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Electrophysiological Correlates of Competitor Activation Predict Retrieval-Induced Forgetting

Hellerstedt, Robin, Johansson, Mikael (2013) Electrophysiological Correlates of Competitor Activation Predict Retrieval-Induced Forgetting. Cerebral Cortex, 24 (6). pp. 1619-1629. ISSN 1047-3211. E-ISSN 1460-2199. (doi:10.1093/cercor/bht019) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:79993)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cercor%2Fbht019

Abstract

The very act of retrieval modifies the accessibility of memory for knowledge and past events and can also cause forgetting. A prominent theory of such retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) holds that retrieval recruits inhibition to overcome interference from competing memories, rendering these memories inaccessible. The present study tested a fundamental tenet of the inhibitory-control account: The competition-dependence assumption. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants engaged in a competitive retrieval task. Competition levels were manipulated within the retrieval task by varying the cue–item associative strength of competing items. In order to temporally separate ERP correlates of competitor activation and target retrieval, memory was probed with the sequential presentation of 2 cues: A category cue, to reactivate competitors, and a target cue. As predicted by the inhibitory-control account, competitors with strong compared with weak cue–competitor association were more susceptible to forgetting. Furthermore, competition-sensitive ERP modulations, elicited by the category cue, were observed over anterior regions and reflected individual differences in ensuing forgetting. The present study demonstrates ERP correlates of the reactivation of tightly bound associated memories (the competitors) and provides support for the inhibitory-control account of RIF.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1093/cercor/bht019
Uncontrolled keywords: cognitive control, ERP, inhibition, long-term memory, retrieval competition
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: Robin Hellerstedt
Date Deposited: 08 Feb 2020 16:41 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:26 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/79993 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Hellerstedt, Robin.

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