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Electrophysiological correlates of saving‐enhanced memory: Exploring similarities to list‐method directed forgetting
Author(s) -
Runge Yannick,
Frings Christian,
Tempel Tobias,
Pastötter Bernhard
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/ejn.15368
Subject(s) - motivated forgetting , forgetting , encoding (memory) , electroencephalography , cognition , alpha (finance) , electrophysiology , psychology , episodic memory , cognitive psychology , computer science , neuroscience , audiology , developmental psychology , medicine , construct validity , psychometrics
Abstract People regularly outsource parts of their memory onto external memory stores like computers or smartphones. Such cognitive offloading can enhance subsequent memory performance, as referred to the saving‐enhanced memory effect (Storm & Stone, 2015). The cognitive mechanisms of this effect are not clear to date, however similarities to list‐method directed forgetting (LMDF) have been stated. Here, we examined in 52 participants the electrophysiological (EEG) correlates of the saving‐enhanced memory effect and compared our results to earlier LMDF findings (Hanslmayr et al., 2012). For this purpose, EEG alpha power and alpha phase synchrony during the encoding of two word lists were compared as a function of saving or no‐saving. We hypothesised that if saving‐enhanced memory was related to LMDF, saving in comparison to no‐saving between lists should reduce alpha power and alpha phase synchrony during List 2 encoding, two effects that have been related to List 2 encoding benefits and List 1 inhibition in the earlier LMDF work. The results showed no statistically significant saving‐enhanced memory effect and no significant effects in EEG alpha power or alpha phase synchrony. Possible explanations for and implications of these non‐significant findings are discussed.