Description
- Abstract:
- Declarative memory has long been known to depend on the medial temporal lobe memory system. Recently, there has been renewed focus on the relationship between the basal ganglia and declarative memory, including the involvement of striatum. However, the specific contributions of striatum to declarative memory retrieval remain unknown. Chapter 1 reviews neuroimaging and neuropsychological evidence for the involvement of the striatum in declarative memory retrieval. From this review I propose that the striatum primarily supports memory control in concert with the prefrontal cortex. I propose three non-exclusive hypotheses for the specific role of striatum and the associated value system in declarative retrieval: (1) Striatum modulates the re-encoding of retrieved items in accord with their expected utility (adaptive encoding); (2) striatum selectively admits information into working memory that is expected to increase the likelihood of successful retrieval (adaptive gating); and (3) striatum enacts adjustments in retrieval control policies based on the outcome of retrieval (reinforcement learning). These hypotheses motivate the experimental work which comprises the remainder of the dissertation. Chapters 2 and 3 describe a series of studies that combine behavioral, neuroimaging, and modeling approaches to link striatal prediction errors and reinforcement learning processes to adjustments in recognition memory decisions. These data strongly support the third hypothesis (reinforcement learning). Critically, these studies indicate that prediction errors in recognition memory are scaled relative to a value signal that is linked to the memory strength underlying the memory decision. Further, adjustments to recognition decisions transfer to free recall performance, implicating a general monitoring process as the locus of adjustments. Chapter 4 describes a series of behavioral studies which demonstrate that the value signal linked to memory strength supports re-encoding of retrieved information during memory retrieval. These data are consistent with the first hypothesis (adaptive encoding). Together, this dissertation provides foundational evidence that the striatum and associated value system make important contributions to declarative memory retrieval in support of the flexible and adaptive nature of memory.
- Notes:
- Thesis (Ph.D. -- Brown University (2016)
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Citation
Scimeca, Jason M.,
"Learning to Remember: Striatal Contributions to Declarative Memory Retrieval"
(2016).
Cognitive Sciences Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.7301/Z0JQ0ZD7
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Cognitive Sciences Theses and Dissertations
Theses and Dissertations for the Cognitive Sciences department....