The dynamics of episodic recall

Overview

1. Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

Abstract

The mechanistic understanding of memory recall, a process long known to be influenced by environmental context, has posed a persistent challenge to neuron-centric models. In this study, we approached recall by shifting the focus from internal neuronal representations to brain-environment interactions, employing precise tracking of gaze dynamics within a well-controlled virtual reality (VR) setting. We found that each verbal report of recalled event was consistently preceded by a gradual process of brain-environment coupling: fixational pauses became progressively longer, while gaze direction slowly converged on a specific spatial location associated with the memorized object—a recall-specific location (RSL). Upon the initiation of the verbal report, gaze rapidly diverged from the RSL. Chunked verbal reports were associated with convergence onto shared or spatially clustered RSLs. Moreover, when recall occurred in the same spatial context as encoding, participants recalled objects in the order they were encountered and RSLs were more correlated with gaze locations during encoding. These findings reveal a direct mechanistic dependence of memory recall on the environment and support the view that the environment is not merely a context for memory, but an integral component of the memory itself.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

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Code availability

The custom code used in this study is freely available at: https://zenodo.org/records/16901726

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Data

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Data availability

The data used in this study are freely available at: https://zenodo.org/records/16901726

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

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Version 2, 28 September 2026

• Funding: added Air Force Office of Scientific Research: FA9550, FA9550-22-1-0346; H2020 European Research Council: 786949

Version 1, 28 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, journal, dates, 2 authors, 74 references.

Cite

This paper

Mizrachi, N., & Ahissar, E. (2026). The dynamics of episodic recall. Research Square (preprint). https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7424882/v1

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