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Previous research has shown that source memory is enhanced for emotionally valenced sources. However, it remains unclear whether this enhancement relies on better memory for specific source details or merely improved memory for the source-valence category. The present study addresses this question and disentangles emotion-based effects on partial and specific source memory using multinomial modeling. Participants ( N  =67) encoded neutral words paired with positive, negative, or neutral source images with three similar images per valence (all matched on arousal). At test, participants were presented with all nine source images and, for each test word, identified the specific corresponding source image or indicated that the word was new. Results revealed that both partial (valence category) and specific (particular image) source memory were superior for emotionally valenced sources compared to neutral ones. Further notable, specific source memory was higher for positive than for negative sources, indicating a positivity effect. These findings extend prior research by demonstrating that source emotionality not only enhances the recollection of partial source information but also of specific source details. The observed positivity effect is further discussed in terms of a potentially greater associative potential of positive stimuli, and methodological considerations for future research are outlined.

The ability to prioritize learning some information over others when that information is considered important or valuable is known as value-directed remembering. In these experiments, we investigate how value influences different aspects of memory, including item memory (memory for the to-be-learned materials) and context memory (memory for peripheral details that occurred when studying items) to get a better understanding of how people prioritize learning information. In this investigation, participants encoded words associated with a range of values (binned into higher, medium, and lower value in Experiment 1 , and into higher and lower value in Experiment 2 ) for a subsequent memory test that measured item memory (Is this item old or new?) as well as both objective context memory (memory for an objectively verifiable contextual detail: In which voice was this item spoken?) and subjective context memory (How many visual, auditory, and extraneous thoughts/feelings can you remember associated with this item?). Results indicated that value influenced item memory but had no effect on objective context memory in both Experiments. In Experiment 2 , results showed better subjective context memory for multiple episodic details for higher-value relative to lower-value materials. Overall, these findings suggest that value has a strong influence over some aspects of memory, but not others. This work gives a richer understanding of how people prioritize learning more important over less important information.

Multisensory object processing improves recognition memory for individual objects, but its impact on memory for neighboring visual objects and scene context remains largely unknown. It is therefore unclear how multisensory processing impacts episodic memory for information outside of the object itself. We conducted three experiments to test the prediction that the presence of audiovisual objects at encoding would improve memory for nearby visual objects, and improve memory for the environmental context in which they occurred. In Experiments 1a and 1b, participants viewed audiovisual–visual object pairs or visual–visual object pairs with a control sound during encoding and were subsequently tested on their memory for each object individually. In Experiment 2, objects were paired with semantically congruent or meaningless control sounds and appeared within four different scene environments. Memory for the environment was tested. Results from Experiments 1a and 1b showed that encoding a congruent audiovisual object did not significantly benefit memory for neighboring visual objects, but Experiment 2 showed that encoding a congruent audiovisual object did improve memory for the environments in which those objects were encoded. These findings suggest that multisensory processing can influence memory beyond the objects themselves and that it has a unique role in episodic memory formation. This is particularly important for understanding how memories and associations are formed in real-world situations, in which objects and their surroundings are often multimodal.

Cognitive and neurofeedback training (NFT) studies have demonstrated that training-induced alterations of frontal-midline (FM) theta activity (4–8 Hz) transfer to cognitive control processes. Given that FM theta oscillations are assumed to provide top-down control for episodic memory retrieval, especially for source retrieval, that is, accurate recollection of contextual details of prior episodes, the present study investigated whether FM theta NFT transfers to memory control processes. It was assessed (1) whether FM theta NFT improves source retrieval and modulates its underlying EEG characteristics and (2) whether this transfer extends over two posttests. Over seven NFT sessions, the training group who trained individual FM theta activity showed greater FM theta increase than an active control group who trained randomly chosen frequency bands. The training group showed better source retrieval in a posttraining session performed 13 days after NFT and their performance increases from pre- to both posttraining sessions were predicted by NFT theta increases. Thus, training-induced enhancement of memory control processes seems to protect newly formed memories from proactive interference of previously learned information. EEG analyses revealed that during pretest both groups showed source memory specific theta activity at frontal and parietal sites. Surprisingly, training-induced improvements in source retrieval tended to be accompanied by less prestimulus FM theta activity, which was predicted by NFT theta change for the training but not the control group, suggesting a more efficient use of memory control processes after training. The present findings provide unique evidence for the enhancement of memory control processes by FM theta NFT.

Source amnesia refers to the failure to remember the source format of information despite remembering the content itself. While well-documented in long-term memory, recent studies have revealed that source amnesia can also occur in short-term or working memory. Across four experiments, the present study aimed to investigate why short-term source amnesia arises, focusing on whether it results from source misattribution between items or item-specific interference caused by repeated exposure to the same content in different formats. We found that source misattribution persisted even for a single item presented per trial, suggesting that item–source misbinding between simultaneously presented items is not necessary for source-amnesia effect. Source misattribution was significantly reduced when the test item was novel or had consistently appeared in a single format across trials, but reliably emerged when the same item had been presented in different formats. These findings suggest that short-term source amnesia reflects item-specific source misattribution, driven by the coexistence of conflicting source traces for the same content. We propose that the task-irrelevant source information for target stimuli is stored in an intermediate representational state—activated long-term memory—which maintains weak bindings to its content but lacks robust contextual indexing.

For retention intervals of up to 12 h, the active systems consolidation hypothesis predicts that sleep compared to wakefulness strengthens the context binding of memories previously established during encoding. Sleep should thus improve source memory. By comparing retention intervals filled with natural night sleep versus daytime wakefulness, we tested this prediction in two online source-monitoring experiments using intentionally learned pictures as items and incidentally learned screen positions and frame colors as source dimensions. In Experiment 1 , we examined source memory by varying the spatial position of pictures on the computer screen. Multinomial modeling analyses revealed a significant sleep benefit in source memory. In Experiment 2 , we manipulated both the spatial position and the frame color of pictures orthogonally to investigate source memory for two different source dimensions at the same time, also allowing exploration of bound memory for both source dimensions. The sleep benefit on spatial source memory replicated. In contrast, no source memory sleep benefit was observed for either frame color or bound memory of both source dimensions, probably as a consequence of a floor effect in incidental encoding of color associations. In sum, the results of both experiments show that sleep within a 12-h retention interval improves source memory for spatial positions, supporting the prediction of the active systems consolidation hypothesis. However, additional research is required to clarify the impact of sleep on source memory for other context features and bound memories of multiple source dimensions.

Recent studies of short-term source amnesia demonstrated that source information is rapidly forgotten in memory, reflecting a highly selective mode of memory encoding. In this study, we explored the flexibility of memory selection by investigating whether short-term source amnesia is affected by expectation violations. In seven experiments, we first replicated the short-term source amnesia phenomenon and then induced various forms of expectation violations. The results consistently showed that the short-term source amnesia was significantly reduced or attenuated when expectation violation occurred, indicating a strengthening effect of expectation violation on short-term source memory. This effect occurred quite quickly, nearly at the same time as the occurrence of unexpected events. Moreover, the source memory was improved even when the unexpected events were completely irrelevant to the task set or target stimuli. These findings suggest that short-term memory tends to encode and maintain more detailed source information when encountering expectation violations, which might be an adaptive mechanism for handling unexpected environmental changes.

All experiences preserved within episodic memory contain information on the space and time of events. The hippocampus is the main brain region involved in processing spatial and temporal information for incorporation within episodic memory representations. However, the other brain regions involved in the encoding and retrieval of spatial and temporal information within episodic memory are unclear, because a systematic review of related studies is lacking and the findings are scattered. The present study was designed to integrate the results of functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography studies by means of a systematic review and meta-analysis to provide converging evidence. In particular, we focused on identifying the brain regions involved in the retrieval of spatial and temporal information. We identified a spatial retrieval network consisting of the inferior temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, angular gyrus, and precuneus. Temporal context retrieval was supported by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Thus, the retrieval of spatial and temporal information is supported by different brain regions, highlighting their different natures within episodic memory.

The aim of the present study was to establish whether moderate alcohol intake relates to episodic memory accuracy and speed in a lifespan sample after classifying individuals as lifetime nondrinkers and drinkers and controlling for several demographic and biological variables. A sample of 1,557 healthy adults between 21 and 80 years of age participated in the study. Alcohol consumption was assessed through a lifestyle questionnaire created for the study. Episodic memory performance was measured through a computerized task that allowed us to reliably measure recollection, the most vulnerable process within episodic memory as age advances. Recollection accuracy was superior in drinkers than in nondrinkers. Hierarchical regression models demonstrated that the total alcohol intake and the amount of alcohol and wine intake were associated with higher recollection. Beer drinkers showed more accurate and faster responses in recollection and recognition than spirit drinkers and nondrinkers. Higher performance on recollection and recognition accuracy was reached with 150 g of alcohol per week for women and men, which corresponded to 11 drinks per week. However, after 450 g of alcohol per week (32 drinks per week), the association of alcohol consumption with episodic memory became negative, and memory performance declined more than that observed in nondrinkers. Therefore, we found that across the entire adult lifespan, compared with alcohol abstinence, only moderate alcohol intake is associated with high episodic memory performance.

Abstract Binding information to its context in long-term memory is critical for many tasks, including memory tasks and decision making. Failure to associate information to its context could be an important aspect of sleep deprivation effects on cognition, but little is known about binding problems from being sleep-deprived at the time of encoding. We studied how sleep deprivation affects binding using a well-established paradigm testing the ability to remember auditorily presented words (items) and their speakers (source context). In a laboratory study, 68 healthy young adults were randomly assigned to total sleep deprivation or a well-rested control condition. Participants completed an affective item and source memory task twice: once after 7-hour awake during baseline and again 24 hours later, after nearly 31 hours awake in the total sleep deprivation condition or 7 hours awake in the control condition. Participants listened to negative, positive, and neutral words presented by a male or female speaker and were immediately tested for recognition of the words and their respective speakers. Recognition of items declined during sleep deprivation, but even when items were recognized accurately, recognition of their associated sources also declined. Negative items were less bound with their sources than positive or neutral items, but sleep deprivation did not significantly affect this pattern. Our findings indicate that learning while sleep-deprived disrupts the binding of information to its context independent of item valence. Such binding failures may contribute to sleep deprivation effects on tasks requiring the ability to bind new information together in memory.