On the Causal Role of the Right Lateral Prefrontal Cortex in Active Forgetting

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroscience of Memory

Background:

• Intentional forgetting, or suppression-induced forgetting (SIF), involves inhibiting unwanted memory retrieval.
• Neuroimaging studies implicate the right lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) in retrieval suppression, but causal evidence is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically test the causal role of the right LPFC in SIF using cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).
• To investigate the lateralization of LPFC involvement in SIF by comparing right and left LPFC stimulation.

Main Methods:

• A standard think/no-think procedure was employed across two experiments.
• Participants received cathodal tDCS over the right LPFC, a control site, or sham stimulation.
• SIF was assessed by comparing forgetting in the no-think condition across stimulation groups.

Main Results:

• Results are pending as this is a registered report detailing planned experiments.

Conclusions:

• The findings will elucidate the causal contribution of the right LPFC to inhibitory control and memory suppression.
• This research will offer critical insights into the neural mechanisms governing intentional forgetting.