Novel Approaches and Cognitive Neuroscience Perspectives on False Memory and Deception

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm is a well-established method for inducing false memories.
• Participants studying thematic word lists often falsely recall non-presented critical words.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce a novel lexical decision task (LDT) methodology to prime critical words in false memory research.
• Investigate the neural correlates of false memories and intentional deception using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

Main Methods:

• Study One: Utilized a modified LDT with word pairs to prime critical words, assessing recognition of presented and critical items.
• Study Two: Employed standard DRM lists and fNIRS to measure prefrontal cortex activity during a task involving true memories, false memories, and deception (lying).

Main Results:

• Preliminary results from Study One indicated comparable recognition rates for true and false memories.
• Study Two revealed that both true and false memories activated similar brain regions, but false memories and lies showed higher cortical activity.
• Distinguishing accurate from inaccurate memories proved challenging based on accuracy, confidence, and reaction time data.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest that accurately distinguishing true from false memories is difficult.
• Results are interpreted through the lens of activation-monitoring theory and Fuzzy Trace Theory.
• Further research is needed to identify neural pathways specific to false memories and deception, potentially focusing on the anterior prefrontal cortex.