memory cue
a good memory cue overlaps with the content of an episodic memory
Morris: word encoding deep vs shallow
- words were encoding using deep vs shallow study tasks
- tested whether from a list of words, words were old or new > people remembered semantically encoded ones best
- when cued with items that rhymed with words they had studies > people remembered these best
transfer-appropriate processing
- in order to learn information you need to make the learning environment conditions appropriate for the test
contextual reinstatement
reinstating part of a memory can help bring back the rest of the memory
free recall
minimal cue given
cued recall
given information and have to remember something else
memory cues
pictures
words
location
smell
content addressable memory
can find things in memory by knowing what is there
global matching models
identifies a match between a cue and and all stored memory traces
complementary learning systems model
episodic memory is stored in the cortex, a partial cue then triggers pattern complexion by the hippocampus > recollection
cueing with context
context is incorporated into a memory
cuing with context will help retrieve that memory (cue matches what was encoded)
e.g. if you know the cue will be a photo of a location, you will encode that location bettwer
encoding and retrieval are interdependent
episodic reinstatement
- memory traces are stored with some of the same neural representations that allow us to experience the events
- if a partial cue overlaps with a memory trace - recollection is triggered and this reinstates the rest of the memory trace
fMRI can show this reinstatemtn
Smith and Manzano Video clips
scenes cues were more effective when video was studies with fewer words
1 word plus scene = easier to remember than 3 words plus scene
fMRI episodic reinstatement
brain activity did reinstate patterns that were present during the real event
episodic encoding
- events engage multiple areas of the cortex
- prefrontal cortex strategically organises information
- memories are encoded as a ‘byproduct’ of event processing
hippocampus binds multi-element memory traces
episodic retrieval
- retrieval is triggered by a cue
- hippocampus initiates recollection in response to the cue
- some of original cortical activity is reinstated
- prefrontal cortex strategically organises and monitors
mental reinstatement
- mentally reinstating context to try and get yourself to trigger memories
episodic reinstatement
- different events have unique patterns of brain activity - stored into memory traces
- when a cue triggers pattern completion, reinstatement of these patterns is thought to support recall
memory cues can be…
external: e.g. smell, a photo
or internal: deliberate mental reinstatement
forgetting is…
… cue dependent, you don’t ‘just forget’ if something reminds you a long a go memory could be reactivated
diary studies: Linton
- kept a diary for 6 years
- tested herself on events in diary for recall of details monthly
- items that had be tested for before were more likely to be remembered
The testing effect
in order to remember things in the long term > better of testing your memory then restudying material
- VERY STRONG EFFECT WITH A LOT OF EVIDENCE
The testing effect: semantic elaboration
- testing over and over again enriches semantic representations of memory
- every time you retrieve the memory you form more and more associations around it
mother – child
later
father – child
semantic elaboration, wing et al
hippocampus and temporal ‘semantic’ regions only activated during testing
BUT
this is not cause and effect - weak evidence
