May the source be with you! Electrophysiological correlates of retrieval orientation are associated with source memory performance

• Published in: Brain and cognition 2020-12, Vol.146, p.105635-105635, Article 105635
• Main Authors: Meßmer, Julia A., Weigl, Michael, Li, Juan, Mecklinger, Axel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electroencephalography; Episodic memory; Event-related potentials; Event-Related Potentials (ERPs); Evoked Potentials; Humans; Information processing; Memory; Mental Recall; Orientation; Reaction Time; Retrieval orientation; Self-relevance
• ISSN: 0278-2626; 1090-2147
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105635

•Non-target retrieval in exclusion task confounds retrieval orientation (RO) ERPs.•Use of source memory task in the current study avoids such confounds.•Present frontal RO ERP effect may reflect search for self-generated information.•Larger RO ERPs are associated with better source memory performance. Successful source memory retrieval is assumed to rely on intact preretrieval processes, such as retrieval orientation (RO). RO is the specialized processing of retrieval cues, depending on the type of information, memory is searched for. In a previous study, a positive frontal slow wave RO ERP effect was interpreted as reflecting memory search for self-relevant information. However, such a functional interpretation is hampered by the use of retrieval strategies as a consequence of which target source information can be indirectly inferred from the correct classification of non-target source information. To overcome this limitation, the present study compared two types of source information (i.e. color or character information) by asking participants to remember details within each source type and thus enforcing the selective retrieval of target information. Consistent with previous research, a positive frontal ERP component (600–800 ms post-stimulus) differentiated between correct rejections in both tasks, probably reflecting memory search for self-relevant information. Moreover, the RO ERP effect was associated with better source memory performance, providing evidence for the beneficial effect of ROs for memory retrieval. This relationship might be covered in memory exclusion tasks due to non-target retrieval.