title: Lingering representations of stimuli influence recall organization.
abstract: Several prominent theories posit that information about recent experiences lingers in the brain and organizes memories for current experiences, by forming a temporal context that is linked to those memories at encoding. According to these theories, if the thoughts preceding an experience X resemble the thoughts preceding an experience Y, then X and Y should show an elevated probability of being recalled together. We tested this prediction by using multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) of fMRI data to measure neural evidence for lingering processing of preceding stimuli. As predicted, memories encoded with similar lingering thoughts about the category of preceding stimuli were more likely to be recalled together. Our results demonstrate that the "fading embers" of previous stimuli help to organize recall, confirming a key prediction of computational models of episodic memory.
authors.affiliation: Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States. Electronic address: scychn@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Stephanie C Y
authors.initials: SCY
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States. Electronic address: mca2179@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Marissa C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Applegate
authors.affiliation: Center for Learning and Memory, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States. Electronic address: neal.morton@austin.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Neal W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Morton
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States. Electronic address: sean.polyn@vanderbilt.edu.
authors.forename: Sean M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Polyn
authors.affiliation: Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States; Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States. Electronic address: knorman@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Norman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Free recall; Memory; Multi-voxel pattern analysis; Temporal context; fMRI