Adding a bias to vector models of association memory provides item memory for free

Word Imageability Enhances Association-memory by Increasing Hippocampal Engagement

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_00992 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 28 (10) ◽

pp. 1522-1538 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Jeremy B. Caplan ◽

Christopher R. Madan

Keyword(s):

Memory Function ◽

Cued Recall ◽

Item Memory ◽

Forming Process ◽

Fmri Study ◽

Association Memory ◽

Alternative Hypotheses ◽

Memory Advantage ◽

The Difference ◽

Associative Function

The hippocampus is thought to support association-memory, particularly when tested with cued recall. One of the most well-known and studied factors that influences accuracy of verbal association-memory is imageability; participants remember pairs of high-imageability words better than pairs of low-imageability words. High-imageability words are also remembered better in tests of item-memory. However, we previously found that item-memory effects could not explain the enhancement in cued recall, suggesting that imageability enhances association-memory strength. Here we report an fMRI study designed to ask, what is the role of the hippocampus in the memory advantage for associations due to imageability? We tested two alternative hypotheses: (1) Recruitment Hypothesis: High-imageability pairs are remembered better because they recruit the underlying hippocampal association-memory function more effectively. Alternatively, (2) Bypassing Hypothesis: Imageability functions by making the association-forming process easier, enhancing memory in a way that bypasses the hippocampus, as has been found, for example, with explicit unitization imagery strategies. Results found, first, hippocampal BOLD signal was greater during study and recall of high- than low-imageability word pairs. Second, the difference in activity between recalled and forgotten pairs showed a main effect, but no significant interaction with imageability, challenging the bypassing hypothesis, but consistent with the predictions derived from the recruitment hypothesis. Our findings suggest that certain stimulus properties, like imageability, may leverage, rather than avoid, the associative function of the hippocampus to support superior association-memory.

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The Trade-Off Effect of Unitization Coding on Association Memory and Item Memory in Older Adults

Advances in Psychology ◽

10.12677/ap.2021.119245 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (09) ◽

pp. 2164-2171

Author(s):

傲于

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Item Memory ◽

Trade Off ◽

Association Memory

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Reduced association-memory for negative information: impact of confidence and interactive imagery during study

10.31234/osf.io/g9pxn ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Jeremy Caplan ◽

Tobias Sommer ◽

Christopher R Madan ◽

Esther Fujiwara

Keyword(s):

Recognition Memory ◽

Judgments Of Learning ◽

Negative Information ◽

Associative Recognition ◽

Item Memory ◽

Emotional Information ◽

Interactive Imagery ◽

Neutral Information ◽

Association Memory

Although item-memory for emotional information is enhanced, memory for associations between items is impaired for negative, emotionally arousing compared to neutral information. We tested two possible mechanisms underlying this impairment, using picture pairs: 1) higher confidence in one’s own ability to memorise negative information may cause participants to under-study negative pairs; 2) better interactive imagery for neutral pairs could facilitate association-memory for neutral more than for negative pairs. Tested with associative recognition, we replicated the impairment of association-memory for negative relative to neutral pairs. We also replicated the result that confidence in future memory (judgments of learning) was higher for negative than neutral pairs. Inflated confidence could not explain the impairment of associative recognition memory: Judgements of learning were positively correlated with association-memory success for both, negative and neutral pairs. However, neutral pairs were rated higher in their conduciveness to interactive imagery than negative pairs, and this difference in interactive imagery showed a robust relationship to the association-memory difference. Thus, association-memory reductions for negative information are not due to differences in encoding effort. Instead, interactive imagery may be less effective for encoding of negative than neutral pairs.

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Positive Arousal Enhances the Consolidation of Item Memory

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000151 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 74 (2) ◽

pp. 91-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bo Wang

Keyword(s):

Episodic Memory ◽

Memory Consolidation ◽

Source Memory ◽

Emotional Arousal ◽

Theoretical Models ◽

Memory Test ◽

Learning Phase ◽

Item Memory ◽

Memory Tests ◽

Immediate Memory

Emotional arousal induced after learning has been shown to modulate memory consolidation. However, it is unclear whether the effect of postlearning arousal can extend to different aspects of memory. This study examined the effect of postlearning positive arousal on both item memory and source memory. Participants learned a list of neutral words and took an immediate memory test. Then they watched a positive or a neutral videoclip and took delayed memory tests after either 25 minutes or 1 week had elapsed after the learning phase. In both delay conditions, positive arousal enhanced consolidation of item memory as measured by overall recognition. Furthermore, positive arousal enhanced consolidation of familiarity but not recollection. However, positive arousal appeared to have no effect on consolidation of source memory. These findings have implications for building theoretical models of the effect of emotional arousal on consolidation of episodic memory and for applying postlearning emotional arousal as a technique of memory intervention.

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