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Dennis NA, Carpenter CM, Becker A. Examining the neural basis of unitization: A review. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 24:389-401. [PMID: 38413465 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01170-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Associative memory refers to the ability to form and remember associations between individual pieces of information rather than memory for a single object or word. Encoding associations in memory tends to be a more difficult task than item (only) encoding, because associative memory requires encoding multiple items as well as the specific links amongst the items. Accordingly, researchers have worked to identify interventions and strategies to reduce the effort and neural resources required for successful associative memory processing. Unitization is one such strategy that has traditionally been defined as the process by which two or more discrete items are processed, or encoded, such that they are perceived as a single ensemble. The current review explores the neural research on unitization while considering the behavioral benefits that accompany the process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy A Dennis
- The Pennsylvania State University, 450 Moore Building, State College, PA, 16801, USA.
| | - Catherine M Carpenter
- The Pennsylvania State University, 450 Moore Building, State College, PA, 16801, USA
| | - Alexa Becker
- The Pennsylvania State University, 450 Moore Building, State College, PA, 16801, USA
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Liu Z, Yuan J, Liu W. The beneficial effects of concept definition and interactive imagery tasks on associative memory: Evidence from event-related potentials. Int J Psychophysiol 2024; 197:112300. [PMID: 38215946 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2024.112300] [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: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
It is widely accepted that familiarity can support associative memory when the to-be-remember items are unitized into a new representation. However, there has been relatively little attention devoted to investigating the effects of different unitization manipulations on associative memory. The present study aimed to address this gap by examining the effects of varying levels of unitization through three tasks: Concept definition, interactive imagery, and sentence frame tasks. The behavioral results revealed that associative memory was significantly enhanced in the interactive imagery task compared to the sentence frame task. However, no significant differences were found between the sentence frame and concept definition tasks, or between the concept definition and interactive imagery tasks. In terms of the neural correlates, the event-related potential (ERP) results revealed that the sentence frame task only elicited a significant recollection-related LPC old/new effect, while the concept definition task only elicited a significant familiarity-related FN400 old/new effect. However, the interactive representation task elicited both of these distinct effects. These findings suggest that both the concept definition and interactive imagery tasks can enhance familiarity for supporting associative memory, but their beneficial effects on associative memory or LPC old/new effects may be different.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zejun Liu
- Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Jing Yuan
- College of Nursing, Hebei University, Baoding, China
| | - Wei Liu
- Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China.
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Zhou F, Jiang Y, Yue Y. Comparing two unitisation manipulations: effects on familiarity, recollection-based recognition, and semantic interference. Memory 2024; 32:308-319. [PMID: 38335303 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2024.2314516] [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: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
The recognition of associative memory can be significantly influenced by the use of an encoding strategy known as unitisation, which has been implemented through various manipulations. However, [Shao, H., Opitz, B., Yang, J., & Weng, X. (2016). Recollection reduces unitised familiarity effect. Memory (Hove, England), 24(4), 535-547. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2015.1021258] found intriguing distinctions between two common manipulations, the compound task and the imagery task, leading to a dispute. We propose that differences in levels of processing in the imagery task may account for these discrepancies. This study tested our hypothesis using two approaches. The first two experiments utilised the R/K paradigm to investigate the effects of these methods on familiarity-based and recollection-based recognition. The results demonstrated that familiarity was increased in the compound task, while recollection was increased in the imagery task. In the subsequent two experiments, an interference paradigm was employed to examine differences in semantic processing within the two tasks. The results showed that the compound task did not impact participants' inclination towards lures, while the imagery task led to a bias towards semantic lures over episodic lures, suggesting that the two encodings in the imagery task involve different levels of semantic processing. These results support our hypothesis and underscore the importance of carefully choosing comparisons that account for other variables in the study of unitisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan Zhou
- School of Psychology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingjie Jiang
- School of Psychology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang Yue
- School of Psychology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, People's Republic of China
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Meßmer JA, Bader R, Mecklinger A. Schema-congruency supports the formation of unitized representations: Evidence from event-related potentials. Neuropsychologia 2024; 194:108782. [PMID: 38159798 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108782] [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: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
The main goal of the present study was to investigate whether schema-based encoding of novel word pairs (i.e., novel compound words) supports the formation of unitized representations and thus, associative familiarity-based recognition. We report two experiments that both comprise an incidental learning task, in which novel noun-noun compound words were presented in semantically congruent contexts, enabling schema-supported processing of both constituents, contrasted with a schema-neutral condition. In Experiment 1, the effects of schema congruency on memory performance were larger for associative memory performance than for item memory performance in a memory test in which intact, recombined, and new compound words had to be discriminated. This supports the view that schema congruency boosts associative memory by promoting unitization. When contrasting event-related potentials (ERPs) for hits with correct rejections or associative misses, an N400 attenuation effect (520-676 ms) indicating absolute familiarity was present in the congruent condition, but not in the neutral condition. In line with this, a direct comparison of ERPs on hits across conditions revealed more positive waveforms in the congruent than in the neutral condition. This suggests that absolute familiarity contributes to associative recognition memory when schema-supported processing is established. In Experiment 2, we tested whether schema congruency enables the formation of semantically overlapping representations. Therefore, we included semantically similar lure compound words in the test phase and compared false alarm rates to these lures across conditions. In line with our hypothesis, we found higher false alarm rates in the congruent as compared to the neutral condition. In conclusion, we provide converging evidence for the view that schema congruency enables the formation of unitized representations and supports familiarity-based memory retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia A Meßmer
- Experimental Neuropsychology Unit, Saarland University, Campus A2 4, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Regine Bader
- Experimental Neuropsychology Unit, Saarland University, Campus A2 4, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Axel Mecklinger
- Experimental Neuropsychology Unit, Saarland University, Campus A2 4, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
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Bein O, Gasser C, Amer T, Maril A, Davachi L. Predictions transform memories: How expected versus unexpected events are integrated or separated in memory. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 153:105368. [PMID: 37619645 PMCID: PMC10591973 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Revised: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Our brains constantly generate predictions about the environment based on prior knowledge. Many of the events we experience are consistent with these predictions, while others might be inconsistent with prior knowledge and thus violate our predictions. To guide future behavior, the memory system must be able to strengthen, transform, or add to existing knowledge based on the accuracy of our predictions. We synthesize recent evidence suggesting that when an event is consistent with our predictions, it leads to neural integration between related memories, which is associated with enhanced associative memory, as well as memory biases. Prediction errors, in turn, can promote both neural integration and separation, and lead to multiple mnemonic outcomes. We review these findings and how they interact with factors such as memory reactivation, prediction error strength, and task goals, to offer insight into what determines memory for events that violate our predictions. In doing so, this review brings together recent neural and behavioral research to advance our understanding of how predictions shape memory, and why.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oded Bein
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States.
| | - Camille Gasser
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.
| | - Tarek Amer
- Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
| | - Anat Maril
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Cognitive Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Lila Davachi
- Center for Clinical Research, The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
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Zhao C, Peng Y, Liu Z, Wei P, Guo C. Chinese character unitization enhances recollection-based associative recognition: Evidence from fMRI. Psych J 2023; 12:561-571. [PMID: 37343998 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.663] [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: 02/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has suggested that familiarity can enhance associative memory after unitization, but the cognitive mechanisms underlying unitization remain debated. To explore the neural mechanisms of associative memory after unitization in the absence of semantic relations, we used Chinese characters as stimuli and recorded participants' blood oxygen level-dependent signals during recognition. Behavioral results showed that after Chinese character unitization, not only the associative performance of recognition (Pr, hit rate minus false alarm rate) and general Pr but also the hit rate and correct rejection rate increased. Neuroimaging results revealed activation of the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus during associative recognition in both the unitized and the non-unitized condition, and hippocampal activation increased after unitization. However, activation of the perirhinal cortex was not observed in either condition. These findings, in contrast to those from previous studies on unitization, suggest that Chinese character unitization enhances recollection-based, rather than familiarity-based, associative recognition. This suggests that the encoding of semantic relations during unitization is critical for subsequent familiarity-based associative recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunyu Zhao
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yubin Peng
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Zejun Liu
- Department of Psychology, Educational College, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ping Wei
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Chunyan Guo
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
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Li B, Han M, Guo C, Tibon R. Unitization modulates recognition of within-domain and cross-domain associations: Evidence from event-related potentials. Psychophysiology 2019; 56:e13446. [PMID: 31369155 PMCID: PMC6852485 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2018] [Revised: 05/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Although it is often assumed that memory of episodic associations requires recollection, it has been suggested that, when stimuli are experienced as a unit, earlier memory processes might contribute to their subsequent associative recognition. We investigated the effects of associative relations and perceptual domain during episodic encoding on the ability to utilize early memory processes to retrieve associative information. During the study phase, participants encoded compound and noncompound words pairs, presented either to the same sensory modality (visual presentation) or to different sensory modalities (audiovisual presentation). At the test phase, they discriminated between old, rearranged, and new pairs while ERPs were recorded. In an early ERP component, differences related to associative memory emerged only for compounds, regardless of their encoding modality. These findings indicate that episodic retrieval of compound words can be supported by early-onset recognition processes regardless of whether both words were presented to the same or different sensory modalities, and suggests that unitization can operate at an abstract level, across a broad range of materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingcan Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of PsychologyCapital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Meng Han
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of PsychologyCapital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Chunyan Guo
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of PsychologyCapital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Roni Tibon
- MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences UnitUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
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Greve A, Cooper E, Tibon R, Henson RN. Knowledge is power: Prior knowledge aids memory for both congruent and incongruent events, but in different ways. J Exp Psychol Gen 2019; 148:325-341. [PMID: 30394766 PMCID: PMC6390882 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Events that conform to our expectations, that is, are congruent with our world knowledge or schemas, are better remembered than unrelated events. Yet events that conflict with schemas can also be remembered better. We examined this apparent paradox in 4 experiments, in which schemas were established by training ordinal relationships between randomly paired objects, whereas event memory was tested for the number of objects on each trial. Better memory was found for both congruent and incongruent trials, relative to unrelated trials, producing memory performance that was a "U-shaped" function of congruency. The congruency advantage but not incongruency advantage was mediated by postencoding processes, whereas the incongruency advantage, but not congruency advantage, emerged even if the information probed by the memory test was irrelevant to the schema. Schemas therefore augment event memory in multiple ways, depending on the match between novel and existing information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Greve
- MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
| | - Elisa Cooper
- MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
| | - Roni Tibon
- MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
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