Neurodevelopmental Correlates of True and False Recognition

Abstract

The Deese/Roediger–McDermott (DRM) false-memory effect has been extensively documented in psychological research. People falsely recognize critical lures or nonstudied items that are semantically associated with studied items. Behavioral research has provided evidence for age-related increases in the DRM false-recognition effect. The present event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study was aimed at investigating neurodevelopmental changes in brain regions associated with true- and false-memory recognition in 8-year olds, 12-year olds, and adults. Relative to 8-year olds, adults correctly endorsed more studied items as “old” but also mistakenly endorsed more critical lures. Age-related increases in recollection were associated with changes in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) activation profile. Additionally, age-related increases in false alarms (FAs) to semantically related lures were associated with changes in the activation profile of left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, a region associated with semantic processing. Additional regions exhibiting age-related changes include posterior parietal and anterior prefrontal cortices. In summary, concomitant changes in the MTL, prefrontal cortex, and parietal cortex underlie developmental increases in true and false recognition during childhood and adolescence.

Memory development: implications for adults recalling childhood experiences in the courtroom

“…Continued development of the hippocampus in middle childhood and adolescence also influences encoding and retrieval [66][67] . Indeed, a recent fMRI study examining activation of brain regions during memory retrieval in 8-and 12-year-olds and adults found that age-related increases in semantic memory errors were related to changes in the pattern of engagement of the left anterior MTL, left posterior parietal cortex, and the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) 70 .…”

“…In terms of retrieval, increased cognitive control lets children selectively remember and rehearse relevant information and selectively suppress or omit irrelevant information. For example, when examining retrieval of memories in children (8-to 12-year-olds) and adults, differences in activation patterns in several PFC areas (left dlPFC, rostrolateral PFC, and vlPFC) were related to age 70 , suggesting developmental improvements in discriminating relevant from irrelevant information in memory and better, more flexible use of semantic retrieval cues 74 .…”

“…In addition, retrieval becomes more strategic (e.g., discriminating relevant from irrelevant memory contents, better use of semantic cues) and the contents of what is being retrieved are more likely to be filtered by monitoring processes, as children get older. Many of these developments are contingent on changes in the PFC 75 Indeed, the development of strategic retrieval is associated with increased activation in the left vlPFC, whereas developmental improvements in estimating the accuracy of what has been retrieved are associated with increased activation of the dlPFC 70 .…”

The development of automatic associative processes and children’s false memories

“…In particular, it has been suggested that frontal and associative areas of the brain (prefrontal and lateral temporal areas) are the last to mature, resulting in the late development of higher-order executive and associative functions (see Craik, 2006, for a review). Specifically for memory and false memory development, it has been found that immaturities in the medial temporal lobe and the prefrontal cortex (left ventrolateral area) can explain age-related differences in false memories (Paz-Alonso, Ghetti, Donohue, Goodman, & Bunge, 2008). In contrast, knowledge and memory representations develop from birth and mature gradually during childhood.…”

The psychology of intelligence analysis: Drivers of prediction accuracy in world politics.

“…Conversely, data from Østby et al (2011) and DeMaster, Pathman, Lee, and Ghetti (2012) suggest that increases in the reliability of consolidation processes may be related to changes in hippocampal volume (see also Lee, 2014 andSowell, Delis, Stiles, &Jerningan, 2001, for discussion). Regionspecific activation in the hippocampus-specifically, in the anterior region-has been linked with better memory for the types of associations among stimuli that are part-and-parcel of episodic memory (Paz-Alonso, Ghetti, Donohue, Goodman, & Bunge, 2008;Ghetti, DeMaster, Yonelinas, & Bunge, 2010).…”