The Beneficial Effect of Testing: An Event-Related Potential Study
The enhanced memory performance for items that are tested as compared to being restudied (the testing effect) is a frequently reported memory phenomenon. According to the episodic context account of the testing effect, this beneficial effect of testing is related to a process which reinstates the pr...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2015-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00248/full |
| _version_ | 1818511905067630592 |
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| author | Cheng-Hua eBai Emma K. Bridger Emma K. Bridger Hubert D Zimmer Axel eMecklinger |
| author_facet | Cheng-Hua eBai Emma K. Bridger Emma K. Bridger Hubert D Zimmer Axel eMecklinger |
| author_sort | Cheng-Hua eBai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The enhanced memory performance for items that are tested as compared to being restudied (the testing effect) is a frequently reported memory phenomenon. According to the episodic context account of the testing effect, this beneficial effect of testing is related to a process which reinstates the previously learnt episodic information. Few studies have explored the neural correlates of this effect at the time point when testing takes place, however. In this study, we utilized the ERP correlates of successful memory encoding to address this issue, hypothesizing that if the benefit of testing is due to retrieval-related processes at test then subsequent memory effects should resemble the ERP correlates of retrieval-based processing in their temporal and spatial characteristics. Participants were asked to learn Swahili-German word pairs before items were presented in either a testing or a restudy condition. Memory performance was assessed immediately and one-day later with a cued recall task. Successfully recalling items at test increased the likelihood that items were remembered over time compared to items which were only restudied. An ERP subsequent memory contrast (later remembered vs. later forgotten tested items), which reflects the engagement of processes that ensure items are recallable the next day were topographically comparable |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:39:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-83008b4463634cfaa63ab28722184e53 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:39:24Z |
| publishDate | 2015-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-83008b4463634cfaa63ab28722184e532022-12-22T01:29:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532015-09-01910.3389/fnbeh.2015.00248151194The Beneficial Effect of Testing: An Event-Related Potential StudyCheng-Hua eBai0Emma K. Bridger1Emma K. Bridger2Hubert D Zimmer3Axel eMecklinger4Saarland UniversityBirmingham City UniversitySaarland UniversitySaarland UniversitySaarland UniversityThe enhanced memory performance for items that are tested as compared to being restudied (the testing effect) is a frequently reported memory phenomenon. According to the episodic context account of the testing effect, this beneficial effect of testing is related to a process which reinstates the previously learnt episodic information. Few studies have explored the neural correlates of this effect at the time point when testing takes place, however. In this study, we utilized the ERP correlates of successful memory encoding to address this issue, hypothesizing that if the benefit of testing is due to retrieval-related processes at test then subsequent memory effects should resemble the ERP correlates of retrieval-based processing in their temporal and spatial characteristics. Participants were asked to learn Swahili-German word pairs before items were presented in either a testing or a restudy condition. Memory performance was assessed immediately and one-day later with a cued recall task. Successfully recalling items at test increased the likelihood that items were remembered over time compared to items which were only restudied. An ERP subsequent memory contrast (later remembered vs. later forgotten tested items), which reflects the engagement of processes that ensure items are recallable the next day were topographically comparablehttp://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00248/fullERPAssociative Memoryepisodic memorymemory retrievalRecollectionrelational processing |
| spellingShingle | Cheng-Hua eBai Emma K. Bridger Emma K. Bridger Hubert D Zimmer Axel eMecklinger The Beneficial Effect of Testing: An Event-Related Potential Study Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience ERP Associative Memory episodic memory memory retrieval Recollection relational processing |
| title | The Beneficial Effect of Testing: An Event-Related Potential Study |
| title_full | The Beneficial Effect of Testing: An Event-Related Potential Study |
| title_fullStr | The Beneficial Effect of Testing: An Event-Related Potential Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Beneficial Effect of Testing: An Event-Related Potential Study |
| title_short | The Beneficial Effect of Testing: An Event-Related Potential Study |
| title_sort | beneficial effect of testing an event related potential study |
| topic | ERP Associative Memory episodic memory memory retrieval Recollection relational processing |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00248/full |
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