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Exploration of a novel virtual environment improves memory consolidation in ADHD.

ABSTRACT: Experimental evidence in rodents and humans suggests that long-term memory consolidation can be enhanced by the exploration of a novel environment presented during a vulnerable early phase of consolidation. This memory enhancing effect (behavioral tagging) is caused by dopaminergic and noradrenergic neuromodulation of hippocampal plasticity processes. In translation from animal to human research, we investigated whether behavioral tagging with novelty can be used to tackle memory problems observed in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 34 patients with ADHD and 34 typically developing participants (age 9-15 years) explored either a previously familiarized or a novel virtual environment 45 min after they had learned a list of 20 words. Participants took a free recall test both immediately after learning the word list and after 24 h. Patients who explored a familiar environment showed significantly impaired memory consolidation compared to typically developing peers. Exploration of a novel environment led to significantly better memory consolidation in children and adolescents with ADHD. However, we did not observe a beneficial effect of novel environment exploration in typically developing participants. Our data rather suggested that increased exploration of a novel environment as well as higher feelings of virtual immersion compromised memory performance in typically developing children and adolescents, which was not the case for patients with ADHD. We propose that behavioral tagging with novel virtual environments is a promising candidate to overcome ADHD related memory problems. Moreover, the discrepancy between children and adolescents with and without ADHD suggests that behavioral tagging might only be able to improve memory consolidation for weakly encoded information.

SUBMITTER: Baumann V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7722922 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Exploration of a novel virtual environment improves memory consolidation in ADHD.

Baumann Valentin V Birnbaum Thomas T Breitling-Ziegler Carolin C Tegelbeckers Jana J Dambacher Johannes J Edelmann Elke E Bergado-Acosta Jorge R JR Flechtner Hans-Henning HH Krauel Kerstin K

Scientific reports 20201208 1

Experimental evidence in rodents and humans suggests that long-term memory consolidation can be enhanced by the exploration of a novel environment presented during a vulnerable early phase of consolidation. This memory enhancing effect (behavioral tagging) is caused by dopaminergic and noradrenergic neuromodulation of hippocampal plasticity processes. In translation from animal to human research, we investigated whether behavioral tagging with novelty can be used to tackle memory problems observ ...[more]

PMID: 33293595

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Project description:Volitional exploration and learning are key to adaptive behavior, yet their characterization remains a complex problem for cognitive science. Exploration has been posited as a mechanism by which motivation promotes memory, but this relationship is not well-understood, in part because novel stimuli that motivate exploration also reliably elicit changes in neuromodulatory brain systems that directly alter memory formation, via effects on neural plasticity. To deconfound interrelationships between motivation, exploration, and memory formation we manipulated motivational state prior to entering a spatial context, measured exploratory responses to the context and novel stimuli within it, and then examined motivation and exploration as predictors of memory outcomes. To elicit spontaneous exploration, we used the physical space of an art exhibit with affectively rich content; we expected motivated exploration and memory to reflect multiple factors, including not only motivational valence, but also individual differences. Motivation was manipulated via an introductory statement framing exhibit themes in terms of Promotion- or Prevention-oriented goals. Participants explored the exhibit while being tracked by video. They returned 24 hours later for recall and spatial memory tests, followed by measures of motivation, personality, and relevant attitude variables. Promotion and Prevention condition participants did not differ in terms of group-level exploration time or memory metrics, suggesting similar motivation to explore under both framing contexts. However, exploratory behavior and memory outcomes were significantly more closely related under Promotion than Prevention, indicating that Prevention framing disrupted expected depth-of-encoding effects. Additionally, while trait measures predicted exploration similarly across framing conditions, traits interacted with motivational framing context and facial affect to predict memory outcomes. This novel characterization of motivated learning implies that dissociable behavioral and biological mechanisms, here varying as a function of valence, contribute to memory outcomes in complex, real-life environments.

Dataset Information

Exploration of a novel virtual environment improves memory consolidation in ADHD.

Publications

Exploration of a novel virtual environment improves memory consolidation in ADHD.

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