Accessing Meaning During Encoding Shapes Subsequent Memory Reactivation in the Brain

Abstract Semantic access can occur in many forms, ranging from retrieving specific exemplars to linking concepts with related meanings. We hypothesized that accessing meaning at different levels during encoding would lead to distinct neural reactivation patterns during later memory retrieval. Human participants learned novel word–image associations through prompts that queried item-specific, categorical, or thematic features, while undergoing fMRI. Multivariate pattern analysis shows that encoding histories leave distinct neural signatures even when behavioral performances is equivalent. Encoding history could be decoded by classifiers from recognition activity across the ventral visual stream and higher-order regions. Category-based encoding reduced item-specific reinstatement in perceptual regions, while item-based encoding modified cross-phase item-level similarity in the anterior temporal lobe, suggesting a transition from detailed to integrative conceptual representations. Together, these findings demonstrate that semantic access during encoding shapes how memories are neurally reinstated to integrate perceptual and conceptual information across systems supporting semantic and episodic memory.