Moderate levels of activation lead to forgetting in the think/no-think paradigm.

ABSTRACT: Using the think/no-think paradigm (Anderson & Green, 2001), researchers have found that suppressing retrieval of a memory (in the presence of a strong retrieval cue) can make it harder to retrieve that memory on a subsequent test. This effect has been replicated numerous times, but the size of the effect is highly variable. Also, it is unclear from a neural mechanistic standpoint why preventing recall of a memory now should impair your ability to recall that memory later. Here, we address both of these puzzles using the idea, derived from computational modeling and studies of synaptic plasticity, that the function relating memory activation to learning is U-shaped, such that moderate levels of memory activation lead to weakening of the memory and higher levels of activation lead to strengt

SUBMITTER: Detre GJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3702674 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature