Mental graphs structure the storage and retrieval of visuomotor associations.

ABSTRACT: Much of human memory takes the form of cognitive graphs that allow us to relate and generalize knowledge. The influence of structured memory in the motor system is less clear. Here we examine how structured memory representations influence action selection when responses are retrieved from newly learned, hierarchical visuomotor maps. Human participants (N = 182) learned visuomotor mappings with (or without) an imposed latent structure that linked visual stimulus features (for example, colour or shape) to intuitive motor distinctions, such as hands and pairs of fingers. In participants who learned structured visuomotor mappings, transitional response times indicated that retrieving the correct response from memory invoked the 'traversal' of a structured mental graph. Forced-response experim

SUBMITTER: Trach JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12418510 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature