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Encoding tasks moderated the reward effect on brain activity during memory retrieval.
Qianqian Ding1, Jinfu Zhu2, Chunping Yan3
1College of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China.
Scientific Reports
|May 17, 2022
Summary
Encoding task type significantly impacts how reward influences memory retrieval. Deep processing enhances item memory with reward, while shallow processing boosts source memory accuracy and reward effects.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Recognition memory is influenced by factors like retrieval reward and encoding depth.
- The interplay between reward, processing depth, and their effects on memory recognition remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of encoding reward and processing depth on recognition memory.
- To explore the neural mechanisms underlying these effects using event-related potentials (ERPs).
Main Methods:
- Participants engaged in deep (congruity-judgment) and shallow (size-judgment) encoding tasks under reward and no-reward conditions.
- Item and background (source) memory retrieval were assessed.
- Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to analyze neural activity.
Main Results:
- Rewarded items showed higher accuracy than unrewarded items in deep processing for item memory.
- ERP reward effects were more pronounced in deep processing for item memory (300-500 ms and 500-700 ms).
- Rewarded items showed higher accuracy in shallow processing for source memory, with greater ERP reward effects (300-500 ms and 500-700 ms).
Conclusions:
- The type of encoding task acts as a moderator for the reward effect in both item and source memory.
- Encoding depth and reward interact to shape memory recognition and its underlying neural correlates.
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