{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"bioRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,12]],"date-time":"2026-09-12T12:05:23Z","timestamp":1789214723715,"version":"build-2803163510"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"group-title":"Neuroscience","reference-count":20,"publisher":"openRxiv","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788825600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"award":["ROIMH087214"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ROIMH087214"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04xeg9z08","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["N00014-12-1-0972"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N00014-12-1-0972"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00rk2pe57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["MURI N00014-23-1-2768"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MURI N00014-23-1-2768"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00rk2pe57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Memory encoding must accommodate increasingly demanding loads, yet it remains unclear whether the underlying brain state is preserved or adaptively reconfigured as load increases. Here, we recorded EEG from 111 participants performing a visual memory task in which they encoded lists of real images ranging from 1 to 128 items, spanning low to high mnemonic demands, followed by a recognition test. We measured the similarity of set-size-specific interelectrode correlation patterns to a low-load reference. Similarity decreased monotonically as list length increased: patterns at set sizes below 4 remained close to the low-load configuration, whereas set sizes of 8 and above progressively shifted toward a distinct high-load configuration. This transition was captured by a single rotating eigenvector, revealing a low-dimensional trajectory from low- to high-load neural geometry. Smaller rotation angles from the low-load template predicted better memory performance at high loads. Together, these findings provide evidence for adaptive reconfiguration and reveal a structured, low-dimensional neural trajectory through which encoding architecture changes as mnemonic demands increase.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.09.03.749199","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T01:10:22Z","timestamp":1788916222000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mnemonic Demand Reconfigures the Neural Architecture of Memory Encoding"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"given":"Chong","family":"Zhao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA"},{"name":"Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Edward K.","family":"Vogel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA"},{"name":"Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA"},{"name":"Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6179-4025","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Monica D.","family":"Rosenberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA"},{"name":"Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA"},{"name":"Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"54368","reference":[{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0140525X01003922"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/36846"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature02447"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0803390105"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/14640747308400340"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"405","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2022.12.040","article-title":"Spatial and temporal massive memory in humans","volume":"33","year":"2023","journal-title":"Curr. Biol"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03209454"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Popov, V. & Reder, L. M . Frequency effects on memory: A resource-limited theory. Psychol. Rev. 127, 1 (2020).","DOI":"10.1037\/rev0000161"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Reder, L. M. et al. A mechanistic account of the mirror effect for word frequency: A computational model of remember\u2013know judgments in a continuous recognition paradigm. J. Exp. Psychol. Learn. Mem. Cogn. 26, 294 (2000).","DOI":"10.1037\/0278-7393.26.2.294"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Schunn, C. D. , Reder, L. M. , Nhouyvanisvong, A. , Richards, D. R. & Stroffolino, P. J . To calculate or not to calculate: A source activation confusion model of problem familiarity\u2019s role in strategy selection. J. Exp. Psychol. Learn. Mem. Cogn. 23, 3 (1997).","DOI":"10.1037\/0278-7393.23.1.3"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chidharom, M. , Jones, H. M. , Rosenberg, M. D. & Vogel, E. K . Decoding distraction from the human brain: A unique neural signature beyond failures of selective attention and control. bioRxiv 2025\u201309 (2025).","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.09.24.678372"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4998","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2021.09.036","article-title":"Inter-electrode correlations measured with EEG predict individual differences in cognitive ability","volume":"31","year":"2021","journal-title":"Curr. Biol"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhao, C. , Vogel, E. K. & Rosenberg, M. D . A unique neural signature of long-term memory encoding from EEG inter-electrode correlation. Imaging Neurosci. 4, IMAG-a (2026).","DOI":"10.1162\/IMAG.a.1228"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2024.09.009"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.82580"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0956797615578122"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_01639"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cohen, M. X . Analyzing Neural Time Series Data: Theory and Practice. (MIT press, 2014).","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/9609.001.0001"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0013-4694(88)90009-0"},{"key":"2026091204051091000_2026.09.03.749199v1.20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0013-4694(89)90180-6"}],"container-title":[],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.64898\/2026.09.03.749199","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,12]],"date-time":"2026-09-12T11:05:18Z","timestamp":1789211118000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/biorxiv.org\/lookup\/doi\/10.64898\/2026.09.03.749199"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"references-count":20,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.64898\/2026.09.03.749199","relation":{},"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"subtype":"preprint"}}