ERP Subsequent Memory Effects Differ between Inter-Item and Unitization Encoding Tasks

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Memories formed in the context of an imagined survival scenario are more easily remembered, but the mechanisms underlying this effect are still under debate. We investigated the neurocognitive processes underlying the survival processing effect by examining event-related potentials (ERPs) during memory encoding. Participants imagined being either stranded in a foreign land and needing to survive, or in an overseas moving (control) scenario, while incidentally encoding a list of words. Words encountered in the survival context were associated with improved recall and reduced false-memory intrusions during a later memory test. Survival processing was associated with an increased frontal slow wave, while there was no effect on the overall P300 amplitude, relative to the control scenario. Furthermore, a subsequent memory effect in the P300 time window was found only in the control scenario. These findings suggest that survival processing leads to a shift away from lower level encoding processes, which are sensitive to motivation and stimulus salience and which were evident in the control scenario, to more active and elaborative forms of encoding. The results are consistent with a richness of encoding account of the survival processing effect and offer novel insights into the encoding processes that lead to enhanced memory for fitness-relevant information.

Section: P300 and Frontal Slow Wave Subsequent Memory Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: P300 and Frontal Slow Wave Subsequent Memory Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival processing modulates the neurocognitive mechanisms of episodic encoding

Forester

Kroneisen

Erdfelder

et al. 2020

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“…These other neural processes could have offset the effects seen in the Dm (Speer & Curran, 2008;Yick, Buratto, & Schaefer, 2015). In general, it is not uncommon to find disparity between behavioral data and neural correlates of memory encoding or retrieval (Collier, Wolf, Valdez, Gur, & Gur, 2014;Kamp, Bader, & Mecklinger, 2017;Speer & Curran, 2008;Wolff, Kemter, Schweinberger, & Wiese, 2014).…”

Section: Erp Correlates Of Memory Retrievalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural evidence for the contribution of holistic processing but not attention allocation to the other-race effect on face memory

Herzmann

Minor

Curran

2018

Multiple mechanisms have been suggested to contribute to the other-race effect on face memory, the phenomenon of better memory performance for own-race than other-race faces. Here, two of these mechanisms, increased attention allocation and greater holistic processing during memory encoding for own-race than other-race faces, were tested in two separate experiments. In these experiments event-related potentials were measured during study (the difference due to memory, Dm) and test phase (old/new effects) to examine brain activation related to memory encoding and retrieval, allowing for selective investigations of these memory sub-processes. In Experiment 1, participants studied own-race (Caucasian) and other-race (Chinese) faces under focused or divided attention. In Experiment 2, participants studied own-race (Caucasian) and other-race (African American) faces presented upright or upside down (i.e., inverted). Both experiments showed decreases in memory performance when attention allocation or holistic processing was reduced, but these effects were similar for own-race and other-race faces. Manipulations of holistic processing, but not attention allocation, influenced the neural other-race effects during memory encoding. Inverted own-race faces showed similar neural patterns as upright other-race faces, indicating that when holistic processing of own-race faces was reduced, these faces were encoded similarly as upright other-race faces. No influences of the experimental manipulations on other-race effects during memory retrieval were found. The present study provides the first neural evidence that increased holistic processing during memory encoding contributes to the other-race effect on face memory.

“…The analysis of SMEs can provide insights in the neural foundation of cognitive processes responsible for successful encoding (Cohen et al, 2015;Friedman & Johnson, 2000;Paller & Wagner, 2002). There is ample evidence that the P300 at encoding is related to subsequent memory performance (Fabiani & Donchin, 1995;Fabiani, Karis, & Donchin, 1990;Kamp, Bader, & Mecklinger, 2017;Karis, Fabiani, & Donchin, 1984;Neville, Kutas, Chesney, & Schmidt, 1986;Weigl, Ehritt, et al, 2016a; see Fabiani, 2006, for a review). The P300 reflects the encoding of item-specific information (Fabiani et al, 1990;Kamp et al, 2017) and the P300 SME seems to be related to subsequent recollection-based recognition, i.e., the retrieval of contextual details (Mangels et al, 2001;Weigl, Ehritt, et al, 2016a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is ample evidence that the P300 at encoding is related to subsequent memory performance (Fabiani & Donchin, 1995;Fabiani, Karis, & Donchin, 1990;Kamp, Bader, & Mecklinger, 2017;Karis, Fabiani, & Donchin, 1984;Neville, Kutas, Chesney, & Schmidt, 1986;Weigl, Ehritt, et al, 2016a; see Fabiani, 2006, for a review). The P300 reflects the encoding of item-specific information (Fabiani et al, 1990;Kamp et al, 2017) and the P300 SME seems to be related to subsequent recollection-based recognition, i.e., the retrieval of contextual details (Mangels et al, 2001;Weigl, Ehritt, et al, 2016a). Because distinctive events typically elicit a P300 and the P300 amplitude predicts subsequent memory, the P300 seems ideally suited for investigating shared distinctiveness in the IC paradigm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of shared distinctiveness on source memory: An event-related potential study

Weigl

Pham

Mecklinger

et al. 2020

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An illusory correlation (IC) is the erroneous perception that two actually uncorrelated categories are correlated. The Shared Distinctiveness Approach (SDA) explains ICs with heightened accessibility of distinctive category combinations in episodic memory. However, empirical evidence for this approach is heterogeneous. In the present event-related potential (ERP) study, we exploited the fact that more distinctive items elicit larger P300 responses than less distinctive items, which potentially predict subsequent memory performance differences for such items. Distinctiveness at encoding was created by presenting words that differed from frequently presented, positive words in valence, font color, or both. We hypothesized that shared distinctiveness (deviation in both color and valence) would lead to an enhanced P300 subsequent memory effect (SME), better source memory performance, and an overestimation of the frequency of shared distinctive items. Behavioral results indicated the presence of shared distinctiveness effects on source memory and frequency estimation. Unexpectedly, memory also was enhanced for positive items in the frequent color. This pattern also was reflected in the P300 for highly positive and negative items. However, shared distinctiveness did not modulate the P300 SME, indicating that the processing of distinctive features might only indirectly contribute to better encoding. This study shows that shared distinctiveness indeed is associated with better source memory and ICs. Because effects were observed for the most frequent and the least frequent category combination, our results imply that the processing of distinctiveness might involve attention allocation to diametrical category combinations, thereby accentuating the differences between the categories.