B - 79 Response Time to Derived Relations Is Related to Episodic Memory Performance.

Abstract

After two stimulus pairs with a common stimulus are presented, healthy adults readily derive multiple indirect associations between each stimulus without explicit training. Factors related to this ability to derive new associations are relatively unstudied. We investigated the effects of sex and episodic memory performance on response times (RT) for different stimulus types (letters versus symbols) during trained and derived relational responding. Ninety-four cognitively healthy young adults were administered a relational responding (RR) task and the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) remotely via videoconferencing. In the RR task, two associations were directly trained in a single learning trial (A→B; A→C). Four other associations can be derived (B→A; C→A; B→C; C→B). Moderated multiple regressions examined main and interaction effects of sex and HVLT-R performance on correct RTs for trained and derived relations between letters and symbols, separately. Higher HVLT-R immediate and delayed recall scores were associated with faster RTs for all derived, but not trained, relations in the letter (p = 0.001-0.022) and symbol (p = 0.006-0.043) conditions. There was no main effect of sex, but significant sex by HVLT-R interactions were observed for several derived relations in the symbol (p = 0.032-0.044) and letter conditions (p = 0.035). Only males showed a significant RR-HVLT-R association. After a single presentation of two stimulus pairs, participants learned the two trained associations and independently derived four new, untrained stimulus relations. Better HVLT-R performance predicted faster RT uniquely for derived relations between letters/symbols. This relationship was more robust in males. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of RR-based interventions for memory rehabilitation.