Cognition, Behavior, and Memory
Author: Soledad Picco | email: solepicco@gmail.com
Soledad Picco 1°, Rodrigo S. Fernandez 1°, M. Eugenia Pedreira 1°
1° Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE)- CONICET, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Through the process of reconsolidation, consolidated memories can be reactivated and temporarily labialized, allowing them to be updated in strength and content. In the framework of reconsolidation, a prediction error (PE) is proposed as the key mechanism that triggers the process. Generally speaking, a PE is a mismatch between expected (based on prior experience) and current events. Previous associative memory reconsolidation studies show that incomplete reminders (IR) are a subtype of prediction error that strengthen memory trace. These reminders consist in an incomplete trial that ends abruptly before participants can report the learned association. They are previously instructed to perform the same task they had been trained. Here we design an online protocol targeting memory reactivation by IR and the following re-stabilization stage to assess and characterise the underlying dynamics of the process of episodic performed a 3-day online experiment. On Day 1, subjects learned 32 face-name pairs, 24hs later, on Day 2 different groups were compared, modifying the structure of the incomplete reminder, considering the information available and the possibility to complete or not the given task. On Day 3, memory retention and item recognition was assessed. We found that IR strengthens memory retention despite the type of instruction. These results may support the idea that PE is governed by the contrast between previous and actual experiences.