EEG-based multivariate and univariate analyses reveal the mechanisms underlying the recognition-based production effect: evidence from mixed-list design
The production effect (PE) is a phenomenon where reading words aloud, rather than silently, during study leads to improved recognition memory. Human recognition memory can be divided into recollection (recognition based on complex contextual information) and familiarity (recognition based on a sense...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
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| author | Bohua Zhang Bohua Zhang Alhassan Abdullah Minmin Yan Yongqing Hou Antao Chen Helen McLaren |
| author_facet | Bohua Zhang Bohua Zhang Alhassan Abdullah Minmin Yan Yongqing Hou Antao Chen Helen McLaren |
| author_sort | Bohua Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The production effect (PE) is a phenomenon where reading words aloud, rather than silently, during study leads to improved recognition memory. Human recognition memory can be divided into recollection (recognition based on complex contextual information) and familiarity (recognition based on a sense of familiarity). This study explored how reading aloud affects recollection and familiarity using electroencephalography (EEG) in a mixed-list design. Participants encoded each list item, either aloud or silently during the study phase and made remember/know/new judgments in the test phase, while EEG data were recorded. The behavioral results replicated the classic PE pattern and indicated that the PE was present in both recollection and familiarity. At the Event-Related Potential (ERP) level, the recollection-based LPC (late positive complex) old/new effect at test was largest in the aloud condition; however, the familiarity-based FN400 old/new effect was equivalent when comparing the aloud condition and the silent condition. Moreover, this study was the first to employ multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to decode the time course between two distinct memory strategies (aloud vs. silent). The results revealed significant decoding between 760 and 840 ms, which is consistent with the LPC old/new effect. The paper discusses both traditional theories and the Feature Space Theory based on our results, highlighting inconsistencies with assumptions regarding unconscious retrieval in the Feature Space Theory. In summary, the current results support the role of distinctiveness (enhanced memory for auditory or action information, consistent with recollection) in the PE, rather than the role of strength (enhanced memory trace, consistent with familiarity). This study suggests that enhanced distinctiveness/recollection may be a shared mechanism underlying certain advantageous memory strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-41483d42f6404fa7b1609a92e27e2d60 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-41483d42f6404fa7b1609a92e27e2d602025-02-10T14:32:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612025-01-011910.3389/fnhum.2025.15077821507782EEG-based multivariate and univariate analyses reveal the mechanisms underlying the recognition-based production effect: evidence from mixed-list designBohua Zhang0Bohua Zhang1Alhassan Abdullah2Minmin Yan3Yongqing Hou4Antao Chen5Helen McLaren6College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaFaculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, ChinaSchool of Social Work and Arts, Charles Sturt University, Thurgoona, NSW, AustraliaFaculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, ChinaDepartment of Neurobiology and Department of Psychiatry of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine of the Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, ChinaSchool of Psychology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, ChinaSchool of Allied Health (VIC), Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaThe production effect (PE) is a phenomenon where reading words aloud, rather than silently, during study leads to improved recognition memory. Human recognition memory can be divided into recollection (recognition based on complex contextual information) and familiarity (recognition based on a sense of familiarity). This study explored how reading aloud affects recollection and familiarity using electroencephalography (EEG) in a mixed-list design. Participants encoded each list item, either aloud or silently during the study phase and made remember/know/new judgments in the test phase, while EEG data were recorded. The behavioral results replicated the classic PE pattern and indicated that the PE was present in both recollection and familiarity. At the Event-Related Potential (ERP) level, the recollection-based LPC (late positive complex) old/new effect at test was largest in the aloud condition; however, the familiarity-based FN400 old/new effect was equivalent when comparing the aloud condition and the silent condition. Moreover, this study was the first to employ multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to decode the time course between two distinct memory strategies (aloud vs. silent). The results revealed significant decoding between 760 and 840 ms, which is consistent with the LPC old/new effect. The paper discusses both traditional theories and the Feature Space Theory based on our results, highlighting inconsistencies with assumptions regarding unconscious retrieval in the Feature Space Theory. In summary, the current results support the role of distinctiveness (enhanced memory for auditory or action information, consistent with recollection) in the PE, rather than the role of strength (enhanced memory trace, consistent with familiarity). This study suggests that enhanced distinctiveness/recollection may be a shared mechanism underlying certain advantageous memory strategies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1507782/fullreading aloudsilent readingLPCFN400MVPA |
| spellingShingle | Bohua Zhang Bohua Zhang Alhassan Abdullah Minmin Yan Yongqing Hou Antao Chen Helen McLaren EEG-based multivariate and univariate analyses reveal the mechanisms underlying the recognition-based production effect: evidence from mixed-list design Frontiers in Human Neuroscience reading aloud silent reading LPC FN400 MVPA |
| title | EEG-based multivariate and univariate analyses reveal the mechanisms underlying the recognition-based production effect: evidence from mixed-list design |
| title_full | EEG-based multivariate and univariate analyses reveal the mechanisms underlying the recognition-based production effect: evidence from mixed-list design |
| title_fullStr | EEG-based multivariate and univariate analyses reveal the mechanisms underlying the recognition-based production effect: evidence from mixed-list design |
| title_full_unstemmed | EEG-based multivariate and univariate analyses reveal the mechanisms underlying the recognition-based production effect: evidence from mixed-list design |
| title_short | EEG-based multivariate and univariate analyses reveal the mechanisms underlying the recognition-based production effect: evidence from mixed-list design |
| title_sort | eeg based multivariate and univariate analyses reveal the mechanisms underlying the recognition based production effect evidence from mixed list design |
| topic | reading aloud silent reading LPC FN400 MVPA |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1507782/full |
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