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Our research focused on developing and evaluating general, effective, and efficient algorithms for learning of long-term knowledge in autonomous agents, as well as developing cognitive capabilities that exploit that learning. Our work has covered episodic memory, semantic memory, and procedural memory, integrated within a general cognitive architecture (Soar). For episodic memory, our research has led to significant improvements in the efficiency of storage (memory) and retrieval (time) through the exploitation of temporal contiguity, structural regularity, high cue structural selectivity, high temporal selectivity, low cue feature co-occurrence, resulting in no significant slowdown with experience: runs for days of real time (tens of millions of episodes), faster than real time. We evaluated our approach on multiple tasks (including mobile robotics, games, planning problems, linguistics) and for multiple cognitive capabilities.

Based on the associational nature of memory, the distinction between episodic and semantic memory, and the notion of memory strength, a model was developed of the role of emotion in the memory of television commercials. The model generated the following hypotheses: (1) emotional commercials will more likely be recalled than nonemotional commercials; (2) the stronger the emotion experienced by the viewer, the more likely the recall; and (3) types of details remembered will differ for emotional and nonemotional commercials. To test these hypotheses, 20 commercials were categorized as depicting neutral, postive, negative, or poignant (positive and negative) emotions. Sixty-five college students viewed the comercials, and continually registered their feelings on a dial ranging from 100 (very positive) through 50 (neutral) to 0 (very negative). After viewing the 20 commercials, subjects were asked to write down as much as they could remember about each commercial. The results indicated that there are differences in the memory strength of episodic traces for emotional and nonemotional commercial messages and even differences reflecting the relative intensity of emotional response. In addition, some semantic processing (for example, judgment and evaluation) was shown to be affected by the emotionally enhanced episodic trace. (HTH)

2009 Advances in Resting-State fMRI Symposium, Stanford University

Theta oscillations have been shown to act as a temporal framework to distinguish between encoding and retrieval processes in the mammalian hippocampus. Given that they are physiological phenomena, most studies looking at oscillations in the brain utilize intracranial implants to measure them. However, recently, a behavioral paradigm that originated in attention research has been utilized to infer theta oscillations in behavior. Here, we investigate the extent to which memory encoding performance is a function of theta.

Are episodic memories made harder to recall by being overwritten by subsequent related episodes? We asked undergraduates to recall their memories of visiting universities while applying for courses, predicting that they would recall less vividly their visits to the university that they had then attended. We compared the memories of students after one academic year (eight months) and two academic years (20 months).

The objective of this experiment is to test whether the enactment effect generalizes to memory for continuous movies. The enactment effect is the finding that phrases describing actions are remembered better after acting out the action than after merely reading the description (see Roberts et al., 2022 for a meta-analysis). While this effect has been demonstrated for simple action descriptions (e.g., "throw a baseball"), its extension to higher dimensional representations of actions, such as movies, remains unexplored. This study aims to determine whether the enactment effect can improve the recognition of movies. To achieve this, trained coders will identify all A1 actions in two movies depicting daily activities. A1 actions are defined as the basic units of action that produce a single result, such as picking up a cup or closing a door (Schwartz, 1991). Participants will first either act out action descriptions (act condition) or read action descriptions (watch condition) arranged in the sequential order depicted in the two movies. Next, they will encode movies containing the action descriptions they just acted out or read. Finally, participants' recognition memory of the movies will be assessed.

How do the comparisons that people make affect their memory? This pre-registration is for a study aimed at demonstrating that the kind of comparisons people make (i.e., judging what makes things similar versus what makes things different) affects their lasting memory representations of what they compare. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that judging what makes things similar promotes general memory representations that generalize across some category to which both things belong. On the other hand, we test the hypothesis that judging what makes things different promotes more detailed memory representations that enable fine discriminations among each individual thing. During an incidental encoding phase, participants will be presented with a series of image pairs, where each image depicts a different painting, but both paintings were painted by the same artists (e.g., Seurat). On each trial, participants will either be asked to think of and type a key similarity or a key difference between the scenes. Then, after a short, minute-long distractor task consisting of simple arithmetic problems, we will ask participants to complete a surprise recognition memory task, in which they will be presented with a series of individual images and be asked to judge whether or not each image was shown during the encoding task. This task will present studied images (studied images), novel images of paintings painted by the same artist as paintings depicted in studied images (studied categories), and novel images of paintings painted new artists (novel categories). We predict that participants judging similarities will be more successful than those judging differences at correctly identifying novel images from novel categories, whereas participants judging differences will be more successful at correctly identify novel images from studied categories. We also predict that participants judging difference will have better overall recognition memory than those judging similarity. The goal of this work is to bridge two different but related subfields of psychology, namely reasoning and memory, and we argue that idiosyncrasies of particular comparisons (i.e., similarity versus difference) have dissociable effects on recognition memory.

This projects aims at assessing whether people are accurate in predicting their performance on an episodic memory task when semantic processing of items is not possible. In this first experiment, participants learnt pairs of items which were real words or pseudo-words. They had to predict their future recognition memory performance. The goal was to assess whether semantic processing of information is necessary to accurately predict memory performance.

Episodic memory hinges upon our ability to process incoming information and bind these details into a coherent representation of a personally-experienced event. On an oscillatory level, neocortical alpha/beta desynchronisation is purported to support information processing while hippocampal theta/gamma synchronisation is thought to support representational binding (Hanslmayr, Staresina & Bowman, Trends in Neuroscience, 2016). To date however, these hypothesised roles have been derived though correlative links. Here, we ask whether modulating the amount of available information influences the degree of neocortical alpha/beta desynchronisation (reflecting information processing) and the degree of hippocampal theta/gamma desynchronisation (reflecting representational binding).

The impact of off-task attention on the precision of episodic memory

In the form of lottery games, this experiment will further explore the potential mechanisms underlying how self-referential episodic memory affects value-based decision making. We will manipulate participants' attention (full attention/divided attention) and the relationship between the two participants (cooperation/competition) to examine the roles of attention and social relationship on memory guided decision-making. The experiment consists of three phases: a reward task where the self or another person draws lottery tickets, a memory task, and a decision-making task as in previous experiments. Before the experiment, participants will be randomly assigned to the Cooperation group or the Competition group. Then, during the reward task, participants will be randomly assigned to the full attention or divided attention group.

Although research in episodic recall memory, comparing younger and older adults, favors the younger adults, findings in semantic memory research are less consistent. To examine age differences in semantic and episodic memory recall, 72 young adults (mean age, 20.8) and 72 older adults (mean age 71) completed three memory tests under varied conditions: recall only, present all-recall all, and present half-recall half. The tests involved recalling the states in the United States, the countries in Africa, and the countries in Europe and South America. Subjects also completed a shortened version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) vocabulary subtest. A preliminary analysis of the results revealed no significant age differences. When the groups were categorized by WAIS performance and recall condition, verbal ability, not age, was found to be a good predictor of semantic memory performance. On the episodic task, neither age nor verbal ability were good predictors of recall from episodic memory. Further research with matched groups is needed to substantiate these findings. (BL)

This article is from NeuroImage : Clinical , volume 5 . Abstract Computational models predict that focal damage to the Default Mode Network (DMN) causes widespread decreases and increases of functional DMN connectivity. How such alterations impact functioning in a specific cognitive domain such as episodic memory remains relatively unexplored. Here, we show in patients with unilateral medial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) that focal structural damage leads indeed to specific patterns of DMN functional connectivity alterations, specifically decreased connectivity between both medial temporal lobes (MTLs) and the posterior part of the DMN and increased intrahemispheric anterior–posterior connectivity. Importantly, these patterns were associated with better and worse episodic memory capacity, respectively. These distinct patterns, shown here for the first time, suggest that a close dialogue between both MTLs and the posterior components of the DMN is required to fully express the extensive repertoire of episodic memory abilities.

Aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology are related to a decline in episodic memory performance (Jagust, 2018; Rönnlund et al., 2005). Amyloid-beta plaques (Aβ) and tau tangles have been identified as key factors of AD and can appear in cognitively unimpaired older adults decades before symptom onset of dementia of the AD type (DAT) (Jack et al., 2024). Aβ plaques start to accumulate in the posteromedial cortex (PMC), while the earliest tau tangles are found in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) (Braak et al., 2006; Braak & Braak, 1991; Grothe et al., 2017; Villeneuve et al., 2015). These regions are crucial parts of the episodic memory network (Moscovitch et al., 2016; Ranganath & Ritchey, 2012). A risk factor for AD is the presence of the APOE ε4 allele, as opposed to the ε2 and ε3 alleles (Corder et al., 1993; Fortea et al., 2024), with a 3-fold higher risk with a heterozygous, and a 15-fold higher risk with homozygous genotype (Farrer et al., 1997). The APOE4 genotype has been found to be associated with increased Aβ deposition (Chételat & Fouquet, 2013) and Aβ-dependent tau accumulation (Palmer et al., 2023; Steward et al., 2023), but also with processes of non-pathological aging (Palmer et al., 2023). Several studies suggest interactions between aging as well as AD risk and pathology with episodic memory network functional connectivity strength and cognitive decline (Adams et al., 2022; Andrews-Hanna et al., 2007; Berron et al., 2020; Damoiseaux et al., 2008; Ziontz et al., 2021). However, questions remain about distinct network dynamics with aging versus with AD pathology, as well as their implications, which could be beneficial/ compensatory or detrimental. Understanding these network dynamics could contribute to earlier identification of at-risk patients, and potentially more targeted interventions to prevent DAT in the future (Corriveau-Lecavalier et al., 2024; Vogel et al., 2023). We therefore aim at differentiating episodic memory network dynamics via resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) strength with aging and with AD pathology and the relation to cognitive performance.

testing the episodic context account whether encoding of context features is responsible for reducing proactive interference in a multiple list paradigm.

This study will re-analyze behavioral data collected in healthy subjects in 8 studies that used highly similar paradigms in which a categorization task (encoding) was followed by a recognition task. To investigate whether expectation alters the effect of pain on the encoding and recognition of neutral visual objects, images have been presented alone or concomitantly to painful stimuli (heat, electrical, or visceral stimuli). Several data sets will be pooled to gain a better understanding of the interruptive function of pain on episodic memory and its dependence on top-down factors, such as expectation.

Episodic memory enables us to mentally re-experience the events of our past (Tulving, 1985). However, episodic memories are not literal records but summary representations of events (Conway, 2009). In particular, recent studies have shown that the course of events is summarized in memory representations, such that the time needed to remember an event is generally shorter than its actual duration—a phenomenon referred to as the temporal compression of events in episodic memory (D’Argembeau et al., 2022; Jeunehomme et al., 2018, 2020, 2022; Jeunehomme & D’Argembeau, 2019). Importantly, the rate of compression of events is not constant but varies across events (Jeunehomme & D’Argembeau, 2020). Our goal in this study will be to examine how prior familiarity with the spatial location of events affects their temporal compression in memory. Previous studies have shown that contextual familiarity promotes the spatial scaffolding of memories, leading to more detailed memory representations (Robin, 2018). However, stimulus novelty has also been found to improve memory (Quent et al., 2021). To date, no study has looked at the influence of contextual familiarity on the temporal compression of events in episodic memory. To address this issue, participants will be shown videos of events occurring in familiar and unfamiliar environments (i.e., filmed in their city of residence or in another city they have never visited before), and we will measure the duration of their mental remembrance of these events. Two experiments will be conducted, one experiment with videos showing someone walking around the city, and the other experiment showing someone walking and performing some actions on a university campus. The ratio between the remembering duration and the actual video duration will be used as a temporal compression index. A within-subject comparison of this index will be carried out to examine the effect of the familiarity of environments (novel vs familiar) on temporal compression rates. In the second experiment, we will additionally compare compression rates for events involving spatial navigation (i.e., simply walking) and events involving more complex interactions with the environment (e.g., buying a notebook). References Conway, M. A. (2009). Episodic memories. Neuropsychologia, 47(11), 2305–2313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.02.003 D’Argembeau, A., Jeunehomme, O., & Stawarczyk, D. (2022). Slices of the past: How events are temporally compressed in episodic memory. Memory, 30(1), 43–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2021.1896737 Jeunehomme, O., & D’Argembeau, A. (2019). The time to remember: Temporal compression and duration judgements in memory for real-life events. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 72(4), 930–942. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747021818773082 Jeunehomme, O., & D’Argembeau, A. (2020). Event segmentation and the temporal compression of experience in episodic memory. Psychological Research, 84(2), 481–490. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-018-1047-y Jeunehomme, O., Folville, A., Stawarczyk, D., Van Der Linden, M., & D’Argembeau, A. (2018). Temporal compression in episodic memory for real-life events. Memory, 26(6), 759–770. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2017.1406120 Jeunehomme, O., Heinen, R., Stawarczyk, D., Axmacher, N., & D’Argembeau, A. (2022). Representational dynamics of memories for real-life events. iScience, 25(11), 105391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105391 Jeunehomme, O., Leroy, N., & D’Argembeau, A. (2020). The temporal compression of events during episodic future thinking. Cognition, 205, 104416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104416 Quent, J. A., Henson, R. N., & Greve, A. (2021). A predictive account of how novelty influences declarative memory. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 179, 107382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107382 Robin, J. (2018). Spatial scaffold effects in event memory and imagination. WIREs Cognitive Science, 9(4), e1462. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1462 Tulving, E. (1985). Memory and consciousness. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 26(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/h008001

Episodic memory is a key function for independent living in old age, however, it is one of the first cognitive functions to show decline with aging (McKhann et al., 2011). Functional connectivity (FC) within the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and the posteromedial cortex (PMC) plays a critical role in supporting this cognitive function (Ritchey & Cooper, 2020; Rugg & Vilberg, 2013). Changes in FC involving the MTL and PMC occur with age in cognitively normal older adults. They were observed independently during both the performance of cognitive tasks (Jiang et al., 2016; St. Jacques et al., 2010) and during resting-state (Salami et al., 2016; Staffaroni et al., 2018) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Changes in MTL and PMC FC have also been reported, mainly using resting-state MRI, in APOE4 carriers (Cacciaglia et al., 2023) and with early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology (Adams et al., 2019; Berron et al., 2020). Thus, there is a need to better understand (i) which FC changes in MTL and PMC are related to AD pathology in the ageing brain, (ii) how they are related to episodic memory performance, and (iii) whether similar dynamics occur during episodic memory tasks and resting state over the same period of time. Previously, we described our plan to investigate the association of (change in) resting-state FC, APOE4, amyloid and tau PET, and change in cognitive performance. More information regarding the resting-state project can be found in a related preregistration (Fischer, 2023). Now, we want to extend this and investigate FC during an episodic memory encoding and retrieval task in a similar way. In short, we plan to investigate (change in) episodic-memory task FC involving the MTL and PMC. We aim to relate these changes in FC to the presence of the APOE4 allele, AD pathology (again using amyloid and tau PET), and change in cognitive performance in the same cohort of cognitively unimpaired older adults.

The current study aims to assess the efficacy of electroencephalography (EEG) neurofeedback for working memory and episodic memory in the elderly, including healthy elderly and elderly with mild cognitive function impairment.

We will explore the impact of future time horizons on all aspects of episodic memory in older adults.

This project tests the effects of an episodic memory induction on the delay discounting of hypothetical monetary rewards

In experimental psychopathology research, the use of anticipatory fear cues (threat of shock) has proven to be a valuable methodology for inducing emotional arousal in healthy subjects. The "threat of scream" paradigm represents an extension of this methodology (Beaurenaut, M., Tokarski, E., Dezecache, G. et al., 2020) and is suitable for the study of cognitive processes under emotional arousal. In the present study, an online version of the threat of scream paradigm will be used to investigate the role of emotional activation in episodic memory. In episodic memory, memories of specific events (what) are stored in a spatial (where) and temporal (when) context (Tulving, 2002). The episodic memory task was created following an already established and frequently used virtual reality task (Zlomuzica et al., 2015; 2018) in which de novo events are presented. The present study aims to investigate how the different conditions in the threat of scream paradigm (anticipation of aversive sounds versus anticipation of no sounds) affect encoding in a computer-based episodic memory task. The sample includes healthy (no presence of acute or chronic neurological and/or mental illness) adults up to 50 years of age with corrected or normal vision. The study will take place online via the Qualtrics software.

Background. Early detection of process-specific episodic memory (EM) impairment can facilitate diagnostic accuracy and early intervention for aging and pathology related neurocognitive decline. Despite a high sensitivity of behavioral paradigms such as the paired-associate learning (PAL) paradigm, the determination of the underlying neurobiological dysregulations remains challenging. The present study was a first attempt to combine the PAL paradigm with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to offer a method suitable to investigate Central and Autonomous Nervous System in more ecological and clinically contexts. Methods. Twenty-two male students (age: mean = 20.55, SD = 1.62) were included in this study and were asked to complete a PAL paradigm using faces. A 40-channel fNIRS system was used to measure relative changes in oxygenated hemoglobin in the bilateral prefrontal, superior parietal, inferior parietal, and middle occipital cortices. Changes were associated to different aspects of the paradigm, including memory phases, novelty, and difficulty level in face-name pairs. Results. Broad regions encompassing the bilateral frontal cortex (Brodmann area 1, 9, 11, 45, 46) were deactivated during encoding (FDR corrected p-values = 0.048, 0.012, 0.048, 0.048, 0.029), whereas a regional specific increase in the left orbitofrontal cortex (Brodmann area 11) was observed during retrieval (FDR corrected p-value = 0.048). The opposite brain responses of superior (increased HbO concentration compared to baseline) and inferior (decreased HbO concentration) parietal cortices were observed during encoding and the dominant activation of left PFC during retrieval. The higher paradigm difficult level was associated to greater beta value and HbO concentration in the bilateral prefrontal cortices; the higher novelty was found to generate greater occipital activation. Significant neurobio-behavioural correlations between the magnitude of brain activation (the right PFC) and behavioral performance (i.e., accuracy) during the retrieval process were also observed. Conclusion. The combination of a paired-associate learning paradigm with fNIRS provided the means to differentiate the two EM phases. Hence, fNIRS presents a promising technique to determine process-specific brain processes engaged in EM. This approach may provide a method for an early detection of EM deficits which, in turn, may allow for a timely onset of intervention counteracting EM decline.

This article is from Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience , volume 8 . Abstract None

This article is from Frontiers in Psychology , volume 4 . Abstract A fundamental question in the emotional memory literature is why emotion enhances memory in some conditions but disrupts memory in other conditions. For example, separate studies have shown that emotional stimuli tend to be better remembered in long-term episodic memory (EM), whereas emotional distracters tend to impair working memory (WM) maintenance. The first goal of this study was to directly compare the neural correlates of EM enhancement (EME) and WM impairing (WMI) effects, and the second goal was to explore individual differences in these mechanisms. During event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), participants maintained faces in WM while being distracted by emotional or neutral pictures presented during the delay period. EM for the distracting pictures was tested after scanning and was used to identify successful encoding activity for the picture distracters. The first goal yielded two findings: (1) emotional pictures that disrupted face WM but enhanced subsequent EM were associated with increased amygdala (AMY) and hippocampal activity (ventral system) coupled with reduced dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC) activity (dorsal system); (2) trials in which emotion enhanced EM without disrupting WM were associated with increased ventrolateral PFC activity. The ventral-dorsal switch can explain EME and WMI, while the ventrolateral PFC effect suggests a coping mechanism. The second goal yielded two additional findings: (3) participants who were more susceptible to WMI showed greater amygdala increases and PFC reductions; (4) AMY activity increased and dlPFC activity decreased with measures of attentional impulsivity. Taken together, these results clarify the mechanisms linking the enhancing and impairing effects of emotion on memory, and provide insights into the role of individual differences in the impact of emotional distraction.

This article is from Frontiers in Psychology , volume 4 . Abstract A fundamental question in the emotional memory literature is why emotion enhances memory in some conditions but disrupts memory in other conditions. For example, separate studies have shown that emotional stimuli tend to be better remembered in long-term episodic memory (EM), whereas emotional distracters tend to impair working memory (WM) maintenance. The first goal of this study was to directly compare the neural correlates of EM enhancement (EME) and WM impairing (WMI) effects, and the second goal was to explore individual differences in these mechanisms. During event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), participants maintained faces in WM while being distracted by emotional or neutral pictures presented during the delay period. EM for the distracting pictures was tested after scanning and was used to identify successful encoding activity for the picture distracters. The first goal yielded two findings: (1) emotional pictures that disrupted face WM but enhanced subsequent EM were associated with increased amygdala (AMY) and hippocampal activity (ventral system) coupled with reduced dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC) activity (dorsal system); (2) trials in which emotion enhanced EM without disrupting WM were associated with increased ventrolateral PFC activity. The ventral-dorsal switch can explain EME and WMI, while the ventrolateral PFC effect suggests a coping mechanism. The second goal yielded two additional findings: (3) participants who were more susceptible to WMI showed greater amygdala increases and PFC reductions; (4) AMY activity increased and dlPFC activity decreased with measures of attentional impulsivity. Taken together, these results clarify the mechanisms linking the enhancing and impairing effects of emotion on memory, and provide insights into the role of individual differences in the impact of emotional distraction.

This article is from Frontiers in Psychology , volume 4 . Abstract A fundamental question in the emotional memory literature is why emotion enhances memory in some conditions but disrupts memory in other conditions. For example, separate studies have shown that emotional stimuli tend to be better remembered in long-term episodic memory (EM), whereas emotional distracters tend to impair working memory (WM) maintenance. The first goal of this study was to directly compare the neural correlates of EM enhancement (EME) and WM impairing (WMI) effects, and the second goal was to explore individual differences in these mechanisms. During event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), participants maintained faces in WM while being distracted by emotional or neutral pictures presented during the delay period. EM for the distracting pictures was tested after scanning and was used to identify successful encoding activity for the picture distracters. The first goal yielded two findings: (1) emotional pictures that disrupted face WM but enhanced subsequent EM were associated with increased amygdala (AMY) and hippocampal activity (ventral system) coupled with reduced dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC) activity (dorsal system); (2) trials in which emotion enhanced EM without disrupting WM were associated with increased ventrolateral PFC activity. The ventral-dorsal switch can explain EME and WMI, while the ventrolateral PFC effect suggests a coping mechanism. The second goal yielded two additional findings: (3) participants who were more susceptible to WMI showed greater amygdala increases and PFC reductions; (4) AMY activity increased and dlPFC activity decreased with measures of attentional impulsivity. Taken together, these results clarify the mechanisms linking the enhancing and impairing effects of emotion on memory, and provide insights into the role of individual differences in the impact of emotional distraction.

This is a follow-up study to Schreiner and Hütter (2022, January 17, Experiment 2) in which we use different stimuli and a different status manipulation.

In this study we aim to examine the cognitive and neural processes associated with schema-incongruent (versus schema-congruent) events that prompt a feeling of surprise (versus expectedness) during encoding.

Various theoretical, computational, and empirical lines of research have indicated the significance of sleep for generalization. The two-stage model of memory (McClelland et al., 1995) suggested that recent memories are initially stored in the hippocampus and then replayed back to the neocortex for long-term storage, thereby establishing and enhancing the neuro-cortical representation of common elements (i.e., the “gist”) among different memories. Sleep is critical for this process of memory consolidation (Rasch & Born, 2013; Paller et al., 2021). Sleep is thought to enhance the integration of stimuli and abstraction of rules, and reactivation of newly learned memories during sleep could positively support both schema formation and addition to existing schemata (Lewis & Durrant, 2011). This project seeks to investigate how sleep influences the generalization of episodic memory using a memory task that has reliably shown generalization-related memory distortions. In a series of behavioral experiments, Tompary & Thompson-Schill (2021) have demonstrated that the organization of semantic knowledge – specifically, category membership and typicality – can explain distortions in new episodic memory formation. In these experiments, participants encoded and retrieved image-location associations on a 2D grid. The locations of images were manipulated so that most members of a category (e.g. birds) were clustered near each other, but some were in random locations. We found that the retrieved locations of typical category members were more biased towards their semantic neighbors, relative to atypical members. In the proposed experiment, we aim to test how a delay that either does or does not include sleep impacts these distortions. In this study, participants will complete the same memory procedure as described above, which concludes with an immediate memory test. This will be followed by a delayed memory test ~12 hours later. This delay will either include sleep or not, and we hypothesize that sleep will enhance consolidation and increase the likelihood of generalization-related memory distortions relative to wakefulness.

The primary purpose of the study was to examine the interrelationships among a number of episodic memory tasks, with a special interest in determining the correlations among various attributes of memory. The attributes investigated included imagery, associative, acoustic, temporal, affective, and frequency. The tasks were free recall, paired associates, serial, verbal-discrimination, classical recognition, and memory span, as well as less frequency used tasks. The 200 college-student subjects were tested for 10 sessions, and 28 different measures of episodic memory were obtained from the tasks. In addition, five measures of semantic memory were available. All scores were initially intercorrelated. Measures of episodic memory and semantic memory were generally unrelated.

Retrieval practice can enhance encoding and subsequent retrieval of new information relative to restudy or no additional practice (Chan et al., 2018; Pastötter & Bäuml, 2014; Yang et al., 2018). Multiple mechanisms related to the encoding, retrieval, and context of the newly encoded information, as well as motivational and metacognitive factors may contribute this so-called forward effect of testing (FET). While the FET has been shown with different materials, there is little research on the FET with educationally relevant materials, such as learning key-term definitions. The following preregistration is identical to the following preregistration with young adults (Kubik, V., 2021, May 13; osf.io/pqbyr) with two exceptions: middle-aged and older participants will be tested and an episodic memory test (instead of a fluid intelligence test) will be administered at the end of Sessions 1 and 2. The first objective of this study is to replicate and generalize the FET with key-term definitions in younger adults. The assignment of the participants to the two practice conditions is random, allowing to compare the size of the FET in Session 1 as a between-subjects effect and across sessions as a within-subjects effect. While we predict the FET to occur both as between- and within-subjects effect, the FET is expected to be larger between-subjects. due to potential transfer effects from Session 1 to Session 2 (cf. Kubik, Hahne, & Hausman, 2020; Pastötter & Frings, 2019) or due to a decreasing motivation and interest in fully engaging in Session 2, compared to Session 1. For this reason, we will also make corresponding predictions selectively for Session 1 as between-subjects comparisons and test these predictions. In Objectives 2–5, we examine the potential mechanisms underlying the FET. Here, we are specifically interested how retrieval practice may motivate learners to invest and sustain attention and mental effort during subsequent encoding of multiple new lists of key-term definitions. As a second objective, we examine the effects of the FET on self-reported cognitive effort during the initial encoding key-term definition in Learning Blocks 1–3. Based on the metacognitive account (Chan et al., 2018), interim-tests facilitate learners to adjust their encoding strategies, which can lead them to exert more cognitive effort to the learning task ahead and thus result in better future recall performance, compared to restudy practice. This leads to a smaller decline or even a maintenance of cognitive effort over the learning blocks in the retrieval-practice condition, as a result of more attention being directed towards the task (Jing et al., 2016) or expecting another test (Szpunar et al., 2007). Also, the overconfident participants may be surprised by their underperformance in an interim test, which may in turn lead to more cognitive effort in the following learning blocks (Cho et al., 2017; Lee & Ahn, 2017). As a result, retrieval practice (elicited by interim-tests) can enhance the criterial recall performance of the final text via sustained cognitive effort, compared restudy practice. The third objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that retrieval practice may attenuate the decline in attentional control or attention directed to the learned lists of key-term definitions across learning blocks. It is assumed that retrieval practice should reduce the number of lapses of attention and the occurrence of mind-wandering during the course of the learning phase, which should in turn facilitate new learning. As an index for attentional control, we will solicit a mind-wandering prompt during the initial learning phases of List 1 and List 3 of new six key term-definitions to probe participants’ current thoughts. Only a few studies investigated the effect of retrieval (vs. restudy) practice on the occurrence of mind-wandering as a self-reported proxy for attentional control, however, largely in relation to video materials on statistics, however, only in younger adults (Pan et al., 2020; Szpunar, Khan, & Schacter, 2013; Szpunar, Jing, & Schacter, 2014). We predict for middle-aged and older adults that with the time-dependent decrease in attentional control, mind-wandering will occur more frequently during the initial study phase of Learning Block 3 compared to Learning Block 1; furthermore, we expect that retrieval practice will reduce this increase in mind-wandering during the initial study phase from Learning Blocks 1 to 3, compared to restudy practice. A fourth objective is to examine whether the size of the FET is moderated by test anxiety in middle-aged and older adults. There is the assumption that participants with higher rates on test anxiety may benefit less or even suffer from low-stake interim tests as participants may devote their limited cognitive resources to balance their state test anxiety (cf. Tse & Pu, 2012). There are a few studies on the role of test anxiety on the size of the backward testing effect, reporting rather mixed, however, with younger adults. Participants with high test anxiety scores profited either less from retrieval practice (Mok & Chans, 2016), more from retrieval practice (Clark et al., 2018) or to a similar degree as from restudy practice (Tse & Pu, 2012). To our knowledge, there is currently only one study the potential moderating role on test anxiety on the FET (Yang et al., 2020) with younger adults, showing that this benefit on retrieval learning does not substantially modulate levels of trait and state test anxiety and neither does of trait and state test anxiety moderate the size of the FET. The aim of this study is to conceptually replicate this study and to assess the moderating role of trait and state anxiety on the FET with more complex learning materials (i.e., key-term definitions) in a within-subject design. Furthermore, we assess whether (repeated) retrieval practice via low-stake interim tests may decrease state test anxiety and thereby recall performance in Learning Block 3, compared to restudy practice. Given the limited knowledge on this topic, we do not formulate any specific predictions and only explore the role of trait and state test anxiety on FET and vice versa. A fifth objective is to explore the role of episodic memory for the FET. There are so far only very few studies on individual differences on the benefits of retrieval practice on future learning in young adults, with most studies using rather artificial materials of simple word materials in a lab-based study. In contrast, the present study uses more complex text materials of key-term definitions and recruits middle-aged and older adults. Given the few studies and the little theoretical work so far, we do not yet formulate any specific predictions, but rather, explore the potential role of episodic memory on the retrieval practice effects in future learning. To address the above-mentioned objectives, a blocked multiple-list learning paradigm (cf. Chan et al., 2018; see also Kubik, Hahne, & Hausman, 2020; Kubik, Lackner, & Hahne, 2020) is employed during two sessions of an online experiment. Dependent on the experimental group, participants are informed that in total 18 key-term definitions will be presented in each session. Participants are also instructed that they will have to remember all three lists of 6 key-term definitions at the end of each experimental session. Each of the three lists is presented for 50 seconds in an initial study phase, followed by a 30-s math distractor task, in which participants solve picture puzzles. For the Learning Blocks 1–2, the initial study phase is followed by either a 50s phase of retrieval or restudy practice. In the retrieval-practice condition, participants will attempt to recall the definitions of the just studied six definitions provided with the respective key term; in the restudy condition, they will be asked to study the list of key-term definitions again. In Learning Block 3, all participants will be asked after an initial study phase to recall the definitions of the just studied third list of key terms (as the criterial recall test). In the final tests, participants are instructed to recall the definitions of List 1–3 of key-term definitions. The same experimental procedure will be applied after seven days in Session 2, with the only difference of changing practice type (i.e., from retrieval practice to restudy practice or vice versa). At the end of Session 1 and 2, participants finish each session with a test of episodic memory. Self-reports of mind-wandering are prompted in the middle of the initial study phases of Learning Blocks 1 and 3. Furthermore, self-reported measures of cognitive effort (cf. Schmeck et al., 2015) are given immediately after the initial learning phases of Learning Blocks 1 and 3. In addition, before Learning Block 1, participants fill out a short form of the Test anxiety Inventory (Wacker et al., 2008) to measure self-reported trait test anxiety (i.e., the tendency to perceive testing situations as threatening or frightening) as well as a one-item scale to measure state test anxiety (cf. Yang et al., 2020) before the criterial List-3 test and before the final tests of Lists 1–3. After the final recall phase of List 1 and List 2 of key-term definitions, participants provide self-reports about prior knowledge to each of the previously presented key-term definitions. Employing a within-subjects design of practice type provides the opportunity to examine individual differences of the FET in relation to cognitive and noncognitive factors, as measured by cognitive effort, mind-wandering, episodic memory, as well as state and trait test anxiety.

Retrieval practice can enhance encoding and subsequent retrieval of new information relative to restudy or no additional practice (Chan et al., 2018; Pastötter & Bäuml, 2014; Yang et al., 2018). Multiple mechanisms related to the encoding, retrieval, and context of the newly encoded information, as well as motivational and metacognitive factors may contribute this so-called forward effect of testing (FET). While the FET has been shown with different materials, there is little research on the FET with educationally relevant materials, such as learning key-term definitions. The following preregistration is identical to the following preregistration with young adults (Kubik, V., 2021, May 13; osf.io/pqbyr) with two exceptions: middle-aged and older participants will be tested and an episodic memory test (instead of a fluid intelligence test) will be administered at the end of Sessions 1 and 2. The first objective of this study is to replicate and generalize the FET with key-term definitions in younger adults. The assignment of the participants to the two practice conditions is random, allowing to compare the size of the FET in Session 1 as a between-subjects effect and across sessions as a within-subjects effect. While we predict the FET to occur both as between- and within-subjects effect, the FET is expected to be larger between-subjects. due to potential transfer effects from Session 1 to Session 2 (cf. Kubik, Hahne, & Hausman, 2020; Pastötter & Frings, 2019) or due to a decreasing motivation and interest in fully engaging in Session 2, compared to Session 1. For this reason, we will also make corresponding predictions selectively for Session 1 as between-subjects comparisons and test these predictions. In Objectives 2–5, we examine the potential mechanisms underlying the FET. Here, we are specifically interested how retrieval practice may motivate learners to invest and sustain attention and mental effort during subsequent encoding of multiple new lists of key-term definitions. As a second objective, we examine the effects of the FET on self-reported cognitive effort during the initial encoding key-term definition in Learning Blocks 1–3. Based on the metacognitive account (Chan et al., 2018), interim-tests facilitate learners to adjust their encoding strategies, which can lead them to exert more cognitive effort to the learning task ahead and thus result in better future recall performance, compared to restudy practice. This leads to a smaller decline or even a maintenance of cognitive effort over the learning blocks in the retrieval-practice condition, as a result of more attention being directed towards the task (Jing et al., 2016) or expecting another test (Szpunar et al., 2007). Also, the overconfident participants may be surprised by their underperformance in an interim test, which may in turn lead to more cognitive effort in the following learning blocks (Cho et al., 2017; Lee & Ahn, 2017). As a result, retrieval practice (elicited by interim-tests) can enhance the criterial recall performance of the final text via sustained cognitive effort, compared restudy practice. The third objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that retrieval practice may attenuate the decline in attentional control or attention directed to the learned lists of key-term definitions across learning blocks. It is assumed that retrieval practice should reduce the number of lapses of attention and the occurrence of mind-wandering during the course of the learning phase, which should in turn facilitate new learning. As an index for attentional control, we will solicit a mind-wandering prompt during the initial learning phases of List 1 and List 3 of new six key term-definitions to probe participants’ current thoughts. Only a few studies investigated the effect of retrieval (vs. restudy) practice on the occurrence of mind-wandering as a self-reported proxy for attentional control, however, largely in relation to video materials on statistics, however, only in younger adults (Pan et al., 2020; Szpunar, Khan, & Schacter, 2013; Szpunar, Jing, & Schacter, 2014). We predict for middle-aged and older adults that with the time-dependent decrease in attentional control, mind-wandering will occur more frequently during the initial study phase of Learning Block 3 compared to Learning Block 1; furthermore, we expect that retrieval practice will reduce this increase in mind-wandering during the initial study phase from Learning Blocks 1 to 3, compared to restudy practice. A fourth objective is to examine whether the size of the FET is moderated by test anxiety in middle-aged and older adults. There is the assumption that participants with higher rates on test anxiety may benefit less or even suffer from low-stake interim tests as participants may devote their limited cognitive resources to balance their state test anxiety (cf. Tse & Pu, 2012). There are a few studies on the role of test anxiety on the size of the backward testing effect, reporting rather mixed, however, with younger adults. Participants with high test anxiety scores profited either less from retrieval practice (Mok & Chans, 2016), more from retrieval practice (Clark et al., 2018) or to a similar degree as from restudy practice (Tse & Pu, 2012). To our knowledge, there is currently only one study the potential moderating role on test anxiety on the FET (Yang et al., 2020) with younger adults, showing that this benefit on retrieval learning does not substantially modulate levels of trait and state test anxiety and neither does of trait and state test anxiety moderate the size of the FET. The aim of this study is to conceptually replicate this study and to assess the moderating role of trait and state anxiety on the FET with more complex learning materials (i.e., key-term definitions) in a within-subject design. Furthermore, we assess whether (repeated) retrieval practice via low-stake interim tests may decrease state test anxiety and thereby recall performance in Learning Block 3, compared to restudy practice. Given the limited knowledge on this topic, we do not formulate any specific predictions and only explore the role of trait and state test anxiety on FET and vice versa. A fifth objective is to explore the role of episodic memory for the FET. There are so far only very few studies on individual differences on the benefits of retrieval practice on future learning in young adults, with most studies using rather artificial materials of simple word materials in a lab-based study. In contrast, the present study uses more complex text materials of key-term definitions and recruits middle-aged and older adults. Given the few studies and the little theoretical work so far, we do not yet formulate any specific predictions, but rather, explore the potential role of episodic memory on the retrieval practice effects in future learning. To address the above-mentioned objectives, a blocked multiple-list learning paradigm (cf. Chan et al., 2018; see also Kubik, Hahne, & Hausman, 2020; Kubik, Lackner, & Hahne, 2020) is employed during two sessions of an online experiment. Dependent on the experimental group, participants are informed that in total 18 key-term definitions will be presented in each session. Participants are also instructed that they will have to remember all three lists of 6 key-term definitions at the end of each experimental session. Each of the three lists is presented for 50 seconds in an initial study phase, followed by a 30-s math distractor task, in which participants solve picture puzzles. For the Learning Blocks 1–2, the initial study phase is followed by either a 50s phase of retrieval or restudy practice. In the retrieval-practice condition, participants will attempt to recall the definitions of the just studied six definitions provided with the respective key term; in the restudy condition, they will be asked to study the list of key-term definitions again. In Learning Block 3, all participants will be asked after an initial study phase to recall the definitions of the just studied third list of key terms (as the criterial recall test). In the final tests, participants are instructed to recall the definitions of List 1–3 of key-term definitions. The same experimental procedure will be applied after seven days in Session 2, with the only difference of changing practice type (i.e., from retrieval practice to restudy practice or vice versa). At the end of Session 1 and 2, participants finish each session with a test of episodic memory. Self-reports of mind-wandering are prompted in the middle of the initial study phases of Learning Blocks 1 and 3. Furthermore, self-reported measures of cognitive effort (cf. Schmeck et al., 2015) are given immediately after the initial learning phases of Learning Blocks 1 and 3. In addition, before Learning Block 1, participants fill out a short form of the Test anxiety Inventory (Wacker et al., 2008) to measure self-reported trait test anxiety (i.e., the tendency to perceive testing situations as threatening or frightening) as well as a one-item scale to measure state test anxiety (cf. Yang et al., 2020) before the criterial List-3 test and before the final tests of Lists 1–3. After the final recall phase of List 1 and List 2 of key-term definitions, participants provide self-reports about prior knowledge to each of the previously presented key-term definitions. Employing a within-subjects design of practice type provides the opportunity to examine individual differences of the FET in relation to cognitive and noncognitive factors, as measured by cognitive effort, mind-wandering, episodic memory, as well as state and trait test anxiety.

This article is from Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience , volume 5 . Abstract Memory is the capacity to store, maintain, and retrieve events or information from the mind. Difficulties in verbal episodic memory commonly occur in healthy aging. In this paper, we assess the hypothesis that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) or over the parietal cortex (PARC) could facilitate verbal episodic memory in a group of 32 healthy older adults and in a group of 32 young subjects relative to a sham stimulation using a single-blind randomized controlled design. Each participant underwent two sessions of anodal tDCS (left and right) and one session of sham stimulation. Overall, our results demonstrated that, in young and in older subjects, anodal tDCS applied during the retrieval phase facilitates verbal episodic memory. In particular, we found that tDCS applied over the left and right regions (DLPFC and PARC) induced better performance in young participants; only tDCS applied over the left regions (DLPFC and PARC) increased retrieval in older subjects. These results suggest that anodal tDCS can be a relevant tool to modulate the long-term episodic memory capacities of young and older subjects.

This article is from BMC Neuroscience , volume 12 . Abstract Background: Decline in episodic memory is one of the hallmark features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is also a defining feature of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), which is posited as a potential prodrome of AD. While deficits in episodic memory are well documented in MCI, the nature of this impairment remains relatively under-researched, particularly for those domains with direct relevance and meaning for the patient's daily life. In order to fully explore the impact of disruption to the episodic memory system on everyday memory in MCI, we examined participants' episodic memory capacity using a battery of experimental tasks with real-world relevance. We investigated episodic acquisition and delayed recall (story-memory), associative memory (face-name pairings), spatial memory (route learning and recall), and memory for everyday mundane events in 16 amnestic MCI and 18 control participants. Furthermore, we followed MCI participants longitudinally to gain preliminary evidence regarding the possible predictive efficacy of these real-world episodic memory tasks for subsequent conversion to AD. Results: The most discriminating tests at baseline were measures of acquisition, delayed recall, and associative memory, followed by everyday memory, and spatial memory tasks, with MCI patients scoring significantly lower than controls. At follow-up (mean time elapsed: 22.4 months), 6 MCI cases had progressed to clinically probable AD. Exploratory logistic regression analyses revealed that delayed associative memory performance at baseline was a potential predictor of subsequent conversion to AD. Conclusions: As a preliminary study, our findings suggest that simple associative memory paradigms with real-world relevance represent an important line of enquiry in future longitudinal studies charting MCI progression over time.

Everyday life unfolds continuously, but somehow our memories are more discrete and episodic, broken down into individual memories or events. Increasing research suggests that continuity and change in an unfolding context (e.g., spatial location) promotes the transformation of ongoing experiences into distinct and memorable events (Clewett et al., 2019). To date, much of the research on this idea has focused on how stability and change in the external environment (e.g., remaining within a room and then crossing into a new one) affects the organization of episodic memory. But everyday life is also heavily colored by dynamic fluctuations in emotional experiences and moods. Somewhat surprisingly, even though it is well established that emotional stimuli have an especially strong influence on cognitive processing, little work has taken a holistic approach to understanding how emotion simultaneously impacts the multi-faceted elements of memory (e.g., space, time, perceptual features, subjective feelings; see Clewett and Murty, 2019; Palombo and Cocquyt, 2020). The goal of this study is to examine how music induces discrete and lingering effects on emotional states, and how these mood fluctuations in turn affect different aspects of memory for temporally-extended sequences. Recent evidence shows that fluctuations in arousal states, as indexed by pupil size and dilation, predict the temporal integration of sequential information in memory (Clewett et al., 2020). This suggests that dynamic musical pieces and the moods they induce can influence how information is integrated together. Another possibility is that emotional stimuli function as especially strong context shifts during dynamic experiences, because they elicit much more robust increases in arousal than neutral information (Clewett et al., 2020). Motivated by these findings, we plan to investigate how emotional states that unfold during neutral item sequences elicit discrete and sustained effects on encoding temporal, perceptual, and event information. Specifically, we will examine how emotional contexts, elicited through controlled-musical stimuli, influence different aspects of episodic memory representations, including memory for temporal order, temporal distance, individual items representations, and temporal source context.

Everyday life unfolds continuously, but somehow our memories are more discrete and episodic, broken down into individual memories or events. Increasing research suggests that continuity and change in an unfolding context (e.g., spatial location) promotes the transformation of ongoing experiences into distinct and memorable events (Clewett et al., 2019). To date, much of the research on this idea has focused on how stability and change in the external environment (e.g., remaining within a room and then crossing into a new one) affects the organization of episodic memory. But everyday life is also heavily colored by dynamic fluctuations in emotional experiences and moods. Somewhat surprisingly, even though it is well established that emotional stimuli have an especially strong influence on cognitive processing, little work has taken a holistic approach to understanding how emotion simultaneously impacts the multi-faceted elements of memory (e.g., space, time, perceptual features, subjective feelings; see Clewett and Murty, 2019; Palombo and Cocquyt, 2020). The goal of this study is to examine how music induces discrete and lingering effects on emotional states, and how these mood fluctuations in turn affect different aspects of memory for temporally-extended sequences. Recent evidence shows that fluctuations in arousal states, as indexed by pupil size and dilation, predict the temporal integration of sequential information in memory (Clewett et al., 2020). This suggests that dynamic musical pieces and the moods they induce can influence how information is integrated together. Another possibility is that emotional stimuli function as especially strong context shifts during dynamic experiences, because they elicit much more robust increases in arousal than neutral information (Clewett et al., 2020). Motivated by these findings, we plan to investigate how emotional states that unfold during neutral item sequences elicit discrete and sustained effects on encoding temporal, perceptual, and event information. Specifically, we will examine how emotional contexts, elicited through controlled-musical stimuli, influence different aspects of episodic memory representations, including memory for temporal order, temporal distance, individual items representations, and temporal source context.

The pronounced decline in episodic memory during healthy aging can be explained by decreasing abilities to build and remember associations (i.e., associative memory). Strategies as interactive imagery (i.e., creating a mental image of the two words in interaction) and creating relational sentences (i.e., sentences integrating the two words) enhance associative memory in older adults. However, older adults do not spontaneously and efficiently use these strategies. Recent research revealed that drawing is an efficient encoding tool to enhance memory performance for single items in younger and older adults. However, the impact of drawing on associative memory remains to be investigated. In the current project we aim to extend existing evidence to associative memory and thus investigate whether drawing as an encoding tool can reduce age-related deficits in associative memory. We assume that drawing enhances the effect of strategies involving imagery in older adults. In a first experiment (see preregistration 1), we tested the effect of drawing interactive images, compared to writing relational sentences on recognition memory performance for items and for associations of items in two age groups (younger vs. older). Ten older and eleven young participants were tested. In this first study, encoding time for writing and drawing was 25 s. Results showed dramatically impaired associative memory performance after drawing in the older group, when compared to writing. In contrast, item memory performance after writing in the older group resulted in good memory performance, comparable to memory performance of the younger group. The results coincided with the feedback from older participants, reporting that the encoding time was too short to draw interactive images. We think that these results (impaired associative memory performance in the older group after drawing interactive images) can be explained by the encoding time of that was too short for the old participants to successfully use drawing to create an interactive image. We decided to stop the study (preregistration 1) and to start the present study using the same paradigm, but with longer encoding time (45 s) for the older participants. Further, as writing interactive sentences seemed to be a successful encoding tool also for the older group, we use writing rote repetitions of the words as control condition of the present study. This control condition will not automatically lead to the creation of an interaction between the two words of a pair. We expect an overall positive effect of drawing on memory performance with the largest benefit for associative memory in older adults (reflected by the difference between drawing and control condition). This experiment will provide insight on the mechanistic underpinnings of methods to improve episodic memory in aging people.

Abstract: Our memories can differ in quality from one event to the next, and emotion is one important explanatory factor. Still, the manner in which emotion impacts episodic memory is complex: Whereas emotion enhances some aspects of episodic memory—particularly central aspects—it dampens memory for peripheral/contextual information. Extending previous work, we examined the effects of emotion on one often overlooked aspect of memory, namely, temporal context. We tested whether emotion would impair memory for when an event occurred. Participants (N = 116 adults) watched videos wherein negative and neutral images were inserted. Consistent with prior work, results showed that emotion enhanced and impaired memory, respectively, for “what” and “which.” Unexpectedly, emotion was associated with enhanced accuracy for “when”: We found that participants estimated that neutral images occurred relatively later, but there was no such bias for negative images. By examining multiple features of episodic memory, we provide a holistic characterization of the myriad effects of emotion.

Emerging evidence suggests that oxytocin can impact social information processing. For instance, a human study showed that oxytocin, administrated before memory encoding, specifically improves facial recognition memory, which was tested 24 hours later (JN2009). However, the source of this memory enhancement effect remains unclear: does the oxytocin only enhance memory encoding or both the encoding and consolidation? The present study thus will investigate the effect of oxytocin on memory consolidation in humans. In a double-blind, between-subject, placebo-controlled design, 120 healthy subjects (60 males and 60 females) will first encode social and non-social stimuli and immediately be randomly assigned to receive oxytocin (24 IU) or placebo. Recognition memory was tested 24 hours after encoding for all participants.

Preregistration of Secondary Data Analysis. See the attached Preregistration Form for more details including references.

The goal of this study is therefore to test whether images that are encoded with semantically congruent sounds are better remembered at long-term than images presented with semantically incongruent sounds. Here our main question is: does semantic congruence between information presented in distinct modalities increase episodic memory for that event, compared to semantic incongruence? Our hypothesis is that semantically congruent information increases the elaboration or 'spread' of the encoding (i.e., total breadth of analysis carried out), compared to semantically incongruent information, as discussed in Craik and Tulving (1975) offering a cognitive explanation for the levels of processing effect and the related congruency effect. According to this proposal, recollection is enhanced to the extent that the (crossmodal) information forms an integrated semantically meaningful unit. Therefore, one would expect that semantically congruent multimodal stimuli will be better recollected than incongruent ones because a more elaborate trace is encoded, and because in such cases the structure of semantic memory can be utilized more effectively. To test this, we measured episodic memory for visual objects presented simultaneously with semantically congruent sounds, compared with visual objects presented with semantically incongruent sounds. We use the most widely accepted definition of episodic memory as long-term memory supported by recollection of past events. That is, in accord with the widely accepted dual process view, although recognition may be supported by both recollection and familiarity, conscious recollection is the critical process supporting episodic memory (see for reviews Tulving, 2002; Yonelinas, 2001). More specifically, we implemented the dual-process signal-detection model (Koen et al., 2017) to measure recollection and make the critical test comparing the congruent and the incongruent condition. To avoid possible confounds due to variations in encoding strategies, we designed an incidental encoding paradigm in which participants were instructed to rate the congruence of the audio and visual components of a list of audio-visual stimuli. The recognition test to measure long-term memory took place 2 days later. Furthermore, to assess whether the effects could be associated to recollection retrieval processes, a ROC curve analysis was implemented (Juola et al., 2019; Yonelinas, 2002), which allows calculating the Recollection parameter (R), as defined by the dual-process signal detection model (DPSD, (Yonelinas, 2002; Yonelinas et al., 2010)).

The goal of this study is therefore to test whether images that are encoded with semantically congruent sounds are better remembered at long-term than images presented with semantically incongruent sounds. Here our main question is: does semantic congruence between information presented in distinct modalities increase episodic memory for that event, compared to semantic incongruence? Our hypothesis is that semantically congruent information increases the elaboration or 'spread' of the encoding (i.e., total breadth of analysis carried out), compared to semantically incongruent information, as discussed in Craik and Tulving (1975) offering a cognitive explanation for the levels of processing effect and the related congruency effect. According to this proposal, recollection is enhanced to the extent that the (crossmodal) information forms an integrated semantically meaningful unit. Therefore, one would expect that semantically congruent multimodal stimuli will be better recollected than incongruent ones because a more elaborate trace is encoded, and because in such cases the structure of semantic memory can be utilized more effectively. To test this, we measured episodic memory for visual objects presented simultaneously with semantically congruent sounds, compared with visual objects presented with semantically incongruent sounds. We use the most widely accepted definition of episodic memory as long-term memory supported by recollection of past events. That is, in accord with the widely accepted dual process view, although recognition may be supported by both recollection and familiarity, conscious recollection is the critical process supporting episodic memory (see for reviews Tulving, 2002; Yonelinas, 2001). More specifically, we implemented the dual-process signal-detection model (Koen et al., 2017) to measure recollection and make the critical test comparing the congruent and the incongruent condition. To avoid possible confounds due to variations in encoding strategies, we designed an incidental encoding paradigm in which participants were instructed to rate the congruence of the audio and visual components of a list of audio-visual stimuli. The recognition test to measure long-term memory took place 2 days later. Furthermore, to assess whether the effects could be associated to recollection retrieval processes, a ROC curve analysis was implemented (Juola et al., 2019; Yonelinas, 2002), which allows calculating the Recollection parameter (R), as defined by the dual-process signal detection model (DPSD, (Yonelinas, 2002; Yonelinas et al., 2010)).

This is a follow-up study to our initial episodic memory network. We were interested in establishing whether the causal centrality of episodic memories is related to how transformative an experience or memory was. In Study 1, we measured a variety of variables including questions we thought tapped into transformativeness. However, in Study 2 we wanted to hone further into the premise and distinction between personally transformative (i.e., changed me and my values and preferences) and epistemic transformative (i.e., learning something, found something out i otherwise would not have known). We added a variety of questions to get at ideas related to: epistemic transformation surprise controllability and we replaced some questions to tap into other ideas frequently discussed in counterfactual reasoning lit.

A sense of purpose in life is an aspect of psychological well-being (Ryff, 1995) and one component of a meaningful life (Martela & Steger, 2016) that reflects the feeling that one’s life is goal-oriented, directed, and worthwhile (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009; Scheier et al., 2006). Purpose in life is associated consistently with better cognitive function, both when measured cross-sectionally (Sutin et al., 2022) and longitudinally (Kim et al., 2019). There is also consistent evidence that it is associated with lower risk of incident dementia, an association that has been found in eight cohorts (Sutin et al., 2023). Although purpose has been associated with less cognitive decline in middle and older adulthood (Kim et al., 2019), there has yet to be a systematic test of purpose and change in specific cognitive functions across multiple cohorts. The present research focuses specifically on episodic memory to test whether purpose in life is associated with the trajectory of this cognitive function over time. We will test this association in 10 samples from 9 cohorts that have at least two longitudinal assessments of episodic memory. In our previous research on personality and episodic memory, we found that personality was associated with change in memory in samples that had more than two longitudinal assessments of memory (Sutin et al., 2022). We will thus test whether number of memory assessments moderates the association between purpose and memory change. In addition, although purpose and meaning are conceptually distinct, they tend to have similar associations with health outcomes (Czekierda et al., 2017; Sutin, Luchetti, et al., 2021), including dementia risk (Sutin et al., 2023). We will thus also test whether the association with memory change varies by whether the construct measured is purpose in life or meaning in life.

A sense of purpose in life is an aspect of psychological well-being (Ryff, 1995) and one component of a meaningful life (Martela & Steger, 2016) that reflects the feeling that one’s life is goal-oriented, directed, and worthwhile (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009; Scheier et al., 2006). Purpose in life is associated consistently with better cognitive function, both when measured cross-sectionally (Sutin et al., 2022) and longitudinally (Kim et al., 2019). There is also consistent evidence that it is associated with lower risk of incident dementia, an association that has been found in eight cohorts (Sutin et al., 2023). Although purpose has been associated with less cognitive decline in middle and older adulthood (Kim et al., 2019), there has yet to be a systematic test of purpose and change in specific cognitive functions across multiple cohorts. The present research focuses specifically on episodic memory to test whether purpose in life is associated with the trajectory of this cognitive function over time. We will test this association in 10 samples from 9 cohorts that have at least two longitudinal assessments of episodic memory. In our previous research on personality and episodic memory, we found that personality was associated with change in memory in samples that had more than two longitudinal assessments of memory (Sutin et al., 2022). We will thus test whether number of memory assessments moderates the association between purpose and memory change. In addition, although purpose and meaning are conceptually distinct, they tend to have similar associations with health outcomes (Czekierda et al., 2017; Sutin, Luchetti, et al., 2021), including dementia risk (Sutin et al., 2023). We will thus also test whether the association with memory change varies by whether the construct measured is purpose in life or meaning in life.

With this registered report, we aim to provide a comprehensive assessment of distortions in autobiographical memory content and affect in dysphoria. We will employ Bayesian Informative Hypothesis Testing to test common fundamental assumptions as well as diverging predictions of influential theories in the field. We will report on the validity and feasibility of a newly developed paradigm that allows the assessment of both episodic memory detail and psychophysiological affective responses during retrieval. With the approach described in this report, we not only aim to gain detailed insights into how an enduring negative mood might alter the way people relive their personal past, but additionally, we hope to identify clear memory targets for future clinical interventions. This Stage 1 Registered Report has been in-principle accepted at Nature Communications.

In everyday life, we are often required to update our memories due to changes we experience. There may be instances when we need to update existing semantic memories. This could occur, for example, when you must remember your new age after a recent birthday. On other occasions, we may need to update newly formed episodic memories, such as learning the dosage for a new medication and then learning the increased dosage after your doctor changes your prescription. At present, investigations into the mechanisms that contribute to updating from semantic and episodic memory have been kept relatively separate. Some work suggests that the presence of semantic associations supports both semantic and episodic memory updating (e.g., Knight et al., 2012). However, this was suggested from results across separate experiments, which limits the ability to make this comparison. More recently, it has been shown that recollecting the initially learned information later can benefit memory updating, regardless of whether there was a semantic association present between the original and updated information (Metcalfe & Huelser, 2020). The present study will provide a direct comparison of semantic and episodic memory updating to determine whether both semantic associations and episodic recollection of the initially retrieved information (i.e., retrieval recollection) are required for successful updating, and whether this depends on the type of memory that is being updated.

This study corresponds to the Work Package 4 (WP4) of the ERC-StG-2021 “ATENA” (Project Number: 101039206; PI: Maddalena Boccia). In ATENA the main aim of WP4 is to investigate the relationship between spatial and temporal processing in Episodic Autobiographical Memory (EAM) in neurological patients, including Focal Brain Damage (FBD) due to ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. To achieve the goal of WP4, a sample of patients with FBD will perform tasks assessing autobiographical memory (Autobiographical Interview), spatial and temporal processing skills, in order to assess the relation between spatiotemporal coding and EAM.

This study corresponds to the Work Package 4 (WP4) of the ERC-StG-2021 “ATENA” (Project Number: 101039206; PI: Maddalena Boccia). In ATENA the main aim of WP4 is to investigate the relationship between spatial and temporal processing in Episodic Autobiographical Memory (EAM) in neurological patients, including Focal Brain Damage (FBD) due to ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. To achieve the goal of WP4, a sample of patients with FBD will perform tasks assessing autobiographical memory (Autobiographical Interview), spatial and temporal processing skills, in order to assess the relation between spatiotemporal coding and EAM.