Neural Pattern Stability Within Events Is Preserved Across Age

Neural Pattern Stability Within Events Is Preserved Across Age | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Neural Pattern Stability Within Events Is Preserved Across Age Mohsen Davoudkhani¹, Michael Tollesfrud¹, Heather Bailey¹ This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8801892/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Understanding how the brain segments continuous experiences into discrete events is essential for uncovering the mechanisms of episodic memory. Here, we investigated whether stable neural representations are maintained within unfolding events, how these representations differ across age, and whether they predict later memory. Young (N = 42) and older adults (N = 42) watched a 35-minute clip from BBC's Sherlock while EEG was recorded. Using representational similarity analysis, we quantified neural pattern similarity within events and across event boundaries. Neural similarity was significantly higher within events than across events, even after controlling for perceptual changes in the stimulus, indicating stable neural representations during ongoing experience. This within-event neural stability was observed in both young and older adults, although evidence was stronger in young adults. Despite robust neural effects, neither within- nor across-event neural similarity significantly predicted subsequent free recall at the event or subject level. These findings suggest that neural stability reflects top-down maintenance of coherent event representations during perception, rather than directly determining later recall success. Importantly, preserved within-event stability in older adults indicates that core mechanisms supporting event model maintenance remain largely intact in healthy aging. Biological sciences/Neuroscience Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology Cognitive aging EEG event model maintenance episodic encoding representational similarity Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementarymaterial.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 31 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 26 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 19 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 25 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 22 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 16 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 14 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 14 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8801892","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":597637957,"identity":"74ec47a4-fef5-4958-b6a1-002cb2159762","order_by":0,"name":"Mohsen Davoudkhani¹","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kansas State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohsen","middleName":"","lastName":"Davoudkhani¹","suffix":""},{"id":597637958,"identity":"0c97a504-4f88-4306-9f43-23610a980f13","order_by":1,"name":"Michael Tollesfrud¹","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kansas State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michael","middleName":"","lastName":"Tollesfrud¹","suffix":""},{"id":597637959,"identity":"cf5e9de0-cf32-460c-be12-6b0809318f31","order_by":2,"name":"Heather Bailey¹","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAwklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAwkGhgMPGBjkJMBcNmK1JDAwGJOmhQGoJXEG0VrMpZsfHkioOJw+s/+MAcOHssOEtVjOOWZwIOHM4dzZEjkGjDPOEaHF4EaCwYHEtsO58yR4DJh524jSkv7hQOK/w+ly/GcMmP8SpyUHaEvD4QRphhwDZkaitNw5U3Ag4Vi64cwZaQUHe86lE6HldvvmDx9qrOUlzh/e+OBHmTVhLVDQDCYPEK0eCOpIUTwKRsEoGAUjDQAAZ3tB2amf+hsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Kansas State University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Heather","middleName":"","lastName":"Bailey¹","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-06 02:38:56","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8801892/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8801892/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104398397,"identity":"f311e7f4-82db-400f-8c74-51e1ef8f7af8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 12:02:10","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":815155,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8801892/v1_covered_ec7e974a-eb5b-4a70-9815-500d9e576845.pdf"},{"id":103621104,"identity":"660e4499-295b-4267-b119-8513e2a9fd5b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-27 18:18:18","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":454620,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Supplementarymaterial.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8801892/v1/d6ed8fcf35b6cc1defd8aeec.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Neural Pattern Stability Within Events Is Preserved Across Age","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Cognitive aging, EEG, event model maintenance, episodic encoding, representational similarity","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8801892/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8801892/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eUnderstanding how the brain segments continuous experiences into discrete events is essential for uncovering the mechanisms of episodic memory. 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