Name: the deese-roediger-mcdermott (drm) task: a simple cognitive paradigm to investigate false memories in the laboratory
Uploaded: 2017-01-31T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory at JoVE.com

The authors thank all members of the Sleep, Stress, and Memory Lab for their help in data collection, particularly Stephen M. Mattingly for proofreading the final manuscript.

The Institutional Review Board of the University of Notre Dame approved all of the procedures, including use of human subjects, discussed here. The preparation and the administration of the DRM task materials described below were used in a published study28, in which the effects of psychosocial stress following DRM word list encoding were assessed 24 h later.
1. Preparation of DRM Task
<ol>
	<li>Use the word lists from Stadler, Roediger, and McDermott<sup class="xref"...

In this report, the authors described a highly used cognitive task that reliably produces gist-based false memories in human subjects. It is important to note that, in the current report, the DRM task was presented in one of its simplest forms, very similar to the original protocol used by Deese1 and Roediger and McDermott2. The similarity with the original protocol used in the experiments described here has one particular exception: a long delay (24, 48 h) between encoding...

An erratum was issued for: <a href="http://www.jove.com/video/54793">The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory</a>.&#160; Additional references have been added to the References section.

An erratum was issued for: <a href="http://www.jove.com/video/54793">The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory</a>. Additional references have been added to the References section.

Erratum: The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

The Deese,&#160;Roediger and McDermott (DRM) task was initially created by Deese1, and later revitalized by Roediger and McDermott2 as a convenient means of studying false memory in the laboratory. Although some3,4 argue it should be called the DRMRS task, for the contributions of Read5 and Solso6, the most common name in the literature is the DRM task, and we call it by that name here. After a seminal paper published by Roediger and McDermott2, interest of false memory research skyrocketed (see7), resulting in over 2,800 citations of that article to date. According to Roediger and McDermott, they revived the experimental design created by Deese because there was no reliable laboratory paradigm to induce false recall, while evidence of false recognition (e.g.,8,9) did &#34;little to discourage the belief that more natural, coherent materials are needed to demonstrate powerful false memory effects&#34;2.
One such example of a &#34;more natural&#34; paradigm is the misinformation paradigm10,11. In this task, subjects are presented with a story through pictures, slides, or video. Later, misleading information is provided, and the question is whether subjects will incorporate this misleading information into their recollection of the story. The DRM task is simpler than the misinformation paradigm in several respects. DRM encoding requires only the quick presentation and learning of lists of words, either visually or aurally. Retrieval testing for the DRM task is equally convenient regardless of the particular method used. In a recognition test participants are presented with a subset of the encoded words, the critical lure words (e.g., &#39;doctor&#39;), and unrelated lure words and have to make simple judgments of whether they remember each word or not, whereas in a recall test, participants have to write down all the words they are able to remember. In contrast, free recall testing for the misinformation paradigm is impractical, as it requires time-consuming content analysis. Additionally, the DRM task does not require any manipulation between encoding and testing, as DRM &#39;false memories&#39; are spontaneously self-generated. The misinformation errors, on the other hand, are induced via external suggestions. Although both the DRM and misinformation paradigms are argued to assess false memory, newer studies have found small (r = 0.12)12 or no relationship13,14 between the misinformation and the DRM effects, suggesting that different mechanisms may be at play for each type of false memory. Moreover, the DRM illusions are argued to be a byproduct of the constructive nature of memory15, which can be considered an evolutionarily adaptive process16.
The DRM false memory effect is highly robust across studies (for quantitative reviews see 17,18), and there is considerable evidence that the DRM task is quite reliable19 (but see20). The DRM false memory effect has been found using various delay intervals, including those as short as an immediate test, and those delaying memory testing until 60 days later21,22,23 (but see 24). Warning subjects of the DRM illusion reduces, but does not erase, the effect 14,25. The DRM effect has also been found with different encoding strategies, such as changes in word presentation duration26, and can be increased by several post-encoding manipulations, such as sleep27 or stress28.
Moreover, the DRM task has been utilized by many laboratories to study false memory formation in a variety of subject populations, such as children29,30,31,32 and older adults33, and in a variety of research fields, including individual cognitive (e.g., working memory20,34) and personality differences35, neuroimaging36,37, and neuropsychology38. In spite of its popularity, however, many have argued against the generalizability of the DRM task, and whether the creation of DRM false memories is comparable to the naturalistic creation of false autobiographical memories outside of the laboratory, such as memories of child abuse recovered in psychotherapy39,40,41. Nonetheless, several studies have found that subjects that are more susceptible to DRM false memories are also more prone to autobiographical memory distortions42, fantastic autobiographical memories (alien abductions43; past lives44), and recovered autobiographical memories45.
In short, the DRM task has been a useful tool to investigate the neurocognitive underpinnings of the (re)constructive nature of memory15,16, regardless of the ongoing debate about how appropriate and relevant it is in the study of autobiographical false memories7. In the current report, the DRM task procedures are explained in their simplest form, with a focus on targeting memory consolidation processes (i.e.&#160;experimental manipulations, such as sleep and stress, occur after encoding has finished and are thus used as tools to evaluate consolidation), as this has been the focus in our laboratory. The authors refer the reader to Gallo (2013)46 for an excellent review of the DRM task, along with the different variations on encoding and testing procedures.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="905">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:247px;">Computer</td>
			<td style="width:275px;"></td>
			<td style="width:192px;"></td>
			<td style="width:191px;">No particular brand/type required.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:247px;">Headphones</td>
			<td style="width:275px;"></td>
			<td style="width:192px;"></td>
			<td>No particular brand/type required.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;">RODE NT1-A 1&#34; cardioid condenser microphone</td>
			<td style="width:275px;">Rode</td>
			<td style="width:192px;">http://www.rode.com/microphones/nt1-a</td>
			<td>recording equipment used to record the wordlists</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:247px;">Audacity</td>
			<td style="width:275px;">Audacity</td>
			<td style="width:192px;">http://www.audacityteam.org/</td>
			<td>for editing the recording of the wordlists</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:247px;">E-Prime&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:275px;">Psychology Software Tools, Inc.</td>
			<td style="width:192px;">https://www.pstnet.com/eprime.cfm</td>
			<td>for stimuli presentation and/or testing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:247px;">MS PowerPoint (optional)</td>
			<td style="width:275px;">Microsoft</td>
			<td style="width:192px;"></td>
			<td>for stimuli presentation and/or testing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:247px;">MS Word (optional)</td>
			<td style="width:275px;">Microsoft</td>
			<td style="width:192px;"></td>
			<td>for free recall testing. Any word processor application will work.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

the deese-roediger-mcdermott (drm) task: a simple cognitive paradigm to investigate false memories in the laboratory

The Deese,&#160;Roediger and McDermott&#160;(DRM) task is a false memory paradigm in which subjects are presented with lists of semantically related words (e.g., nurse, hospital, etc.) at encoding. After a delay, subjects are asked to recall or recognize these words. In the recognition memory version of the task, subjects are asked whether they remember previously presented words, as well as related (but never presented) critical lure words (&#39;doctor&#39;). Typically, the critical word is recognized with high probability and confidence. This false memory effect has been robustly demonstrated across short (e.g., immediate, 20 min) and long (e.g., 1, 7, 60 d) delays between encoding and memory testing. A strength of using this task to study false memory is its simplicity and short duration. If encoding and retrieval components of the task occur in the same session, the entire task can take as little as 2 - 30 min. However, although the DRM task is widely considered a &#39;false memory&#39; paradigm, some researchers consider DRM illusions to be based on the activation of semantic memory networks in the brain, and argue that such semantic gist-based false memory errors may actually be useful in some scenarios (e.g., remembering the forest for the trees; remembering that a word list was about &#34;doctors&#34;, even though the actual word &#34;doctor&#34; was never presented for study). Remembering the gist of experience (instead of or along with individual details) is arguably an adaptive process and this task has provided a great deal of knowledge about the constructive, adaptive nature of memory. Therefore, researchers should use caution when discussing the overall reach and implications of their experiments when using this task to study &#39;false memory&#39;, as DRM memory errors may not adequately reflect false memories in the real world, such as false memory in eyewitness testimony, or false memories of sexual abuse.

Using the procedure presented here, the authors have been able to reliably produce the DRM effect in two independent experiments; that is, subjects recall and recognize, with high probability, non-presented critical words that can be considered false memories for the &#39;gist&#39; of the word lists.
Results for experiment 1 (see Figures 1 and 2) have been published elsewhere28...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory at JoVE.com

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Here we present the Deese,&#160;Roediger and McDermott&#160;(DRM) task, a tool to study false memories in the laboratory. Subjects study lists of semantically related words (e.g.,&#160;nurse, sick, etc.), and later falsely remember an unstudied word (doctor) that represents the gist, or theme, of the word list.

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

The Deese,&#160;Roediger and McDermott&#160;(DRM) task is a false memory paradigm in which subjects are presented with lists of semantically related words ...

The overall goal of this experimental task is to study gist based false memories in the laboratory. This method can help answer key questions in cognitive neuroscience, such as how memories are not only created but transformed. More specifically how we forget the details, but remember the gist.The main advantage of this technique is its simplicity, since it's quite straight forward to prepare and conduct this task. Begin by selecting word lists with the highest probability of false recall and recognition. Next, digitally record all the words in each list by using professional equipment, an unfamiliar voice and a soundproof room.Record the word list in descending strength of association at a rate of one word every two seconds. To help participants separate each list, include a delay of 12 seconds of silence followed by a one second tone and two seconds of silence at the end of each list. Then, start the next list.Next, on the computer, drag and drop the audio file into audio editing software. Use the mouse to select the portion of audio to which silence will be applied. Then, select Edit, Remove Audio, and Silence Audio.Use Copy/Paste to apply the one second tone at the start of each list. And then, press stop to save the recording. Select file, export, and choose the file format and destination of the audio file.For the free recall task, have a blank piece of paper and pen ready. Then, select words to include in the recognition task from positions one, eight and 10 from each list that was included in the encoding task. Include all critical lure words from each list that were included in the encoding task.Additionally, include the same number of additional non presented words from other non studied DRM word lists from the same positions, one, eight, and 10 and their corresponding critical lures. Then, use experiment creation software to create self paced presentation of the words and to collect data. Use black font with a white background and reasonable font size.Finally, for the standard old new recognition test, assign separate keys to different responses, such that the Z key means old and the M key means new. Add this legend in with the presentation of each word on the screen. Begin the encoding task by having the subject sit in front of the device containing the recording of the word list and provide instructions about the task to the subject.For this cognitive task, you will be listening to lists of words. At the final word of each list, there will be a 12 second break followed by a one second tone, two seconds of silence and then the start of the next list. Pay close attention to the words because you will be tested on them at the next session.Then, have the subject put on headphones. Press play to begin the test, and turn off the computer monitor to limit any distractions. After the encoding task has ended, provide the subject with instruction for the next testing session.You will come back tomorrow at the same time, okay? Okay.Thank you. 24 hours later, begin by asking the subject to sit at a table with a piece of paper in front of him or her and provide instructions on how to complete the free recall test.This part of the task involves a simple memory test. Please write down all the words you can remember from the list you heard in the last session. You have 10 minutes to recall all the words you can.When there are two minutes left, I will let you know. Then start the timer and inform them of the two minute warning mark. Let the subject complete the test.After time is up, stop the subject. Begin by opening the recognition test within the experiment creation software. Then, have the subject sit in front of the testing computer.Provide the subject with verbal instructions on how to complete the test. You will see a word on the screen. Press Z if you hear or saw this word on a previous list and press M if you think the word is new.Answer as quickly and as accurately as you can. Then, start the recognition test, and wait for the subject to finish. Finally, debrief the subject and thank them for their participation in the study.Results indicated that the overall proportion of words recalled and recognized was higher for false critical words than for the true presented words. Importantly, recognition of false critical words was also significantly higher than recognition for unrelated foil words. Similar results in the second experiment were obtained, such that subjects who returned 24 or 48 hours later to complete the free recall and recognition test also proportionally recalled and recognized more false critical words than true presented words.Once mastered, this technique can be done in five to 30 minutes depending on the number of word lists used as well as other relevant factors. While attempting this procedure, it's important to remember that there are many variations of the DRM test. Please the review the manuscript for examples of such variations.After it's development, this technique paved the way for researchers in the field of psychology and cognitive neuroscience to explore the reconstructive nature of human memory. After watching this video, you should have a good understanding of how to appropriately perform the DRM task in your lab to study gist based false memories.

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Research

JoVE Journal

Behavior

The Crossmodal Congruency Task as a Means to Obtain an Objective Behavioral Measure in the Rubber Hand Illusion Paradigm

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a popular experimental paradigm. Participants view touch on an artificial rubber hand while the participants' own hidden hand is touched. If the viewed and felt touches are given at the same time then this is sufficient to induce the compelling experience that the rubber hand is one's own hand. The RHI can be used to investigate exactly how the brain constructs distinct body representations for one's own body. Such representations are crucial for successful interactions with the external world. To obtain a subjective measure of the RHI, researchers typically ask participants to rate statements such as "I felt as if the rubber hand were my hand". Here we demonstrate how the crossmodal congruency task can be used to obtain an objective behavioral measure within this paradigm.
The variant of the crossmodal congruency task we employ involves the presentation of tactile targets and visual distractors. Targets and distractors are spatially congruent (i.e. same finger) on some trials and incongruent (i.e. different finger) on others. The difference in performance between incongruent and congruent trials - the crossmodal congruency effect (CCE) - indexes multisensory interactions. Importantly, the CCE is modulated both by viewing a hand as well as the synchrony of viewed and felt touch which are both crucial factors for the RHI.
The use of the crossmodal congruency task within the RHI paradigm has several advantages. It is a simple behavioral measure which can be repeated many times and which can be obtained during the illusion while participants view the artificial hand. Furthermore, this measure is not susceptible to observer and experimenter biases. The combination of the RHI paradigm with the crossmodal congruency task allows in particular for the investigation of multisensory processes which are critical for modulations of body representations as in the RHI.

We demonstrate how an objective measure can be employed in the widely employed rubber hand illusion paradigm. This measure is obtained by modifying the well-established crossmodal congruency task. This task allows the investigation of multisensory processes which are critical for modulations of body representations as in the rubber hand illusion.

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a popular experimental paradigm. Participants view touch on an artificial rubber hand while the participants' own hidden ...

Irrelevant Stimuli and Action Control: Analyzing the Influence of Ignored Stimuli via the Distractor-Response Binding Paradigm

Selection tasks in which simple stimuli (e.g. letters) are presented and a target stimulus has to be selected against one or more distractor stimuli are frequently used in the research on human action control. One important question in these settings is how distractor stimuli, competing with the target stimulus for a response, influence actions. The distractor-response binding paradigm can be used to investigate this influence. It is particular useful to separately analyze response retrieval and distractor inhibition effects. Computer-based experiments are used to collect the data (reaction times and error rates). In a number of sequentially presented pairs of stimulus arrays (prime-probe design), participants respond to targets while ignoring distractor stimuli. Importantly, the factors response relation in the arrays of each pair (repetition vs. change) and distractor relation (repetition vs. change) are varied orthogonally. The repetition of the same distractor then has a different effect depending on response relation (repetition vs. change) between arrays. This result pattern can be explained by response retrieval due to distractor repetition. In addition, distractor inhibition effects are indicated by a general advantage due to distractor repetition. The described paradigm has proven useful to determine relevant parameters for response retrieval effects on human action.

The distractor-response binding paradigm is described. It can be used to shed light on the influence irrelevant stimuli, competing with targets for a response, can have on human action. Both response retrieval effects and distractor inhibition effects can be analyzed within the paradigm.

Selection tasks in which simple stimuli (e.g. letters) are presented and a target stimulus has to be selected against one or more distractor stimuli are ...

Uncovering Beat Deafness: Detecting Rhythm Disorders with Synchronized Finger Tapping and Perceptual Timing Tasks

A set of behavioral tasks for assessing perceptual and sensorimotor timing abilities in the general population (i.e., non-musicians) is presented here with the goal of uncovering rhythm disorders, such as beat deafness. Beat deafness is characterized by poor performance in perceiving durations in auditory rhythmic patterns or poor synchronization of movement with auditory rhythms (e.g., with musical beats). These tasks include the synchronization of finger tapping to the beat of simple and complex auditory stimuli and the detection of rhythmic irregularities (anisochrony detection task) embedded in the same stimuli. These tests, which are easy to administer, include an assessment of both perceptual and sensorimotor timing abilities under different conditions (e.g., beat rates and types of auditory material) and are based on the same auditory stimuli, ranging from a simple metronome to a complex musical excerpt. The analysis of synchronized tapping data is performed with circular statistics, which provide reliable measures of synchronization accuracy (e.g., the difference between the timing of the taps and the timing of the pacing stimuli) and consistency. Circular statistics on tapping data are particularly well-suited for detecting individual differences in the general population. Synchronized tapping and anisochrony detection are sensitive measures for identifying profiles of rhythm disorders and have been used with success to uncover cases of poor synchronization with spared perceptual timing. This systematic assessment of perceptual and sensorimotor timing can be extended to populations of patients with brain damage, neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson&#8217;s disease), and developmental disorders (e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

Behavioral tasks that allow for the assessment of perceptual and sensorimotor timing abilities in the general population (i.e., non-musicians) are presented. Synchronization of finger tapping to the beat of an auditory stimuli and detecting rhythmic irregularities provides a means of uncovering rhythm disorders.

A set of behavioral tasks for assessing perceptual and sensorimotor timing abilities in the general population (i.e., non-musicians) is presented here ...

The Attentional Set Shifting Task: A Measure of Cognitive Flexibility in Mice

Cognitive impairment, particularly involving dysfunction of circuitry within the prefrontal cortex (PFC), represents a core feature of many neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. Deficits in cognitive function also represent the most difficult symptom domain&#160;to successfully treat, as serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants have only modest effects. Functional neuroimaging studies and postmortem analysis of human brain tissue implicate the PFC as being a primary region of dysregulation in patients with these disorders. However, preclinical behavioral assays used to assess these deficits in mouse models which can be readily manipulated genetically and could provide the basis for studies of new treatment avenues have been underutilized. Here we describe the adaptation of a behavioral assay, the attentional set shifting task (AST), to be performed in mice to assess prefrontal cortex mediated cognitive deficits. The neural circuits underlying behavior during the AST are highly conserved across humans, nonhuman primates and rodents, providing excellent face, construct and predictive validity.

The goal of this protocol is to perform a behavioral assay such as the attentional set shifting task (AST) to assess prefrontal cortex-mediated cognitive flexibility in mice.

Cognitive impairment, particularly involving dysfunction of circuitry within the prefrontal cortex (PFC), represents a core feature of many ...

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Goal-directed behavior is often impaired by interference from the external environment, either in the form of distraction by irrelevant information that one attempts to ignore, or by interrupting information that demands attention as part of another (secondary) task goal. Both forms of external interference have been shown to detrimentally impact the ability to maintain information in working memory (WM). Emerging evidence suggests that these different types of external interference exert different effects on behavior and may be mediated by distinct neural mechanisms. Better characterizing the distinct neuro-behavioral impact of irrelevant distractions versus attended interruptions is essential for advancing an understanding of top-down attention, resolution of external interference, and how these abilities become degraded in healthy aging and in neuropsychiatric conditions. This manuscript describes a novel cognitive paradigm developed the Gazzaley lab that has now been modified into several distinct versions used to elucidate behavioral and neural correlates of interference, by to-be-ignored distractors versus to-be-attended interruptors. Details are provided on variants of this paradigm for investigating interference in visual and auditory modalities, at multiple levels of stimulus complexity, and with experimental timing optimized for electroencephalography (EEG) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. In addition, data from younger and older adult participants obtained using this paradigm is reviewed and discussed in the context of its relationship with the broader literatures on external interference and age-related neuro-behavioral changes in resolving interference in working memory.

A novel cognitive paradigm is developed to elucidate behavioral and neural correlates of interference by to-be-ignored distractors versus interference by to-be-attended interruptors during a working memory task. In this manuscript, several variants of this paradigm are detailed, and data obtained with this paradigm in younger/older adult participants is reviewed.

Goal-directed behavior is often impaired by interference from the external environment, either in the form of distraction by irrelevant information that ...

The Emotional Stroop Task: Assessing Cognitive Performance under Exposure to Emotional Content

The emotional Stroop effect (ESE) is the result of longer naming latencies to ink colors of emotion words than to ink colors of neutral words. The difference shows that people are affected by the emotional content conveyed by the carrier words even though they are irrelevant to the color-naming task at hand. The ESE has been widely deployed with patient populations, as well as with non-selected populations, because the emotion words can be selected to match the tested pathology. The ESE is a powerful tool, yet it is vulnerable to various threats to its validity. This report refers to potential sources of confounding and includes a modal experiment that provides the means to control for them. The most prevalent threat to the validity of existing ESE studies is sustained effects and habituation wrought about by repeated exposure to emotion stimuli. Consequently, the order of exposure to emotion and neutral stimuli is of utmost importance. We show that in the standard design, only one specific order produces the ESE.

The emotional Stroop effect (ESE) is the result of longer naming latencies to ink colors of emotion words than those of neutral words. This report refers to potential sources of confounding and includes a modal experiment that provides the means to control for them.

The emotional Stroop effect (ESE) is the result of longer naming latencies to ink colors of emotion words than to ink colors of neutral words. The ...

Introducing Clicker Training as a Cognitive Enrichment for Laboratory Mice

Establishing new refinement strategies in laboratory animal science is a central goal in fulfilling the requirements of Directive 2010/63/EU. Previous research determined a profound impact of gentle handling protocols on the well-being of laboratory mice. By introducing clicker training to the keeping of mice, not only do we promote the amicable treatment of mice, but we also enable them to experience cognitive enrichment. Clicker training is a form of positive reinforcement training using a conditioned secondary reinforcer, the "click" sound of a clicker, which serves as a time bridge between the strengthened behavior and an upcoming reward. The effective implementation of the clicker training protocol with a cohort of 12 BALB/c inbred mice of each sex proved to be uncomplicated. The mice learned rather quickly when challenged with tasks of the clicker training protocol, and almost all trained mice overcame the challenges they were given (100% of female mice and 83% of male mice). This study has identified that clicker training for mice strongly correlates with reduced fear in the mice during human-mice interactions, as shown by reduced anxiety-related behaviors (e.g., defecation, vocalization, and urination) and fewer depression-like behaviors (e.g., floating). By developing a reliable protocol that can be easily integrated into the daily routine of the keeping of laboratory mice, the lifetime experience of welfare in the mice can be improved substantially.

The development of new refinement strategies for laboratory mice is a challenging task that contributes towards fulfilling the 3R principle. This protocol introduces clicker training as a cognitive enrichment program for laboratory mice.

Establishing new refinement strategies in laboratory animal science is a central goal in fulfilling the requirements of Directive 2010/63/EU. Previous ...

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

This protocol describes a modified serial reaction time (SRT) task used to study implicit motor sequence learning. Unlike the classic SRT task that involves finger-pressing movements while sitting, the modified SRT task requires participants to step with both feet while maintaining a standing posture. This stepping task necessitates whole body actions that impose postural challenges. The foot-stepping task complements the classic SRT task in several ways. The foot-stepping SRT task is a better proxy for the daily activities that require ongoing postural control, and thus may help us better understand sequence learning in real-life situations. In addition, response time serves as an indicator of sequence learning in the classic SRT task, but it is unclear whether response time, reaction time (RT) representing mental process, or movement time (MT) reflecting the movement itself, is a key player in motor sequence learning. The foot-stepping SRT task allows researchers to disentangle response time into RT and MT, which may clarify how motor planning and movement execution are involved in sequence learning. Lastly, postural control and cognition are interactively related, but little is known about how postural control interacts with learning motor sequences. With a motion capture system, the movement of the whole body (e.g., the center of mass (COM)) can be recorded. Such measures allow us to reveal the dynamic processes underlying discrete responses measured by RT and MT, and may aid in elucidating the relationship between postural control and the explicit and implicit processes involved in sequence learning. Details of the experimental set-up, procedure, and data processing are described. The representative data are adopted from one of our previous studies. Results are related to response time, RT, and MT, as well as the relationship between the anticipatory postural response and the explicit processes involved in implicit motor sequence learning.

We introduce the foot-stepping serial reaction time (SRT) task. This modified SRT task, complementing the classic SRT task that involves only finger-pressing movement, better approximates daily sequenced activities and allows researchers to study the dynamic processes underlying discrete response measures and disentangle the explicit process operating in implicit sequence learning.

This protocol describes a modified serial reaction time (SRT) task used to study implicit motor sequence learning. Unlike the classic SRT task that ...

The Modified Temptation Resistance Task: A Paradigm to Elicit Children's Strategic Lie-telling

The protocol for the temptation resistance paradigm was designed to elicit 2- to 8-year-old children's strategic lie-telling behaviors. The reward of transgression was intended to be too tempting to resist, so that children's spontaneous lie-telling behavior in the presence of irreversible evidence due to the transgression could be observed. Conducted in a developmental psychology laboratory behind a one-way mirror and video recorded with a hidden camcorder, the protocol starts with a guessing game where the child is given three trials to guess the identities of hidden objects under an upside down cup. The experimenter gives hints in the first two trials to make sure the child "guess" them correctly. At the beginning of the final trial, the experimenter leaves the room briefly and asks the child not to peek under the cup. If the child could not resist the temptation and peeks, small particles previously filled in the cup would scatter on a grooved surface. Upon the experimenter's return, the child is asked if he/she has peeked. If he/she denies transgression contrary to the presence of the physical evidence, he/she is asked to explain why the particles are on the table. Three responses could be observed in the procedure, including the initial transgression, truth-telling or lie-telling behavior if the child peeked, and the strategic lie-telling behavior in the presence of the physical evidence.

The protocol for the temptation resistance paradigm was designed to elicit 2- to 8-year-old children&#39;s strategic lie-telling behaviors. The reward of transgression was intended to be too tempting to resist, so that children&#39;s spontaneous lie-telling behavior in the presence of irreversible evidence due to the transgression could be observed.

The protocol for the temptation resistance paradigm was designed to elicit 2- to 8-year-old children's strategic lie-telling behaviors. The reward of ...

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Associated word list procedures can elicit false memories in predictable ways by inducing associative processing, thus making it harder to monitor the accuracy of memories. The purpose of the method presented here was to induce false memories using lists of either semantically or phonologically related words and to assess the effects of imagery instructions on the recall and recognition of those false memories. To do this, we used a modified version of the Deese Roediger McDermott (DRM) paradigm. We adapted word lists from previous DRM studies to suit imagery procedures and created an automated presentation to present the word lists in classroom settings. We then recruited undergraduate classes and instructed some of the classes to create mental images of the list words as they were being presented, while instructing the other classes to simply remember the words. The automated presentation presented word lists to participants, one word at a time, alternating between phonologically and semantically related lists. Participants used paper-pencil recall packets to immediately recall list items, complete a distractor activity, and take a subsequent final recognition test. Often, participants immediately recalled and later recognized words that were related to the list items but were not actually presented; these are known as critical lures and indicate a false memory. The protocol detailed here describes a four-step procedure - list presentation, immediate recall, distractor phase, and final recognition - that can assess the effects of list type and imagery instruction within the DRM paradigm on memory. The automated nature of the list presentation provides the ability to systematically vary variables of interest, and the paper and pencil method of data collection affords an easily accessible method for collecting data in classroom settings. The protocol also offers options to modify the procedure to a more traditional DRM paradigm without imagery and/or list type manipulations. The use of this protocol can provide results relevant to both classroom learning and cognitive science principles.

The method presented here induced false memories using lists of related words and also assessed the effects of imagery instructions on the recall and recognition of those false memories. This protocol details a modified version of the Deese Roediger McDermott (DRM) paradigm.

Associated word list procedures can elicit false memories in predictable ways by inducing associative processing, thus making it harder to monitor the ...