美国加州大学戴维斯分校Erie D. Boorman、Seongmin A. Park等研究人员合作发现，对多维社会等级制度的推断使用一种网格样的编码。这一研究成果发表在2021年8月31日出版的国际学术期刊《自然—神经科学》上。

研究人员发现，在一个看不见的二维社会阶级中，实体之间离散采样的抽象关系在海马和内嗅皮层中被重建为一个统一的二维认知地图。研究人员进一步表明，人类在离散决策过程中，使用内嗅皮层和内侧前额叶皮层中的网格状编码来推断重建的抽象空间中实体之间的直接轨迹。内嗅皮层中的这些网格状表征与内侧前额叶皮层和颞顶交界处的决策值计算相关。总的来说，这些发现表明，即使在抽象和离散的问题上，人脑也会使用网格状表征来推断新的解决方案，并提出了一个支撑灵活决策和概括的一般机制。

据悉，归纳经验来指导新情况下的决策是灵活行为的一个标志。从理论上讲，环境或任务的认知地图可以提供这种灵活性，但直接证据被证明是难以捉摸的。

附：英文原文

Title: Inferences on a multidimensional social hierarchy use a grid-like code

Author: Park, Seongmin A., Miller, Douglas S., Boorman, Erie D.

Issue&Volume: 2021-08-31

Abstract: Generalizing experiences to guide decision-making in novel situations is a hallmark of flexible behavior. Cognitive maps of an environment or task can theoretically afford such flexibility, but direct evidence has proven elusive. In this study, we found that discretely sampled abstract relationships between entities in an unseen two-dimensional social hierarchy are reconstructed into a unitary two-dimensional cognitive map in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. We further show that humans use a grid-like code in entorhinal cortex and medial prefrontal cortex for inferred direct trajectories between entities in the reconstructed abstract space during discrete decisions. These grid-like representations in the entorhinal cortex are associated with decision value computations in the medial prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction. Collectively, these findings show that grid-like representations are used by the human brain to infer novel solutions, even in abstract and discrete problems, and suggest a general mechanism underpinning flexible decision-making and generalization. Cognitive maps are theorized to enable generalizing experiences in new situations. Park et al. show that non-spatial experiences sampled piecemeal are integrated into a two-dimensional cognitive map of social hierarchy, and a grid code is used for novel inferences.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00916-3

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-021-00916-3