Brief targeted memory reactivation during the awake state enhances memory stability and benefits the weakest memories.

ABSTRACT: Reactivation of representations corresponding to recent experience is thought to be a critical mechanism supporting long-term memory stabilization. Targeted memory reactivation, or the re-exposure of recently learned cues, seeks to induce reactivation and has been shown to benefit later memory when it takes place during sleep. However, despite recent evidence for endogenous reactivation during post-encoding awake periods, less work has addressed whether awake targeted memory reactivation modulates memory. Here, we found that brief (50 ms) visual stimulus re-exposure during a repetitive foil task enhanced the stability of cued versus uncued associations in memory. The extent of external or task-oriented attention prior to re-exposure was inversely related to cueing benefits, suggesting that

SUBMITTER: Tambini A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5681594 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature