Retrieval of Associative Information Congruent with Prior Knowledge Is Related to Increased Medial Prefrontal Activity and Connectivity

TLDR

Memory for information that aligns with prior knowledge is better, yet the neural mechanisms—particularly the role of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in retrieval—remain unclear. The study investigates how multisensory congruency with prior knowledge affects retrieval of consolidated visuotactile memories. Participants learned visuotactile pairs that were either congruent or incongruent with common knowledge, then underwent fMRI the next day while their memory was tested. Congruent associations were remembered better and produced stronger mPFC‑somatosensory activity and connectivity, with connectivity strength positively correlating with the behavioral advantage, supporting rapid assimilation of schema‑consistent information mediated by the mPFC.

Abstract

We remember information that is congruent instead of incongruent with prior knowledge better, but the underlying neural mechanisms related to this enhancement are still relatively unknown. Recently, this memory enhancement due to a prior schema has been suggested to be based on rapid neocortical assimilation of new information, related to optimized encoding and consolidation processes. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is thought to be important in mediating this process, but its role in retrieval of schema-consistent information is still unclear. In this study, we regarded multisensory congruency with prior knowledge as a schema and used this factor to probe retrieval of consolidated memories either consistent or inconsistent with prior knowledge. We conducted a visuotactile learning paradigm in which participants studied visual motifs randomly associated with word–fabric combinations that were either congruent or incongruent with common knowledge. The next day, participants were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging while their memory was tested. Congruent associations were remembered better than incongruent ones. This behavioral finding was parallelized by stronger retrieval-related activity in and connectivity between medial prefrontal and left somatosensory cortex. Moreover, we found a positive across-subject correlation between the connectivity enhancement and the behavioral congruency effect. These results show that successful retrieval of congruent compared to incongruent visuotactile associations is related to enhanced processing in an mPFC–somatosensory network, and support the hypothesis that new information that fits a preexisting schema is more rapidly assimilated in neocortical networks, a process that may be mediated, at least in part, by the mPFC.