Representation of spatial sequences using nested rules in human prefrontal cortex

Memory for spatial sequences does not depend solely on the number of locations to be stored, but also on the presence of spatial regularities. Here, we show that the human brain quickly stores spatial sequences by detecting geometrical regularities at multiple time scales and encoding them in a format akin to a programming language. We measured gaze-anticipation behavior while spatial sequences of variable regularity were repeated. Participants’ behavior suggested that they quickly discovered the most compact description of each sequence in a language comprising nested rules, and used these rules to compress the sequence in memory and predict the next items. Activity in dorsal inferior prefrontal cortex correlated with the amount of compression, while right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex encoded the presence of embedded structures. Sequence learning was accompanied by a progressive differentiation of multi-voxel activity patterns in these regions. We propose that humans are endowed with a simple “language of geometry” which recruits a dorsal prefrontal circuit for geometrical rules, distinct from but close to areas involved in natural language processing. •Humans quickly discover regularities in spatial sequence.•Humans use the most compact description to compress the sequence in memory.•Activity of IFG is correlated with the amount of compression.•DLPFC encodes the presence of embedded structures.