OSCR

Reverse engineering what makes a symbol memorable.

Overview

Authors: Brady R T Roberts1,2, Wilma A Bainbridge1,2,3
ORCID iDs: Brady R T Roberts, Wilma A Bainbridge
  1. Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
  2. Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
  3. Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
Institutions: University of Chicago (United States)
Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, volume 123, issue 10, article e2530745123
Dates: received 27 October 2025; accepted 23 December 2025; published online 6 March 2026; in print 10 March 2026
Type: Research article · Language: English
License: CC BY-NC-ND
Identifiers: DOI 10.1073/pnas.2530745123 · PMID 41790939 · PMCID PMC12974420 · OpenAlex W7134128305
Open access: hybrid, a free copy (OpenAlex)
Status: code verified
Categories: human (organism), cognitive (subfield)
Methods: Statistics, Connectivity
Keywords: memorability, symbols, AI image generation, recognition memory, cued recall
MeSH: Memory*, Generative Artificial Intelligence, Humans, Mental Recall, Principal Component Analysis, Symbolism (* major topic)
Topic: Safety Warnings and Signage (Social Psychology, Psychology), according to OpenAlex
Funding: NEI NIH HHS (R01 EY034432); HHS | NIH | National Eye Institute (NEI) (R01-EY034432); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (Postdoctoral Fellowship)
Citations: cited by 1 paper (Europe PMC); 65 references in the paper

Abstract

The abstract is not reproduced here: the paper's license (CC BY-NC-ND) does not allow it. Read it in the paper, at the publisher or on Europe PMC.

Code

No file of the authors' code could be read here: it is described below, and read at its source.

OSF 8jtgp

License: none: the authors keep all their rights
State: the link answers, verified on 30 September 2026
Evidence: files inventoried
Size: 3 files
Software Heritage: not checked
Found in: “Data, Materials, and Software Availability”
Not found: README, license file, CITATION.cff, environment file, tests, continuous integration, documentation
Availability: 1 check, the latest on 30 September 2026: the link answers (HTTP 200)
  • 30 September 2026: the link answers (HTTP 200)
At the source: osf.io/8jtgp/

The paper's code and data availability statement is in the Data section.

Tracing map

Proposed by the machine: these links were found in the paper and verified at the source, without human review. The map will receive a Zenodo DOI once one of the paper's authors has validated it with their ORCID.

What the map holds:

  • 1 repository of the authors' code, each at its verified commit, with its license and how the link was found in the paper;
  • 0 scripts, each with its path and the digest of its content;
  • no match between paragraphs and code yet;
  • neither the text of the paper nor the code itself.

Its JSON (tracing-map.json) is deposited on Zenodo with its DOI once the map is validated.

Data

No dataset and no data link were found in the paper.

Code and data availability statement

The paper has a code and data availability statement. Its license (CC BY-NC-ND) does not allow reproducing it here; in short, from what the harvester recognized in it:

Read it in the paper: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2530745123.

Versions

The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.

Version 1, 30 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 2 authors, 5 keywords, 6 MeSH terms, 3 funders, 37 references.

Cite

This paper

Roberts, B. R. T., & Bainbridge, W. A. (2026). Reverse engineering what makes a symbol memorable. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 123(10), e2530745123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2530745123

BibTeX

@article{roberts2026reverse,
author = {Roberts, Brady R T and Bainbridge, Wilma A},
title = {{Reverse engineering what makes a symbol memorable}},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
year = {2026},
month = mar,
volume = {123},
number = {10},
pages = {e2530745123},
publisher = {National Academy of Sciences},
issn = {0027-8424},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2530745123},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2530745123},
pmid = {41790939},
pmcid = {PMC12974420}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - Roberts, Brady R T
AU - Bainbridge, Wilma A
TI - Reverse engineering what makes a symbol memorable
T2 - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
J2 - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/03/06
VL - 123
IS - 10
SP - e2530745123
SN - 0027-8424
PB - National Academy of Sciences
DO - 10.1073/pnas.2530745123
UR - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2530745123
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

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The tracing map gets a citation of its own once an author has validated it and it has a DOI.

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