Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Is Necessary for Normal Associative Inference and Memory Integration
| Autor: | Dagmar Zeithamova, Daniel Tranel, Margaret L. Schlichting, Kelsey N. Spalding, David E. Warren, Melissa C. Duff, Alison R. Preston |
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| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Neural correlates of consciousness
General Neuroscience 05 social sciences Interference theory Ventromedial prefrontal cortex Prefrontal Cortex Inference Content-addressable memory Impaired memory 050105 experimental psychology 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine medicine.anatomical_structure Memory Functional neuroimaging medicine 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Psychology Research Articles 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Associative property Cognitive psychology |
| Zdroj: | The Journal of Neuroscience. 38:3767-3775 |
| ISSN: | 1529-2401 0270-6474 |
| DOI: | 10.1523/jneurosci.2501-17.2018 |
| Popis: | The ability to flexibly combine existing knowledge in response to novel circumstances is highly adaptive. However, the neural correlates of flexible associative inference are not well characterized. Laboratory tests of associative inference have measured memory for overlapping pairs of studied items (e.g., AB, BC) and for nonstudied pairs with common associates (i.e., AC). Findings from functional neuroimaging and neuropsychology suggest the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) may be necessary for associative inference. Here, we used a neuropsychological approach to test the necessity of vmPFC for successful memory-guided associative inference in humans using an overlapping pairs associative memory task. We predicted that individuals with focal vmPFC damage (n= 5; 3F, 2M) would show impaired inferential memory but intact non-inferential memory. Performance was compared with normal comparison participants (n= 10; 6F, 4M). Participants studied pairs of visually presented objects including overlapping pairs (AB, BC) and nonoverlapping pairs (XY). Participants later completed a three-alternative forced-choice recognition task for studied pairs (AB, BC, XY) and inference pairs (AC). As predicted, the vmPFC group had intact memory for studied pairs but significantly impaired memory for inferential pairs. These results are consistent with the perspective that the vmPFC is necessary for memory-guided associative inference, indicating that the vmPFC is critical for adaptive abilities that require application of existing knowledge to novel circumstances. Additionally, vmPFC damage was associated with unexpectedly reduced memory for AB pairs post-inference, which could potentially reflect retroactive interference. Together, these results reinforce an emerging understanding of a role for the vmPFC in brain networks supporting associative memory processes.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTWe live in a constantly changing environment, so the ability to adapt our knowledge to support understanding of new circumstances is essential. One important adaptive ability isassociative inferencewhich allows us to extract shared features from distinct experiences and relate them. For example, if we see a woman holding a baby, and later see a man holding the same baby, then we might infer that the two adults are a couple. Despite the importance of associative inference, the brain systems necessary for this ability are not known. Here, we report that damage to human ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) disproportionately impairs associative inference. Our findings show the necessity of the vmPFC for normal associative inference and memory integration. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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