Can We Retrieve the Information Which Was Intentionally Forgotten? Electrophysiological Correlates of Strategic Retrieval in Directed Forgetting.

Xinrui Mao,Yanhong Wu,Mengxi Tian,Chunyan Guo,Yi Liu,Bingcan Li,Yan Jin

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01480

Xinrui Mao, Yanhong Wu + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01480

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Abstract

Retrieval inhibition hypothesis of directed forgetting effects assumed TBF (to-be-forgotten) items were not retrieved intentionally, while selective rehearsal hypothesis assumed the memory representation of retrieved TBF (to-be-forgotten) items was weaker than TBR (to-be-remembered) items. Previous studies indicated that directed forgetting effects of item-cueing method resulted from selective rehearsal at encoding, but the mechanism of retrieval inhibition that affected directed forgetting of TBF (to-be-forgotten) items was not clear. Strategic retrieval is a control process allowing the selective retrieval of target information, which includes retrieval orientation and strategic recollection. Retrieval orientation via the comparison of tasks refers to the specific form of processing resulted by retrieval efforts. Strategic recollection is the type of strategies to recollect studied items for the retrieval success of targets. Using a “directed forgetting” paradigm combined with a memory exclusion task, our investigation of strategic retrieval in directed forgetting assisted to explore how retrieval inhibition played a role on directed forgetting effects. When TBF items were targeted, retrieval orientation showed more positive ERPs to new items, indicating that TBF items demanded more retrieval efforts. The results of strategic recollection indicated that: (a) when TBR items were retrieval targets, late parietal old/new effects were only evoked by TBR items but not TBF items, indicating the retrieval inhibition of TBF items; (b) when TBF items were retrieval targets, the late parietal old/new effect were evoked by both TBR items and TBF items, indicating that strategic retrieval could overcome retrieval inhibition of TBF items. These findings suggested the modulation of strategic retrieval on retrieval inhibition of directed forgetting, supporting that directed forgetting effects were not only caused by selective rehearsal, but also retrieval inhibition.

Highlights

Forgetting must be an efficient way to prevent irrelevant details from interfering with knowledge learning
The larger ERP differences between conditions were associated with higher levels of retrieval difficulty, which suggested that retrieval efforts modulated this retrieval orientation effect (Rosburg et al, 2011a)
Studies on retrieval orientation focused on cortical responses to new items, because the processing of new items was assumed to be unaffected by retrieval success

Summary

Introduction

Forgetting must be an efficient way to prevent irrelevant details from interfering with knowledge learning. Some ERP evidence suggested that learning instruction of DF blocked retrieval processes of TBF items, supporting retrieval inhibition hypothesis (Hockley et al, 1998; Ullsperger et al, 2000; Racsmány and Conway, 2006; Van Hooff et al, 2009; Xiao et al, 2014). This means that the TBF items evoked cognitive control to inhibit retrieval processes, causing the low accuracy of TBF items

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