The benefit of retrieval practice on cued recall under stress depends on item difficulty.

Retrieval practice, the act of recalling previously studied information, yields greater memory retention than repeated studying (retrieval practice effect). Retrieval practice can also protect memories against the negative effects of stress at retrieval in free recall tests. In cued-recall tests, however, retrieval practice may not provide complete protection against stress-related memory impairments. Here we ask whether these conflicting results may be explained by the relative difficulty of the study materials. Participants (59 men) first studied 40 Swahili-Portuguese word pairs. Half of the pairs were then repeatedly studied while the other half were repeatedly recalled. In each condition, half of the pairs were easy to remember (high in memorability) while the other half were more difficult to remember (low in memorability). Participants returned 1 week later for a final cued-recall test. Half of the participants underwent a stress-induction protocol (modified Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Test) 25 min before the final test for all 40-word pairs; the other half underwent a control condition. Salivary cortisol and questionnaire responses were used to assess the efficacy of stress induction. Participants recalled more word pairs learned via retrieval practice than via repeated study, replicating previous research. More importantly, the results revealed an interaction such that stress decreased recall for easy items, but increased recall for difficult items that had been successfully retrieved during encoding (conditional analysis). The results suggest that the impact of stress on cued recall depends both on the learning strategy and on the intrinsic difficulty of the to-be-learned materials.

The test-retest reliability of the retrieval practice effect.

Retrieving information from memory, compared with different control conditions, improves subsequent retention of that information. Given the ubiquitous demonstration of this retrieval practice effect, researchers have asked whether such benefit is moderated by individual-difference variables. An implicit assumption in individual-difference research is that the retrieval practice effect at the participant level is reliable across participants. In this study, we tested this reliability assumption. In two sessions, 54 participants studied foreign-native word pairs, repeatedly restudied half of the word pairs, repeatedly retrieval-practised the other half, and, finally, took a final test for all pairs. Different word pairs were used in each session. We replicated the retrieval practice effect at the group level in Sessions 1 (d = 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.27, 0.80]) and 2 (d = 0.79 [0.53, 1.05]). In addition, we found that the retrieval practice effect at the participant level was reliable over a 1-week span both for absolute agreement, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = .33 [.12, .51], and for consistency estimates, ICC = .35 [.14, .53]. The result bridges a gap in the literature of individual differences on the retrieval practice effect. We suggest that future studies identify whether, and under which experimental conditions, the retrieval practice effect at the participant level may show even greater reliability estimates than the ones reported here. The finding may also pave the way for studies assessing whether the magnitude of the retrieval practice effect is domain-general or paradigm-specific.

Metanálises em psicologia: uma introdução conceitual e prática / Meta-analyses in psychology: a conceptual and hands-on introduction / Metanálisis en psicología: una introducción conceptual y práctica

Metanálise consiste em um conjunto de técnicas estatísticas que visa integrar os resultados de dois ou mais estudos primários. Ela permite produzir estimativas pontuais e intervalares de algum parâmetro populacional, geralmente uma medida de tamanho de efeito. Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar conceitos fundamentais sobre metanálise e suas aplicações para psicólogos e estudantes de psicologia. O artigo: (1) introduz a lógica da metanálise, seus potenciais e as críticas a ela endereçadas; (2) apresenta dois modelos de metanálise comumente usados por pesquisadores; e (3) aborda dois tópicos importantes para a interpretação correta dos resultados: heterogeneidade e análise de subgrupos. Um exemplo fictício ilustra os conceitos ao longo do artigo. Os Materiais Suplementares contêm equações dos modelos apresentados no texto, resultados comentados de uma síntese metanalítica, código na linguagem R para reproduzir resultados e figuras desse artigo e uma breve lista comentada de fontes adicionais sobre metanálise. (AU)

Meta-analysis consists of a set of statistical techniques that aims to combine the results of two or more primary studies. It enables the calculation of point and interval estimates of some population parameter, usually a measure of effect size. The aim of this article is to introduce fundamental concepts of meta-analysis and its applications for psychologists and psychology students. The article: (1) introduces the logic of meta-analysis, its uses and common criticisms levied against it; (2) presents two computational models of meta-analysis commonly used by researchers; and (3) addresses two issues associated with the correct interpretation of results from meta-analyses: heterogeneity and subgroup analysis. A worked example illustrates the concepts throughout the article. The Supplementary Materials contain a worked example of the models presented in the text, a script in R language that allows the reader to reproduce the results, and a commented list of additional sources. (AU)

El metanálisis consiste en un conjunto de técnicas estadísticas que tiene como objetivo integrar los resultados de dos o más estudios primarios. Permite producir estimaciones puntuales y de intervalo de algún parámetro de población, generalmente una medida del tamaño del efecto. Este artículo presenta conceptos fundamentales sobre el metanálisis y sus aplicaciones para psicólogos y estudiantes de psicología. El artículo: (1) introduce la lógica del metanálisis, sus potencialidades y las críticas que se le dirigen; (2) presenta dos modelos de metanálisis comúnmente utilizados por los investigadores; y (3) aborda dos temas importantes para la correcta interpretación de los resultados: heterogeneidad y análisis de subgrupos. Un ejemplo ficticio ilustra los conceptos a lo largo del artículo. Los Materiales Suplementarios contienen ecuaciones de los modelos presentados en el texto, resultados comentados de una síntesis metanalítica, código en el lenguaje R para reproducir los resultados y las figuras de este artículo, y una breve lista comentada de fuentes adicionales. (AU)

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in writing: a case report of deep agraphia. / Efeitos da Estimulação Transcraniana por Corrente Contínua na escrita: um relato de caso de agrafia profunda.

We present the case report of a 61-year-old male participant with chronic conduction aphasia and deep agraphia after ischemic stroke who received training on writing under dictation associated with transcranial direct current stimulation. The treatment consisted of five 50-minute dictation sessions with the application of 2 mA of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation for 20 minutes over the left occipitotemporal cortex. The participant improved his written production of pseudowords and regular low-frequency words, via the phonological route, in addition to a small improvement in the production of irregular words, via the lexical route. After training, there was also a small improvement in writing for untrained stimuli, suggesting generalization. In the assessment carried out 5 months after the end of the treatment, the benefit was maintained for stimuli processed via the phonological route. The results are promising given the severity and chronicity of the case and suggest that transcranial direct current stimulation associated with writing therapy represents a possible clinical alternative for patients with deep agraphia.

Apresentamos o relato de caso de um participante do sexo masculino, 61 anos, com afasia de condução crônica e agrafia profunda após acidente vascular cerebral isquêmico que recebeu treinamento de escrita sob ditado associado à estimulação transcraniana por corrente contínua. O tratamento consistiu em cinco sessões de 50 minutos de escrita sob ditado com aplicação de 2 mA de estimulação transcraniana por corrente contínua anódica durante 20 minutos sobre o córtex occipitotemporal esquerdo. O participante apresentou melhora na produção escrita de pseudopalavras e de palavras regulares de baixa frequência, via rota fonológica, além de uma pequena melhora na produção de palavras irregulares, via rota lexical. Após o treinamento, houve também pequena melhora da escrita de estímulos não treinados, sugerindo generalização. Na avaliação realizada 5 meses após o término do tratamento, o benefício foi mantido para estímulos processados via rota fonológica. Os resultados são promissores dada a gravidade e cronicidade do caso e sugerem que a estimulação transcraniana por corrente contínua associada à terapia de escrita representa possível alternativa clínica para pacientes com agrafia profunda.

Effects of combining retrieval practice and tDCS over long-term memory: A randomized controlled trial.

The ability to retain new information is important in daily life. In particular, two techniques have shown promise for improving long-term retention: retrieval practice (RP), which consists of actively retrieving information from long-term memory to make it more accessible in the future; and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which consists of non-invasive brain stimulation that modulates cognitive processes by increasing and decreasing neuronal excitability. Previous studies have implicated the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (l-dlPFC) in memory encoding and memory organization. We examined whether RP associated with a single 20-min tDCS session over the l-dlPFC could improve long-term memory retention. Participants (N = 119) repeatedly studied a list of related words either via RP or via restudy, while undergoing either anodal or sham stimulation. Participants returned 2 days later for a free-recall test. Results showed that the RP group outperformed the restudy group in all measures, regardless of stimulation type. Also, recall organization was higher in the RP group than in the restudy group. The data support previous findings and indicate that RP may enhance performance by improving the organization of the to-be-remembered list items.

Efeitos da Estimulação Transcraniana por Corrente Contínua na escrita: um relato de caso de agrafia profunda / Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in writing: a case report of deep agraphia

RESUMO Apresentamos o relato de caso de um participante do sexo masculino, 61 anos, com afasia de condução crônica e agrafia profunda após acidente vascular cerebral isquêmico que recebeu treinamento de escrita sob ditado associado à estimulação transcraniana por corrente contínua. O tratamento consistiu em cinco sessões de 50 minutos de escrita sob ditado com aplicação de 2 mA de estimulação transcraniana por corrente contínua anódica durante 20 minutos sobre o córtex occipitotemporal esquerdo. O participante apresentou melhora na produção escrita de pseudopalavras e de palavras regulares de baixa frequência, via rota fonológica, além de uma pequena melhora na produção de palavras irregulares, via rota lexical. Após o treinamento, houve também pequena melhora da escrita de estímulos não treinados, sugerindo generalização. Na avaliação realizada 5 meses após o término do tratamento, o benefício foi mantido para estímulos processados via rota fonológica. Os resultados são promissores dada a gravidade e cronicidade do caso e sugerem que a estimulação transcraniana por corrente contínua associada à terapia de escrita representa possível alternativa clínica para pacientes com agrafia profunda.

ABSTRACT We present the case report of a 61-year-old male participant with chronic conduction aphasia and deep agraphia after ischemic stroke who received training on writing under dictation associated with transcranial direct current stimulation. The treatment consisted of five 50-minute dictation sessions with the application of 2 mA of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation for 20 minutes over the left occipitotemporal cortex. The participant improved his written production of pseudowords and regular low-frequency words, via the phonological route, in addition to a small improvement in the production of irregular words, via the lexical route. After training, there was also a small improvement in writing for untrained stimuli, suggesting generalization. In the assessment carried out 5 months after the end of the treatment, the benefit was maintained for stimuli processed via the phonological route. The results are promising given the severity and chronicity of the case and suggest that transcranial direct current stimulation associated with writing therapy represents a possible clinical alternative for patients with deep agraphia.

Conformidade em Memória de Reconhecimento: Revisão Breve e Potenciais Direções de Pesquisa / Memory Conformity in Recognition: Brief Review and Research Directions

Resumo Conformidade de memória é o fenômeno em que relatos de memória de uma pessoa são modificados após exposição aos relatos de outra pessoa. Estudos sobre conformidade de memória são importantes tanto no âmbito puro quanto aplicado, especialmente quando os estímulos são carregados emocionalmente. No entanto, estudos de conformidade de memória com estímulos emocionais ainda são escassos. Além disso, os poucos estudos sobre o tema apresentam resultados contraditórios. Nesta revisão, apresentamos um breve resumo de pesquisas sobre conformidade de memória em tarefas de reconhecimento e avaliamos o papel moderador da emocionalidade na conformidade. Sugerimos como possível direção de pesquisas futuras a avaliação de duas variáveis, intervalo de retenção e distintividade dos estímulos, que podem ser cruciais para elucidar as inconsistências empíricas.

Abstract Memory conformity refers to the phenomenon in which memory reports from one person are modified by memory reports from another person. The study of memory conformity is important both in basic and applied settings, especially when the stimuli are emotionally-laden. Research on memory conformity for emotional stimuli, however, is surprisingly scarce. Here we briefly review research on memory conformity in recognition tasks and assess the modulatory role of emotionality on conformity effects. We also propose further research based on the manipulation of two variables, retention interval and stimulus distinctiveness, that could help to reconcile the discrepant findings in the literature.

Terapia de produção audiovisual associada a estimulação por corrente contínua melhora nomeação em paciente com afasia de Broca e doença de Parkinson / Audiovisual production therapy associated with transcranial current stimulation improves naming in a patient with Broca's aphasia and Parkinson's disease

RESUMO A doença de Parkinson (DP) é uma doença neurodegenerativa, caracterizada por disfunções motoras e não motoras. Pacientes com DP também podem apresentar problemas de linguagem, incluindo deficit em tarefas de nomeação. Dificuldade em tarefas de nomeação é uma característica importante da afasia de Broca, transtorno de linguagem associado a lesões pós-acidente vascular cerebral (AVC) no córtex pré-frontal inferior esquerdo (área de Broca). Aqui, apresenta-se o caso de um paciente de 79 anos diagnosticado com DP (estágio 4 na escala de Hoehn e Yahr) e afasia crônica não fluente pós-AVC, com deficit de nomeação severos. O paciente foi tratado com uma nova combinação de terapia audiovisual de produção e estimulação transcraniana por corrente contínua (ETCC), técnica neuromodulatória não invasiva, que tem sido cada vez mais adotada para potencializar terapias fonoaudiológicas. ETCC anodal (2 mA) foi aplicada sobre o córtex pré-frontal inferior esquerdo (F7 no sistema 10/20), durante nove sessões de 20 minutos, ao longo de duas semanas, enquanto o paciente tentava nomear imagens de objetos comuns com o auxílio de vídeos curtos mostrando uma boca articulando os sons do nome do objeto (pista audiovisual). Observou-se aumento significativo nos escores de nomeação entre o pré e o pós-tratamento, tanto para imagens treinadas, quanto para não treinadas, mas fonemicamente similares (generalização). Os resultados apresentaram indícios iniciais de que terapia audiovisual de produção associada à ETCC anodal sobre a área de Broca pode representar uma alternativa viável para pacientes com deficits de nomeação severos.

ABSTRACT Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and nonmotor symptoms. PD patients may present language problems, including deficits in confrontation naming. Naming deficits are also an important feature of Broca's aphasia, a condition associated with post-stroke damage to the left inferior prefrontal cortex (Broca's area). We present the case of a 79-year old, male patient diagnosed with both PD (stage 4 in Hoehn and Yahr's scale) and chronic post-stroke, non-fluent aphasia. The patient, with particularly severe naming deficits, was treated with a novel combination of audiovisual production therapy and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a noninvasive neuromodulatory technique that has been increasingly used to potentiate speech therapy. Anodal tDCS (2 mA) was applied to the left inferior prefrontal cortex (F7 in the 10/20 system) in nine 20-min sessions over two weeks while the patient tried to name pictures of common objects aided by short videos of an articulating mouth (audiovisual cue). We found significant pre- to post-training naming improvement for treated items and for untreated, phonemically similar items (generalization). The results provide initial indication that audiovisual production therapy combined with anodal tDCS over Broca's area may represent a viable treatment alternative for patients with severe naming deficits.

Stress and long-term memory retrieval: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: The experience of stressful events can alter brain structures involved in memory encoding, storage and retrieval. Here we review experimental research assessing the impact of the stress-related hormone cortisol on long-term memory retrieval. METHOD: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science and PsycNet databases with the following terms: "stress," "long-term memory," and "retrieval." Studies were included in the review if they tested samples of healthy human participants, with at least one control group, and with the onset of the stress intervention occurring after the encoding phase and shortly (up to one hour) before the final memory test. RESULTS: Thirteen studies were included in the qualitative synthesis (N = 962) and were classified according to the time elapsed between stress induction and memory retrieval (stress-retrieval delay), the stress-inducing protocol (stressor), the time of day in which stress induction took place, sex, and age of participants. Most studies induced stress with the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) between 15 and 25 minutes before the final memory (mostly recall) test and showed significant increases in cortisol levels and memory impairment. DISCUSSION: The reviewed studies indicate that stress does impair retrieval, particularly when induced with the TSST, in the afternoon, up to 45 minutes before the onset of the final memory test, in healthy young men. These results may inform future research on the impact of stress-induced cortisol surges on memory retrieval.

Does Item Difficulty Affect the Magnitude of the Retrieval Practice Effect? An Evaluation of the Retrieval Effort Hypothesis.

Retrieving information by testing improves subsequent retention more than restudy, a phenomenon known as the retrieval practice effect. According to the retrieval effort hypothesis (REH), difficult items require more retrieval effort than easier items and, consequently, should benefit more from retrieval practice. In two experiments, we tested this prediction. Participants learned sets of easy and difficult Swahili-Portuguese word pairs (study phase) and repeatedly restudied half of these items and repeatedly retrieval practiced the other half (practice phase). Forty-eight hours later, they took a cued-recall test (final test phase). In both experiments, we replicated both the retrieval practice and the item difficulty effects. In Experiment 1 (N = 51), we found a greater retrieval practice effect for easy items, MDifference = .26, SD = .17, than for difficult items, MDifference = .19, SD = .19, t(50) = 2.01, p = .05, d = 0.28. In Experiment 2 (N = 28), we found a nonsignificant trend-F(1, 27) = 2.86, p = .10, $$ {\upeta}_{\mathrm{p}}^2 $$ = .10-toward a greater retrieval practice effect for difficult items, MDifference = .28, SD = .22, than for easy items, MDifference = .18, SD = .21. This was especially true for individuals who benefit from retrieval practice (difficult: MDifference = .32, SD = .18; easy: MDifference = .20, SD = .20), t(24) = -2.08, p = .05, d = -0.42. The results provide no clear evidence for the REH and are discussed in relation to current accounts of the retrieval practice effect.

Acute offline transcranial direct current stimulation does not change pain or anxiety produced by the cold pressor test.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) has an antalgic effect on acute experimental pain in healthy volunteers. Many published studies have used online stimulation (i.e., tDCS performed during painful stimulation). On the other hand, daily tDCS sessions have been proposed as a therapy for chronic pain (offline tDCS). In such cases, the therapeutic potential depends on the possible aftereffects of each tDCS session. We set out to investigate whether a single tDCS session before application of a classical experimental pain paradigm (the Cold Pressor Test, CPT) would be capable of modulating physiological measures of anxiety as well as pain perception. tDCS was applied to 30 healthy volunteers, 18-28 years old (mean 18.5), with the anode positioned over either the left M1 or the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (l-DLPFC), which has been linked to the affective aspects of experienced pain, including anxiety. All volunteers underwent the CPT procedure before and after a tDCS session. Real 2 mA tDCS sessions for 20 min were compared to sham stimulations. No significant difference was found for any variable after real tDCS sessions when compared to the sham stimulations. This result suggests that effective offline tDCS for chronic pain might have different mechanisms of action. Cumulative effects, functional targeting and the unintended simultaneous stimulation of both M1 and the l-DLPFC are likely responsible for the therapeutic effects of tDCS sessions in the clinical setting.

Retrieval Practice in Memory- and Language-Impaired Populations: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: Neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis and stroke, may impair memory and language. A technique called retrieval practice (RP) may improve memory and language outcomes in such clinical populations. The RP effect refers to the finding that retrieving information from memory leads to better long-term retention than restudying the same information. Although the benefits of RP have been repeatedly observed in healthy populations, less is known about its potential applications in cognitive rehabilitation in clinical populations. Here we review the RP literature in populations with acquired memory and language impairments. METHOD: Systematic searches for studies published before January 2020 were conducted on Elsevier, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Pubmed, Web of Science, and Wiley Online Library, with the terms "retrieval practice"/"testing effect" and "cognitive rehabilitation". In addition, backward and forward snowballing were used to allow the identification of important publications missed by the initial search. Studies were included if they were peer-reviewed, empirical work in which memory or language outcome measures were compared between an RP condition and a re-exposure-control condition in patients with acquired memory or language impairments. RESULTS: Sixteen articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Studies from memory-impaired samples were relatively homogeneous with respect to experimental protocols and materials and favored RP over control conditions. The results were mostly positive despite short retention intervals and predominantly single-session designs. Similarly, studies from language-impaired samples focused on naming impairments in patients with aphasia and also favored RP over name repetition. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that RP is a viable technique for cognitive rehabilitation.

Does item difficulty affect the magnitude of the retrieval practice effect? An evaluation of the retrieval effort hypothesis

Retrieving information by testing improves subsequent retention more than restudy, a phenomenon known as the retrieval practice effect. According to the retrieval effort hypothesis (REH), difficult items require more retrieval effort than easier items and, consequently, should benefit more from retrieval practice. In two experiments, we tested this prediction. Participants learned sets of easy and difficult Swahili-Portuguese word pairs (study phase) and repeatedly restudied half of these items and repeatedly retrieval practiced the other half (practice phase). Forty-eight hours later, they took a cued-recall test (final test phase). In both experiments, we replicated both the retrieval practice and the item difficulty effects. In Experiment 1 (N = 51), we found a greater retrieval practice effect for easy items, MDifference = .26, SD = .17, than for difficult items, MDifference = .19, SD = .19, t(50) = 2.01, p = .05, d = 0.28. In Experiment 2 (N = 28), we found a nonsignificant trend-F(1, 27) = 2.86, p = .10, = .10-toward a greater retrieval practice effect for difficult items, MDifference = .28, SD = .22, than for easy items, MDifference = .18, SD = .21. This was especially true for individuals who benefit from retrieval practice (difficult: MDifference = .32, SD = .18; easy: MDifference = .20, SD = .20), t(24) = -2.08, p = .05, d = -0.42. The results provide no clear evidence for the REH and are discussed in relation to current accounts of the retrieval practice effect

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Can Brain Waves Really Tell If a Product Will Be Purchased? Inferring Consumer Preferences From Single-Item Brain Potentials.

Recent research has shown that event-related brain potentials (ERPs) recorded while participants view lists of different consumer goods can be modulated by their preferences toward these products. However, it remains largely unknown whether ERP activity specific to a single consumer item can be informative about whether or not this item will be preferred in a shopping context. In this study, we examined whether single-item ERPs could reliably predict consumer preferences toward specific consumer goods. We recorded scalp EEG from 40 participants while they were viewing pictures of consumer goods and we subsequently asked them to indicate their preferences for each of these items. Replicating previous results, we found that ERP activity averaged over the six most preferred products was significantly differentiated from ERP activity averaged across the six least preferred products for three ERP components: The N200, the late positive potential (LPP) and positive slow waves (PSW). We also found that using single-item ERPs to infer behavioral preferences about specific consumer goods led to an overall predictive accuracy of 71%, although this figure varied according to which ERPs were targeted. Later positivities such as the LPP and PSW yielded relatively higher predictive accuracy rates than the frontal N200. Our results suggest that ERPs related to single consumer items can be relatively accurate predictors of behavioral preferences depending on which type of ERP effects are chosen by the researcher, and ultimately on the level of prediction errors that users choose to tolerate.

The effects of negative emotion on encoding-related neural activity predicting item and source recognition.

We report here a study that obtained reliable effects of emotional modulation of a well-known index of memory encoding--the electrophysiological "Dm" effect--using a recognition memory paradigm followed by a source memory task. In this study, participants performed an old-new recognition test of emotionally negative and neutral pictures encoded 1 day before the test, and a source memory task involving the retrieval of the temporal context in which pictures had been encoded. Our results showed that Dm activity was enhanced for all emotional items on a late positivity starting at ~400 ms post-stimulus onset, although Dm activity for high arousal items was also enhanced at an earlier stage (200-400 ms). Our results also showed that emotion enhanced Dm activity for items that were both recognised with or without correct source information. Further, when only high arousal items were considered, larger Dm amplitudes were observed if source memory was accurate. Three main conclusions are drawn from these findings. First, negative emotion can enhance encoding processes predicting the subsequent recognition of central item information. Second, if emotion reaches high levels of arousal, the encoding of contextual details can also be enhanced over and above the effects of emotion on central item encoding. Third, the morphology of our ERPs is consistent with a hybrid model of the role of attention in emotion-enhanced memory (Pottage and Schaefer, 2012).

False memories to emotional stimuli are not equally affected in right- and left-brain-damaged stroke patients.

Previous research has attributed to the right hemisphere (RH) a key role in eliciting false memories to visual emotional stimuli. These results have been explained in terms of two right-hemisphere properties: (i) that emotional stimuli are preferentially processed in the RH and (ii) that visual stimuli are represented more coarsely in the RH. According to this account, false emotional memories are preferentially produced in the RH because emotional stimuli are both more strongly and more diffusely activated during encoding, leaving a memory trace that can be erroneously reactivated by similar but unstudied emotional items at test. If this right-hemisphere hypothesis is correct, then RH damage should result in a reduction in false memories to emotional stimuli relative to left-hemisphere lesions. To investigate this possibility, groups of right-brain-damaged (RBD, N=15), left-brain-damaged (LBD, N=15) and healthy (HC, N=30) participants took part in a recognition memory experiment with emotional (negative and positive) and non-emotional pictures. False memories were operationalized as incorrect responses to unstudied pictures that were similar to studied ones. Both RBD and LBD participants showed similar reductions in false memories for negative pictures relative to controls. For positive pictures, however, false memories were reduced only in RBD patients. The results provide only partial support for the right-hemisphere hypothesis and suggest that inter-hemispheric cooperation models may be necessary to fully account for false emotional memories.

Inter-item associations for the Brazilian version of the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm / Normas de associação entre pares de palavras para a versão brasileira do paradigma emocional Deese/Roediger-McDermott

The emotional content of words can affect both true and false memory performance. One hypothesis suggests that the effects of emotion on memory stem from the semantic cohesion of these words. Emotional words are better remembered because they are more inter-related than neutral words (semantic cohesion hypothesis). Although support for this assumption has been found in tasks that measure true memory, less is known about how the structure of lexical knowledge affects emotional false memories. This is partially due to the scarcity of norms that capture the pre-existing knowledge structure of verbal materials commonly used to investigate emotional false memories, such as the Deese/Roediger-McDermott word lists. In this study, we present inter-item association norms for the 44 lists of the Brazilian version of the DRM paradigm. Free-association responses were collected from a sample of 1,042 undergraduates and were used to estimate the level of connectivity among the words present in the DRM lists. Connectivity measures were then used to test the semantic cohesion hypothesis. No significant correlations were found between the emotional measures (valence and arousal) and the connectivity measures. The results do not give support to the semantic cohesion hypothesis and suggest that, for the Brazilian version of DRM lists, inter-item association and emotionality can be independently manipulated.(AU)

O conteúdo emocional das palavras pode afetar tanto a produção de memórias falsas quanto de memórias verdadeiras. Uma possível explicação para esse efeito das emoções na memória está ligada à coesão semântica das palavras. Palavras com conteúdo emocional são mais bem lembradas que palavras neutras porque elas estão mais inter-relacionadas semanticamente entre si (hipótese da coesão semântica). Embora suporte para esta hipótese tenha sido encontrado em tarefas que mediram memórias verdadeiras, ainda pouco se sabe sobre como a estrutura do conhecimento léxico afeta a produção de falsas memórias emocionais. Isto se deve à relativa escassez de normas que capturem a estrutura do conhecimento pré-existente nos materiais verbais comumente usados no estudo das falsas memórias emocionais, como é o caso das listas de palavras emocionais Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM). Neste estudo, apresentamos as normas de associação entre palavras para 44 listas da versão brasileira do paradigma DRM. Respostas de associação livre foram coletadas de uma amostra de 1.042 alunos de graduação e foram usadas para estimar o nível de conectividade entre as palavras presentes nas listas DRM. Essas medidas de conectividade foram então usadas para testar a hipótese da coesão semântica. Não foram encontradas correlações significativas entre as medidas de conectividade e medidas de emocionalidade (valência e alerta). Os resultados não suportam a hipótese de coesão semântica e sugerem que, para a versão brasileira das listas DRM, a emocionalidade das palavras e seu nível de associação intra-lista são variáveis que podem ser manipuladas independentemente.(AU)

Inter-item associations for the Brazilian version of the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm / Normas de associação entre pares de palavras para a versão brasileira do paradigma emocional Deese/Roediger-McDermott

The emotional content of words can affect both true and false memory performance. One hypothesis suggests that the effects of emotion on memory stem from the semantic cohesion of these words. Emotional words are better remembered because they are more inter-related than neutral words (semantic cohesion hypothesis). Although support for this assumption has been found in tasks that measure true memory, less is known about how the structure of lexical knowledge affects emotional false memories. This is partially due to the scarcity of norms that capture the pre-existing knowledge structure of verbal materials commonly used to investigate emotional false memories, such as the Deese/Roediger-McDermott word lists. In this study, we present inter-item association norms for the 44 lists of the Brazilian version of the DRM paradigm. Free-association responses were collected from a sample of 1,042 undergraduates and were used to estimate the level of connectivity among the words present in the DRM lists. Connectivity measures were then used to test the semantic cohesion hypothesis. No significant correlations were found between the emotional measures (valence and arousal) and the connectivity measures. The results do not give support to the semantic cohesion hypothesis and suggest that, for the Brazilian version of DRM lists, inter-item association and emotionality can be independently manipulated...

O conteúdo emocional das palavras pode afetar tanto a produção de memórias falsas quanto de memórias verdadeiras. Uma possível explicação para esse efeito das emoções na memória está ligada à coesão semântica das palavras. Palavras com conteúdo emocional são mais bem lembradas que palavras neutras porque elas estão mais inter-relacionadas semanticamente entre si (hipótese da coesão semântica). Embora suporte para esta hipótese tenha sido encontrado em tarefas que mediram memórias verdadeiras, ainda pouco se sabe sobre como a estrutura do conhecimento léxico afeta a produção de falsas memórias emocionais. Isto se deve à relativa escassez de normas que capturem a estrutura do conhecimento pré-existente nos materiais verbais comumente usados no estudo das falsas memórias emocionais, como é o caso das listas de palavras emocionais Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM). Neste estudo, apresentamos as normas de associação entre palavras para 44 listas da versão brasileira do paradigma DRM. Respostas de associação livre foram coletadas de uma amostra de 1.042 alunos de graduação e foram usadas para estimar o nível de conectividade entre as palavras presentes nas listas DRM. Essas medidas de conectividade foram então usadas para testar a hipótese da coesão semântica. Não foram encontradas correlações significativas entre as medidas de conectividade e medidas de emocionalidade (valência e alerta). Os resultados não suportam a hipótese de coesão semântica e sugerem que, para a versão brasileira das listas DRM, a emocionalidade das palavras e seu nível de associação intra-lista são variáveis que podem ser manipuladas independentemente...