Enhancing Retrieval Capacity of the Predictive Brain through Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Intervention

Abstract

The ability to extract spatial or temporal regularities across experiences is crucial for skill development and predictive processes. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a key role in modulating competitive memory systems, supporting declarative/episodic memory as opposed to statistical learning. This regulatory role may explain findings of improved acquisition and consolidation of statistical regularities following the suppression of dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). This raises a key question: Is access to models and prior statistical knowledge also modulated by the DLPFC? This preregistered study provides new insights by examining the role of the DLPFC in retrieving pre-existing knowledge of temporally distributed statistical regularities. Using a probabilistic learning task, healthy participants engaged in implicit statistical learning for 25 minutes. After a 24-hour consolidation period, participants received either 1 Hz rTMS or sham stimulation over the left, right, or bilateral DLPFC for 10 minutes before retesting. We found more effective access to statistical regularities in the bilateral DLPFC group compared to the sham group. Our results suggest that DLPFC suppression enhances the retrieval of statistical knowledge, particularly when interhemispheric compensatory mechanisms are prevented. These findings contribute to understanding competitive memory systems and offer implications for cognitive enhancement strategies.