Spatial context scaffolds long-term episodic richness of weaker real-world autobiographical memories in both older and younger adults.

Remembering life experiences involves recalling not only what occurred (episodic details), but also where an event took place (spatial context), both of which decline with age. Although spatial context can cue episodic detail recollection, it is unknown whether initially recalling an event alongside greater reinstatement of spatial context protects memory for episodic details in the long term, and whether this is affected by age. Here, we analysed 1079 personally-experienced, real-world events from 29 older adults and 12 younger adults. Events were recalled first on average 6 weeks after they occurred and then again on average 24 weeks after they occurred. We developed a novel scoring protocol to quantify spatial contextual details and used the established Autobiographical Interview to quantify episodic details. We found improved recall of episodic details after a delay if those details had initially been recalled situated in greater spatial context. Notably, for both older and younger adults, this preservation was observed for memories initially recalled with low, but not high, numbers of episodic details, suggesting that spatial context aided episodic retrieval for memories that required more support. This work supports the notion that spatial context scaffolds detail-rich event recollection and inspires memory interventions that leverage this spatial scaffold.

A smartphone intervention that enhances real-world memory and promotes differentiation of hippocampal activity in older adults.

The act of remembering an everyday experience influences how we interpret the world, how we think about the future, and how we perceive ourselves. It also enhances long-term retention of the recalled content, increasing the likelihood that it will be recalled again. Unfortunately, the ability to recollect event-specific details and reexperience the past tends to decline with age. This decline in recollection may reflect a corresponding decrease in the distinctiveness of hippocampal memory representations. Despite these well-established changes, there are few effective cognitive behavioral interventions that target real-world episodic memory. We addressed this gap by developing a smartphone-based application called HippoCamera that allows participants to record labeled videos of everyday events and subsequently replay, high-fidelity autobiographical memory cues. In two experiments, we found that older adults were able to easily integrate this noninvasive intervention into their daily lives. Using HippoCamera to repeatedly reactivate memories for real-world events improved episodic recollection and it evoked more positive autobiographical sentiment at the time of retrieval. In both experiments, these benefits were observed shortly after the intervention and again after a 3-mo delay. Moreover, more detailed recollection was associated with more differentiated memory signals in the hippocampus. Thus, using this smartphone application to systematically reactivate memories for recent real-world experiences can help to maintain a bridge between the present and past in older adults.

The benefit (and cost) of drawing as an encoding strategy.

Drawing, as an encoding strategy for to-be-remembered words, has previously been shown to provide robust memory benefits. In the current study, we investigated the effect of drawing on false memory endorsements during a recognition test. We found that while drawing led to higher hit rates relative to writing (Experiment 1) and creating visual mental imagery (Experiment 2), it also led to higher false alarm (FA) rates to critical lures in a variant of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. When compared with an encoding strategy requiring listing of object features (Experiment 3), drawing led to a lower FA rate. We suggest that drawing enhances memory by promoting recollection of rich visual contextual information during retrieval, and this leads to the unintended side effect of increasing FA rates to related information.

Drawing pictures at encoding enhances memory in healthy older adults and in individuals with probable dementia.

We explored the efficacy of drawing pictures as an encoding strategy to enhance memory performance in healthy older adults and individuals with probable dementia. In an incidental encoding phase, participants were asked to either draw a picture or write out each word from a set of 30 common nouns for 40 seconds each. Episodic memory for the target words was compared in a group of healthy older adults to individuals with probable dementia (MMSE/MOCA range 4 to 25). In two experiments we showed that recall and recognition performance was higher for words that were drawn than written out during encoding, for both participant groups. We suggest that incorporating visuo-perceptual information into memory enhanced performance by increasing reliance on visual-sensory brain regions, which are relatively intact in these populations. Our findings demonstrate that drawing is a valuable technique leading to measurable gains in memory performance for individuals with probable dementia.

Comparing the influence of doodling, drawing, and writing at encoding on memory.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the extent to which doodling, which we define as drawing that is semantically unrelated to to-be-remembered information, enhances memory performance. In Experiment 1, participants heard auditorily presented lists of categorized words. They were asked to either doodle, draw a picture of, or write out, each item while listening to the target words. Participants showed poorer free recall for words encoded while free-form doodling compared to words that were drawn or written, with drawing resulting in the best performance. In Experiment 2, target words were embedded in a narrative story to better resemble a real-world situation in which one might doodle. Participants monitored each auditorily presented narrative while either free-form doodling, drawing, or writing in response to the target words. As in Experiment 1, doodling led to the poorest subsequent recall for targets compared to drawing or writing during encoding. In Experiment 3, we used a structured doodling task at encoding, such that participants shaded in geometric shapes printed on paper rather than create their own doodles. Structured doodling led to similar levels of recall compared to simply writing. Creating a drawing of the words at encoding, rather than doodling, once again enhanced recall significantly. Taken together, these findings indicate that unlike task-relevant drawing, structured doodling during study provides no benefits to free recall, and free-form doodling leads to memory costs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Active Navigation in Virtual Environments Benefits Spatial Memory in Older Adults.

We investigated age differences in memory for spatial routes that were either actively or passively encoded. A series of virtual environments were created and presented to 20 younger (Mean age = 19.71) and 20 older (Mean age = 74.55) adults, through a cardboard viewer. During encoding, participants explored routes presented within city, park, and mall virtual environments, and were later asked to re-trace their travelled routes. Critically, participants encoded half the virtual environments by passively viewing a guided tour along a pre-selected route, and half through active exploration with volitional control of their movements by using a button press on the viewer. During retrieval, participants were placed in the same starting location and asked to retrace the previously traveled route. We calculated the percentage overlap in the paths travelled at encoding and retrieval, as an indicator of spatial memory accuracy, and examined various measures indexing individual differences in their cognitive approach and visuo-spatial processing abilities. Results showed that active navigation, compared to passive viewing during encoding, resulted in a higher accuracy in spatial memory, with the magnitude of this memory enhancement being significantly larger in older than in younger adults. Regression analyses showed that age and score on the Hooper Visual Organizational test predicted spatial memory accuracy, following the passive and active encoding of routes. The model predicting accuracy following active encoding additionally included the distance of stops from an intersection as a significant predictor, illuminating a cognitive approach that specifically contributes to memory benefits in following active navigation. Results suggest that age-related deficits in spatial memory can be reduced by active encoding.

Drawing as an Encoding Tool: Memorial Benefits in Younger and Older Adults.

Background/Study Context. In a recent study, drawing pictures relative to writing words at encoding has been shown to benefit later memory performance in young adults. In the current study, we sought to test whether older adults' memory might also benefit from drawing as an encoding strategy. Our prediction was that drawing would serve as a particularly effective form of environmental support at encoding as it encourages a more detailed perceptual representation. METHODS: Participants were presented 30 nouns, one at a time, and asked to either draw a picture or repeatedly write out the word, which was followed by a free recall test for all words (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, we added an elaborative processing task in which we asked participants to list physical characteristics of the objects. In Experiment 3, we probed recognition memory for the words. RESULTS: Of the words recalled in Experiment 1, a larger proportion had been drawn than written at encoding, and this effect was larger in older relative to younger adults. In Experiment 2, we demonstrated that drawing improves memory in both younger and older adults more than does an elaborative encoding task consisting of listing descriptive characteristics of the target nouns. In Experiment 3, older and younger adults drew or wrote out words at encoding, and subsequently provided Remember-Know-New recognition memory decisions. We showed that drawing reduced age-related differences in Remember responses. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that incorporating visuo-perceptual information into the memory trace, by drawing pictures at study, increases reliance of the memory trace on visual sensory regions, which are relatively intact in normal aging, relative to simply writing out or elaborately encoding words. Overall, results indicate that drawing is a highly valuable form of environmental support that can significantly enhance memory performance in older adults.

Creating a recollection-based memory through drawing.

Drawing a picture of to-be-remembered information substantially boosts memory performance in free-recall tasks. In the current work, we sought to test the notion that drawing confers its benefit to memory performance by creating a detailed recollection of the encoding context. In Experiments 1 and 2, we demonstrated that for both pictures and words, items that were drawn by the participant at encoding were better recognized in a later test than were words that were written out. Moreover, participants' source memory (in this experiment, correct identification of whether the word was drawn or written) was superior for items drawn relative to written at encoding. In Experiments 3A and 3B, we used a remember-know paradigm to demonstrate again that drawn words were better recognized than written words, and further showed that this effect was driven by a greater proportion of recollection-, rather than familiarity-based responses. Lastly, in Experiment 4 we implemented a response deadline procedure, and showed that when recognition responses were speeded, thereby reducing participants' capacity for recollection, the benefit of drawing was substantially smaller. Taken together, our findings converge on the idea that drawing improves memory as a result of providing vivid contextual information which can be later called upon to aid retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record

Learning terms and definitions: Drawing and the role of elaborative encoding.

Traditionally, students adopt the strategy of taking written notes when attending a class or learning from a textbook in educational settings. Informed by previous work showing that learning by doing improves memory performance, we examined whether drawing to-be-remembered definitions from university textbooks would improve later memory, relative to a more typical strategy of rote transcription. Participants were asked to either write out the definition, or to draw a picture representative of the definition. Results indicated that drawing, relative to verbatim writing, conferred a reliable memorial benefit that was robust, even when participants' preexisting familiarity with the terms was included as a covariate (in Experiment 1) or when the to-be-remembered terms and definitions were fictitious, thus removing the influence of familiarity (in Experiment 2). We reasoned that drawing likely facilitates retention at least in part because at encoding, participants must retain and elaborate upon information regarding the meaning of the definition, to translate it into a new form (a picture). This is not the case when participants write out the definitions verbatim. In Experiment 3 we showed that paraphrasing during encoding, which, like drawing and in contrast with verbatim writing, requires self-generated elaboration, led to memory performance that was comparable to drawing. Taken together, results suggest that drawing is a powerful tool which improves memory, and that drawing produces a similar level of retention as does paraphrasing. This suggests that elaborative encoding plays a critical role in the memorial benefit that drawing confers to memory for definitions of academic terms.

The role of semantically related distractors during encoding and retrieval of words in long-term memory.

We examined the influence of divided attention (DA) on recognition of words when the concurrent task was semantically related or unrelated to the to-be-recognised target words. Participants were asked to either study or retrieve a target list of semantically related words while simultaneously making semantic decisions (i.e., size judgements) to another set of related or unrelated words heard concurrently. We manipulated semantic relatedness of distractor to target words, and whether DA occurred during the encoding or retrieval phase of memory. Recognition accuracy was significantly diminished relative to full attention, following DA conditions at encoding, regardless of relatedness of distractors to study words. However, response times (RTs) were slower with related compared to unrelated distractors. Similarly, under DA at retrieval, recognition RTs were slower when distractors were semantically related than unrelated to target words. Unlike the effect from DA at encoding, recognition accuracy was worse under DA at retrieval when the distractors were related compared to unrelated to the target words. Results suggest that availability of general attentional resources is critical for successful encoding, whereas successful retrieval is particularly reliant on access to a semantic code, making it sensitive to related distractors under DA conditions.

The drawing effect: Evidence for reliable and robust memory benefits in free recall.

In 7 free-recall experiments, the benefit of creating drawings of to-be-remembered information relative to writing was examined as a mnemonic strategy. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants were presented with a list of words and were asked to either draw or write out each. Drawn words were better recalled than written. Experiments 3-5 showed that the memory boost provided by drawing could not be explained by elaborative encoding (deep level of processing, LoP), visual imagery, or picture superiority, respectively. In Experiment 6, we explored potential limitations of the drawing effect, by reducing encoding time and increasing list length. Drawing, relative to writing, still benefited memory despite these constraints. In Experiment 7, the drawing effect was significant even when encoding trial types were compared in pure lists between participants, inconsistent with a distinctiveness account. Together these experiments indicate that drawing enhances memory relative to writing, across settings, instructions, and alternate encoding strategies, both within- and between-participants, and that a deep LoP, visual imagery, or picture superiority, alone or collectively, are not sufficient to explain the observed effect. We propose that drawing improves memory by encouraging a seamless integration of semantic, visual, and motor aspects of a memory trace.