Results indicated boundary crossings impaired sequence memory, consistent with previous findings. Crucially, conceptual boundaries, but not spatial boundaries, significantly influenced the accuracy of sequence memory, suggesting that top-down processes dominate bottom-up perceptual processes in naturalistic event segmentation. Confidence in correct responses indicated that perceived memory quality was highest when participants stayed within and did not cross both spatially and conceptually defined events. Findings highlight VR’s effectiveness for studying hierarchical contextual influences in interactive episodic memory tasks.}},
author = {{Li, Yue and Johansson, Mikael and Nikolaev, Andrey}},
issn = {{2056-7936}},
keywords = {{episodic memory, event segmentation, event boundaries, recency discrimination, virtual reality}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{05}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
series = {{npj Science of Learning}},
title = {{Hierarchical event segmentation of episodic memory in virtual reality}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41539-025-00321-6}},
doi = {{10.1038/s41539-025-00321-6}},
volume = {{10}},
year = {{2025}},
}