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RATIONALE: Cannabis use is widespread and has previously been associated with memory impairments. However, the role of cannabis in relation to false memory production, i.e., memories of events that were not experienced, is less well-understood. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current field study was to examine the impact of cannabis use on false memory production. METHODS: The Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm was used to induce false memories. In this paradigm, participants study word lists that are associatively related to a non-presented word, termed the critical lure. In a later memory test, true recognition rates and false alarm rates toward critical lures and unrelated items are assessed. Memory performance was compared between three groups: regular cannabis consumers who were acutely intoxicated (n = 53), regular cannabis consumers who were sober (n = 50), and cannabis-naïve controls (n = 53). The participants were approached in Dutch coffee shops (cannabis outlets) and cafes and asked to participate in our study. After collecting general information on their cannabis use, they were subjected to the DRM procedure. RESULTS: Although false memory rates for critical lures did not statistically differ between groups, both intoxicated and sober cannabis consumers falsely recognized more unrelated items than control participants. Also, individuals without a history of cannabis use demonstrated higher memory accuracy compared with the intoxicated group. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that cannabis intoxication and history of cannabis use induce a liberal response criterion for newly presented words for which the level of association with previously learned words is low and uncertainty is high. ispartof: PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY vol:236 issue:12 pages:3439-3450 ispartof: location:Germany status: published

The generation effect is the memory benefit for self-generated compared to read or experimenter provided information. In recent decades, numerous theories have been proposed to explain the memory mechanism(s) and boundary conditions of the generation effect. In this meta-analysis and theoretical review, we analyzed 126 articles (310 experiments, 1653 estimates) to assess seven prominent theories to determine which theories are supported by the existing literature. Because some theories focus on item memory (memory for the generated target) and others focus on context memory (memory for details associated with the generated target), we examined memory effects for both types of details (item, context) in this meta-analysis. Further, we assessed the influence of generation constraint (how constrained participants are to a generate a certain response), which recent work has shown impacts the magnitude of the generation effect. Overall, the results of this meta-analysis support some theoretical accounts, but not others, as explanatory mechanisms of the generation effect. Results further showed that generation constraint significantly moderates the magnitude of the generation effect, suggesting that this factor should be rigorously investigated in future work. Overall, this meta-analysis provides a review and examination of generation effect theories, and reveals important areas of future research.

Cataloged from PDF version of article. Thesis (M.S.): Bilkent University, Department of Psychology, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2020. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-108). Intentional generation of lies is a widely studied topic that has attracted attention over the last two decades. However, the memory for one’s intentional lies has not been studied thoroughly. Some studies suggest that deceptive answers intrude into one’s memory as false memories, however, most of the time, the results come from different types of paradigms with different types of retrieval tests. Theoretically, one factor that can potentially change memory of one’s lies might be the type of retrieval that they have to engage in. The current study investigated how using different types of retrieval such as free-recall, cued-recall as well as source and destination recognition may change both actual and predicted memory for lies and the truth. In a set of 3 experiments, participants were asked to tell the truth or tell a lie in the encoding phase, followed by their confidence rate in remembering the items in a subsequent memory test. At test, participants had to recall the answers to the questions through cued-recall (Experiment 1), free-recall (Experiment 2) or source and destination recognition (Experiment 3). Experiments 1 and 2 showed that according to response latencies, lying was more difficult than telling the truth. This difficulty was not reflected in participants’ predictions, truthful and deceptive answers were predicted to be remembered equally well. Actual memory performance differed across experiments: truthful answers were remembered more in Experiment 1, and deceptive answers were remembered more in Experiment 2. The results imply that the type of retrieval may change the pattern of actual memory performance between truth and lies, even though this is not reflected in memory predictions during encoding. Experiment 3 investigated whether lying would be influenced by the contextual information, associated with retrieval type by using a source and destination retrieval task. Participants were asked to tell truthful or deceptive information to the people on the screen, or receive truthful or deceptive information from the people on the screen. Results revealed that participants were able to recognize the faces from whom they received information more than the faces they told information to, regardless of the accuracy of the information. The results are discussed with processing fluency hypothesis and source monitoring framework. by Gamze Nur Eroğlu M.A.

Because multivariate autoregressive models have failed to adequately account for the complexity of neural signals, researchers have predominantly relied on non-parametric methods when studying the relations between brain and behavior. Using a database of medial temporal lobe (MTL) recordings from 96 neurosurgical patients, we show that time series models with volatility described by a multivariate stochastic latent variable process and lagged interactions between signals in different brain regions provide new insights into the dynamics of brain function. We estimate both the parameters describing the latent variable processes and the directional correlations in volatility between brain regions using Bayesian sampling techniques. The implied volatility inferred from our process positively correlates with high-frequency spectral activity, a signal that correlates with neuronal activity and is widely used to study brain function. We show that volatility features derived from our model can reliably decode good vs. poor memory states, and that this classifier performs as well as those using spectral features. Using the multivariate stochastic volatility model, we uncovered hippocampal-perirhinal bidirectional connections in the MTL regions that are associated with successful memory encoding.

O teste Memória Lógica da Wechsler Memory Scale - Revised (WMS-R) é amplamente utilizado na prática clínica como instrumento de avaliação da memória verbal. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar as propriedades psicométricas iniciais de versões alternativas das histórias traduzidas e livremente adaptadas da WMS-R empregadas no Brasil: três histórias equiparáveis à história Ana Soares e três à de Roberto Mota. A amostra foi constituída de 655 universitários, com idades entre 18 e 35 anos. Foi solicitada a recordação livre imediata e tardia (após 30 min) de cada história, original e alternativas. A análise de equivalência entre a recordação imediata e tardia das histórias alternativas e originais mostrou que cinco histórias foram memorizadas de forma equiparável às histórias originais se aplicadas individualmente. A recordação de três pares dessas histórias alternativas também foi equivalente à recordação do par original. Uma análise utilizando a Teoria de Resposta ao Item apontou os itens com melhor índice discriminativo. Assim, propõe-se histórias alternativas às do WMS-R que poderão ser usadas em estudos de normatização. The Logical Memory test of the Wechsler Memory Scale - Revised (WMS-R) is widely used in clinical practice as a tool for verbal memory assessment. The aim of this study was to examine the initial psychometric properties of alternative versions of the stories translated and freely adapted from WMS -R used in Brazil: three stories comparable to Ana Soares' and three to Roberto Mota's stories. The sample consisted of 655 adults aged between 18 and 35 years. Immediate and delayed free recall of each original and alternative story was requested. The analysis of equivalence between the recall of alternative and original stories showed that five stories proved equivalent to the original stories, if applied individually. Recall of three pairs of these alternative stories was also equivalent to that of the original pair. An analysis using Item Response Theory (IRT) showed the items with best discriminative index. Therefore, the alternative stories proposed here can be used in normalization studies.

Evidence for memory problems in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is accumulating. Attempting to counter such problems, in the present study children with ADHD aged 8-12 years underwent a six-week metacognitive memory strategy training (MST) or one of two other active trainings, either a metacognitive attention-perceptual-motor training (APM) or placebo training consisting of playing board games (PLA). Effects of the training on episodic memory and underlying brain processes were investigated by comparing performance and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) on pre- and post-training sessions in an old/new recognition task between the three training groups. Potential far transfer effects of the memory strategy training were investigated by measuring performance on neuropsychological attention and memory-span tasks and parent-rated ADHD symptoms. The metacognitive memory strategy training led to significantly improved memory performance and enhanced amplitude of left parietal P600 activity associated with the process of memory recollection when compared to PLA, but APM training evoked similar improvements. Memory performance gains were significantly correlated with the memory-related ERP effects. Preliminary far transfer effects of MST training were found on attention and working memory performance and on parent-rated ADHD symptoms, although these results need replication with larger and better IQ-matched groups.

The application of elaborative encoding strategies during learning, such as grouping items on similar semantic categories, increases the likelihood of later recall. Previous studies have suggested that stimuli that encourage semantic grouping strategies had modulating effects on specific ERP components. However, these studies did not differentiate between ERP activation patterns evoked by elaborative working memory strategies like semantic grouping and more simple strategies like rote rehearsal. Identification of neurocognitive correlates underlying successful use of elaborative strategies is important to understand better why certain populations, like children or elderly people, have problems applying such strategies. To compare ERP activation during the application of elaborative versus more simple strategies subjects had to encode either four semantically related or unrelated pictures by respectively applying a semantic category grouping or a simple rehearsal strategy. Another goal was to investigate if maintenance of semantically grouped vs. ungrouped pictures modulated ERP-slow waves differently. At the behavioral level there was only a semantic grouping benefit in terms of faster responding on correct rejections (i.e. when the memory probe stimulus was not part of the memory set). At the neural level, during encoding semantic grouping only had a modest specific modulatory effect on a fronto-central Late Positive Component (LPC), emerging around 650 ms. Other ERP components (i.e. P200, N400 and a second Late Positive Component) that had been earlier related to semantic grouping encoding processes now showed stronger modulation by rehearsal than by semantic grouping. During maintenance semantic grouping had specific modulatory effects on left and right frontal slow wave activity. These results stress the importance of careful control of strategy use when investigating the neural correlates of elaborative encoding.

Verbal short-term memory, as indexed by immediate serial recall tasks (in which participants must recall several stimuli in order, immediately after presentation), develops considerably across middle childhood. One explanation for this age-related change is that children's ability to rehearse verbal material increases during this period, and one particularly influential version of this account is that only older children engage in any form of rehearsal. In this article, we critique evidence that is used to support the claim of age-related change in rehearsal and also critique the argument that children do not rehearse when engaged in immediate serial recall. This is not to say that rehearsal does not develop with age or that it is not required in any task, but to suggest that it plays little role in the development of verbal short-term memory performance as traditionally measured.

This study investigated which strategies children aged 5-15 years (N = 408) employ while performing a multitrial free recall test of semantically unrelated words. Serial clustering (i.e., a relatively passive strategy) is an index of the sequential consistency of recall order. Subjective clustering (i.e., a more active strategy) is based on similar word groupings in successive trials. Previously, Meijs et al. (2009) found that the level of (serial and subjective) clustering increases with age. At all ages, the level of serial clustering correlates positively with the ability to recall information on VLT trials. However, subjective clustering is more predictive of VLT performance than serial clustering after ≥ 3 trials, but only in children aged 8+. Knowledge on how children organize words (based on, for example, sound or meaning) and how this relates to developmental stage is still lacking. This study revealed that the level of subjective clustering is primarily determined by the position of words in a VLT list. More specifically, primacy (i.e., recall of words 1-3 of the VLT list-whether recalled in the same order or reversed) and recency (i.e., recall of words 14-15) effects primarily determine level subjective organization over successive trials. Thus, older children still organize words based on the serial position of the VLT list and are much less likely to organize them based on any other feature of the words, for example, sound or meaning. This indicates that the most important information to be learned needs to be presented first or last, even in older children and even with repeated presentations. © 2013 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Motor imagery and action-based rehearsal were compared during motor sequence-learning by young adults ( M = 25 yr., SD = 3) and aged adults ( M = 63 yr., SD = 7). General accuracy of aged adults was lower than that of young adults (F1,28 = 7.37, p = .01) even though working-memory capacity was equivalent in the two groups. Motor imagery and rehearsal by action increased accuracy in both age groups, compared with minimization of opportunity for rehearsal (F1,28 = 30.95, p < .001), but no interaction was found with age group, which suggests that young and aged adults were equally capable of motor imagery and action-based rehearsal. It was assumed that differences in performance between young and aged participants related to the formation of mental representations of sequences and integration of new elements into these representations rather than the capacity for motor imagery or rehearsal by action per se. The current study was exploratory and involved a relatively small sample of 15 participants per age group. Caution must be taken when considering the results.

The testing effect is a finding from cognitive psychology with relevance for education. It shows that after an initial study period, taking a practice test improves long-term retention compared to not taking a test and—more interestingly—compared to restudying the learning material. Boundary conditions of the effect that have received attention include the test format, retrieval success on the initial test, the retention interval, or the spacing of tests. Another potential boundary condition concerns the complexity of learning materials, that is, the number of interacting information elements a learning task contains. This insight is not new, as research from a century ago already had indicated that the testing effect decreases as the complexity of learning materials increases, but that finding seems to have been nearly forgotten. Studies presented in this special issue suggest that the effect may even disappear when the complexity of learning material is very high. Since many learning tasks in schools are high in element interactivity, a failure to find the effect under these conditions is relevant for education. Therefore, this special issue hopes to put this potential boundary condition back on the radar and provide a starting point for discussion and future research on this topic.