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Updated: Sep 5, 2025
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Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
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Experiencing Surprise: The Temporal Dynamics of Its Impact on Memory
Darya Frank1,2, Alex Kafkas3, Daniela Montaldi3
1Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom darya.frank@manchester.ac.uk.
Summary
Experiencing surprise during information retrieval can enhance memory for future related events by engaging an adaptive encoding mechanism. This brain process prioritizes learning, improving recall of expected information following unexpected events.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neurobiology of Memory
Background:
- The brain dynamically switches between encoding and retrieval states.
- Expectation violation during learning enhances memory for unexpected events via an adaptive encoding mechanism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the adaptive encoding mechanism is triggered during information retrieval.
- To determine the temporal dynamics of mnemonic consequences of this mechanism during retrieval.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to monitor brain activity.
- Participants studied object images and learned cue-category contingencies.
- Test phase involved expected and unexpected targets and foils, with analysis of event sequences.
Main Results:
- An expected event following a surprising event improved performance, linked to hippocampal, midbrain, and occipital activation.
- Two consecutive unexpected events activated the occipital cortex but did not improve memory.
- Surprise during retrieval engages an encoding mechanism supporting bottom-up processing.
Conclusions:
- Encountering surprising events during retrieval can activate an encoding mechanism beneficial for future memory.
- This adaptive encoding, supported by enhanced perceptual processing, aids in identifying subsequent expected events.
- Findings illuminate the temporal dynamics of adaptive information encoding in memory.
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