Not all that glittered is gold: neural mechanisms that determine when reward will enhance or impair memory.

David V Clewett,Mara Mather

doi:10.3389/fnins.2014.00194

Abstract

Not all that glittered is gold: neural mechanisms that determine when reward will enhance or impair memory.

Highlights

How do rewards received in one context affect subsequent learning about the information previously associated with rewards? Updating existing knowledge is important to maximize rewards: when high-value stimuli are reinforced by reward in a new situation, contextual binding will support optimal decision-making later; contextual unbinding can improve wellbeing by preventing low utility associations from being formed
To explore whether monetary rewards elicit memory impairments or enhancements, Madan et al (2012) used a series of valuelearning tasks to examine the effects of reward on explicit memory, implicit memory, and contextual binding
In Madan et al.’s list-discrimination task, participants relearned the high- and low-value words in unrewarded lists. Their finding that previous rewards impair rather than enhance memory binding to a new temporal context may reflect the influence of prediction errors on memory-updating processes driven by catecholamines

Summary

Introduction

High reward makes items easier to remember, but harder to bind to a new temporal context by Madan, C. Updating existing knowledge is important to maximize rewards: when high-value stimuli are reinforced by reward in a new situation, contextual binding will support optimal decision-making later; contextual unbinding can improve wellbeing by preventing low utility associations from being formed.

Results

Conclusion