Reward-related memory benefits cannot be explained by post-encoding stimulus-related thought

There is an active debate regarding whether rehearsal drives memory benefits associated with awake post-encoding consolidation. In the current study, we manipulated conditions designed to encourage or discourage rehearsal during post-encoding wakeful rest to characterize downstream effects on associative memory in the context of a reward-motivated memory paradigm. To manipulate rehearsal during the post-encoding period, participants in the rehearsal group were explicitly instructed to rehearse high-reward memoranda for 15 min and then completed an incentivized mini-retrieval test.

In contrast, participants in the rest group completed an incentivized mini-retrieval test immediately, eliminating the need for post-encoding rehearsal, then were instructed to rest for 15 min. A surprise memory test occurred approximately 24 h later. We found that reward significantly enhanced item memory, replicating a large body of work.

Importantly, we found that neither encouraging post-encoding rehearsal nor self-reported time spent thinking about high-reward stimuli during the post-encoding period were related to reward memory enhancements. These findings suggest that explicitly encouraging rehearsal during post-encoding rest cannot fully explain consolidation-related memory benefits, consistent with the notion that spontaneous processes support reward memory benefits on long-term memory. The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA Benjamin Chaloupka, Matthew R. Murty Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, Garden City, USA Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan S.

Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, USA Department of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, USA The authors declare no competing interests. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material.

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