ERIC Number: EJ1180962
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jun
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1072-0502
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Retrieval and Sleep Both Counteract the Forgetting of Spatial Information
Antony, James W.; Paller, Ken A.
Learning & Memory, v25 n6 p258-263 Jun 2018
Repeatedly studying information is a good way to strengthen memory storage. Nevertheless, testing recall often produces superior long-term retention. Demonstrations of this testing effect, typically with verbal stimuli, have shown that repeated retrieval through testing reduces forgetting. Sleep also benefits memory storage, perhaps through repeated retrieval as well. That is, memories may generally be subject to forgetting that can be counteracted when memories become reactivated, and there are several types of reactivation: (i) via intentional restudying, (ii) via testing, (iii) without provocation during wake, or (iv) during sleep. We thus measured forgetting for spatial material subjected to repeated study or repeated testing followed by retention intervals with sleep versus wake. Four groups of subjects learned a set of visual object-location associations and either restudied the associations or recalled locations given the objects as cues. We found the advantage for restudied over retested information was greater in the PM than AM group. Additional groups tested at 5-min and 1-wk retention intervals confirmed previous findings of greater relative benefits for restudying in the short-term and for retesting in the long-term. Results overall support the conclusion that repeated reactivation through testing or sleeping stabilizes information against forgetting.
Descriptors: Recall (Psychology), Sleep, Spatial Ability, Retention (Psychology), Intervals, Cues, Undergraduate Students, Statistical Analysis
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. 500 Sunnyside Boulevard, Woodbury, NY 11797-2924. Tel: 800-843-4388; Tel: 516-367-8800; Fax: 516-422-4097; e-mail: cshpres@cshl.edu; Web site: http://learnmem.cshlp.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (DHHS); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: T32AG020418; F31MH100958; BCS1461088
Author Affiliations: N/A