Influence of Event Segmentation on Associative Recognition: Memory for Sentences Rearranged within and across Narrative Event Boundaries

Association and the subjective experience of time comprise two fundamental aspects to the understanding of episodic memory. The ability to recognize previously paired items from memory and reject novel pairings, termed associative recognition, is integral to everyday life; however, the mechanisms that underlie this ability remain largely debated. Recent studies of event segmentation, however, which propose that we tend to “chunk” segments of our temporal experience into distinct events in memory, may hold part of the answer. Though the field of cognitive psychology is rife with literature regarding these phenomena separately, previous research has not addressed the potential effect of this tendency to segment events in memory on recognition for associations. The present study signifies a first step toward understanding and characterizing this influence. Participants read a number of stories segmented into discrete events, followed by a test phase, during which they were presented with sentences that were intact, recombined within, or recombined between events. Though the results varied by story, participants false alarmed significantly more to test sentences recombined within versus recombined between events in the story most likely to accurately represent people’s memory for associations within and between events. This suggests that rearranged associations within these event segments are more easily accepted as correct than are those rearranged across event boundaries

Listening for recollection: a multi-voxel pattern analysis of recognition memory retrieval strategies

Recent studies of recognition memory indicate that subjects can strategically vary how much they rely on recollection of specific details vs. feelings of familiarity when making recognition judgments. One possible explanation of these results is that subjects can establish an internally-directed attentional state (listening for recollection) that enhances retrieval of studied details; fluctuations in this attentional state over time should be associated with fluctuations in subjects' recognition behavior. In this study, we used multi-voxel pattern analysis of fMRI data to identify brain regions that are involved in listening for recollection. Specifically, we looked for brain regions that met the following criteria: 1) Distinct neural patterns should be present when subjects are instructed to rely on recollection vs. familiarity, and 2) fluctuations in these neural patterns should be related to recognition behavior in the manner predicted by dual-process theories of recognition: Specifically, the presence of the recollection pattern during the pre-stimulus interval (indicating that subjects are listening for recollection at that moment) should be associated with a selective decrease in false alarms to related lures. We found that pre-stimulus activity in the right supramarginal gyrus met all of these criteria, suggesting that this region proactively establishes an internally-directed attentional state that fosters recollection. We also found other regions (e.g., left middle temporal gyrus) where the pattern of neural activity was related to subjects’ responding to related lures after stimulus onset (but not before), suggesting that these regions implement processes that are engaged in a reactive fashion to boost recollection

Individual differences in forced-choice recognition memory: Partitioning contributions of recollection and familiarity

In forced-choice recognition memory, two different testing formats are possible under conditions of high target–foil similarity: Each target can be presented alongside foils similar to itself (forced-choice corresponding; FCC), or alongside foils similar to other targets (forced-choice noncorresponding; FCNC). Recent behavioural and neuropsychological studies suggest that FCC performance can be supported by familiarity whereas FCNC performance is supported primarily by recollection. In this paper, we corroborate this finding from an individual differences perspective. A group of older adults were given a test of FCC and FCNC recognition for object pictures, as well as standardized tests of recall, recognition, and IQ. Recall measures were found to predict FCNC, but not FCC performance, consistent with a critical role for recollection in FCNC only. After the common influence of recall was removed, standardized tests of recognition predicted FCC, but not FCNC performance. This is consistent with a contribution of only familiarity in FCC. Simulations show that a two-process model, where familiarity and recollection make separate contributions to recognition, is 10 times more likely to give these results than a single-process model. This evidence highlights the importance of recognition memory test design when examining the involvement of recollection and familiarity

Individual differences in forced-choice recognition memory:Partitioning contributions of recollection and familiarity

In forced-choice recognition memory, two different testing formats are possible under conditions of high target-foil similarity: each target can be presented alongside foils similar to itself (forced-choice corresponding; FCC), or alongside foils similar to other targets (forced-choice non-corresponding; FCNC).Recent behavioural and neuropsychological studies suggest that FCC performance can be supported by familiarity whereas FCNC performance is supported primarily by recollection. In this paper, we corroborate this finding from an individual differences perspective. A group of older adults were given a test of FCC and FCNC recognition for object pictures, as well as standardised tests of recall, recognition and IQ. Recall measures were found to predict FCNC, but not FCC performance, consistent with a critical role for recollection in FCNC only. After the common influence of recall was removed, standardised tests of recognition predicted FCC, but not FCNC performance. This is consistent with a contribution of only familiarity in FCC. Simulations show that a two process model, where familiarity and recollection make separate contributions to recognition, is ten times more likely to give these results than a single-process model. This evidence highlights the importance of recognition memory test design when examining the involvement of recollection and familiarity