Unstable Memories Create a High-Level Representation that Enables Learning Transfer.

ABSTRACT: A memory is unstable, making it susceptible to interference and disruption, after its acquisition [1-4]. The function or possible benefit of a memory being unstable at its acquisition is not well understood. Potentially, instability may be critical for the communication between recently acquired memories, which would allow learning in one task to be transferred to the other subsequent task [1, 5]. Learning may be transferred between any memories that are unstable, even between different types of memory. Here, we test the link between a memory being unstable and the transfer of learning to a different type of memory task. We measured how learning in one task transferred to and thus improved learning in a subsequent task. There was transfer from a motor skill to a word list task and, vice ve

SUBMITTER: Mosha N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5817890 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature