Effects of retrieval practice on tested and untested information: Cortico-hippocampal interactions and error-driven learning

Abstract

Episodic memory retrieval is often viewed as a static process that enables one to re-experience past events. However, there is considerable evidence suggesting that memories can be modified, altered, or strengthened through online retrieval and reactivation during sleep. For example, recent research has demonstrated the importance of testing in learning, highlighting a phenomenon known as the testing effect. Moreover, testing can have significant effects on memory for untested items, sometimes enhancing retention and sometimes causing forgetting. This chapter reviews the relevant literature on the testing effect and the effects of testing on related untested information. We close by introducing a biologically-based computational model—TEACH—that can potentially explain a broad range of findings on the testing effect through cortico-hippocampal interactions and the principle of error-driven learning. This model makes a number of predictions at the biological and behavioral levels that can be used to guide future research.