Neural correlates of the spacing effect in explicit verbal semantic encoding support the deficient-processing theory.

ABSTRACT: Spaced presentations of to-be-learned items during encoding leads to superior long-term retention over massed presentations. Despite over a century of research, the psychological and neural basis of this spacing effect however is still under investigation. To test the hypotheses that the spacing effect results either from reduction in encoding-related verbal maintenance rehearsal in massed relative to spaced presentations (deficient processing hypothesis) or from greater encoding-related elaborative rehearsal of relational information in spaced relative to massed presentations (encoding variability hypothesis), we designed a vocabulary learning experiment in which subjects encoded paired-associates, each composed of a known word paired with a novel word, in both spaced and massed condition

SUBMITTER: Callan DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6871263 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature