Altering the flow of mental time: A test of retrieved-context theory
Year: 2019
Type: preprint
Abstract: The flexibility and power of the human memory system are exemplified by its ability to create associations between temporally discontiguous events. Retrieved-context theory proposes that these associations are mediated by indirect associations binding the neural representation of each study event to a temporally sensitive contextual representation, which is used as a retrieval cue during memory search. When past states of this contextual representation are reactivated, this gives rise to temporal organization in recall sequences. Previous empirical and simulation work has established that temporal organization is insensitive to the temporal scale of the study experience: Adding substantial periods of inter-item distraction to a study list does not affect the temporal organization of memories for that list. However, this previous work has only examined experiments in which all periods of inter-item distraction in a study list are increased or decreased by an equivalent amount. Here, we demonstrate and test a previously unexamined prediction of retrieved-context theory: The scale-insensitivity of temporal organization is conditional on how temporal structure is manipulated. Specifically, we show that temporal organization is dependent on the relative duration of the temporal intervals surrounding a study event, in a way predicted by retrieved-context theory. Using Bayesian estimation techniques, we demonstrate that the ability of a model to predict the order of responses in free recall is substantially improved when the duration of inter-item distraction intervals influences the representational structure of temporal context. We contrast the predictions of our retrieved-context model with those of an influential model of temporal distinctiveness.
Authors: Sean Matthew Polyn, James Kragel, Joshua D. McCluey, John F. Burke
Institutions: Vanderbilt University, University of Pennsylvania
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3171121960