Protocol for building a cognitive map of structural knowledge in humans by integrating abstract relationships from separate experiences

Seongmin A Park; Douglas S Miller; Erie D Boorman

doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100423

Protocol for building a cognitive map of structural knowledge in humans by integrating abstract relationships from separate experiences

STAR Protoc. 2021 Mar 30;2(2):100423. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100423. eCollection 2021 Jun 18.

Authors

Seongmin A Park¹, Douglas S Miller¹, Erie D Boorman^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
² Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.

Abstract

Humans are adept at learning the latent structure of the relationship between abstract concepts and can build a cognitive map from limited experiences. However, examining internal representations of the cognitive map is challenging because they are unobservable and differ across individuals. Here, we introduce a behavioral training protocol designed for human participants to implicitly build a map of two-dimensional social hierarchies while making a series of binary choices and analytic tools for measuring the internal representation of this structural knowledge. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Park et al. (2020a, 2020b).

Keywords: Clinical Protocol; Neuroscience.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adult
Cognition / physiology*
Cognitive Neuroscience / methods*
Computational Biology
Concept Formation / physiology*
Female
Humans
Learning / physiology*
Male
Software
Young Adult

Grants and funding

R56 MH119116/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States