Abstract
BackgroundFalse memory often involves retrieving events from the distant past that did not actually happen. However, recent evidence obtained using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm for eliciting false memory experiences suggests that individuals can falsely believe that events occurred mere seconds in the past when they in fact did not. Subjects in these experiments endorsed unstudied critical lure words as having been studied, despite the fact that word lists were studied just moments before. We identified event-related brain potential (ERP) correlates of this experience, and included a repetition priming manipulation to better assess the functional significance of these ERPs.MethodsBehavioral and ERP data were collected from 21 Capital Normal University students using a short-term DRM task.ResultsTwo categories of effects were identified that distinguished true from false short-term memory: (1) early semantic priming effects from 300 to 500 ms and (2) later retrieval and retrieval-monitoring effects after 500 ms. The repetition priming manipulation had distinct influences on these effects, consistent with their differential associations with semantic priming versus episodic retrieval.ConclusionCharacterization of ERPs related to semantic priming and episodic retrieval provides important information regarding the mechanisms of short-term false memory. In contrast, most studies examining false memory in standard long-delay DRM paradigms identify ERP effects related only to retrieval monitoring. These findings highlight the neural processing involved in illusions of memory after very brief delays and highlight the role of semantic processing in short-term false memory.
Highlights
False memory often involves retrieving events from the distant past that did not happen
event-related brain potential (ERP) collected during memory testing illuminated the neural basis of short-term false memory effects, which we summarize via comparison to ERP correlates of memoryrelated neurocognitive processing, emphasizing similarities and differences with false long-term memory
Our findings suggest that short-term false memory stems from semantic priming occurring along with failure to respond based on the differences in detail retrieval that is greater for true than for false memory and less effortful retrieval and/or retrieval monitoring
Summary
False memory often involves retrieving events from the distant past that did not happen. Recent evidence obtained using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm for eliciting false memory experiences suggests that individuals can falsely believe that events occurred mere seconds in the past when they did not Subjects in these experiments endorsed unstudied critical lure words as having been studied, despite the fact that word lists were studied just moments before. ERPs with an onset after 800 ms have been shown to distinguish true memory, false memory, and correct endorsement of novel items, with the greatest amplitude for true memory and intermediate amplitude for false memory [11,13,14,15,16,17,18] These late potentials at frontal and parietal electrodes are thought to reflect post-retrieval evaluation processing, implicating a general monitoring process that is more effective for true memory than for false memory
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