BOLD Activity During Correct-Answer Feedback in Cued Recall Predicts Subsequent Retrieval Performance: An fMRI Investigation Using a Partial Trial Design

Abstract

Receiving correct answer feedback following a retrieval attempt has proven to be a highly effective means of learning new information, yet the mechanisms behind its efficacy remain poorly understood. Here, fMRI was used to examine how BOLD activity measured during a period of feedback could predict subsequent memory (SM) performance on a final test. Twenty-five human subjects studied pairs of associated words, and were then asked to covertly recall target words in response to provided cues. Correct answer feedback was provided immediately after covert retrieval attempts. A partial trial design enabled separate modeling of activity related to retrieval and to feedback processing. During initial study, typical SM effects were observed across the whole brain. During feedback following a failed recall attempt, activity in only a subset of these regions predicted final test performance. These regions fell within the default mode network (DMN) and demonstrated negative SM effects, such that greater deactivation was associated with successful recall. No "task-positive" regions demonstrated SM effects in this contrast. The obtained results are consistent with a growing literature that associates DMN deactivation with successful learning in multiple task contexts, likely reflecting differences in the allocation of attentional resources during encoding.

Identifying task-general effects of stimulus familiarity in the parietal memory network

“…This relates to concerns of subject motion, which has numerous deleterious effects on BOLD data quality (e.g., Friston et al, 1996; Bullmore et al, 1999; Lund et al, 2005). However, in-scanner speech can be used to ask questions that are beyond the scope of simple button press responses, and can do so without the need for additional verification steps as is appropriate in situations of covert cued recall (e.g., Wing et al, 2013; Gilmore et al, 2018). For example, experimenters can investigate processes associated with free recall of items within a list (Kragel and Polyn, 2013, 2016; Kragel et al, 2015), or examine effects related to continuous recall and description of scenes from video clips (e.g., Chen et al, 2017b; Baldassano et al, 2017).…”

Prática da Lembrança: Perspectivas Teóricas e a Hipótese do Aprendizado Baseado na Simulação Construtiva

“…Há evidências do papel de regiões da rede de modo padrão na prática da lembrança, em especial o córtex pré-frontal medial, que demonstra uma maior atividade (Guran et al, 2022;Wing et al, 2013) e interconectividade com outras regiões da rede (Wing et al, 2013) para os itens lembrados em comparação com os esquecidos. O córtex pré-frontal medial também demonstrou maior desativação durante o feedback corretivo após a prática da lembrança para os itens posteriormente lembrados em comparação com os esquecidos (Gilmore et al, 2018). Mais importante para a nossa discussão, entretanto, são as diferenças na atividade neural geradas pelo mecanismo de simulação de cenas quando empregado para o lembrar e para o imaginar.…”