Memorability of words in arbitrary verbal associations modulates memory retrieval in the anterior temporal lobe.

ABSTRACT: Despite large individual differences in memory performance, people remember certain stimuli with overwhelming consistency. This phenomenon is referred to as the memorability of an individual item. However, it remains unknown whether memorability also affects our ability to retrieve associations between items. Here, using a paired-associates verbal memory task, we combine behavioural data, computational modelling and direct recordings from the human brain to examine how memorability influences associative memory retrieval. We find that certain words are correctly retrieved across participants irrespective of the cues used to initiate memory retrieval. These words, which share greater semantic similarity with other words, are more readily available during retrieval and lead to more intrusion

SUBMITTER: Xie W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7501186 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature