title: Cognitive dissonance resolution depends on episodic memory.
abstract: The notion that past choices affect preferences is one of the most influential concepts of social psychology since its first report in the 50 s, and its theorization within the cognitive dissonance framework. In the free-choice paradigm (FCP) after choosing between two similarly rated items, subjects reevaluate chosen items as more attractive and rejected items as less attractive. However the relations prevailing between episodic memory and choice-induced preference change (CIPC) remain highly debated: is this phenomenon dependent or independent from memory of past choices? We solve this theoretical debate by demonstrating that CIPC occurs exclusively for items which were correctly remembered as chosen or rejected during the choice stage. We used a combination of fMRI and intra-cranial electrophysiological recordings to reveal a modulation of left hippocampus activity, a hub of episodic memory retrieval, immediately before the occurrence of CIPC during item reevaluation. Finally, we show that contrarily to a previous influential report flawed by a statistical artifact, this phenomenon is absent in amnesic patients for forgotten items. These results demonstrate the dependence of cognitive dissonance on conscious episodic memory. This link between current preferences and previous choices suggests a homeostatic function of this regulative process, aiming at preserving subjective coherence.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U 1127, F-75013, Paris, France.|Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Mariam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chammat
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U 1127, F-75013, Paris, France.|Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Imen El
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Karoui
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U 1127, F-75013, Paris, France.|Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allali
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U 1127, F-75013, Paris, France.|Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hagège
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U 1127, F-75013, Paris, France.|Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013, Paris, France.|CENIR, Centre de NeuroImagerie de Recherche, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lehongre
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U 1127, F-75013, Paris, France.|Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013, Paris, France.|Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Faculté de Médecine Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hasboun
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U 1127, F-75013, Paris, France.|Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013, Paris, France.|Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Faculté de Médecine Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.|AP-HP, Groupe hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Department of Neurology, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baulac
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U 1127, F-75013, Paris, France.|Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013, Paris, France.|AP-HP, Groupe hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Department of Neurology, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Epelbaum
authors.affiliation: AP-HP, Groupe hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Department of Neurology, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Agnès
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michon
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U 1127, F-75013, Paris, France.|Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013, Paris, France.|Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Faculté de Médecine Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.|AP-HP, Groupe hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Department of Neurology, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dubois
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U 1127, F-75013, Paris, France.|Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013, Paris, France.|Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Faculté de Médecine Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.|AP-HP, Groupe hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Department of Neurology, Paris, France.|AP-HP, Groupe hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Department of Neurophysiology, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.affiliation: Ben-Gurion University, Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Moti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salti
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U 1127, F-75013, Paris, France.|Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, PICNIC Lab, F-75013, Paris, France.|Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Faculté de Médecine Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.|AP-HP, Groupe hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Department of Neurology, Paris, France.|AP-HP, Groupe hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Department of Neurophysiology, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Naccache
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000647:Amnesia / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D001519:Behavior; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003073:Cognitive Dissonance; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D008875:Middle Aged