Factors During Encoding and Sleep That Promote Memory Persistence
Speaker
James AntonyLocation
Sage Center, Psychology 1312Info
In this talk, I will investigate how long-term memory is modulated by reactivation during sleep and affective states at encoding. First, I will focus on a technique that involves presenting learning-related stimuli during sleep (termed targeted memory reactivation, or TMR). My findings show that TMR benefits memory retention for numerous types of memory. Crucially, they also point to a specific physiological process - the sleep spindle - that is crucial for optimal memory reactivation during sleep. Next, I will discuss a newer avenue of research on how memory is modulated by moment-by-moment changes in affective states, such as surprise. For this, I developed a method to precisely measure fluctuating surprise during basketball games, showing that surprise impacts memory, enjoyment, pupil dilation, and neural measures of event representation (e.g., Hidden Markov Models). Cumulatively, these findings contribute to understanding how memories persist and could aid in developing methods for improving learning in educational settings and in populations suffering from memory deficits.
