Aversive learning strengthens episodic memory in both adolescents and adults

Abstract

32Adolescence is often filled with positive and negative emotional experiences that may change 33 how individuals remember and respond to stimuli in their environment. In adults, aversive 34 events can both enhance memory for associated stimuli as well as generalize to enhance 35 memory for unreinforced but conceptually related stimuli. The present study tested whether 36 learned aversive associations similarly lead to better memory and generalization across a 37 category of stimuli in adolescents. Participants completed an olfactory Pavlovian category 38 conditioning task in which trial-unique exemplars from one of two categories were partially 39 reinforced with an aversive odor. Participants then returned 24-hours later to complete a 40 recognition memory test. We found better corrected recognition memory for the reinforced 41 versus the unreinforced category of stimuli in both adults and adolescents. Further analysis 42 revealed that enhanced recognition memory was driven specifically by better memory for the 43 reinforced exemplars. Autonomic arousal during learning was also related to subsequent 44 memory. These findings build on previous work in adolescent and adult humans and rodents 45showing comparable acquisition of aversive Pavlovian conditioned responses across age 46 groups and demonstrate that memory for stimuli with an acquired aversive association is 47 enhanced in both adults and adolescents. 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58

Developmental change in prefrontal cortex recruitment supports the emergence of value-guided memory

“…In one such study, adolescents demonstrated greater reward-based modulation of hippocampal-striatal connectivity than adults, and the strength of this connectivity predicted reward-related memory (Davidow et al, 2016). However, other studies have not found evidence for developmental change in the influence of valenced outcomes on memory (A. O. Cohen et al, 2019; Katzman & Hartley, 2020).…”

“…However, other studies have not found evidence for developmental change in the influence of valenced outcomes on memory (A. O. Cohen et al, 2019; Katzman & Hartley, 2020). The influence of different motivational and reward signals on memory across development may not be straightforward — individual and developmental differences in neurocognitive processes including sensitivity to valenced feedback (Ngo et al, 2019; Rosenbaum et al, 2020), curiosity (Fandakova & Gruber, 2021), and emotional processing (Adelman & Estes, 2013; Eich & Castel, 2016) may interact, leading to complex relations between age, motivation, and memory performance.…”

Adolescent-specific memory effects: Evidence from working memory, immediate and 24-hour recognition memory performance in 8- to 30-year-olds

“…Moreover, the type of information which different ages attend to may influence working memory and what information is subsequently retained (Blanco & Sloutsky, 2019;Deng & Sloutsky, 2016;Plebanek & Sloutsky, 2017). During adolescence there is evidence of enhanced attention and memory for reinforced, rewarded and threat-related information during adolescence (Cohen et al, 2019(Cohen et al, , 2021Cohen-Gilbert & Thomas, 2013;Davidow et al, 2016;Grose-Fifer et al, 2013;Meyer & Pattwell, 2020;Pattwell et al, 2012) and a preference for novelty (Galvan, 2010;Spear, 2013). Together these findings suggest that developmental patterns in working memory performance and subsequent recognition memory may be influenced by task demands and features of the stimuli (e.g., complexity, relevance, salience, novelty).…”