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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 7, 2026

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Published on: January 31, 2017

Predicting spontaneous recovery of memory.

J V Stone¹, N M Hunkin, A Hornby

¹Department of Psychology, Sheffield University, Sheffield S10 2TP, UK. j.v.stone@sheffield.ac.uk

|November 9, 2001

Summary

Relearning forgotten words can trigger memory recall, suggesting a spontaneous recovery effect in human memory. This phenomenon may stem from how the brain stores distributed representations of information.

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Human Memory Research

Background:

Human memory exhibits complex recall patterns, even after forgetting.
Neural network models suggest distributed representations underlie memory.
Spontaneous recovery is a known phenomenon in memory research.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate spontaneous memory recovery in human subjects.
To explore the link between distributed representations and memory recall.
To validate findings from neural network models in a human learning task.

Main Methods:

Utilized a psychomotor learning task with human participants.
Assessed memory recall after a period of forgetting.
Analyzed the conditions under which relearning triggers recall.

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A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers

Published on: January 5, 2018

Using Practice Testing, Public Speaking, and Source Monitoring to Examine the Influences of Learning Strategies and Stress on Episodic Memory

Using Practice Testing, Public Speaking, and Source Monitoring to Examine the Influences of Learning Strategies and Stress on Episodic Memory

Published on: June 14, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 7, 2026

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Published on: January 31, 2017

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers

Published on: January 5, 2018

Using Practice Testing, Public Speaking, and Source Monitoring to Examine the Influences of Learning Strategies and Stress on Episodic Memory

Using Practice Testing, Public Speaking, and Source Monitoring to Examine the Influences of Learning Strategies and Stress on Episodic Memory

Published on: June 14, 2019

Main Results:

Demonstrated a spontaneous memory recovery effect in human subjects.
Relearning a subset of learned items facilitated recall of others.
Findings align with predictions from neural network models of memory.

Conclusions:

Spontaneous memory recovery is a demonstrable phenomenon in human learning.
Distributed representations likely play a crucial role in this memory effect.
This study bridges computational models of memory with empirical human data.