Interesting thing: changing node symbolicName changes execution plan

Please keep the following things in mind:

I tried two same queries just with different relation symbolic names. It increase db hits quantity by 30%.

Database schema:
CALL db.schema.visualization()

What you thing, how it possible?

First query
Performance: total db hits 80049 in 85 ms

PROFILE
MATCH (preferences:UserPreferences {userId: $userId})
        <-[:HAS_PREFERENCES]-(user:UserDetails {id: $userId})
        -[:HAS_ACTIVITY]->(activity:UserSuggestionActivity {userId: $userId})
OPTIONAL MATCH (activity)-[:LIKED|ADDED]->(likedBook)
OPTIONAL MATCH (likedBook)<-[:LIKED|ADDED]-(otherActivity)-[:LIKED|ADDED]->(rec:Book {lang: $lang})
  WHERE (NOT EXISTS((rec)--(activity))
  AND EXISTS((preferences)-[:PREFERRED]->()<--(rec))
  AND NOT EXISTS((preferences)-[:AVOIDED]->()<--(rec)))
WITH rec, count(DISTINCT otherActivity) AS activityCount
  ORDER BY activityCount DESC
  LIMIT $limit
MATCH (rec)-[:BELONGS_TO]->(g:Genre)
RETURN rec.title AS title, COLLECT(g) AS genres

Second query
Performance: total 65511 total db hits in 41 ms

PROFILE
MATCH (preferences:UserPreferences {userId: $userId})
        <-[:HAS_PREFERENCES]-(user:UserDetails {id: $userId})
        -[:HAS_ACTIVITY]->(activity:UserSuggestionActivity {userId: $userId})
OPTIONAL MATCH (activity)-[:LIKED|ADDED]->(likedBook)
OPTIONAL MATCH (likedBook)<-[:LIKED|ADDED]-(otherActivity)-[:LIKED|ADDED]->(rec:Book {lang: $lang})
  WHERE (NOT EXISTS((rec)--(activity))
  AND EXISTS((preferences)-[:PREFERRED]->()<--(rec))
  AND NOT EXISTS((preferences)-[:AVOIDED]->()<--(rec)))
WITH rec, count(DISTINCT otherActivity) AS activityCount
  ORDER BY activityCount DESC
  LIMIT $limit
MATCH (rec)-[rel:BELONGS_TO]->(g:Genre)             // just added name `rel`
RETURN rec.title AS title, COLLECT(g) AS genres

Here is detailed plans of queries:

First query

Planner COST

Runtime SLOTTED

Runtime version 5.18

+----------------------+----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| Operator             | Id | Details                                                             | Estimated Rows | Rows | DB Hits | Memory (Bytes) | Page Cache Hits/Misses | Ordered by         |
+----------------------+----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +ProduceResults      |  0 | title, genres                                                       |              0 |    2 |       6 |            984 |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +EagerAggregation    |  1 | cache[rec.title] AS title, COLLECT(g) AS genres                     |              0 |    2 |       0 |           1056 |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Filter              |  2 | g:Genre                                                             |              0 |    3 |       3 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+                    |
| +Expand(All)         |  3 | (rec)-[anon_12:BELONGS_TO]->(g)                                     |              0 |    3 |       9 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+                    |
| +CacheProperties     |  4 | cache[rec.title]                                                    |              0 |    3 |       2 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+                    |
| +Top                 |  5 | activityCount DESC LIMIT $limit                                     |              0 |    3 |       0 |            400 |                    0/0 | activityCount DESC |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +EagerAggregation    |  6 | rec, count(DISTINCT otherActivity) AS activityCount                 |              0 |    3 |       0 |           1440 |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Apply               |  7 |                                                                     |              0 |   82 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |\                   +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +Optional          |  8 | user, preferences, anon_0, anon_2, anon_1, likedBook, activity      |              0 |   82 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +AntiSemiApply     |  9 |                                                                     |              0 |   38 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |\                 +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Expand(Into)    | 10 | (rec)-[anon_5]-(activity)                                           |              0 |    0 |    6311 |            904 |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Argument        | 11 | anon_0, anon_1, activity, likedBook, anon_2, rec, preferences, user |              0 | 1554 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +AntiSemiApply     | 12 |                                                                     |              0 | 1554 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |\                 +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Filter          | 13 | NOT anon_11 = anon_9                                                |              0 |    0 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Expand(Into)    | 14 | (anon_10)<-[anon_11]-(rec)                                          |              0 |   62 |    8703 |           1000 |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Expand(All)     | 15 | (preferences)-[anon_9:AVOIDED]->(anon_10)                           |              0 | 1616 |    6464 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Argument        | 16 | anon_0, anon_1, activity, likedBook, anon_2, rec, preferences, user |              0 | 1616 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +SemiApply         | 17 |                                                                     |              0 | 1616 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |\                 +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Filter          | 18 | NOT anon_8 = anon_6                                                 |              0 |    0 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Expand(Into)    | 19 | (anon_7)<-[anon_8]-(rec)                                            |              0 | 1616 |   25563 |           1000 |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Expand(All)     | 20 | (preferences)-[anon_6:PREFERRED]->(anon_7)                          |              0 | 4594 |   18376 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Argument        | 21 | anon_0, anon_1, activity, likedBook, anon_2, rec, preferences, user |              0 | 4594 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +Filter            | 22 | NOT anon_4 = anon_3 AND rec.lang = $lang AND rec:Book               |              0 | 4594 |    9188 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +Expand(All)       | 23 | (otherActivity)-[anon_4:LIKED|ADDED]->(rec)                         |              0 | 4681 |    5058 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +Expand(All)       | 24 | (likedBook)<-[anon_3:LIKED|ADDED]-(otherActivity)                   |              0 |   87 |     287 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +Argument          | 25 | anon_0, anon_1, activity, likedBook, anon_2, preferences, user      |              0 |   63 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +OptionalExpand(All) | 26 | (activity)-[anon_2:LIKED|ADDED]->(likedBook)                        |              0 |   63 |      67 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Filter              | 27 | preferences.userId = $userId AND preferences:UserPreferences        |              0 |    1 |       2 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Expand(All)         | 28 | (user)-[anon_0:HAS_PREFERENCES]->(preferences)                      |              0 |    1 |       3 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Filter              | 29 | activity.userId = $userId AND activity:UserSuggestionActivity       |              0 |    1 |       2 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Expand(All)         | 30 | (user)-[anon_1:HAS_ACTIVITY]->(activity)                            |              0 |    1 |       3 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +NodeIndexSeek       | 31 | RANGE INDEX user:UserDetails(id) WHERE id = $userId                 |              0 |    1 |       2 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
+----------------------+----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+

Total database accesses: 80049, total allocated memory: 2568

Second query

Planner COST

Runtime SLOTTED

Runtime version 5.18

+----------------------+----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| Operator             | Id | Details                                                             | Estimated Rows | Rows | DB Hits | Memory (Bytes) | Page Cache Hits/Misses | Ordered by         |
+----------------------+----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +ProduceResults      |  0 | title, genres                                                       |              0 |    2 |       6 |            984 |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +EagerAggregation    |  1 | cache[rec.title] AS title, COLLECT(g) AS genres                     |              0 |    2 |       0 |           1056 |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Filter              |  2 | g:Genre                                                             |              0 |    3 |       3 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+                    |
| +Expand(All)         |  3 | (rec)-[rel:BELONGS_TO]->(g)                                         |              0 |    3 |       9 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+                    |
| +CacheProperties     |  4 | cache[rec.title]                                                    |              0 |    3 |       2 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+                    |
| +Top                 |  5 | activityCount DESC LIMIT $limit                                     |              0 |    3 |       0 |            400 |                    0/0 | activityCount DESC |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +EagerAggregation    |  6 | rec, count(DISTINCT otherActivity) AS activityCount                 |              0 |    3 |       0 |           1440 |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Apply               |  7 |                                                                     |              0 |   82 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |\                   +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +Optional          |  8 | user, preferences, anon_0, anon_2, anon_1, likedBook, activity      |              0 |   82 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +AntiSemiApply     |  9 |                                                                     |              0 |   38 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |\                 +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Filter          | 10 | NOT anon_11 = anon_9                                                |              0 |    0 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Expand(Into)    | 11 | (anon_10)<-[anon_11]-(rec)                                          |              0 |    0 |     209 |            904 |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Expand(All)     | 12 | (preferences)-[anon_9:AVOIDED]->(anon_10)                           |              0 |   38 |     152 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Argument        | 13 | anon_0, anon_1, activity, likedBook, anon_2, rec, preferences, user |              0 |   38 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +AntiSemiApply     | 14 |                                                                     |              0 |   38 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |\                 +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Expand(Into)    | 15 | (rec)-[anon_5]-(activity)                                           |              0 |    0 |    6559 |            904 |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Argument        | 16 | anon_0, anon_1, activity, likedBook, anon_2, rec, preferences, user |              0 | 1616 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +SemiApply         | 17 |                                                                     |              0 | 1616 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |\                 +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Filter          | 18 | NOT anon_8 = anon_6                                                 |              0 |    0 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Expand(Into)    | 19 | (anon_7)<-[anon_8]-(rec)                                            |              0 | 1616 |   25563 |           1000 |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Expand(All)     | 20 | (preferences)-[anon_6:PREFERRED]->(anon_7)                          |              0 | 4594 |   18376 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | | |                +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | | +Argument        | 21 | anon_0, anon_1, activity, likedBook, anon_2, rec, preferences, user |              0 | 4594 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +Filter            | 22 | NOT anon_4 = anon_3 AND rec.lang = $lang AND rec:Book               |              0 | 4594 |    9188 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +Expand(All)       | 23 | (otherActivity)-[anon_4:LIKED|ADDED]->(rec)                         |              0 | 4681 |    5058 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +Expand(All)       | 24 | (likedBook)<-[anon_3:LIKED|ADDED]-(otherActivity)                   |              0 |   87 |     287 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| | |                  +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| | +Argument          | 25 | anon_0, anon_1, activity, likedBook, anon_2, preferences, user      |              0 |   63 |       0 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +OptionalExpand(All) | 26 | (activity)-[anon_2:LIKED|ADDED]->(likedBook)                        |              0 |   63 |      67 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Filter              | 27 | preferences.userId = $userId AND preferences:UserPreferences        |              0 |    1 |       2 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Expand(All)         | 28 | (user)-[anon_0:HAS_PREFERENCES]->(preferences)                      |              0 |    1 |       3 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Filter              | 29 | activity.userId = $userId AND activity:UserSuggestionActivity       |              0 |    1 |       2 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +Expand(All)         | 30 | (user)-[anon_1:HAS_ACTIVITY]->(activity)                            |              0 |    1 |       3 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
| |                    +----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+
| +NodeIndexSeek       | 31 | RANGE INDEX user:UserDetails(id) WHERE id = $userId                 |              0 |    1 |       2 |                |                    0/0 |                    |
+----------------------+----+---------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+------+---------+----------------+------------------------+--------------------+

Total database accesses: 65491, total allocated memory: 2568