Inhaltszusammenfassung

The human brain is in distinct processing modes at different times. Specifi-cally, a distinction can be made between encoding and retrieval modes, whichrefer to the brain’s state when it is storing new information or searching forold information, respectively. Recent research proposed the idea of a“ready-to-encode”mode, which describes a prestimulus effect in brain activity thatsignals (external) attention to encoding and predicts subsequent memory per-formance. Whether there is also a corres...The human brain is in distinct processing modes at different times. Specifi-cally, a distinction can be made between encoding and retrieval modes, whichrefer to the brain’s state when it is storing new information or searching forold information, respectively. Recent research proposed the idea of a“ready-to-encode”mode, which describes a prestimulus effect in brain activity thatsignals (external) attention to encoding and predicts subsequent memory per-formance. Whether there is also a corresponding“ready-to-retrieve”mode inhuman brain activity is currently unclear. In this study, we examined whetherprestimulus oscillations can be linked to (internal) attention to retrieval. Weshow that task cues to prepare for retrieval (or testing) in comparison withrestudy of previously studied vocabulary word pairs led to a significantdecrease of prestimulus alpha power just before the onset of word stimuli.Beamformer analysis localized this effect in the right secondary visual cortex(Brodmann area 18). Correlation analysis showed that the task cue-induced,prestimulus alpha power effect is positively related to stimulus-induced alpha/beta power, which in turn predicted participants’memory performance. Theresults are consistent with the idea that prestimulus alpha power signals inter-nal attention to retrieval, which promotes the elaborative processing of epi-sodic memories. Future research on brain-computer interfaces may find thefindings interesting regarding the potential of using online measures of fluctu-ating alpha oscillations to trigger the presentation and sequencing of restudyand testing trials, ultimately enhancing instructional learning strategies.» weiterlesen» einklappen

Autoren

Klassifikation

DFG Fachgebiet:
Psychologie

DDC Sachgruppe:
Psychologie