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• Memory impairment is specific for free recall of neutral texts, but not emotional. • Cortisol does not affect recognition memory, nor temporal sequence memory. • The observed memory retrieval impairment may reflect the use of ecologically-relevant material. Pharmacological studies have consistently shown memory retrieval impairment after administration of cortisol, particularly pronounced for emotional laboratory material (i.e. list of emotional words). However, it is unclear how pharmacological elevation of cortisol affects memory retrieval of ecologically-relevant emotional material (i.e. similar to a newspaper article about an emotional event). In the present study, we aimed to explore whether cortisol administration affects the recall of ecologically-relevant emotional and neutral material, and when memory retrieval occurs after a longer delay (105 min). In this double-blind, pseudo-randomized, placebo-control study, 79 participants learned a negative text and a neutral text. Twenty-four hours later, they were administrated either 10 mg of hydrocortisone or placebo. After 105 min, participants engaged in free recall of both texts. The group with cortisol administration showed significantly reduced free recall compared to the placebo group. Interestingly, this memory retrieval impairment was driven by significantly lower recall after cortisol vs. placebo administration for neutral texts, but not negative texts. The current finding suggests that cortisol administration impairs neutral ecologically-relevant material while leaving emotional material unaffected. These divergent findings, compared to existing literature, emphasize the necessity of employing more ecologically validated material to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between cortisol administration and memory for ecological material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the results of two perception experiments aimed at evaluating the effect that specific patterns of disfluencies have on people listening to synthetic speech. We consider the particular case of Cultural Heritage presentations and propose a linguistic model to support the positioning of disfluencies throughout the utterances in the Italian language. A state-of-the-art speech synthesizer, based on Deep Neural Networks, is used to prepare a set of experimental stimuli and two different experiments are presented to provide both subjective evaluations and behavioural assessments from human subjects. Results show that synthetic utterances including disfluencies, predicted by a linguistic model, are identified as more natural and that the presence of disfluencies benefits the listeners' recall of the provided information. • Neural speech synthesis systems model speech phenomena in a natural-sounding way. • Neural synthesis can work as a tool to investigate human speech behaviours. • In specific contexts, speech disfluency phenomena foster listeners' recall. • Models of linguistic behaviours improve speech technological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A set of regions including hippocampus was involved in both recall and familiarity memory for scenes compared with objects. • A common region in the anterior medial hippocampus was activated in all tasks for scene processing. • Previous studies have associated this anatomical region with scene construction. The hippocampus is usually associated with recall memory, whereas its contribution to familiarity-based memory is debated. Growing evidence support the idea that this structure participates to any cognitive process performed on scene representations. In parallel, differences in functional specialisation and cortical connectivity were found across the longitudinal and transverse axes of the hippocampus. Here we reanalysed functional MRI data from 51 participants showing stronger engagement of the hippocampus in recall, familiarity-based recognition and rejection, and visual discrimination, of scenes compared to single objects. A conjunction analysis between these four tasks revealed a set of occipital, medial temporal, posterior cingulate, and parietal regions, matching the scene construction network described in the literature. Crucially, we found that the anterior medial part of the hippocampus was consistently involved in all tasks investigated for scene stimuli. These findings support that the hippocampus can contribute to both recall and familiarity-based memory, depending on stimulus type. More generally, this bolsters the recent proposal that circumscribed regions within the hippocampus may underpin specific cognitive mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We introduce Hover, a new concept and gesture user interface for smart TVs. • We evaluate user performance for recalling and pointing to loci in mid-air. • We discuss Hover in terms of interaction dimensions and qualities desirable for air pointing. We introduce "Hover," a new concept and interface for remote TV control based on air pointing in the users' personal, peripersonal, and extrapersonal space and implemented with mid-air spatial shortcuts to viewers' preferred TV channels distributed in the room with no representation other than that created in users' own imagination. Hover exploits memory and spatial orientation skills to enable fast access to TV channels with a mere pointing of the hand in mid-air. A controlled experiment with 17 participants and 9 mid-air loci corresponding to shortcuts to television channels revealed an average user recall rate of 80% and individual rates up to 100% for mid-air loci, pointing accuracy offsets of 10 cm, and 99% recognition rate for air pointing actions. We hope that Hover will inspire researchers and practitioners of user interfaces for smart TVs to consider spatial locations and mid-air as active elements to design new interactive experiences for home entertainment environments centered on the smart TV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Memory functioning undergoes dynamic changes between childhood and adulthood. Spontaneous use of elaborative strategies, which can enhance the recall of information, expands with age and contributes to age-associated improvement in memory functioning. Findings from lesion and neuroimaging studies suggest that the ability to use elaborative strategies is dependent upon intact functioning of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), particularly the dorsolateral PFC region. Because the PFC undergoes protracted maturation, we examined whether age difference in the structure of the PFC is correlated with age-associated increase in strategy use. Here, we investigated the relationship between PFC volume and spontaneous strategy use in a sample of 120 participants aged 5–25 years. We assessed semantic clustering during recall with a standardized word-list recall task (California Verbal Learning Task children's version, CVLT-C) and computed PFC regional volumes from participants' structural brain images. We observed an age-associated increase in the use of semantic clustering and an age-associated decrease in volumes of the PFC. Further, we found that smaller PFC volume was linked to increased use of semantic clustering. Importantly, the volume of the right dorsolateral PFC partially explained the relation between age and the use of semantic clustering. These findings suggest that PFC maturation supports the development of strategy use and lends further support for the notion that brain-behavior relations change across development. Highlights • We assessed age difference in spontaneous mnemonic strategy use in word list recall. • Age difference in spontaneous semantic strategy use between age 5–25-years. • Age difference in PFC volume partially mediated age increase in semantic strategy use. • Age difference in number of words recalled was not mediated by PFC volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Union (EU) law regulates the manufacture, presentation, and sale of tobacco and related products in all member states. This study examined whether legislation non-compliant tobacco products and electronic cigarettes were available for sale in the European market. We queried the EU Rapid Information System for dangerous non-food products, covering 28 current and former EU member states and 3 associated countries, also known as Rapex, for non-compliant tobacco and related products reported between 2005 and 2022. During the operation of the Rapex system, 183 violations were reported (six on tobacco, three on traditional cigarettes, and 174 on e-cigarettes). Insufficient product safety information was found in 86% of the reports on e-cigarettes and 74% of the refills. Violations regarding the volume of the liquid container were observed in 26% of the e-cigarette reports and 20% of the refill reports. Approximately 15% of the reported e-cigarettes and 17% of refill liquids exceeded permissible nicotine levels. More serious standard violations were recorded for refills than for e-cigarettes. Approximately one-third of Rapex system countries submitted no notifications. E-cigarettes were the most frequently reported items in the European market of tobacco and non-tobacco nicotine products. The most common concerns were inadequate product safety information, incorrect liquid container volume, and excessive nicotine concentration. Identifying the most recognized legal infringements did not require laboratory tests and was based only on packaging and the manufacturer's declaration analysis. Further studies are necessary to corroborate whether products available in countries where no violations have been reported meet EU safety standards. • It is the first report on tobacco and associated product legal violations in Europe. • Most transgressions pertain to e-cigarettes and refills. • Excessive liquid container volume and nicotine concentration are prevalent breaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current study is to examine the effects of motivated forgetting and aging on true and false memory. Sixty young and 54 healthy older adults were instructed to study two lists of 18 words each. Each list was composed of three sets of six words associated with three non-presented critical words. After studying list 1, half of the participants received the instruction to forget List 1, whereas the other half received the instruction to remember List 1. Next, all the subjects studied list 2; finally, they were asked to remember the words studied in both lists. The results showed that when participants intended to forget the studied List 1, they were less likely to recall the studied words, but more likely to intrude the critical words. That is, we can intentionally forget something but this can also entail the intrusion of some related false memories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During early childhood, children find spatial tasks such as following novel route directions challenging. Spatial tasks place demands on multiple cognitive processes, including language comprehension and memory, at a time in development when resources are limited. As such, gestures accompanying route directions may aid comprehension and facilitate task performance by scaffolding cognitive processes, including language and memory processing. This study examined the effect of presenting gesture during encoding on spatial task performance during early childhood. Three- to five-year-olds were presented with verbal route directions through a zoo-themed spatial array and, depending on assigned condition (no gesture, beat gesture, or iconic/deictic gesture), accompanying gestures. Children presented with verbal route directions accompanied by a combination of iconic (pantomime) and deictic (pointing) gestures verbally recalled more than children presented with beat gestures (rhythmic hand movements) or no gestures accompanying the route directions. The presence of gesture accompanying route directions similarly influenced physical route navigation, such that children presented with gesture (beat, pantomime, and pointing) navigated the route more accurately than children presented with no gestures. Across all gesture conditions, location information (e.g., the penguin pond) was recalled more than movement information (e.g., go around) and descriptive information (e.g., bright red). These findings suggest that speakers’ gestures accompanying spatial task information influence listeners’ recall and task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consolidation of newly formed memories is readily disrupted, but can it be enhanced? Given the prominent role of hippocampal theta oscillations in memory formation and retrieval, we hypothesized that upregulating theta power during early stages of consolidation might benefit memory stability and persistence. We used EEG neurofeedback to enable participants to selectively increase theta power in their EEG spectra following episodic memory encoding, while other participants engaged in low beta-focused neurofeedback or passively viewed a neutral nature movie. Free recall assessments immediately following the interventions, 24 h later and 7 d later all indicated benefit to memory of theta neurofeedback, relative to low beta neurofeedback or passive movie-viewing control conditions. The degree of benefit to memory was correlated with the extent of theta power modulation, but not with other spectral changes. Theta enhancement may provide optimal conditions for stabilization of new hippocampus-dependent memories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A deficit in recall accuracy was seen for PWE, but only at the 72-hour delay. • PWE performed significantly worse than baseline in recognition accuracy at each delay. • PWE had considerably higher rates of intrusion errors than HC at each time point. • Confidence ratings and memory performance were positively correlated in PWE and HC. Persons with epilepsy (PWE) report memory deficits as one of the most distressing aspects of their disorder. Recently, a long-term memory deficit known as Accelerated Long-Term Forgetting (ALF) has been described in PWE. ALF is characterized by the initial retention of learned information, followed by an accelerated rate of memory decay. However, the rate of ALF varies widely across literature and it is unclear how it impacts different memory retrieval types. The current study aimed to capture the time course of ALF on both free recall and recognition memory using a movie-based task in PWE. A sample of 30 PWE and 30 healthy comparison (HC) subjects watched a nature documentary and were tested on their recall and recognition of the film's content immediately after viewing and at delays of 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours. Participants also rated the confidence they had in their recognition memory trial responses. For recall, PWE exhibit ALF at 72 hours (β = −19.840, SE = 3.743, z(226) = −5.301, p < 0.001). For recognition, PWE had decreased performance compared to controls at the 24-hour (β = −10.165, SE = 4.174, z(224) = −3.166, p = 0.004), 48-hour (β = −8.113, SE = 3.701, z(224) = −2.195, p = 0.044), and 72-hour (β = −10.794, SE = 3.017, z(224) = −3.295, p = 0.003) delays. The PWE group showed positive correlations (tau = 0.165, p < 0.001) between confidence ratings and accuracy, with higher confidence reflecting successful recognition. PWE were 49% less likely to answer either retrieval type correctly at 72 hours (OR 0.51, 95% CI [0.35, 0.74], p < 0.001). Left hemispheric seizure onset decreased the odds of successful retrieval by 88% (OR 0.12, 95% CI [0.01, 0.42], p = 0.019). These findings provide evidence of ALF in PWE, with a differential impact on recall and recognition memory. This further supports the call to include ALF assessments in standard memory evaluations in PWE. Additionally, identifying the neural correlates of ALF in the future will be important in developing targeted therapies to alleviate the burden of memory impairment for PWE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Episodic counterfactual thoughts—imagined alternative ways in which personal past events might have occurred—are frequently accompanied by intense emotions. Here, participants recollected positive and negative autobiographical memories and then generated better and worse episodic counterfactual events from those memories. Our results suggest that the projected emotional intensity during the simulated remembered/imagined event is significantly higher than but typically positively related to the emotional intensity while remembering/imagining the event. Furthermore, repeatedly simulating counterfactual events heightened the emotional intensity felt while simulating the counterfactual event. Finally, for both the emotional intensity accompanying the experience of remembering/imagining and the projected emotional intensity during the simulated remembered/imagined event, the emotional intensity of negative memories was greater than the emotional intensity of upward counterfactuals generated from them but lower than the emotional intensity of downward counterfactuals generated from them. These findings are discussed in relation to clinical work and functional theories of counterfactual thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People are adept at forming impressions of others, but how easily can impressions be updated? Although implicit first impressions have been characterized as difficult to overturn, recent work shows that they can be reversed through reinterpretation of earlier learning. However, such reversal has been demonstrated only in the same experimental session in which the impression formed, suggesting that implicit updating might be possible only within a brief temporal window, before impressions are consolidated and when memory about the initial information is strongest. Implicit impressions may be unable to be revised when reinterpreting details are learned later, due to memory consolidation or forgetting of the details to be reinterpreted. This study tested whether implicit first impressions can be reversed through reinterpretation after a two-day delay following the initial formation. Results showed that implicit revision emerged after the delay, even among those with poor explicit recall or who were not cued to recall. We discuss implications for theory on impression formation and updating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We tested the impact of a minimal fictional description in sentence comprehension. • This description was enough to trigger a perspective switch in online information processing. • This perspective switch was not enough to override real-world knowledge. • The N400s of fictional sentences and real-world sentences were indistinguishable. • Real-world sentences were always better recalled than fictional sentences. Inconsistent information can be hard to understand, but in cases like fiction readers can integrate it with little to no difficulties. The present study aimed at examining if perspective switching can take place when only a minimal fictional description is provided (fictional world condition), as compared with general world knowledge (real world condition). Participants read sentences where food items had animated or inanimate features while EEG was recorded and performed a sentence completion task to evaluate recall. In the real-world condition, the N400 was significantly larger for sentences incongruent, rather than congruent, with general world knowledge. In the fictional world condition, the N400 elicited by congruent and incongruent sentences did not differ, confirming that the minimal description impacted online information processing. Information consistent with general knowledge was better recalled in both conditions. The current results highlight how contextual information is integrated during sentence comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to better study team behavior and performance, much attention has focused on obtaining team members' mental models for the purposes of analysis and prediction. This paper describes a knowledge capture approach and a supporting graphical tool that together allow for direct acquisition of team mental models in the form of conceptual graphs. We performed acquisition experiments on over one hundred teams where team members used the tool to specify their team process. In addition to acquiring team members' models, non-team observers created “expert” models of the team process for comparison. We obtained good results on accepted measures of recall and precision compared to the “expert” models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CD8 + memory T cells produce IFNγ within hours of secondary infection, but this is quickly terminated in vivo despite the presence of stimulatory viral antigen, suggesting that active suppression occurs. Herein, we investigated the in vivo effector function of CD8 + memory T cells during successive encounters with viral antigen. CD8 + T cells in immune mice receiving prior viral or peptide challenge failed to reproduce IFNγ during LCMV rechallenge. Surprisingly, this refractory state was induced even in memory cells that had not encountered their cognate antigen, indicating that the silencing of CD8 + T cell responses is TCR-independent. Direct injection of IFNγ also suppressed the ability of virus-specific memory cells to respond to subsequent viral challenge. We propose the existence of a negative feedback loop whereby IFNγ, produced by memory CD8 + T cells to combat viral challenge, acts – directly or indirectly – to limit its further production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although numerous studies have investigated the seductive details effect in multimedia learning and remarked that seductive details can arouse motivation and interest, few studies have examined the seductive details effect using a motivational framework. In order to fill the gap, the present study used a multiple regression model to examine the predictive relationship between four types of interest and post-task performance of participants who received either a passage containing seductive details or a base-only passage. Participants in both groups ( N = 258) were asked to learn a passage about geology. An interest questionnaire was validated by using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The results of variance analyses showed that the seductive details group rated the learning material significantly higher in triggered situational interest than did the base passage group. Furthermore, the results showed that triggered situational interest mediated the effects of seductive details on recall while there was no mediation effect via maintained situational interest. In addition, emerging and well-developed individual interest moderated the effects of seductive details. In sum, the results indicated that different types of interest play different roles in learning when seductive details are involved. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed and future directions are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active memories can incorporate new information through reconsolidation. However, the notion that memory retrieval is necessary for reconsolidation has been recently challenged. Non-reinforced retrieval induces hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-dependent reconsolidation of spatial memory in the Morris water maze (MWM). We found that the effect of protein synthesis inhibition on this process is abolished when retrieval of the learned spatial preference is hindered through mPFC inactivation but not when it is blocked by deactivation of dorsal CA1. Our results do not fully agree with the hypothesis that retrieval is unneeded for reconsolidation. Instead, they support the idea that a hierarchic interaction between the hippocampus and the mPFC controls spatial memory in the MWM, and indicate that this cortex is sufficient to retrieve the information essential to reconsolidate the spatial memory trace, even when the hippocampus is inactivated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We report an EEG paradigm for investigating neurophysiology of collaborative recall. • Collaborative inhibition occurs in turn-taking procedure adapted for EEG recording. • Increments in late theta power are related to more demanding, group recall processes. • Interference at collaboration is signalled by early theta power increments and N400. • Neural signal for recollection is reduced in groups for non-speakers than speakers. Research on collaborative memory shows that people recalling in groups rarely achieve optimal performance. Collaborative groups typically recall less than nominal groups, where performance for the latter is derived by pooling the non-overlapping information recalled by the same number of individuals working alone. While behavioural evidence has widely replicated this collaborative inhibition in free recall, little evidence speaks to the neurophysiological signatures of this counterintuitive phenomenon. Behavioural evidence also indicates that disruption to one's preferred recall strategy, resulting from processing others' recalled information, is a key mechanism underlying this effect. We aimed to identify the neural signatures indexing the recollection process and their disruption during collaborative recall. In three experiments, we replicated the standard collaborative inhibition effect with an EEG-adapted procedure (Experiment 1), and recorded EEG while people recalled in groups or in isolation (Experiments 2a, 2b). Comparisons showed increments in N400 and theta power, the neurophysiological components associated with interference, at shorter intervals for the collaborative compared to the nominal groups. Stronger theta power for collaborative than nominal recall, and for speakers than non-speakers in collaborative groups, were also evident at longer intervals and suggest demanding reinstatement of memory associated with collaborative recall. Together, the results suggest distinct neural processes underlying collaborative inhibition, with neural responses at shorter intervals signaling processes that are consistent with strategy disruption (stronger interference signaled by N400 and theta power increments), and further increments in theta at later times suggesting more demanding reinstatement processes during collaborative remembering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intricately interwoven role of detailed autobiographical memory in our daily lives and in our imaginative envisioning of the future is increasingly recognized. But how is the detail-rich nature of autobiographical memory best assessed and, in particular, how can possible aging-related differences in autobiographical memory specificity be most effectively evaluated? This study examined whether a modified interview, involving fewer and time-matched events for older and younger adults, yielded age-related outcomes similar to those that have been previously reported. As in earlier studies, modest age-related changes in the specificity of autobiographical recall were observed, yet the largest most robust effect for both age groups was the substantial proportion of specific details retrieved. Both age groups rated recent memories as significantly less important and as less emotional than more temporally distant events. Our findings counter conceptions of older adults’ autobiographical memories as invariably less episodically rich than those of younger adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF) is a condition in which normal memory performance is displayed after short delays, but significant memory loss is detected when memory is tested after several days or weeks. This condition has been reported in patients with epilepsy, but there are few normative scores available for its detection in clinical practice. In the present study, we assessed 60 healthy control subjects 18–60 years of age on three memory measures [Rey Auditory Verbal Learning (RAVLT), Logical Memory (LM), and Aggie Figures] at delays of 30 min and 7 days. With these normative values, we determined cutoff scores to look for ALF and then categorized the performance of 15 patients with focal epilepsy on the same tasks. Seven of the patients showed ALF, and, in four of these, no other memory deficits (i.e., deficits at 30 min on at least one task) were detected. Of the several demographic and epilepsy factors examined, only higher estimated IQ and older age predicted ALF (and only on one task: RAVLT). The findings provide a useful set of data to be applied in the clinic and some insight into the factors that influence retention within the first week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research examined the effects of pre-encoding and pre-recall induced mood on episodic memory. It was hypothesized that happy and/or angry mood prior to encoding (increasing left hemisphere activity), in tandem with fearful mood prior to recall (increasing right hemisphere activity) would be associated with superior episodic memory. It was also hypothesized that tympanic membrane measures (TMT), indicative of hemispheric activity, would change as a function of induced mood. Although subjectively-experienced mood induction was successful, pre-encoding and pre-recall mood did not alter memory, and only altered TMT in the pre-encoding fear and pre-recall angry mood induction conditions. Interestingly, baseline absolute difference between left and right TMT, a measure of differential hemispheric activity, regardless of the direction of that activity, was significantly positively related to number of total words written, number of correctly recalled words, and corrected recall score. This same TMT measure pre-encoding, regardless of specific mood, was significantly negatively related to false recall. Results are discussed in terms the HERA model of episodic memory, and in the nature of interhemispheric interaction involved in episodic recall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cortisol’s effects on memory follow an inverted U-shaped function such that memory retrieval is impaired with very low concentrations, presumably due to insufficient activation of high-affine mineralocorticoid receptors (MR), or with very high concentrations, due to predominant low-affine glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activation. Through corresponding changes in re-encoding, the retrieval effect of cortisol might translate into a persistent change of the retrieved memory. We tested whether partial suppression of morning cortisol synthesis by metyrapone, leading to intermediate, circadian nadir-like levels with presumed predominant MR activation, improves retrieval, particularly of emotional memory, and persistently changes the memory. In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, within-subject cross-over design, 18 men were orally administered metyrapone (1 g) vs. placebo at 4:00 AM to suppress the morning cortisol rise. Retrieval of emotional and neutral texts and pictures (learned 3 days earlier) was assessed 4 h after substance administration and a second time one week later. Metyrapone suppressed endogenous cortisol release to circadian nadir-equivalent levels at the time of retrieval testing. Contrary to our expectations, metyrapone significantly impaired free recall of emotional texts ( p < .05), whereas retrieval of neutral texts or pictures remained unaffected. One week later, participants still showed lower memory for emotional texts in the metyrapone than placebo condition ( p < .05). Our finding that suppressing morning cortisol to nadir-like concentrations not only impairs acute retrieval, but also persistently weakens emotional memories corroborates the concept that retrieval effects of cortisol produce persistent memory changes, possibly by affecting re-encoding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans readily learn and remember new motor skills, a process that likely underlies adaptation to changing environments. During adaptation, the brain develops new sensory–motor relationships, and if consolidation occurs, a memory of the adaptation can be retained for extended periods. Considerable evidence exists that multiple brain circuits participate in acquiring new sensory–motor memories, though the networks engaged in recalling these and whether the same brain circuits participate in their formation and recall have less clarity. To address these issues, we assessed brain activation with functional MRI while young healthy adults learned and recalled new sensory–motor skills by adapting to world-view rotations of visual feedback that guided hand movements. We found cerebellar activation related to adaptation rate, likely reflecting changes related to overall adjustments to the visual rotation. A set of parietal and frontal regions, including inferior and superior parietal lobules, premotor area, supplementary motor area and primary somatosensory cortex, exhibited non-linear learning-related activation that peaked in the middle of the adaptation phase. Activation in some of these areas, including the inferior parietal lobule, intra-parietal sulcus and somatosensory cortex, likely reflected actual learning, since the activation correlated with learning after-effects. Lastly, we identified several structures having recall-related activation, including the anterior cingulate and the posterior putamen, since the activation correlated with recall efficacy. These findings demonstrate dynamic aspects of brain activation patterns related to formation and recall of a sensory–motor skill, such that non-overlapping brain regions participate in distinctive behavioral events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent research has found that individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exhibit an impaired memory of fear extinction compounded by deficient functional activation of key nodes of the fear network including the amygdala, hippocampus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Research has shown these regions are sexually dimorphic and activate differentially in healthy men and women during fear learning tasks. To explore biological markers of sex differences following exposure to psychological trauma, we used a fear learning and extinction paradigm together with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and skin conductance response (SCR) to assess 31 individuals with PTSD (18 women; 13 men) and 25 matched trauma-exposed healthy control subjects (13 women; 12 men). Whereas no sex differences appeared within the trauma-exposed healthy control group, both psychophysiological and neural activation patterns within the PTSD group indicated deficient recall of extinction memory among men and not among women. Men with PTSD exhibited increased activation in the left rostral dACC during extinction recall compared with women with PTSD. These findings highlight the importance of tracking sex differences in fear extinction when characterizing the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of PTSD psychopathology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recitation is an effective way for children to become familiar with basic blocks of knowledge. It is not clear, however, whether repeated structured exposure to complex texts via listening or active reciting benefits the ability of kindergarteners to retain verbal material in long-term memory verbatim and as content. Here, we tested the effectiveness of teaching longer texts to kindergarteners by repeated exposure in terms of long-term retention (6 months). A set of 28 rhyming sentences (224 words) were introduced, 3 in each session, and the increasingly longer text was practiced by either voiced recitation or listening. The rhymes were in a literary language, and word meaning in each new rhyme was elaborated when first introduced. Both groups (recitation and listening) showed good long-term retention, but the recitation group outperformed the listening group when assessed at 24 h, 1 month, and 6 months postintervention in terms of the recall rate, error rate, number of prompts required, and sequence fidelity. In the later assessments, the reciting group was the more fluent group in producing the rhymes. Moreover, at 6 months postintervention, the gist (content) of the rhymes and the meaning of vocabulary items from the texts were robustly retained, with an advantage for the recitation group. Thus, practice in affording multiple repetitions, specifically active recitation, resulted in fluent, effortless, and accurate recall of statements and their content. We propose that these results support the notion that repetition-based practice may promote the mastery of complex verbal material by enabling better engagement of procedural memory, that is, by promoting "proceduralization" processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 7-year-olds' non-adjacent dependency learning in a foreign language tested. • Children gave grammaticality judgments while electroencephalography was recorded. • Brain responses revealed children's learning of non-adjacent dependencies. • Brain responses after overnight retention showed different polarity. • Children's recall of dependencies after sleep associated with representation change. Becoming a successful speaker depends on acquiring and learning grammatical dependencies between neighboring and non-neighboring linguistic elements (non-adjacent dependencies; NADs). Previous studies have demonstrated children's and adults' ability to distinguish NADs from NAD violations right after familiarization. However, demonstrating NAD recall after retention is crucial to demonstrate a lasting effect of NAD learning. We tested 7-year-olds' NAD learning in a natural, non-native language on one day and NAD recall on the next day by means of event-related potentials (ERPs). Our results revealed ERPs with a more positive amplitude to NAD violations than correct NADs after familiarization on day one, but ERPs with a more negative amplitude to NAD violations on day two. This change from more positive to more negative ERPs to NAD violations possibly indicates that children's representations of NADs changed during an overnight retention period, potentially associated with children's NAD learning. Indeed, our descriptive analyses showed that both ERP patterns (i.e., day one: positive, day two: negative) were related to stronger behavioral improvement (i.e., more correct answers on day two compared to day one) in a grammaticality judgment task from day one to day two. We suggest these findings to indicate that children successfully built associative representations of NADs on day one and then strengthened these associations during overnight retention, revealing NAD recall on day two. The present results suggest that 7-year-olds readily track NADs in a natural, non-native language and are able to recall NADs after a retention period involving sleep, providing evidence of a lasting effect of NAD learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A gist orientation before retrieval decreases the number of recalled details. • The gist orientation does not impact the subjective vividness judgements. • Vividness ratings map onto trial-by-trial recalled details in the gist condition. • Memory traces in the gist condition were still rich enough to be judged as vivid. A gist retrieval-orientation decreases one's ability to remember objective details from past experiences. Here, we examined whether a gist retrieval-orientation manipulation can impact both the objective and subjective aspects of remembering. Young participants took part in two cued-recollection tasks in which they studied pictures associated with labels; at retrieval, from the labels, they evaluated the vividness of their memories of the corresponding pictures, and recalled picture details. Before retrieval, participants were submitted either to a gist or a control retrieval-orientation (one per task). Results revealed that the amount of recalled details was lower following the gist condition while vividness ratings did not differ between the two retrieval orientations. Critically, the amount of recalled details predicted the corresponding vividness ratings to a similar extent in the gist and control conditions, thus suggesting that recollected memory traces in the gist condition were still rich enough to be judged as subjectively vivid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]