Neural Dissociation of Cognitive Maps and Graphs in the Human Brain

Abstract

Cognitive maps and graphs offer two distinct ways of organizing knowledge: maps arrange items within a spatial layout, whereas graphs thread them together through experiential transitions. However, spatial proximity and experiential contiguity are typically correlated, and content represented in one format can often be transformed into the other, making their neural representations difficult to disentangle. Here, we orthogonally manipulated Euclidean distance, indexing spatial proximity, and shortest-path distance, indexing experiential contiguity, within the same learned environment. Using fMRI and whole-brain searchlight representational similarity analysis, we identified dissociable representations of these two formats in the human brain. Euclidean distance was represented in the intraparietal sulcus, whereas shortest-path distance was represented in the hippocampal/parahippocampal region and in cortical areas that overlapped substantially with scene-selective regions. ROI analyses further supported the specificity of these representations across regions. Together, these findings provide neural evidence for a dissociation between cognitive maps and cognitive graphs.