The effects of mnemonic variability and spacing on memory over multiple timescales

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cowan, Emily T.; Zhang, Yiwen; Rottman, Benjamin M.; Murty, Vishnu P.
• 署名单位: Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); Temple University; Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); University of Pittsburgh
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-13505
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2311077121
• 发表日期: 2024-03-19
• 关键词: encoding variability; context; repetitions; recall; hippocampus; acquisition; repulsion; neocortex

摘要

The memory benefit that arises from distributing learning over time rather than in consecutive sessions is one of the most robust effects in cognitive psychology. While prior work has mainly focused on repeated exposures to the same information, in the real world, mnemonic content is dynamic, with some pieces of information staying stable while others vary. Thus, open questions remain about the efficacy of the spacing effect in the face of variability in the mnemonic content. Here, in two experiments, we investigated the contributions of mnemonic variability and the timescale of spacing intervals, ranging from seconds to days, to long - term memory. For item memory, both mnemonic variability and spacing intervals were beneficial for memory; however, mnemonic variability was greater at shorter spacing intervals. In contrast, for associative memory, repetition rather than mnemonic variability was beneficial for memory, and spacing benefits only emerged in the absence of mnemonic variability. These results highlight a critical role for mnemonic variability and the timescale of spacing intervals in the spacing effect, bringing this classic memory paradigm into more ecologically valid contexts.