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Heinbockel H, Wagner AD, Schwabe L. Post-retrieval stress impairs subsequent memory depending on hippocampal memory trace reinstatement during reactivation. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadm7504. [PMID: 38691596 PMCID: PMC11062581 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adm7504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Upon retrieval, memories can become susceptible to meaningful events, such as stress. Post-retrieval memory changes may be attributed to an alteration of the original memory trace during reactivation-dependent reconsolidation or, alternatively, to the modification of retrieval-related memory traces that impact future remembering. Hence, how post-retrieval memory changes emerge in the human brain is unknown. In a 3-day functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we show that post-retrieval stress impairs subsequent memory depending on the strength of neural reinstatement of the original memory trace during reactivation, driven by the hippocampus and its cross-talk with neocortical representation areas. Comparison of neural patterns during immediate and final memory testing further revealed that successful retrieval was linked to pattern-dissimilarity in controls, suggesting the use of a different trace, whereas stressed participants relied on the original memory representation. These representation changes were again dependent on neocortical reinstatement during reactivation. Our findings show disruptive stress effects on the consolidation of retrieval-related memory traces that support future remembering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hendrik Heinbockel
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Anthony D. Wagner
- Department of Psychology, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Building 420, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Lars Schwabe
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
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2
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Nostadt A, Merz CJ, Wolf OT, Tegenthoff M, Lissek S. Cortisol decreases activation in extinction related brain areas resulting in an impaired recall of context-dependent extinction memory. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2023; 205:107844. [PMID: 37866754 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
Conditioned responding gradually stops during successful extinction learning. The renewal effect is defined as the recovery of a extinguished conditioned response when the context of extinction is different from acquisition. The stress hormone cortisol is known to have an influence on extinction memory and associative learning. Different effects of cortisol on behaviour and brain activity have been observed with respect to stress timing, duration, and intensity. However, the influence of cortisol prior to the initial encoding of stimulus-outcome associations on extinction learning, renewal and its behavioural and neurobiological correlates is still largely unknown. In our study, 60 human participants received 20 mg cortisol or placebo and then learned, extinguished, and recalled the associations between food stimuli presented in distinct contexts and different outcomes in three subsequent task phases. Learning performance during acquisition and extinction phases was equally good for both treatment groups. In the cortisol group, significantly more participants showed renewal compared to placebo. In the subgroup of participants with renewal, cortisol treated participants showed significantly better extinction learning performance compared to placebo. Participants showing renewal had in general difficulties with recalling extinction memory, but in contrast to placebo, the cortisol group exhibited a context-dependent impairment of extinction memory recall. Imaging analyses revealed that cortisol decreased activation in the hippocampus during acquisition. The cortisol group also showed reduced dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation when extinction learning took place in a different context, but enhanced activation in inferior frontal gyrus during extinction learning without context change. During recall, cortisol decreased ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation. Taken together, our findings illustrate cortisol as a potent modulator of extinction learning and recall of extinction memory which also promotes renewal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Nostadt
- BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Department of Neurology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
| | - Christian J Merz
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Oliver T Wolf
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Martin Tegenthoff
- BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Department of Neurology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Silke Lissek
- BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Department of Neurology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
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3
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Krenz V, Alink A, Sommer T, Roozendaal B, Schwabe L. Time-dependent memory transformation in hippocampus and neocortex is semantic in nature. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6037. [PMID: 37758725 PMCID: PMC10533832 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41648-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Memories undergo a time-dependent neural reorganization, which is assumed to be accompanied by a transformation from detailed to more gist-like memory. However, the nature of this transformation and its underlying neural mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, we report that the time-dependent transformation of memory is semantic in nature, while we find no credible evidence for a perceptual transformation. Model-based MRI analyses reveal time-dependent increases in semantically transformed representations of events in prefrontal and parietal cortices, while specific pattern representations in the anterior hippocampus decline over time. Posterior hippocampal memory reinstatement, in turn, increases over time and is linked to the semantic gist of the original memory, without a statistically significant link to perceptual details. These findings indicate that qualitative changes in memory over time, associated with distinct representational changes in the neocortex and within the hippocampus, reflect a semantic transformation, which may promote the integration of memories into abstract knowledge structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Krenz
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 5, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Arjen Alink
- Department of General Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 11, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Sommer
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Benno Roozendaal
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Lars Schwabe
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 5, 20146, Hamburg, Germany.
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4
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Möhring L, Gläscher J. Prediction errors drive dynamic changes in neural patterns that guide behavior. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112931. [PMID: 37540597 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Learning describes the process by which our internal expectation models of the world are updated by surprising outcomes (prediction errors [PEs]) to improve predictions of future events. However, the mechanisms through which error signals dynamically influence existing neural representations are unknown. Here, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in humans solving a two-step Markov decision task to investigate changes in neural activation patterns following PEs. Using a dynamic multivariate pattern analysis, we can show that PE-related fMRI responses in error-coding regions predict trial-by-trial changes in multivariate neural patterns in the orbitofrontal cortex, the precuneus, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Importantly, the dynamics of these pattern changes in the vmPFC also predicted upcoming changes in choice strategies and thus highlight the importance of these pattern changes for behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leon Möhring
- Institute for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Jan Gläscher
- Institute for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
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Thams F, Li SC, Flöel A, Antonenko D. Functional Connectivity and Microstructural Network Correlates of Interindividual Variability in Distinct Executive Functions of Healthy Older Adults. Neuroscience 2023; 526:61-73. [PMID: 37321368 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Executive functions, essential for daily life, are known to be impaired in older age. Some executive functions, including working memory updating and value-based decision-making, are specifically sensitive to age-related deterioration. While their neural correlates in young adults are well-described, a comprehensive delineation of the underlying brain substrates in older populations, relevant to identify targets for modulation against cognitive decline, is missing. Here, we assessed letter updating and Markov decision-making task performance to operationalize these trainable functions in 48 older adults. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was acquired to quantify functional connectivity (FC) in task-relevant frontoparietal and default mode networks. Microstructure in white matter pathways mediating executive functions was assessed with diffusion tensor imaging and quantified by tract-based fractional anisotropy (FA). Superior letter updating performance correlated with higher FC between dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left frontoparietal and hippocampal areas, while superior Markov decision-making performance correlated with decreased FC between basal ganglia and right angular gyrus. Furthermore, better working memory updating performance was related to higher FA in the cingulum bundle and the superior longitudinal fasciculus. Stepwise linear regression showed that cingulum bundle FA added significant incremental contribution to the variance explained by fronto-angular FC alone. Our findings provide a characterization of distinct functional and structural connectivity correlates associated with performance of specific executive functions. Thereby, this study contributes to the understanding of the neural correlates of updating and decision-making functions in older adults, paving the way for targeted modulation of specific networks by modulatory techniques such as behavioral interventions and non-invasive brain stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Friederike Thams
- Department of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Straße, 17475 Greifswald, Germany.
| | - Shu-Chen Li
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, TU Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, 01062 Dresden, Germany; Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
| | - Agnes Flöel
- Department of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Straße, 17475 Greifswald, Germany; German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Standort Greifswald, 17475 Greifswald, Germany.
| | - Daria Antonenko
- Department of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Straße, 17475 Greifswald, Germany.
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Xue G. From remembering to reconstruction: The transformative neural representation of episodic memory. Prog Neurobiol 2022; 219:102351. [PMID: 36089107 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2022.102351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Although memory has long been recognized as a generative process, neural research of memory in recent decades has been predominantly influenced by Tulving's "mental time traveling" perspective and focused on the reactivation and consolidation of encoded memory representations. With the development of multiple powerful analytical approaches to characterize the contents and formats of neural representations, recent studies are able to provide detailed examinations of the representations at various processing stages and have provided exciting new insights into the transformative nature of episodic memory. These studies have revealed the rapid, substantial, and continuous transformation of memory representation during the encoding, maintenance, consolidation, and retrieval of both single and multiple events, as well as event sequences. These transformations are characterized by the abstraction, integration, differentiation, and reorganization of memory representations, enabling the long-term retention and generalization of memory. These studies mark a significant shift in perspective from remembering to reconstruction, which might better reveal the nature of memory and its roles in supporting more effective learning, adaptive decision-making, and creative problem solving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gui Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China; Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, PR China.
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7
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Amer T, Wynn JS, Hasher L. Cluttered memory representations shape cognition in old age. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:255-267. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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Rapid neural reorganization during retrieval practice predicts subsequent long-term retention and false memory. Nat Hum Behav 2022; 6:134-145. [PMID: 34621051 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01188-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Active retrieval can alter the strength and content of a memory, yielding either enhanced or distorted subsequent recall. However, how consolidation influences these retrieval-induced seemingly contradictory outcomes remains unknown. Here we show that rapid neural reorganization over an eight-run retrieval practice predicted subsequent recall. Retrieval practice boosted memory retention following a 24-hour (long-term) but not 30-minute delay, and increased false memory at both delays. Long-term retention gains were predicted by multi-voxel representation distinctiveness in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) that increased progressively over retrieval practice. False memory was predicted by unstable representation distinctiveness in the medial temporal lobe (MTL). Retrieval practice enhanced the efficiency of memory-related brain networks, through building up PPC and MTL connections with the ventrolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that predicted long-term retention gains and false memory, respectively. Our findings indicate that retrieval-induced rapid neural reorganization together with consecutive consolidation fosters long-term retention and false memories via distinct pathways.
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Huang F, Song Y, Jiang Y, Zhao Q, Luo J. Where and How Are Original and Valuable Ideas Generated? tDCS of the Generation-Related Posterior Temporal Lobe and the Executive Control-Related Prefrontal Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:1004-1013. [PMID: 34379744 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Creativity is generally defined as the ability to generate innovative thoughts that are both original and valuable. Previous studies have suggested that the temporal lobe, related to memory extraction and construction, is responsible for generating creative ideas and that the executive system supports the generation of creative ideas. However, the causal relationships between these structures and the novelty index as well as the appropriateness index of generated ideas have not been revealed. It is still largely unknown where and how original and valuable ideas are generated. In this study, the transcranial direct current stimulation technique was used to selectively manipulate the activity of the generation-related right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) (experiment 1) and the executive control-related left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (experiment 2). Then, both the novelty and appropriateness indexes of generated ideas were analyzed during insight problem-solving. The results showed that anodal stimulation of the right TPJ increased both the novelty and appropriateness indexes of creative ideas, whereas anodal stimulation of the left DLPFC increased the novelty index but not the appropriateness index of creative ideas. These findings suggest that the posterior temporal lobe takes both the novelty and appropriateness attributes into account to generate ideas, while the executive control system can effectively regulate the novelty attribute of generated ideas but ineffectively addresses the inappropriateness attribute. The current study indicates complementary mechanisms in the process of generating original and valuable ideas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Furong Huang
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
| | - Yan Song
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
| | - Yan Jiang
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
| | - Qingbai Zhao
- School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Jing Luo
- School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
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Hertrich I, Dietrich S, Blum C, Ackermann H. The Role of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex for Speech and Language Processing. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:645209. [PMID: 34079444 PMCID: PMC8165195 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.645209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
This review article summarizes various functions of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) that are related to language processing. To this end, its connectivity with the left-dominant perisylvian language network was considered, as well as its interaction with other functional networks that, directly or indirectly, contribute to language processing. Language-related functions of the DLPFC comprise various aspects of pragmatic processing such as discourse management, integration of prosody, interpretation of nonliteral meanings, inference making, ambiguity resolution, and error repair. Neurophysiologically, the DLPFC seems to be a key region for implementing functional connectivity between the language network and other functional networks, including cortico-cortical as well as subcortical circuits. Considering clinical aspects, damage to the DLPFC causes psychiatric communication deficits rather than typical aphasic language syndromes. Although the number of well-controlled studies on DLPFC language functions is still limited, the DLPFC might be an important target region for the treatment of pragmatic language disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingo Hertrich
- Department of Neurology and Stroke, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Susanne Dietrich
- Evolutionary Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Corinna Blum
- Department of Neurology and Stroke, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hermann Ackermann
- Department of Neurology and Stroke, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Schulreich S, Schwabe L. Causal Role of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Belief Updating under Uncertainty. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:184-200. [PMID: 32820317 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive performance in uncertain environments depends on the ability to continuously update internal beliefs about environmental states. Recent correlative evidence suggests that a frontoparietal network including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) supports belief updating under uncertainty, but whether the dlPFC serves a "causal" role in this process is currently not clear. To elucidate its contribution, we leveraged transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right dlPFC, while 91 participants performed an incentivized belief-updating task. Participants also underwent a psychosocial stress or control manipulation to investigate the role of stress, which is known to modulate dlPFC functioning. We observed enhanced monetary value updating after anodal tDCS when it was normatively expected from a Bayesian perspective. A model-based analysis indicates that this effect was driven by belief updating. However, we also observed enhanced non-normative value updating, which might have been driven instead by expectancy violation. Enhanced normative and non-normative value updating reflected increased vs. decreased Bayesian rationality, respectively. Furthermore, cortisol increases were associated with enhanced positive, but not with negative, value updating. The present study thereby sheds light on the causal role of the right dlPFC in the remarkable human ability to navigate uncertain environments by continuously updating prior knowledge following new evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Schulreich
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science, Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lars Schwabe
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science, Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
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12
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Integration and differentiation of hippocampal memory traces. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 118:196-208. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Revised: 07/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Mechanisms of a near-orthogonal ultra-fast evolution of human behaviour as a source of culture development. Behav Brain Res 2020; 384:112521. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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