Schedule of Events | Symposia

Memory under the microscope: investigating episodic memory as a multi-dimensional cognitive process

Poster Session C - Sunday, March 30, 2025, 5:00 – 7:00 pm EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Soroush Mirjalili¹ (soroushmirjalili@utexas.edu), Audrey Duarte; ¹University of Texas at Austin, ²University of Oregon

Why do we remember some events but forget others? Understanding this question is important not only for basic science but also for potential interventions that improve learning in real time in a variety of populations and real-world settings such as the workplace or classroom. Previous studies attempting to decode successful vs. unsuccessful brain states to investigate this question have met with limited success, potentially due, in part, to assessing episodic memory as a unidimensional process, despite evidence that multiple domains contribute to episodic encoding. Using a novel machine learning algorithm known as “transfer learning”, we leveraged visual perception, sustained attention, and selective attention brain states to better predict episodic memory performance from trial-to-trial encoding electroencephalography (EEG) activity. We found that: 1) this multidimensional assessment of the underlying cognitive functions engaged during episodic encoding improved prediction of successful vs. unsuccessful encoding brain states relative to the traditional approach of evaluating episodic encoding as a unidimensional process, and every previously published memory decoding study; 2) visual perception, sustained attention, and selective attention explained unique variance in decoding of successful encoding- related neural activity; 3) trials for which levels of visual perception, sustained attention, and selective attention are high and preceded by a history of high (as opposed to low) levels of these functions are more likely to be successfully remembered. Importantly, this approach could be applied to cognitive domains outside of memory. Overall, this study provides critical insight into the underlying reasons why some events are remembered while others are not.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic