Schedule of Events | Symposia

Sketchpad Series

A Cardiovascular Approach Towards a Better Understanding of Feelings of Familiarity

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 30, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Hannah Del Gatto^1,2 (hdelgatto@research.baycrest.org), Nicole D. Anderson^1,2; ¹Rotman Research Institute, ²University of Toronto

Familiarity can be both mentally experienced and physically embodied, and is impaired in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Research has previously linked familiarity to cardiovascular baroreceptor signaling. The present study utilized a frequency judgment task, which included a cardiac phase manipulation that synchronized the presentation of stimuli to either systole or diastole, to determine whether familiarity would be affected by cardiovascular feedback. Data collection is ongoing, but so far we are finding higher levels of familiarity in younger and healthy older adults compared to older adults with aMCI, and higher levels of familiarity at systole compared to diastole in the two healthy groups, but not in older adults with aMCI. These findings suggest that cardiovascular feedback may work to support the experience of familiarity.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Development & aging