Asymmetric Reinstatement Effects in Recognition

Our experiment examined two questions: (1) Does reinstating a studied context affect recognition of an associated word, and (2) Does reinstating a studied word affect recognition of an associated context? After encoding 75 words, each of which was shown superimposed over a different 5-sec video of an environment (e.g., a playground, a traffic scene, or a grocery store), participants were asked to recognize 50 of the words and 50 of the video scenes. On the test, half of the studied words were shown superimposed over the same video contexts that had been present at encoding, and half were shown over new scenes. Similarly, videos were presented with either old or new words. Context reinstatement increased hits and reduced false alarms for words, but word reinstatement did not affect recognition of video contexts. The results suggest that the associations that bind word events with their contexts may not be bidirectional.     

Reinstatement of fear responses in human aversive conditioning

The treatment of choice for a number of anxiety disorders is exposure therapy. However, successful reduction of fear through exposure is sometimes followed by a (partial) return of symptoms of fear (return of fear, ROF; Clin. Psychol. Rev. 9 (1989) 147). Several possible learning mechanisms have been suggested to explain ROF (e.g. mechanisms related to spontaneous recovery, renewal, reacquisition and reinstatement). The present study focuses on reinstatement, which refers to the observation that mere US-only presentations can 'reinstate' previously extinguished fear responses. Although animal research has repeatedly demonstrated this phenomenon, little is known about fear reinstatement in humans. The present study employed a differential aversive conditioning procedure: after acquisition and a subsequent extinction procedure, a series of four unpredicted US-only trials was scheduled in the reinstatement group. The control group did not receive additional US presentations. A significant reinstatement effect was observed for US-expectancy ratings and fear ratings in the reinstatement group, but not in the control group. No differences were observed in a reaction time measure of resource allocation to the conditioned stimuli. These findings constitute a first demonstration of reinstatement of conditioned fear responses in humans. Implications for exposure treatment and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Reinstatement versus reactivation effects on active memory in infants

Reinstatement and reactivation are procedurally different reminder paradigms used with infants and children, but most developmental psychologists do not distinguish between them. In 4 experiments with 102 three-month-olds, we asked if they differ functionally as well. Independent groups of infants received either a reactivation or a reinstatement reminder 3 days after training, when the memory is active, but its specific details have been forgotten. In Experiment 1, we measured retention after increasing delays until infants forgot altogether. A single reinstatement protracted retention twice as long after training as a single reactivation. In Experiments 2-4, whether the reminder was the original training stimulus or a novel one differentially affected the duration and specificity of memory in the 2 procedures as well. These data demonstrate that the distinction between reinstatement and reactivation is not artificial. In addition to differing procedurally, reinstatement and reactivation differ functionally, with different memory-preserving effects.     

Reinstatement of 2-year-olds' event memory using photographs

This experiment examined 24- and 30-month-olds' understanding of photographs as reminders using a deferred imitation paradigm. The 24- and 30-month-olds visited a laboratory playroom and observed an experimenter demonstrating novel activities. Upon returning after a retention interval, half of the children viewed photographs depicting the activities they had viewed during their first visits as reminders of the event, as well as photographs of activities they had never seen. Children in both the reminder and the no-reminder groups were then asked to complete the originally modelled activities as a test of recall. Results indicate that although 30-month-olds recalled more activities than did 24-month-olds, children in the reminder condition at both ages recalled more activities than children in the no-reminder control condition. Results are discussed in terms of the development of representational understanding and long-term recall in young children.     

Failure to Obtain Reinstatement of an Olfactory Representation

It has long been suspected that attentional processes differ between olfaction and the other senses. Here, we test whether voluntary dishabituation, seen, for example, when we re‐attend to the ticking of a clock, can occur in olfaction. Participants were seated in an odorized room, where at various intervals they had to evaluate what they could smell. An experimental group had one nostril open and the other closed, except during the evaluations, so that the closed side was subject to centrally driven habituation, but not peripheral adaptation. A control group had both nostrils closed except during evaluations. Following exposure, the experimental group could not report the room's odor in either the centrally habituated nostril (i.e., that remained closed) or the nostril that remained open, while the control group could. This effect could result from a number of causes, including olfaction's unique neuroanatomy, functional constraints imposed by detecting volatile chemicals, and as a consequence of limited cortical resources, with implications for the functional value of consciousness.     

Reinstatement of episodic-like memory in rats by neurokinin-1 receptor antagonism

We previously showed that a systemic administration of the selective non-peptide neurokinin-1-receptor (NK-1-R) antagonist SR140333 increases hippocampal acetylcholine levels and facilitates long term memory. In the present study, we investigated whether systemic SR140333 has beneficial effects on episodic-like memory for unique experiences. Rats received either no injection, a vehicle injection or SR140333 at doses of 1, 3 and 9 mg/kg (i.p.) prior to the acquisition of an object memory for what, where and when. In line with previous results, untreated rats showed episodic-like memory, while vehicle-injected rats were impaired. A low dose of 1mg/kg SR140333 reinstated episodic-like memory. This result might be related to the effects of SR140333 on hippocampal cholinergic transmission and/or on the stress-response elicited by the injection procedure. Higher doses of SR140333 (3 and 9 mg/kg) induced psychomotor effects, including stereotypic behaviors and arched posture. Since NK-1-R antagonists have anxiolytic and promestic properties and induce hippocampal acetylcholine release at lower doses, they might be effective in the alleviation of the cognitive deficits and increased anxiety seen in early stages of Alzheimer's disease.     

Reinstatement Effects on Retention at 3 Months of Age

In three experiments with 56 3-month-olds, we examined the effect of different numbers of reinstatements (reminders) on long-term retention. Infants learned to move a crib mobile by kicking and subsequently received one, two, or three reinstatements. Each reinstatement was a partial training episode one-sixth the duration of original training. Presenting a single reinstatement when the memory was inactive failed to recover it 1 day later (Experiment 1), but increasing the number of reinstatements when the memory was active to two (Experiment 2) and three (Experiment 3) progressively protracted retention. Although 3-month-olds typically remember for less than 6 days, after three reinstatements they still exhibited retention 6 weeks after training. Untrained controls who received an identical regimen of reinstatements exhibited no retention. These results demonstrate that periodic reinstatements can maintain young infants' retention over long delays and that the state of the memory at the time of reinstatement is critical to its effectiveness.     

Reinstatement of fear to an extinguished conditioned stimulus.

Four experiments are reported which demonstrate the ability of an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) presentation following extinction to partially reinstate the conditioned response. These experiments are interpreted in terms of the strengthening of an extinction-reduced UCS representation. The first two experiments address alternative interpretations in terms of sensitization, reinstating the stimulus conditions of acquisition, conditioning of background cues, and stimulus generalization. Experiment 3 suggests that reinstatement is possible with a UCS qualitatively different from that used in conditioning. Experiment 4 explores an alternative extinction procedure which especially preserves the conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus association while encouraging modification of the UCS representation. The results are discussed both in terms of related empirical phenomena, such as spontaneous recovery and sensory preconditioning, and in relation to the general role of the UCS representation in conditioning.     

Reinstatement of odour context cues veridical memories but not false memories

ABSTRACT

The sense of smell has made a recent return to the forefront of research on episodic memory. Odour context cues can reactivate recently encoded memories during sleep-dependent memory consolidation [e.g., Rasch, B., Buchel, C., Gais, S., & Born, J. (2007). Odor cues during slow-wave sleep prompt declarative memory consolidation. Science, 315, 1426–1429], and reinstating the odour experienced during encoding at test results in superior recall and recognition [e.g., Isarida, T., Sakai, T., Kubota, T., Koga, M., Katayama, Y., & Isarida, T. K. (2014). Odor-context effects in free recall after a short retention interval: A new methodology for controlling adaptation. Memory & Cognition, 42, 421–433]. However, whether the impact of odour cues is restricted to the specific memories studied in the presence of the odour, or whether reinstating the odour also cues unstudied memories that are semantically related to the studied memories (i.e., false memories) is unknown. We used the Deese-Roediger-McDermott false memory paradigm to quantify the impact of odour cues on both veridical memory and false memory. Reinstating the odour presented during the study of the DRM word lists at the test phase resulted in better free recall of the studied words, but had no statistically significant impact on the number of false memories produced. We argue that odour cues influence recall of the memories they co-occurred with during study but potentially not semantically related memories.     

Reinstatement of fear in humans: autonomic and experiential responses in a differential conditioning paradigm

The present study investigated reinstatement of fear in humans using an aversive differential conditioning paradigm. Two neutral human face pictures were presented during habituation, acquisition, extinction, and postreinstatement phases. One picture served as a conditioned stimulus (CS) reinforced by an unconditioned stimulus (US) in the form of electrical stimulation (CS+) and the second picture as a control stimulus that was never reinforced (CS-). The prediction that in a reinstatement manipulation a previously extinguished fear response in humans can be reinstated in a reinstatement group by the mere presentation of three unpredicted electrical stimulations (USs) was tested. Participants in the control group were not exposed to unpredicted USs and no reinstatement effect was expected. Outcome measures included subjective US expectancy ratings and skin conductance responses. Results showed non-selective return of the fear response due to fear recovery associated with both CSs (CS+/CS-) in the reinstatement group. Unexpected fear recovery was observed for both CSs (CS+/CS-) in control participants. Results are discussed with respect to context conditioning, fear generalisation, and anxiety-related cognitive mechanisms underlying fear recovery after extinction.     

Reinstatement, floating conclusions, and the credulity of Mental Model reasoning

Johnson-Laird and coworkers’ Mental Model theory of propositional reasoning is shown to be somewhere in between what logicians have defined as “credulous” and “skeptical” with respect to the conclusions it draws on default reasoning problems. It is then argued that in situations where skeptical reasoning has been shown to lead to problematic conclusions due to not being skeptical enough, the bolder Mental Model theory will likewise make counterintuitive predictions. This claim is supported by the consideration of two of those situations, namely problems involving reinstatement and floating conclusions. It is discussed how the recent “principle of pragmatic modulation” could be a first step in order to overcome the mild credulity of Mental Model reasoning.     

Reinstatement as a method to increase the effectiveness of discipline in the school or home

Ninety first-grade boys who left their seats and played with toys in a tempting situation were assigned randomly to one of three conditions of reinstatement: minimal reinstatement, verbal reinstatement, or verbal and behavioral reinstatement. Half of each group received mild discipline, the other half, no discipline. Discipline was defined as the withdrawal of a physical resource (a marble) and a verbal rebuke. Reinstatement was defined as the detailed rehearsal (either behavioral or verbal) of the undesirable behavior sequence. After an intervening task, the boys were placed in the tempting situation again, and time before playing with some toys was recorded. Results confirmed two hypotheses and did not confirm two other hypotheses: discipline was significantly more effective than no discipline; reinstatement significantly increased the effectiveness of discipline; discipline with verbal and behavioral reinstatement was no more effective than discipline with verbal reinstatement alone. Verbal reinstatement and verbal plus behavioral reinstatement were no more inhibiting than minimal reinstatement when followed by no discipline.     

Reinstatement of latent inhibition following a reminder treatment in a conditioned taste aversion paradigm.

Reminder treatments have been shown to facilitate the retrieval of a variety of conditioned responses. Whether or not similar results would occur with an experimental paradigm which involves primarily memory for a stimulus, i.e., where no particular response is specified, is unclear. Accordingly, using Sprague-Dawley rats, we employed a latent inhibition paradigm with a long (10 days) retention interval between sucrose (CS) preexposure and sucrose-illness pairing (training). The results demonstrated a loss of latent inhibition following the 10-day retention interval suggesting "forgetting" of the CS preexposure. However, placing a single reminder exposure to the CS within the preexposure-to-training interval reinstated the preexposure effect. Controls indicated that in the absence of the initial preexposure the reminder per se did not produce latent inhibition. Thus, a reminder can reinstate a stimulus attribute (flavor representation) and explicit conditioned responses.     

Reinstatement of fear to an extinguished conditioned stimulus: two roles for context

The authors studied the role of context in reinstatement. Freezing was reinstated when the conditioned stimulus (CS) was extinguished in 1 context and rats moved to another context for reexposure to the shock unconditioned stimulus (US) and test. It was also reinstated (rather than renewed) when rats were shocked in the extinction context and moved to another context for test. This reinstatement was CS specific and reduced by nonreinforced exposures to the extinction context. Rats shocked in the context in which a stimulus had been preexposed froze when tested in another context. These findings suggest 2 roles for context in reinstatement: conditioning of the test context (M. E. Bouton, 1993) and mediated conditioning by the extinction context (P. C. Holland, 1990).     

Mental time travel ability and the Mental Reinstatement of Context for crime witnesses

Mental time travel ability marks how well the phenomenological aspects of events are mentally re-experienced during recall. The Cognitive Interview (CI) elicits eyewitness information. One of its techniques, Mental Reinstatement of Context (MRC), asks eyewitnesses to reinstate the incident’s context mentally before recall. Fifty-six participants watched a simulated crime video. Self-report measures were then taken to estimate general mental time travel ability. Participants were questioned subsequently about the video. Eyewitness performance under MRC was compared with the CI’s Report Everything (RE) technique, wherein eyewitnesses recall everything they can but with no invitation to mentally reinstate the context. There was no effect of interview condition on accuracy of recall; however, general mental time travel ability was positively associated with the amount of correct and incorrect information produced under MRC, but not RE, conditions. This is the first empirical demonstration that MRC instructions engage the mental time travel capacities they purport to.     

Reinstatement of extinguished conditioned responses and negative stimulus valence as a pathway to return of fear in humans

The present study investigated reinstatement of conditioned responses in humans by using a differential Pavlovian conditioning procedure. Evidence for reinstatement was established in a direct (fear rating) and in an indirect measure (secondary reaction time task) of conditioning. Moreover, the amount of reinstatement in the secondary reaction time task was significantly correlated with the difference in valence between the conditioned stimulus (CS)+ and the CS-after extinction. These data provide clear evidence for reinstatement and for the role of negative stimulus valence in the return of conditioned responding after extinction.