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Bennion KA, Phong J, Le M, Cheng K, Wahlheim CN, Antony JW. Semantic relatedness proactively benefits learning, memory, and interdependence across episodes. eLife 2024; 13:RP95480. [PMID: 39656090 PMCID: PMC11630824 DOI: 10.7554/elife.95480] [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] [Indexed: 12/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Over the past century of memory research, the interplay between initial and later-learned information in determining long-term memory retention has been of central interest. A likely factor for determining whether initial and later memories interfere with or strengthen each other is semantic relatedness. Relatedness has been shown to retroactively boost initial memory and increase the interdependence between earlier and more recent experiences in memory. Here, we investigated the converse relationship of how relatedness proactively affects later memory for paired associates. In five experiments (N=1000 total), we varied the relatedness between initial and later cues, initial and later targets, or both. Across experiments and conditions, relatedness profoundly benefited later-learned memories - in some conditions, low relatedness reliably produced proactive interference (versus a control condition) while high relatedness produced proactive facilitation within the same experiment. Additionally, relatedness also accelerated learning and increased interdependence between initial and later-learned pairs. In sum, we demonstrate the robust effects of relatedness in scaffolding memory for recently learned information and creating strong integrative links with prior experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly A Bennion
- Department of Psychology and Child Development, California Polytechnic State UniversitySan Luis ObispoUnited States
| | - Jade Phong
- Department of Psychology and Child Development, California Polytechnic State UniversitySan Luis ObispoUnited States
| | - Mytien Le
- Department of Psychology and Child Development, California Polytechnic State UniversitySan Luis ObispoUnited States
| | - Kunhua Cheng
- Department of Psychology and Child Development, California Polytechnic State UniversitySan Luis ObispoUnited States
| | - Christopher N Wahlheim
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at GreensboroGreensboroUnited States
| | - James W Antony
- Department of Psychology and Child Development, California Polytechnic State UniversitySan Luis ObispoUnited States
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Antony J, Lozano A, Dhoat P, Chen J, Bennion K. Causal and Chronological Relationships Predict Memory Organization for Nonlinear Narratives. J Cogn Neurosci 2024; 36:2368-2385. [PMID: 38991132 PMCID: PMC11887591 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
While recounting an experience, one can employ multiple strategies to transition from one part to the next. For instance, if the event was learned out of linear order, one can recall events according to the time they were learned (temporal), similar events (semantic), events occurring nearby in time (chronological), or events produced by the current event (causal). To disentangle the importance of these factors, we had participants watch the nonlinear narrative, Memento, under different task instructions and presentation orders. For each scene of the film, we also separately computed semantic and causal networks. We then contrasted the evidence for temporal, semantic, chronological, or causal strategies during recall. Critically, there was stronger evidence for the causal and chronological strategies than semantic or temporal strategies. Moreover, the causal and chronological strategies outperformed the temporal one even when we asked participants to recall the film in the presented order, underscoring the fundamental nature of causal structure in scaffolding understanding and organizing recall. Nevertheless, time still marginally predicted recall transitions, suggesting it operates as a weak signal in the presence of more salient forms of structure. In addition, semantic and causal network properties predicted scene memorability, including a stronger role for incoming causes to an event than its outgoing effects. In summary, these findings highlight the importance of accounting for complex, causal networks in knowledge building and memory.
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Chen D, Xia T, Yao Z, Zhang L, Hu X. Modulating social learning-induced evaluation updating during human sleep. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2024; 9:43. [PMID: 38971834 PMCID: PMC11227583 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00255-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024]
Abstract
People often change their evaluations upon learning about their peers' evaluations, i.e., social learning. Given sleep's vital role in consolidating daytime experiences, sleep may facilitate social learning, thereby further changing people's evaluations. Combining a social learning task and the sleep-based targeted memory reactivation technique, we asked whether social learning-induced evaluation updating can be modulated during sleep. After participants had indicated their initial evaluation of snacks, they learned about their peers' evaluations while hearing the snacks' spoken names. During the post-learning non-rapid-eye-movement sleep, we re-played half of the snack names (i.e., cued snack) to reactivate the associated peers' evaluations. Upon waking up, we found that the social learning-induced evaluation updating further enlarged for both cued and uncued snacks. Examining sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) activity revealed that cue-elicited delta-theta EEG power and the overnight N2 sleep spindle density predicted post-sleep evaluation updating for cued but not for uncued snacks. These findings underscore the role of sleep-mediated memory reactivation and the associated neural activity in supporting social learning-induced evaluation updating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danni Chen
- Department of Psychology, The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Tao Xia
- Department of Psychology, The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Ziqing Yao
- Department of Psychology, The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lingqi Zhang
- Department of Psychology, The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Xiaoqing Hu
- Department of Psychology, The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
- HKU-Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation, Shenzhen, China.
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Siefert EM, Uppuluri S, Mu J, Tandoc MC, Antony JW, Schapiro AC. Memory Reactivation during Sleep Does Not Act Holistically on Object Memory. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e0022242024. [PMID: 38604779 PMCID: PMC11170671 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0022-24.2024] [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: 01/02/2024] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Memory reactivation during sleep is thought to facilitate memory consolidation. Most sleep reactivation research has examined how reactivation of specific facts, objects, and associations benefits their overall retention. However, our memories are not unitary, and not all features of a memory persist in tandem over time. Instead, our memories are transformed, with some features strengthened and others weakened. Does sleep reactivation drive memory transformation? We leveraged the Targeted Memory Reactivation technique in an object category learning paradigm to examine this question. Participants (20 female, 14 male) learned three categories of novel objects, where each object had unique, distinguishing features as well as features shared with other members of its category. We used a real-time EEG protocol to cue the reactivation of these objects during sleep at moments optimized to generate reactivation events. We found that reactivation improved memory for distinguishing features while worsening memory for shared features, suggesting a differentiation process. The results indicate that sleep reactivation does not act holistically on object memories, instead supporting a transformation where some features are enhanced over others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M Siefert
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
- Department of Neurosurgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Sindhuja Uppuluri
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Jianing Mu
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Marlie C Tandoc
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - James W Antony
- Department of Psychology and Child Development, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California 93407
| | - Anna C Schapiro
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
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Schechtman E. When memories get complex, sleep comes to their rescue. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2402178121. [PMID: 38466857 PMCID: PMC10962965 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2402178121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Eitan Schechtman
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA92697
- Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA92697
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Siefert E, Uppuluri S, Mu. J, Tandoc M, Antony J, Schapiro A. Memory reactivation during sleep does not act holistically on object memory. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.12.14.571683. [PMID: 38168451 PMCID: PMC10760132 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.14.571683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Memory reactivation during sleep is thought to facilitate memory consolidation. Most sleep reactivation research has examined how reactivation of specific facts, objects, and associations benefits their overall retention. However, our memories are not unitary, and not all features of a memory persist in tandem over time. Instead, our memories are transformed, with some features strengthened and others weakened. Does sleep reactivation drive memory transformation? We leveraged the Targeted Memory Reactivation technique in an object category learning paradigm to examine this question. Participants (20 female, 14 male) learned three categories of novel objects, where each object had unique, distinguishing features as well as features shared with other members of its category. We used a real-time EEG protocol to cue the reactivation of these objects during sleep at moments optimized to generate reactivation events. We found that reactivation improved memory for distinguishing features while worsening memory for shared features, suggesting a differentiation process. The results indicate that sleep reactivation does not act holistically on object memories, instead supporting a transformation process where some features are enhanced over others.
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Affiliation(s)
- E.M. Siefert
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - S. Uppuluri
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - J. Mu.
- Department of Psychology and Child Development, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93407, USA
| | - M.C. Tandoc
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | | | - A.C. Schapiro
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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