More Like this

1. The pretesting effect is robust throughout adulthood, but metacognitive beliefs about pretesting and challenge differ

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2025.102683  

   Yan, Veronica X; Rea, Stephany Duany; Sana, Faria (May 2025, Learning and Individual Differences)

   Pretesting—asking learners to try to answer questions about a topic before learning—results in better memory of that topic compared to simply studying the topic without taking a pretest. We investigated whether age and memory contentment moderate the benefit of pretesting, and whether judgments of pretesting effectiveness varied across adulthood (N = 273, age range: 18-82). The pretesting effect was not moderated by either factor. Metacognitive judgments, however, varied by age. Younger participants were more likely to appreciate the benefits of pretesting than middle-aged and older adults. In Study 2 (N = 296, age range: 18-83), our mixed-methods approach showed converging results: The older the participant, the less likely they were to appreciate the benefits of errors and think that pretesting would be effective for them. These results suggest that although the pretesting effect appears to be robust throughout adulthood, metacognitive beliefs differ. 

   more » « less
2. Age Differences In Retrieval-Related Reinstatement Reflect Age-Related Dedifferentiation At Encoding

   https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaa210  

   Hill, Paul F; King, Danielle R; Rugg, Michael D (August 2020, Cerebral Cortex)

   Abstract Age-related reductions in neural selectivity have been linked to cognitive decline. We examined whether age differences in the strength of retrieval-related cortical reinstatement could be explained by analogous differences in neural selectivity at encoding, and whether reinstatement was associated with memory performance in an age-dependent or an age-independent manner. Young and older adults underwent fMRI as they encoded words paired with images of faces or scenes. During a subsequent scanned memory test participants judged whether test words were studied or unstudied and, for words judged studied, also made a source memory judgment about the associated image category. Using multi-voxel pattern similarity analyses, we identified robust evidence for reduced scene reinstatement in older relative to younger adults. This decline was however largely explained by age differences in neural differentiation at encoding; moreover, a similar relationship between neural selectivity at encoding and retrieval was evident in young participants. The results suggest that, regardless of age, the selectivity with which events are neurally processed at the time of encoding can determine the strength of retrieval-related cortical reinstatement. 

   more » « less
3. Growing out of your own mind: Reexamining the development of the self-other difference in the unexpected contents task

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105403  

   Sobel, David M (June 2023, Cognition)

   The unexpected contents task is a well-established measure for studying young children's developing theory of mind. The task measures whether children understand that others have a false belief about a deceptive container and whether children can track the representational change in their own beliefs about the container's contents. Performance on both questions improves between the ages of 3 and 4. A previous meta-analysis (Wellman, Cross, & Watson, 2001) found little evidence for a difference in children's responses on these questions, but did not investigate the weak effect size that was reported for the interaction between age and question type. The two meta-analyses reported here update the literature review, and find a more robust interaction between question type and age. Three-year-olds showed better performance on questions about their own representational change than others' false belief, while older children showed the reverse pattern. A mega-analysis of a sample of over 1200 children between the ages of 36–60 months then showed the same result. This response pattern requires novel theoretical interpretations, which include reframing the development of children's understanding of false belief. 

   more » « less
4. Neural Index of Reinforcement Learning Predicts Improved Stimulus–Response Retention under High Working Memory Load

   https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.1274-22.2023  

   Rac-Lubashevsky, Rachel; Cremer, Anna; Collins, Anne G.E.; Frank, Michael J.; Schwabe, Lars (April 2023, The Journal of Neuroscience)

   Human learning and decision-making are supported by multiple systems operating in parallel. Recent studies isolating the contributions of reinforcement learning (RL) and working memory (WM) have revealed a trade-off between the two. An interactive WM/RL computational model predicts that although high WM load slows behavioral acquisition, it also induces larger prediction errors in the RL system that enhance robustness and retention of learned behaviors. Here, we tested this account by parametrically manipulating WM load during RL in conjunction with EEG in both male and female participants and administered two surprise memory tests. We further leveraged single-trial decoding of EEG signatures of RL and WM to determine whether their interaction predicted robust retention. Consistent with the model, behavioral learning was slower for associations acquired under higher load but showed parametrically improved future retention. This paradoxical result was mirrored by EEG indices of RL, which were strengthened under higher WM loads and predictive of more robust future behavioral retention of learned stimulus–response contingencies. We further tested whether stress alters the ability to shift between the two systems strategically to maximize immediate learning versus retention of information and found that induced stress had only a limited effect on this trade-off. The present results offer a deeper understanding of the cooperative interaction between WM and RL and show that relying on WM can benefit the rapid acquisition of choice behavior during learning but impairs retention. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Successful learning is achieved by the joint contribution of the dopaminergic RL system and WM. The cooperative WM/RL model was productive in improving our understanding of the interplay between the two systems during learning, demonstrating that reliance on RL computations is modulated by WM load. However, the role of WM/RL systems in the retention of learned stimulus–response associations remained unestablished. Our results show that increased neural signatures of learning, indicative of greater RL computation, under high WM load also predicted better stimulus–response retention. This result supports a trade-off between the two systems, where degraded WM increases RL processing, which improves retention. Notably, we show that this cooperative interplay remains largely unaffected by acute stress. 

   more » « less
5. How schema knowledge influences memory in older adults: Filling in the gaps, or leading memory astray?

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105826  

   Ramey, Michelle M; Yonelinas, Andrew P; Henderson, John M (September 2024, Cognition)

   Age-related declines in episodic memory do not affect all types of mnemonic information equally: when to-be-remembered information is in line with one’s prior knowledge, or schema-congruent, older adults often show no impairments. There are two major accounts of this effect: One proposes that schemas compensate for memory failures in aging, and the other proposes that schemas instead actively impair older adults’ otherwise intact memory for incongruent information. However, the evidence thus far is inconclusive, likely due to methodological constraints in teasing apart these complex underlying dynamics. We developed a paradigm that separately examines the contributions of underlying memory and schema knowledge to a final memory decision, allowing these dynamics to be examined directly. In the present study, healthy older and younger adults first searched for target objects in congruent or incongruent locations within scenes. In a subsequent test, participants indicated where in each scene the target had been located previously, and provided confidence-based recognition memory judgments that indexed underlying memory, in terms of recollection and familiarity, for the background scenes. We found that age-related increases in schema effects on target location spatial recall were predicted and statistically mediated by age-related increases in underlying memory failures, specifically within recollection. We also found that, relative to younger adults, older adults had poorer spatial memory precision within recollected scenes but slightly better precision within familiar scenes—and age increases in schema bias were primarily exhibited within recollected scenes. Interestingly, however, there were also slight age-related increases in schema effects that could not be explained by memory deficits alone, outlining a role for active schema influences as well. Together, these findings support the account that age-related schema effects on memory are compensatory in that they are driven primarily by underlying memory failures, and further suggest that age-related deficits in memory precision may also drive schema effects. 

   more » « less