# Flexible Prefrontal Control over Hippocampal Episodic Memory for Goal-Directed Generalization

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.02303 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.02303/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 7 of its 62 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 4 Mar 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Deep Reinforcement Learning with Double Q-learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1509.06461/) (2015)
- [Titans: Learning to Memorize at Test Time](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.00663/) (2024)
- [Neural Algorithmic Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.02761/) (2021)
- [Key-value memory in the brain](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.02950/) (2025)
- [Reservoir Computing for Fast, Simplified Reinforcement Learning on Memory Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.13093/) (2024)
- [How do we generalize?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.00899/) (2021)
- [A Method of Selective Attention for Reservoir Based Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.21229/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Locomo-Plus: Beyond-Factual Cognitive Memory Evaluation Framework for LLM Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.10715/) (2026)
- [Chameleon: Control-Indexed Prospective Memory for Visuomotor Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.24576/) (2026)
- [From Memories to Maps: Mechanisms of In-Context Reinforcement Learning in Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.19686/) (2025)
- [A neural network that maintains and retrieves memories based on context](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.37791/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Many tasks require flexibly modifying perception and behavior based on current goals. Humans can retrieve episodic memories from days to years ago, using them to contextualize and generalize behaviors across novel but structurally related situations. The brain's ability to control episodic memories based on task demands is often attributed to interactions between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus (HPC). We propose a reinforcement learning model that incorporates a PFC-HPC interaction mechanism for goal-directed generalization. In our model, the PFC learns to generate query-key representations to encode and retrieve goal-relevant episodic memories, modulating HPC memories top-down based on current task demands. Moreover, the PFC adapts its encoding and retrieval strategies dynamically when faced with multiple goals presented in a blocked, rather than interleaved, manner. Our results show that: (1) combining working memory with selectively retrieved episodic memory allows transfer of decisions among similar environments or situations, (2) top-down control from PFC over HPC improves learning of arbitrary structural associations between events for generalization to novel environments compared to a bottom-up sensory-driven approach, and (3) the PFC encodes generalizable representations during both encoding and retrieval of goal-relevant memories, whereas the HPC exhibits event-specific representations. Together, these findings highlight the importance of goal-directed prefrontal control over hippocampal episodic memory for decision-making in novel situations and suggest a computational mechanism by which PFC-HPC interactions enable flexible behavior.