Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
Learned interval time facilitates associate memory retrieval
Vincent van de Ven1, Sarah Kochs1, Fren Smulders1
1Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The extent to which time is represented in memory remains underinvestigated. We designed a time paired associate task (TPAT) in which participants implicitly learned cue-time-target associations between cue-target pairs and specific cue-target intervals. During subsequent memory testing, participants showed increased accuracy of identifying matching cue-target pairs if the time interval during testing matched the implicitly learned interval. A control experiment showed that participants had no explicit knowledge about the cue-time associations. We suggest that "elapsed time" can act as a temporal mnemonic associate that can facilitate retrieval of events associated in memory.
Related Concept Videos
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
Associative Learning
Classical conditioning, also known...
Interference and Decay
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory
Timing and Consequences on Behavior
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant...
Real-World Application of Classical Conditioning
Higher-order, or second-order, conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an already established conditioned stimulus through repeated pairings. For instance, if a dog has been...

