Incidental Free Recall Test Research Articles

The negation-induced forgetting effect remains even after reducing associative interference

Recent research has provided evidence that negation processing recruits the neural network of response inhibition (de Vega et al., 2016). Furthermore, inhibition mechanisms also play a role in human memory. In two experiments, we aimed to assess how producing a negation in a verification task may impact long-term memory. Experiment 1 used the same memory paradigm as Mayo et al. (2014), consisting of several phases: first, reading a story describing the activity of a protagonist, immediately followed by a “yes-no” verification task, then a distractive task, and finally an incidental free recall test. Consistent with the previous results, negated sentences were recalled worse than affirmed sentences. Yet, there is a possible confounding between the effect of negation itself and the associative interference of two conflicting predicates – the original and the modified one – in negative trials. To avoid this, Experiment 2 modified the paradigm by including a story describing the activities of two protagonists in such a way that the affirmed and denied verification sentences had the same content, and only differed in the attribution of a specific event to the correct or wrong protagonist. The negation-induced forgetting effect was still powerful, while controlling for potential contaminating variables. Our finding would support that the impaired long-term memory could be ascribed to reusing the inhibitory mechanism of negation.

The KOALA-study: study protocol for a comprehensive study of cognitive biases in adolescent anorexia nervosa patients compared to healthy and clinical controls

BackgroundAnorexia nervosa (AN) is characterized by dysfunctional cognitions including cognitive biases at various levels of information processing. However, less is known about the specificity of these biases, i.e., if they occur for eating-disorder-related information alone or also for non-eating-disorder-related emotional information in AN patients (content-specificity) and if they are unique to individuals with AN or are also shown by individuals with other mental disorders (disorder-specificity).MethodsThe present study systematically assesses cognitive biases in 12–18-year-old female adolescents with AN on three levels of information processing (attention, interpretation, and memory) and with regard to two types of information content (eating-disorder-related, i.e., stimuli related to body weight and shape, and non-eating-disorder-related). To address not only content- but also disorder-specificity, adolescents with AN will be compared not only to a healthy control group but also to a clinical control group (adolescents with major depression or particular anxiety disorders). Cognitive biases are assessed within a single experimental paradigm based on the Scrambled Sentences Task. During the task eye movements are recorded in order to assess attention biases while interpretation biases are derived from the behavioural outcome. An incidental free recall test afterwards assesses memory biases. We expect adolescents with AN to show more pronounced negative cognitive biases on all three levels of information processing and for both types of content compared to healthy adolescents. In addition, we expect the specificity of biases to translate into differential results for the two types of content: AN patients are expected to show stronger biases for disorder-related stimuli but similar or less pronounced biases for non-disorder-related stimuli compared to the clinical control group.DiscussionThis is the first study to comprehensively assess cognitive biases in adolescents with AN. It will have essential implications not only for cognitive-behavioural models of AN but also for subsequent studies aiming to modify cognitive biases in this population, thereby addressing important maintaining factors already at an early stage of the disorder.

Attention, interpretation, and memory biases in subclinical depression: A proof-of-principle test of the combined cognitive biases hypothesis.

Emotional biases in attention, interpretation, and memory are viewed as important cognitive processes underlying symptoms of depression. To date, there is a limited understanding of the interplay among these processing biases. This study tested the dependence of memory on depression-related biases in attention and interpretation. Subclinically depressed and nondepressed participants completed a computerized version of the scrambled sentences test (measuring interpretation bias) while their eye movements were recorded (measuring attention bias). This task was followed by an incidental free recall test of previously constructed interpretations (measuring memory bias). Path analysis revealed a good fit for the model in which selective orienting of attention was associated with interpretation bias, which in turn was associated with a congruent bias in memory. Also, a good fit was observed for a path model in which biases in the maintenance of attention and interpretation were associated with memory bias. Both path models attained a superior fit compared with path models without the theorized functional relations among processing biases. These findings enhance understanding of how mechanisms of attention and interpretation regulate what is remembered. As such, they offer support for the combined cognitive biases hypothesis or the notion that emotionally biased cognitive processes are not isolated mechanisms but instead influence each other. Implications for theoretical models and emotion regulation across the spectrum of depressive symptoms are discussed.

Aging, imagery, and the bizarreness effect

ABSTRACT This study examined the bizarre imagery effect in young and older adults, under incidental and intentional conditions. Intentionality was manipulated across experiments, with participants receiving an incidental free recall test in Experiment 1 and an intentional test in Experiment 2. This study also examined the relation between working memory resources and the bizarreness effect. In Experiment 1 young and older adults were presented with common and bizarre sentences; they later received an incidental recall test. There were no age differences in sensitivity to the bizarreness effect in Experiment 1 when ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. However, when the bizarreness effect was examined in terms of effect size, there was evidence that younger adults produced larger bizarreness effect sizes than younger adults. Experiment 2 further explored age differences in sensitivity to the bizarreness effect by presenting young and older adults with bizarre and common sentences under intentional learning conditions. Experiment 2 failed to yield age differences as a function of item type (bizarre vs. common). In addition, Experiment 2 failed to yield significant evidence that the bizarreness effect is modulated by working memory resources. The results of this study are most consistent with the distinctiveness account of the bizarreness effect.

MOOD-CONGRUENT ENCODING EFFECT IN SELF- AND OTHER-REFERENT JUDGMENTS

The patterns of mood-congruent encoding effect (MCE) in self- and other-referent judgments were investigated. Subjects were sequentially presented single words from a list of pleasant or unpleasant trait adjective words after inducing a positive, negative or neutral mood by music. In Experiment 1, they were then required to decide whether each word described themselves (in self-referent judgment) or their mother (in other-referent judgment). In Experiment 2, subjects were required to decide whether each word described a liked, disliked, or neutral friend (in other-referent judgment). An incidental free recall test followed the task. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 indicated that MCE in a positive mood was observed in self- and other-referent judgments, however, MCE in a negative mood was observed only in self-referent judgment. It is suggested that the self-reference might strengthen MCE in a negative mood and positive and negative moods have different influences on memory of affective information.

Epinephrine enhancement of human memory consolidation: Interaction with arousal at encoding

Abundant evidence indicates that endogenous stress hormones like epinephrine and cortisol modulate memory consolidation in animals. Despite this evidence, there has been no demonstration that endogenous stress hormones modulate memory consolidation in humans. In the present study, healthy subjects viewed a series of 21 slides, and immediately after received an intravenous infusion of either saline or epinephrine (40 or 80 ng/kg/min). Memory for the first three (primacy) and last three (recency) slides viewed was assessed with an incidental free recall test one week later. Epinephrine dose-dependently increased memory for the primacy slides, but did not affect memory of the recency slides. A subsequent experiment involving new subjects revealed significantly higher electrodermal responses to the primacy compared with recency slides. These findings support the view ( Gold & McGaugh, 1975) that endogenous stress hormones modulate memory consolidation for experiences that induce their release. Additionally, they suggest that in humans these hormones may interact with the degree of arousal at initial encoding of information to modulate memory consolidation processes for that information.

Mood effects on the impression formation of typical and atypical targets

In this study, we investigated mood effects on impression formation of typical and atypical target persons, in an attempt to replicate the findings reported by Forgas (1992a). Listening to a particular piece of music, participants were first induced into positive, negative, or neutral mood. Then, they read statements, in which typical and atypical targets were described with positive and negative personality traits. While reading the statements, they were asked to form an impression of the target, and evaluate him/her. After the impression formation task, they were given ten minutes for an incidental free recall test. Results showed that mood congruent memory effect was found regardless of the targets. On the contrary, mood congruent judgment effect in positive mood was found only for typical targets. It was suggested that mood effects depend on the kind of information processing strategies triggered by typical and atypical targets.

Mood-congruent effect in self-relevant information processing: a study using an autobiographical memory recall task

The pattern of the mood-congruent effect in an autobiographical memory recall task was investigated. Each subject was randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: positive mood, negative mood (induced with music), and control groups (no specific mood). Subjects were then presented with a word at a time from a list of trait words, which were pleasant or unpleasant. They decided whether they could recall any of their autobiographical memories related to the word, and responded with "yes" or "no" buttons as rapidly and accurately as possible. After the task, they were given five minutes for an incidental free recall test. Results indicated that the mood-congruent effect was found regardless of whether there was an autobiographical memory related to the word or not in both positive and negative mood states. The effect of moods on self-relevant information processing was discussed.

Encoding activity with PET

With the emergence of single-trial and event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging as a viable and accessible imaging tool for many cognitive neuroscientists, the future of PET blood flow activation studies seems uncertain. However, a number of older PET techniques continue to yield important findings that might tell us as much about the relationship between brain and behaviour as state-of-the-art methods such as event-related fMRI. In one recent paper the role of the hippocampus and the amygdala in long-term memory was examined using PET of regional cerebral glucose1. Eight normal subjects listened to lists of words during the 32 minutes following injection of 18flurodeoxyglucose, a glucose analog tracer used to determine regional glucose metabolic rate. Glucose activity was measured during a single PET scan and the results correlated with performance on an incidental free-recall test given 24 h later. A highly significant relationship was found between activity in the left hippocampal region and word recall, but no correlation was found between activity in the amygdala and recall. This result concurs fully with recent studies using a similar behavioural approach, and event-related fMRI. One important difference in this study, however, was that recall was correlated with activity measured at the encoding stage, rather than at retrieval. PET techniques are thus still providing new information that complements findings from fMRI approaches.

Hippocampal, but not amygdala, activity at encoding correlates with long-term, free recall of nonemotional information.

Participation of two medial temporal lobe structures, the hippocampal region and the amygdala, in long-term declarative memory encoding was examined by using positron emission tomography of regional cerebral glucose. Positron emission tomography scanning was performed in eight healthy subjects listening passively to a repeated sequence of unrelated words. Memory for the words was assessed 24 hr later with an incidental free recall test. The percentage of words freely recalled then was correlated with glucose activity during encoding. The results revealed a striking correlation (r = 0.91, P < 0.001) between activity of the left hippocampal region (centered on the dorsal parahippocampal gyrus) and word recall. No correlation was found between activity of either the left or right amygdala and recall. The findings provide evidence for hippocampal involvement in long-term declarative memory encoding and for the view that the amygdala is not involved with declarative memory formation for nonemotional material.

The influence of an emotion on the retention of episodic scenes

This study investigated the relationship between affective properties of stimuli and their retention. Thirty sentences describing various scenes were chosen as stimuli to elicit affects which are experienced in daily life. Ninety undergraduates rated each sentence on the following eight dimensions: anxiety, hostility, boredom, liveliness, calmness, friendliness, concentration, and surprise. One week after participating in the scene rating task, participants were given an incidental free recall test, in which they were instructed to recall a word or phrase describing each scene. Results indicated that memory for affectively pleasant scenes was superior to that for unpleasant scenes. However, a discriminant analysis on the kind of emotion activated indicated that the relaxant-tensive dimension determined the retention of the stimulus sentences more than the dimension of pleasantness.

Mood-congruency effects in self-relevant words

In this experiment, one of three moods: positive, negative, neutral, was induced with Velten technique and music. Subjects were then presented with a word at a time from a list of trait words, which were pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. They were to decide whether the word described their self, and respond with 'yes' (relevant) or 'no' (irrelevant) buttons. After the task, they were given five minutes for an incidental free recall test. Results indicated that induced mood affected memory, but not judgements of self-relevance. Mood congruent recall effects were found only for self-relevant words, and more self-relevant than irrelevant words were recalled if they were mood congruent. It was concluded that mood effects were different depending on whether the information was self-relevant, and that mood-congruency effects were found only for self-relevant information.

Mood induction and the priming of semantic memory in a lexical decision task: Asymmetric effects of elation and depression

A number of predictions derived from Bower’s (1981) associative network model of mood and memory were investigated by inducing elated, neutral, or depressed moods in different groups of subjects. A mood-evaluation checklist verified the success of the mood-induction procedure. While in induced moods, subjects performed a lexical decision task in which the target stimuli were positive or negative trait adjectives, neutral nontrait adjectives, or nonwords. As predicted, subjects in elated moods showed facilitated processing of positive target words relative to processing of negative and neutral target words. Contrary to prediction, subjects in depressed moods did not respond faster to negative target words than they did to positive target words. Following the lexical decision task, subjects were administered an incidental free recall test for the words presented during the lexical decision task. Contrary to prediction, the three mood groups recalled similar numbers of words for each type of word target category. The asymmetric effects of elation and depression on memory that were observed in this study and a number of other studies are discussed.