Confident false memories for spatial location are mediated by V1

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Memory Research

Background:

• Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies indicated true memories activate early sensory cortex, while false memories do not.
• This was attributed to early sensory regions being linked to nonconscious processing, contrasting with the conscious nature of false memories.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if false memories activate the primary visual cortex (V1) under conditions promoting conscious processing.
• To determine if V1 activity is essential for the construction of spatial location false memories.

Main Methods:

• An fMRI experiment presented abstract shapes, followed by retrieval tasks with confidence ratings to identify false memories for spatial location.
• A subsequent fMRI-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) experiment targeted V1 and a control site to assess the necessity of V1 activity for false memory formation.

Main Results:

• fMRI revealed that confident false memories for spatial location were associated with activity in bilateral early visual regions, including V1.
• TMS applied to V1 significantly reduced confident false memories for spatial location compared to a control site.

Conclusions:

• Early visual cortex, including V1, can contribute to the construction of false memories under specific task conditions.
• V1 activity is necessary for the formation of confident spatial location false memories, challenging prior assumptions about sensory cortex involvement.