On March 25, the research team led by Liu Yunzhe from the State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning at the Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, published a study titled "Development of Non-Spatial Grid-Like Neural Codes Tracks Inference and Intelligence" in Cell online. The study collected developmental neuroimaging data from participants aged 8 to 25 years old and employed an innovative cognitive map paradigm to systematically reveal how age-related neural coding based on cognitive maps supports the formation of abstract knowledge structures, enhances reasoning abilities, and improves knowledge assimilation capabilities.

The summary of this paper is as follows:

Piaget’s theory posits that children develop structured knowledge schemas for inferring and assimilating new information, yet the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. In 203 participants aged 8–25 years, we investigated how maturation of a two-dimensional (2D) knowledge map underpins inferential reasoning and knowledge assimilation. Grid-cell-like codes in the entorhinal cortex (EC) strengthened with age, reflecting schema representations in non-spatial conceptual spaces, and predicted improved inferential reasoning. These grid-like codes also supported the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in encoding distance relationships between objects on the 2D map. As participants assimilated new information, they integrated it into existing grid patterns in the EC. Moreover, the maturation of these neural codes tracked real-world intelligence measures, particularly reasoning abilities. Our findings demonstrate that the development of non-spatial grid-like neural codes offers a mechanistic account of cognitive development, bridging psychological theory with a fundamental cellular representation of the cognitive map.

Reference: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(26)00266-7