Memory allows us to remember specific details from individual experiences that we encounter. It also allows us to combine information across events experienced at different times, so we can build knowledge and make new inferences. My research focuses on how we use different memory systems to build generalized knowledge, such as schemas or concepts, and how our ability to generalize interacts with our ability to retain specific details. My primary research tools include computer-based experiments, formal models of behavior, and advanced functional MRI methods.

Selected publications:

*equal contribution

Bowman, C.R and Zeithamova, D. (2023). Coherent category training enhances generalization and increases reliance on prototype representations. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 49(12):1923-1942

Frank, L., and Zeithamova, D. (2023) Evaluating methods for measuring background connectivity in slow event-related functional MRI designs. Brain and behavior, 13(6)

Ashby, S.R. and Zeithamova, D. (2022). Category-biased neural representations form spontaneously during learning that emphasizes memory for specific instances. Journal of Neuroscience, 42(5):865-876

Ashby, S.R., Bowman, C.R., ^@Zeithamova, D. (2020). Perceived similarity ratings predict generalization success after traditional category learning and a new paired-association learning task. Psychology Bulletin and Review.

Zeithamova, D. & Bowman, C.R. (2020) Generalization and the hippocampus: More than one story? Neurobiology of learning and memory, 175, 107317

Frank, L.*, Bowman, C.R.*, ^@Zeithamova, D. (2019). Differential functional connectivity along the long axis of the hippocampus aligns with differential role in memory specificity and generalization. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 31(12): 1958-1975.

Bowman, C.R., Zeithamova, D. (2018). Abstract memory representations in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus support concept generalization. Journal of Neuroscience, 38(10), 2605-2614.

Zeithamova, D., Dominick, A.L., & Preston, A.R. (2012). Hippocampal and ventral medial prefrontal activation during retrieval-mediated learning supports novel inference. Neuron, 75(1), 168-79.