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Wiechert S, Loewy L, Wessel I, Fawcett JM, Ben-Shakhar G, Pertzov Y, Verschuere B. Suppression-induced forgetting: a pre-registered replication of the think/no-think paradigm. Memory 2023; 31:989-1002. [PMID: 37165713 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2023.2208791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder is characterised by recurring memories of a traumatic experience despite deliberate attempts to forget (i.e., suppression). The Think/No-Think (TNT) task has been used widely in the laboratory to study suppression-induced forgetting. During the task, participants learn a series of cue-target word pairs. Subsequently, they are presented with a subset of the cue words and are instructed to think (respond items) or not think about the corresponding target (suppression items). Baseline items are not shown during this phase. Successful suppression-induced forgetting is indicated by the reduced recall of suppression compared to baseline items in recall tests using either the same or different cues than originally studied (i.e., same- and independent-probe tests, respectively). The current replication was a pre-registered collaborative effort to evaluate an online experimenter-present version of the paradigm in 150 English-speaking healthy individuals (89 females; MAge = 31.14, SDAge = 7.73). Overall, we did not replicate the suppression-induced forgetting effect (same-probe: BF01 = 7.84; d = 0.03 [95% CI: -0.13; 0.20]; independent-probe: BF01 = 5.71; d = 0.06 [95% CI: -0.12; 0.24]). These null results should be considered in light of our online implementation of the paradigm. Nevertheless, our findings call into question the robustness of suppression-induced forgetting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sera Wiechert
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Leonie Loewy
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ineke Wessel
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jonathan M Fawcett
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada
| | - Gershon Ben-Shakhar
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yoni Pertzov
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Bruno Verschuere
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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van Schie K, Fawcett JM, Anderson MC. On the role of inhibition in suppression-induced forgetting. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4242. [PMID: 36918620 PMCID: PMC10015003 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31063-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Suppressing retrieval of unwanted memories can cause forgetting, an outcome often attributed to the recruitment of inhibitory control. This suppression-induced forgetting (SIF) generalizes to different cues used to test the suppressed content (cue-independence), a property taken as consistent with inhibition. But does cue-independent forgetting necessarily imply that a memory has been inhibited? Tomlinson et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci 106:15588-15593, 2009) reported a surprising finding that pressing a button also led to cue-independent forgetting, which was taken as support for an alternative interference account. Here we investigated the role of inhibition in forgetting due to retrieval suppression and pressing buttons. We modified Tomlinson et al.'s procedure to examine an unusual feature they introduced that may have caused memory inhibition effects in their experiment: the omission of explicit task-cues. When tasks were uncued, we replicated the button-press forgetting effect; but when cued, pressing buttons caused no forgetting. Moreover, button-press forgetting partially reflects output-interference effects at test and not a lasting effect of interference. In contrast, SIF occurred regardless of these procedural changes. Collectively, these findings indicate that simply pressing a button does not induce forgetting, on its own, without confounding factors that introduce inhibition into the task and that inhibition likely underlies SIF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin van Schie
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
- Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Jonathan M Fawcett
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada
| | - Michael C Anderson
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Schmidt M, Anderson MC, Tempel T. Suppression-induced forgetting of motor sequences. Cognition 2023; 230:105292. [PMID: 36191357 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Two experiments examined the effects of deliberately suppressing retrieval of motor sequences on their later recall, in the think/no-think paradigm (Anderson & Green, 2001). After several motor sequences had been associated with individual cues through repeated practice cycles, a subset of these sequences was retrieved in response to their respective cues (think trials), whereas other sequences were suppressed. In such no-think trials, cues were shown but participants were instructed to withhold the associated motor response and to suppress its recollection. We found that suppressing retrieval impaired later memory performance for the suppressed sequences in comparison to items that were not cued at all after their initial training (baseline sequences). Suppression impaired later sequence recall and sequence speed although in different ways depending on the training level: with higher initial training of sequences (Experiment 1), suppression impaired reaction time, but not recall accuracy; with lower initial training (Experiment 2), suppression reduced recall accuracy. Reaction time analyses revealed a consistent slowing of movement execution for suppressed sequences. These findings show that inhibitory control processes engaged during retrieval suppression can influence memory representations of motor actions, by not only reducing their accessibility but also by affecting their execution, once retrieved.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael C Anderson
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoru Nishiyama
- Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Satoru Saito
- Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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Anderson MC, Floresco SB. Prefrontal-hippocampal interactions supporting the extinction of emotional memories: the retrieval stopping model. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:180-195. [PMID: 34446831 PMCID: PMC8616908 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01131-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Neuroimaging has revealed robust interactions between the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus when people stop memory retrieval. Efforts to stop retrieval can arise when people encounter reminders to unpleasant thoughts they prefer not to think about. Retrieval stopping suppresses hippocampal and amygdala activity, especially when cues elicit aversive memory intrusions, via a broad inhibitory control capacity enabling prepotent response suppression. Repeated retrieval stopping reduces intrusions of unpleasant memories and diminishes their affective tone, outcomes resembling those achieved by the extinction of conditioned emotional responses. Despite this resemblance, the role of inhibitory fronto-hippocampal interactions and retrieval stopping broadly in extinction has received little attention. Here we integrate human and animal research on extinction and retrieval stopping. We argue that reconceptualising extinction to integrate mnemonic inhibitory control with learning would yield a greater understanding of extinction's relevance to mental health. We hypothesize that fear extinction spontaneously engages retrieval stopping across species, and that controlled suppression of hippocampal and amygdala activity by the prefrontal cortex reduces fearful thoughts. Moreover, we argue that retrieval stopping recruits extinction circuitry to achieve affect regulation, linking extinction to how humans cope with intrusive thoughts. We discuss novel hypotheses derived from this theoretical synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Anderson
- MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Stan B Floresco
- Department of Psychology, and Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Ord AS, Stranahan KR, Hurley RA, Taber KH. Stress-Related Growth: Building a More Resilient Brain. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2021; 32:A4-212. [PMID: 32729793 DOI: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.20050111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna S Ord
- The Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, and the Research and Academic Affairs Service Line, W.G. Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C. (Ord, Hurley, Taber); the Mental Health Service Line, W.G. Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C. (Stranahan); the Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C. (Hurley); the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Hurley); the Division of Biomedical Sciences, Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, Va. (Taber); and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Taber)
| | - Kathryn R Stranahan
- The Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, and the Research and Academic Affairs Service Line, W.G. Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C. (Ord, Hurley, Taber); the Mental Health Service Line, W.G. Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C. (Stranahan); the Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C. (Hurley); the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Hurley); the Division of Biomedical Sciences, Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, Va. (Taber); and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Taber)
| | - Robin A Hurley
- The Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, and the Research and Academic Affairs Service Line, W.G. Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C. (Ord, Hurley, Taber); the Mental Health Service Line, W.G. Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C. (Stranahan); the Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C. (Hurley); the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Hurley); the Division of Biomedical Sciences, Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, Va. (Taber); and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Taber)
| | - Katherine H Taber
- The Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, and the Research and Academic Affairs Service Line, W.G. Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C. (Ord, Hurley, Taber); the Mental Health Service Line, W.G. Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C. (Stranahan); the Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C. (Hurley); the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Hurley); the Division of Biomedical Sciences, Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, Va. (Taber); and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Taber)
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Riley GA, Pearce A. Wakeful rest during storage and consolidation enhances priming effects for those with acquired memory impairment. Memory 2021; 29:547-558. [PMID: 33819130 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2021.1907414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
A period of rest after learning results in better explicit memory for the material than a period of unrelated mental activity. This study investigated whether the same applies to priming. Thirty-four people with memory impairments due to acquired brain injury took part. In a repeated measures design, participants studied word lists; then either engaged in a relaxation technique (wakeful rest condition) or completed visuo-spatial tasks (control condition); and finally completed two priming tasks. Priming effects were significantly larger in the wakeful rest condition. This result is difficult to explain in terms of some of the explanations used to account for the benefits of wakeful rest on explicit memory, and alternative explanations are considered. One possibility is that the attentional demands of the control task resulted in inhibition of activity in neocortical areas associated with perception that contributed to the priming effect. The findings have implications for memory rehabilitation. Acquired memory impairments typically impact on explicit memory, and implicit memory is often relatively intact. It is important to find ways of enabling those with more severe explicit impairments to make best use of their implicit memory as a way of compensating for the deficits in their explicit memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerard A Riley
- Centre for Applied Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Arthur Pearce
- Centre for Applied Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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Wang Y, Luppi A, Fawcett J, Anderson MC. Reconsidering unconscious persistence: Suppressing unwanted memories reduces their indirect expression in later thoughts. Cognition 2019; 187:78-94. [PMID: 30852261 PMCID: PMC6446185 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2018] [Revised: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
When we seek to forget unwelcome memories, does the suppressed content still exert an unconscious influence on our thoughts? Although intentionally stopping retrieval of a memory reduces later episodic retention for the suppressed trace, it remains unclear the extent to which suppressed content persists in indirectly influencing mental processes. Here we tested whether inhibitory control processes underlying retrieval suppression alter the influence of a memory's underlying semantic content on later thought. To achieve this, across two experiments, we tested whether suppressing episodic retrieval of to-be-excluded memories reduced the indirect expression of the unwanted content on an apparently unrelated test of problem solving: the remote associates test (RAT). Experiment 1 found that suppressed content was less likely than unsuppressed content to emerge as solutions to RAT problems. Indeed, suppression abolished evidence of conceptual priming, even when participants reported no awareness of the relationship between the memory and the problem solving tasks. Experiment 2 replicated this effect and also found that directing participants to use explicit memory to solve RAT problems eliminated suppression effects. Experiment 2 thus rules out the possibility that suppression effects reflect contamination by covert explicit retrieval strategies. Together, our results indicate that inhibitory control processes underlying retrieval suppression not only disrupt episodic retention, but also reduce the indirect influence of suppressed semantic content during unrelated thought processes. Considered with other recent demonstrations of implicit suppression effects, these findings indicate that historical assumptions about the persisting influence of suppressed thoughts on mental health require closer empirical scrutiny and need to be reconsidered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Wang
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, China
| | - Andrea Luppi
- Division of Anaesthesia, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, UK; Department of Psychology, Harvard University, United States
| | - Jonathan Fawcett
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
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Valle TM, Gómez-Ariza CJ, Bajo MT. Inhibitory control during selective retrieval may hinder subsequent analogical thinking. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0211881. [PMID: 30753208 PMCID: PMC6372166 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Accepted: 01/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Analogical reasoning is a complex cognitive activity that involves access and retrieval of pre-existing knowledge in order to find a suitable solution. Prior work has shown that analogical transfer and reasoning can be influenced by unconscious activation of relevant information. Based on this idea, we report two experiments that examine whether reduced access to relevant information in memory may further disrupt analogical reasoning unwittingly. In both experiments, we use an adaptation of the retrieval practice paradigm [1] to modulate memory accessibility of potential solutions to a subsequent set of analogy problems of the type 'A is to B as C is to ?'. Experiment 1 showed a retrieval-induced impairment in analogical problem solving. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and demonstrated that it cannot be due to the deliberative episodic retrieval of the solutions to the analogies. These findings, predictable from an inhibitory framework of memory control, provide a new focus for theories of analogical transfer and highlight the importance of unconscious memory processes that may modulate problem solving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania M. Valle
- Research Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | | | - M. Teresa Bajo
- Research Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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