<b><i>Background:</i></b> Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a biologically based temperament trait associated with enhanced awareness and responsivity to environmental and social stimuli. Individuals with high SPS are more affected by their environments, which may result in overarousal, cognitive depletion, and fatigue. <b><i>Method:</i></b> We examined individual differences in resting-state (rs) brain connectivity (using functional MRI) as a function of SPS among a group of adults (<i>M</i> age = 66.13 ± 11.44 years) immediately after they completed a social affective “empathy” task. SPS was measured with the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) Scale and correlated with rs brain connectivity. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Results showed enhanced rs brain connectivity within the ventral attention, dorsal attention, and limbic networks as a function of greater SPS. Region of interest analyses showed increased rs brain connectivity between the hippocampus and the precuneus (implicated in episodic memory); while weaker connectivity was shown between the amygdala and the periaqueductal gray (important for anxiety), and the hippocampus and insula (implicated in habitual cognitive processing). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The present study showed that SPS is associated with rs brain connectivity implicated in attentional control, consolidation of memory, physiological homeostasis, and deliberative cognition. These results support theories proposing “depth of processing” as a central feature of SPS and highlight the neural processes underlying this cardinal feature of the trait.

Similar to sleeping after learning, a brief period of wakeful resting after encoding new information supports memory retention in contrast to task-related cognition. Recent evidence suggests that working memory capacity (WMC) is related to sleep-dependent declarative memory consolidation. We tested whether WMC moderates the effect of a brief period of wakeful resting compared to performing a distractor task subsequent to encoding a word list. Participants encoded and immediately recalled a word list followed by either an 8 min wakeful resting period (eyes closed, relaxed) or by performing an adapted version of the d2 test of attention for 8 min. At the end of the experimental session (after 12–24 min) and again, after 7 days, participants were required to complete a surprise free recall test of both word lists. Our results show that interindividual differences in WMC are a central moderating factor for the effect of post-learning activity on memory retention. The difference in word retention between a brief period of wakeful resting versus performing a selective attention task subsequent to encoding increased in higher WMC individuals over a retention interval of 12–24 min, as well as over 7 days. This effect was reversed in lower WMC individuals. Our results extend findings showing that WMC seems not only to moderate sleep-related but also wakeful resting-related memory consolidation.

Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a biologically-based trait associated with greater reactivity to both positive and negative environments. Recent studies suggest that the activity following learning can support or hinder memory retention. Here, we employed a within-subject experiment to examine whether and how individual differences in SPS contribute to differences in memory retention. Sixty-four participants encoded and immediately recalled two word lists: one followed by 8-min of eyes-closed, wakeful resting; and the other by a distraction task. After 7 days, participants completed a surprise free recall test for both word lists. If participants wakefully rested after encoding, memory retention increased as a function of higher SPS. However, in the distraction condition, a negative curvilinear relationship indicated that memory retention was especially hindered for highly sensitive individuals. These results suggest that individual differences in SPS are an important factor to consider when examining the effects of environmental conditions on learning and memory.

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