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Abstract:Despite it being widely acknowledged that the most important function of memory is to facilitate the prediction of significant events in a complex world, no studies to date have investigated how our ability to infer associations across distinct but overlapping experiences is affected by the inclusion of threat memories. To address this question, participants (n = 35) encoded neutral predictive associations (A → B). The following day these memories were reactivated by pairing B with a new aversive or neutral ou… Show more
“… 56 ). The relatively low vividness score for emotional memories is consistent with a previous study in which a similar paradigm was used and may reflect decreased unitization of separate items in memory 57 . Figure 3 Vividness ratings during the encoding task in the Same Context Exposure (blue bars), Similar Context Exposure (red bars), and No Exposure group (grey bars).…”
Contextual overgeneralization of emotional memory is a core aspect of anxiety disorders. Identifying methods to enhance contextual dependency of emotional memory is therefore of significant clinical interest. Animal research points to a promising approach: reexposure to the context in which fear is acquired reduces generalization to other contexts. However, the exact conditions for this effect are unknown, complicating translation to effective interventions. Most notably, exposure to a context that resembles—but is not identical to—the learning context may diminish contextual dependency of memory by integration of additional contextual cues. Here, we therefore assessed in a large-scale study (N = 180) whether context reexposure enhances contextual dependency of emotional episodic memory whereas exposure to a similar context impairs it. We also tested whether relatively strong memory retrieval during context (re)exposure amplifies these effects. We replicated prior research showing that correct recognition depends on context and contextual dependency is lower for emotional than neutral memories. However, exposure to the encoding context or a similar context did not affect contextual dependency of memory, and retrieval strength did not interact with such effects. Thorough insight into factors underlying the effects of context (re)exposure on contextual dependency seems key to eventually attain a memory recontextualization intervention.
“… 56 ). The relatively low vividness score for emotional memories is consistent with a previous study in which a similar paradigm was used and may reflect decreased unitization of separate items in memory 57 . Figure 3 Vividness ratings during the encoding task in the Same Context Exposure (blue bars), Similar Context Exposure (red bars), and No Exposure group (grey bars).…”
Contextual overgeneralization of emotional memory is a core aspect of anxiety disorders. Identifying methods to enhance contextual dependency of emotional memory is therefore of significant clinical interest. Animal research points to a promising approach: reexposure to the context in which fear is acquired reduces generalization to other contexts. However, the exact conditions for this effect are unknown, complicating translation to effective interventions. Most notably, exposure to a context that resembles—but is not identical to—the learning context may diminish contextual dependency of memory by integration of additional contextual cues. Here, we therefore assessed in a large-scale study (N = 180) whether context reexposure enhances contextual dependency of emotional episodic memory whereas exposure to a similar context impairs it. We also tested whether relatively strong memory retrieval during context (re)exposure amplifies these effects. We replicated prior research showing that correct recognition depends on context and contextual dependency is lower for emotional than neutral memories. However, exposure to the encoding context or a similar context did not affect contextual dependency of memory, and retrieval strength did not interact with such effects. Thorough insight into factors underlying the effects of context (re)exposure on contextual dependency seems key to eventually attain a memory recontextualization intervention.
“…Then, after each CS -> US association had been presented in the first learning block, pupil dilation to CS+ was higher than to CS-in block 2 (difference = 0.046 mm, CI95 = [0.011, 0.081], p = 0.011) and block 3 (difference = 0.088 mm, CI95 = [0.053, 0.124], p < 0.001). This observation replicates our earlier work using the episodic conditioning paradigm (de Vries, Duken, et al, 2022;de Vries, Grasman, et al, 2022). Crucially, pupil dilation to CS+ remained higher than to CS-the following day (difference = 0.057 mm, CI95 = [0.030, 0.083], p < 0.001), indicating that direct conditioned responses were retained at the time sensory preconditioning was tested.…”
Section: Conditioned Responses Are Acquired On Day Two and Retained O...supporting
confidence: 88%
“…Participants of which over 50% trials were excluded in either condition were excluded from the analysis altogether (de Vries, Duken, et al, 2022;de Vries, Grasman, et al, 2022).…”
Section: Data Acquisition and Processingmentioning
Whereas many studies have investigated generalization of learned threat across semantic dimensions, little attention has been given to the possibility that Pavlovian threat responses may spread beyond what is directly learned through episodic associations. Here, we increased the demand on episodic memory in a sensory preconditioning task to assess whether and how episodic memory contributes to threat generalization. Participants encoded forty unique episodes, each consisting of two neutral stimuli, after which one of each pair was newly associated with either an aversive or a neutral stimulus on the following day. Another day later, both stimuli of the original memories were found to trigger enhanced pupil dilation if one was indirectly linked with an aversive stimulus. This effect was independent of whether the declarative associations encoded on day one were accurately retained on the day of testing, and confined to trials on which the indirectly associated stimulus was consciously brought to mind, suggesting an important role for relational memory processes. There was no moderating effect of trait-anxiety. The present study demonstrates that the human defensive system is remarkably adept at quickly anticipating threat based on information acquired over separate events, and gives a first glimpse into how this ability is facilitated by episodic memory.
“…Vividness of the imagined scenes during encoding was lower for negative 20 than neutral memories (Emotion, F1,150 = 7.08, p = .009, Fig. 3), in line with earlier research (de Vries et al, 2022). Crucially, there were no significant differences in vividness between the Same Context Exposure, Similar Context Exposure, and No Exposure groups (Context (Re)exposure, F2,150 = 0.14, p = .869).…”
Section: Manipulation Checkssupporting
confidence: 87%
“…We have recently shown that this can be accomplished by using words for central events (Cox, Dobbelaar, et al, 2021). Presenting images of objects could also be a more effective way to induce unique episodic events (de Vries et al, 2022). Apart from difficulties in the formation of complete episodic memories during learning, the relatively little time to encode new or lost contextual information during context (re)exposure could also have been a limiting factor on integration.…”
Contextual overgeneralization of emotional memory is believed to be a core aspect of affective disorders. Identifying methods to restrict emotional memory activation to its original encoding context is therefore of significant clinical interest. Preliminary evidence from rodent research points to a promising approach: reexposure to the context in which fear conditioning took place seems to reduce fear generalization to other contexts. However, it remains unknown which mechanisms underlie these effects, even though such fundamental knowledge is crucial for successful translation to interventions. Importantly, exposure to a context that resembles – but is not identical to – the encoding context may lead to diminished contextual dependency of memory by integration of additional contextual cues. Here, we therefore assessed in a large-scale study (N=180) whether reexposure to the encoding context enhances contextual dependency of episodic memory and whether exposure to a similar context impairs it. We also tested whether such effects are predicted by the strength of memory retrieval during context (re)exposure. The results showed that correct recognition depends on context and that such contextual dependency is lower for emotional than neutral memories, which replicates prior research. However, exposure to the encoding context or a similar context did not affect contextual dependency of emotional or neutral memory. Also, retrieval strength did not predict any effects. Thorough insight into factors underlying the effects of context (re)exposure on contextual dependency seems key to eventually attain a therapeutic memory recontextualization intervention
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