Explicit Sequence Memory in Recall of Temporally-structured Episodes

Yonatan Stern,Ron Katz,Talya Sadeh

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-59472-8

Yonatan Stern, Ron Katz + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59472-8

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Abstract

The order in which events unfold over time is an important scaffold aiding recollection. This study asks whether explicit order memory is enhanced for items sharing similar internally-driven temporal contexts. To tap internally-driven temporal context, we capitalized on the Temporal Contiguity Effect whereby recollection of one item promotes recall of adjacently-encoded items. We compared pairs encoded and retrieved contiguously (cont-enc-ret), whose items share internally-driven temporal contexts, to pairs retrieved, but not encoded, contiguously (cont-ret) and to pairs encoded, but not retrieved, contiguously (cont-enc). Cont-enc-ret pairs exhibited superior relative order over cont-ret pairs, supporting accounts emphasizing shared temporal context as opposed to temporal distinctiveness in driving sequence memory. No difference was found in absolute order between the pair types, in line with theories suggesting a dissociation between relative and absolute order. Additionally, cont-enc-ret and cont-enc pairs exhibited equivalent relative order, supporting the role of encoding as opposed to retrieval in the enhancement of relative order. Finally, cont-enc-ret pairs were perceived as closer than cont-enc pairs, supporting the claim that cont-enc-ret pairs constitute part of a temporally-coherent episode. Together, these results implicate internally-driven temporal context in the formation of temporally-structured episodes that enhances sequence memory of the items within the episode.

Highlights

The order in which events unfold over time is an important scaffold aiding recollection
The current study examined how internally-driven temporal context, as manifested by the Temporal Contiguity Effect (TCE), affects explicit sequence memory
Three main lines of results converge on the role of internally-driven temporal context in the formation of temporally-structured episodes

Summary

Introduction

The order in which events unfold over time is an important scaffold aiding recollection. Past studies have found enhanced sequence memory[8] and an increase in the perceived proximity[9] between items sharing the same experimentally-manipulated context Inspired by these findings, the focus of the current study is on the role of internally-driven temporal context and its effects on different types of sequence memory. The first, referred to as the Distinctiveness Approach, highlights the role of increased temporal distance and distinctiveness in promoting sequence memory[14,15] Within this theoretical approach, different accounts of temporal distinctiveness have been proposed, such as gradual changes www.nature.com/scientificreports in the temporal representation of items during encoding[16,17], or the binding of items to their list position[14,15]. This increased distinctiveness of distal items, in turn, enhances memory for their recency and relative order, a finding that has been widely replicated for review see[13,18,19]

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