The relationship between episodic and semantic memory has been a source of much controversy in recent years. Previous work has established the Temporal Context Model (TCM) as a viable model of episodic recall. TCM uses retrieved context to model episodic associations. Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) builds a semantic representation by using information about the contexts in which different words occur in large bodies of text to approximate their meanings. In LSA, the representation of two words becomes similar if they occur in similar textual contexts. This is reminiscent of the mediated associations (A-B, B-C) paradigm, in which A and C become associated by virtue of having been presented in a similar context (B). The proposed research examines the relationship between episodic and semantic memory using experiment and theory. Experiments study the ability of episodic memory to mimic the context-sensitive property of semantic memory. Using double-function lists (long chains of pairs, A-B, B-C, C-D, etc), we will explore the mediated association paradigm in new depth, testing specific predictions of TCM. Theoretically, TCM will be """"""""trained on"""""""" large bodies of text. The resulting semantic representation will be compared to the semantic structure predicted by LSA, the semantic structure of English, and free association norms. By applying a quantitative model of episodic recall to semantic learning, the proposed research could provide considerable insight into the bases of episodic and semantic memory.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH069938-04
Application #
7171512
Study Section
Biobehavioral and Behavioral Processes 3 (BBBP)
Program Officer
Quinn, Kevin J
Project Start
2004-02-01
Project End
2009-01-31
Budget Start
2007-02-01
Budget End
2008-01-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$209,646
Indirect Cost
Name
Syracuse University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
002257350
City
Syracuse
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
13244
K?l?รง, Asl?; Hoyer, William J; Howard, Marc W (2013) Effects of spacing of item repetitions in continuous recognition memory: does item retrieval difficulty promote item retention in older adults? Exp Aging Res 39:322-41
Howard, Marc W; Viskontas, Indre V; Shankar, Karthik H et al. (2012) Ensembles of human MTL neurons ""jump back in time"" in response to a repeated stimulus. Hippocampus 22:1833-47
Howard, Marc W; Shankar, Karthik H; Jagadisan, Udaya K K (2011) Constructing semantic representations from a gradually-changing representation of temporal context. Top Cogn Sci 3:48-73
Sederberg, Per B; Miller, Jonathan F; Howard, Marc W et al. (2010) The temporal contiguity effect predicts episodic memory performance. Mem Cognit 38:689-99
Onyper, Serge V; Zhang, Yaofei X; Howard, Marc W (2010) Some-or-none recollection: Evidence from item and source memory. J Exp Psychol Gen 139:341-64
Shankar, Karthik H; Howard, Marc W (2010) Timing using temporal context. Brain Res 1365:3-17
Howard, Marc W; Sederberg, Per B; Kahana, Michael J (2009) Reply to Farrell and Lewandowsky: Recency-contiguity interactions predicted by the temporal context model. Psychon Bull Rev 16:973-84
Howard, Marc W; Jing, Bing; Rao, Vinayak A et al. (2009) Bridging the gap: transitive associations between items presented in similar temporal contexts. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 35:391-407
Kahana, Michael J; Sederberg, Per B; Howard, Marc W (2008) Putting Short-Term Memory Into Context: Reply to Usher, Davelaar, Haarmann, and Goshen-Gottstein (2008). Psychol Rev 115:1119-1125
Sederberg, Per B; Howard, Marc W; Kahana, Michael J (2008) A context-based theory of recency and contiguity in free recall. Psychol Rev 115:893-912

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