Reactivation of neural patterns during memory reinstatement supports encoding specificity

Abstract

Encoding specificity or transfer appropriate processing state that memory benefits when items are encoded and retrieved in the same modality compared to when encoding and retrieval is conducted in different modalities. In neural terms, these effects can be expressed by a resonance process between a memory cue and a stored engram; the more the two overlap the better memory performance. We here used temporal pattern analysis in MEG to tap into this resonance process. We predicted that reactivation of sensory patterns established during encoding has opposing effects depending on whether there is a match or mismatch between the memory cue and the encoding modality. To test this prediction items were presented either visually or aurally during encoding and in a recognition test to create match (e.g. "dog" presented aurally during encoding and recognition) and mismatch conditions (e.g. "dog" presented aurally during encoding and shown visually during recognition). Memory performance was better for items in the match compared to the mismatch condition. MEG results showed that memory benefitted from neural pattern reinstatement only in the match condition, but suffered from reinstatement in the mismatch condition. These behavioural and neural effects were asymmetric in that they were only obtained for aurally encoded words but not for visually encoded words. A simple computational model was generated in order to simulate these opposing effects of neural pattern reactivation on memory performance. We argue that these results suggest that reactivation of neural patterns established during encoding underlies encoding specificity or transfer appropriate processing.peer-reviewed)

Emotional learning retroactively promotes memory integration through rapid neural reactivation and reorganization

“…LOC and FFA) into episodic memory through a pattern completion process ( Kuhl et al, 2010 ; Shohamy and Wagner, 2008 ). Thus, hippocampal reactivation may strengthen the coherence of related representations throughout our brain ( Staudigl and Hanslmayr, 2018 ; Wimmer and Shohamy, 2012 ). Consistently, we indeed observed a positive correlation between emotion-charged trial-specific reactivation in the hippocampus and memory for face-object associations.…”

Emotional tagging retroactively promotes memory integration through rapid neural reactivation and reorganization

“…This finding implies that the emotion-induced increase in reactivation of overlapping neural traces mainly occurs in those regions critical for episodic memory of faces and objects (Sutherland & McNaughton, 2000;Zeithamova, Dominick, & Preston, 2012). The hippocampus, for instance, is known to play a critical role in the integration of distributed information into episodic memory through a pattern completion process (Eichenbaum, 2004;Staudigl & Hanslmayr, 2018).…”

Caught virtually lying—crime scenes in virtual reality help to expose suspects’ concealed recognition.

“…Relatedly, memory is enhanced when the cognitive operations carried out at encoding are reinstated and used at retrieval (Dewhurst & Brandt, 2007). Presumably, the reactivation of neural patterns established during encoding enhances one’s ability to bring that information back to mind (Staudigl & Hanslmayr, 2018). Such “transfer appropriate processing” may explain the pictorial superiority effect in which memory retrieval is typically superior when the retrieval modality is a picture, image or photograph (Hockley, 2008).…”