Kóbor, A. 1 , Horváth, K. 2, 3, 4 , Kardos, Z. 1, 5 , Zavecz, Z. 2, 3, 4 , German, B. 5, 1 , Janacsek, K. 4, 3 & Nemeth, D. 4, 3, 6
1 Brain Imaging Centre, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
2 Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
3 Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
4 Brain, Memory and Language Research Group, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
5 Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
6 Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), INSERM, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
Acquiring implicit knowledge on the statistical structure organizing environmental events is crucial for many cognitive functions. However, the generalization of this implicit knowledge is still unclear. Therefore, we investigated whether implicit learning of transitional statistics could be transferred from structured to pseudorandom control sequences. Young adults performed a statistical learning task that included an alternating regularity yielding second-order transitional statistics. In the structured sequences, the transition within triplets (three successive trials) occurred with high or low probability. In the control sequences, each unique triplet occurred with equal probability without the presence of the alternating regularity. While the Structured-first group (n = 25) completed 48 structured blocks followed by 48 control blocks, the Control-first group (n = 25) completed 48 control blocks followed by 48 structured blocks. All task blocks were visually identical at the surface level. While the Structured-first group showed faster RTs on high-probability than on low-probability triplets in both the structured and control blocks, this was found only in the structured blocks in the Control-first group. The within-blocks difference in the extent of this RT effect varied across the groups, indicating learning transfer in the Structured-first group. Overall, shared transitional statistics provided generalized implicit knowledge across similar conditions.