CO2 GROUP
Interactions between semantic and episodic memory
The project Interactions between semantic and episodic memory (PTDC/PSI-PCO/113774/2009), financed by national funds of FCT.
ABSTRACT
Since the landmark work of Tulving (1972) demonstrating a distinction between episodic and semantic memory, the relationship between the two systems has remained central. Most research has focused on characterizing the two systems, with evidence strongly suggesting that they are dissociable. Yet, remarkably less is known about how they interact. We take a multimodal approach by combining behavioural and fMRI methods to gain a better understanding of how semantic and episodic memory interplay. The first goal is to inspect the different facets of this interaction, by determining the conditions under which semantic processing supports vs. hinders episodic recollection. Another key issue concerns the role of the left prefrontal cortex (PFC). This region is often implicated in semantic and episodic analyses, but the contributions of specific PFC regions to memory remain unknown.
MAIN GOALS AND APPROACHES
Identifying the neural substrates of semantic mechanisms that influence episodic retrieval is critical to understand how people dynamically employ prior knowledge in new episodic learning. Moreover, neurological changes in aging and in a host of cognitive disorders severely impact episodic memory but often keep semantic abilities intact. Determining how semantic processing affects episodic decisions is therefore critical in coping with memory decline in these populations. We investigate the interdependence of semantic and episodic memory by probing: how semantic knowledge improves episodic retrieval; how semantic processing interferes with episodic recollection; the complementary functions of PFC subregions in long term memory.
Probing the mechanisms that underlie semantic support of episodic decisions
Substantial evidence has consistently reaffirmed that semantic processing improves episodic retrieval (e.g., levels of processing framework, semantic congruency effect). The first aim of this project is to investigate whether prior semantic knowledge supports episodic memory by enhancing semantic elaboration in healthy participants. In a series of behavioural and fMRI studies we manipulate various semantic variables such as, concept familiarity, object-scene congruency, and retrieval query format. We expect better episodic memory for conditions that promote a rich semantic processing, and propose that this behavioural effect is accompanied by differential modulation of left ventrolateral PFC, reflecting increased and distinctive semantic elaboration (Raposo et al., 2009).
Examining semantic interference effects in episodic memory retrieval
One prominent influence of semantics upon episodic memory comes from the false memory literature, where relational processing interferes with successful retrieval of the target words (Roediger & McDermott, 1995). Here, we use the Moses illusion paradigm (e.g., It was two animals of each kind that Moses took on the ark) — a very robust phenomenon, easily obtained in the laboratory and a useful tool for exploring the construction of meaning and its impact on subsequent memory. By comparing conditions under which people fall prey to the illusion and those in which people are able to correctly detect errors (e.g., It was Noah not Moses) we can disentangle semantic and episodic memory processes. We focus on the role of right dorsolateral PFC in conflict monitoring and response inhibition processes.
Establishing the functions of prefrontal cortex in semantic-episodic processing
A core question throughout the project concerns the scope of the PFC to long-term declarative memory. Inspired by the work of Badre & D’Esposito (2009), we revisit the organization of the PFC and map out the functions of specific subregions during semantic-episodic processing, with an emphasis on the ventrolateral and dorsolateral PFC. Another region of interest is the lateral frontopolar cortex that is recruited in tasks that encourage the integration of information, and hence may be relevant for the combination of semantic and episodic evidence. Additionally, we examine the correlation between seed regions in the PFC and more posterior areas, thereby capturing the co-modulation of regions, in an integrated network, under specific semantic and episodic memory conditions.
RESEARCH TEAM
Principal Investigator
Ana Luísa Raposo
CICPSI / FP-ULisboa
Research Team
J. Frederico Marques
CICPSI / FP-ULisboa
Mafalda Mendes
CICPSI / FP-ULisboa
Sofia Frade
CICPSI / FP-ULisboa
Consultant
Ian G. Dobbins
Washington University in St Louis, USA
FUNDING AND PARTNERS
The project Interactions between semantic and episodic memory (PTDC/PSI-PCO/113774/2009), financed by national funds of FCT.
SCIENTIFIC OUTPUTS
Raposo, A., Frade, S. & Alves, M. (2016). Framing memories: how the retrieval query format shapes the neural bases of remembering. Neuropsychologia, 89, 309-319. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.06.036
Raposo, A. & Marques, J.F. (2013). The contribution of fronto-parietal regions to sentence comprehension: insights from the Moses illusion. NeuroImage, 83, 431-437. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.06.052
Raposo, A., Mendes, M. & Marques, J.F. (2012). The hierarchical organization of semantic memory: executive function in the processing of superordinate concepts. NeuroImage, 59, 1870-1878. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.08.072
Raposo, A., Frade, S. & Alves, M. (2015). Memory frames: the effect of retrieval query format on source recollection. European Society for Cognitive Psychology. Paphos, Cyprus.
Frade, S., Alves, M., Marques, J.F. & Raposo, A. (2013). Encoding task and retrieval cue effects on the neural networks involved in source memory. Annual Meeting of the Federation of the European Societies of Neuropsychology. Berlin, Germany.
Frade, S., Alves, M., Marques, J.F. & Raposo, A. (2013). The interaction of retrieval cue and encoding task in source memory. Meeting of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology. Budapest, Hungary.
Frade, S., Alves, M., Marques, J.F. & Raposo, A. (2013). Efeitos da pista de recuperação na memória de contexto: um estudo de fMRI. Encontro Anual da Associação Portuguesa de Psicologia Experimental. Aveiro, Portugal.
Raposo, A. & Marques, J.F. (2012). Attributing meaning in context: an fMRI study using semantic illusions. Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. New Orleans, USA.
Alves, M., Marques, J.F. & Raposo, A. (2012). O formato da pista de recuperação influencia a memória de contexto. Encontro Anual da Associação Portuguesa de Psicologia Experimental. Lisboa, Portugal.
Raposo, A., Mendes, M. & Marques, J.F. (2011). The hierarchical organization of semantic memory: executive function in the processing of superordinate concepts. International Conference on Memory. York, UK.
Raposo, A., Mendes, M. & Marques, J.F. (2011). Executive function in the processing of superordinate concepts: an fMRI study. Encontro Anual da Associação Portuguesa de Psicologia Experimental. Coimbra, Portugal.
Raposo, A., Mendes, M. & Marques, J.F. (2011). Processing superordinate and basic level concepts: the role of executive function. Meeting of the European Societies of Neuropsychology. Basel, Switzerland.
Raposo, A., Mendes, M. & Marques, J.F. (2011). The role of L lateral PFC in processing superordinate concepts. Champalimaud Neuroscience Symposium. Lisboa, Portugal.
Sara Soares (2016). A monitorização no processamento de frases: evidências comportamentais e eletrofisiológicas.Co-supervision with Rita Jerónimo (ISCTE- Instituto Universitário de Lisboa). Master in Cognitive Science, Universidade de Lisboa.
Miguel Andrade (2015). Controlo cognitivo na memória episódica: dados de adolescentes e jovens adultos. Master in Cognitive Science, Universidade de Lisboa.
Anna Stanelou (2014). Behavioural and neural underpinnings of semantic expectation in sentence comprehension.University of Patras, Greece. Erasmus+ student internship.
João Ferreira (2013). Como é que o conhecimento influência a memória? Dados comportamentais e neuronais. Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa. Fundação Amadeu Dias/Universidade de Lisboa student internship.
Raposo, A. (2014). Memória. Dia aberto aos estudantes da Escola Secundária de São Brás de Alportel, Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa.
Raposo, A. (2010). An apple but not a fruit: the neural correlates of superordinate knowledge. Workshop on Networking Sciences at University of Lisbon: Ciências em Rede. Reitoria da Universidade de Lisboa.
Raposo, A. (2010). Bater o pé sem bater a bota: como o cérebro entende o significado das palavras. Ciência na UL – Ciclo de Palestras “Ciência em Português”. Museu de História Natural e da Ciência, Universidade de Lisboa.