Despite the importance of memory to everyday functioning and the functioning of society, the basic processes underlying the healthy function of the human memory system are not yet fully understood. "Episodic memory" is the ability to remember the components of a particular event, such as the food one ate for lunch yesterday (in contrast to the "semantic memory" for the fact that lunch is defined as a meal eaten in the middle of the day). It can be difficult to remember the specific details of a single event especially when the same components appear in multiple different events (e.g., bread may appear in many different meals) and events often repeat (e.g., lunch is eaten everyday). The NSF-funded research project conducted by Dr. Amy Criss at Syracuse University aims to evaluate three critical components of memory: first, the properties that contribute to the ability of a cue to successfully elicit a memory, independent of the content of the memory; second, the nature of the content of the memory that is successfully retrieved and reported, independent of the cue; finally, how cues and content can interact so that a cue is particularly effective for particular content, but not for other content (for example, sometimes a smell serves as a cue to elicit a very strong memory for a particular life event, such as a high school dance). To study these components of episodic memory, Dr. Criss will create laboratory events to be remembered by adult participants. Later, memory for those events will be measured. This research will advance understanding of episodic memory by using behavioral measures of memory in adults and by building a computer model that mimics the human memory system.
This research will contribute to understanding the fundamental processes that underlie human episodic memory. Memory is the essence of a person. It dictates behavior, preferences, fears, and abilities. Everyday failures of memory are common and costs range from spending a few extra minutes searching for car keys to falsely incriminating an innocent person. Critical components of society rely on memory. The judicial system relies on testimony of memory for events as a primary basis for determining innocence or guilt. Educators judge mastery of knowledge based on the ability to remember key facts during an examination. This research has the potential to inform the criminal justice system and educational testing on the properties of effective memory cues and also has the potential to contribute to treatments of memory disorders. This project also aims to train graduate and undergraduate students to be critical and effective consumers of science both inside and outside of the laboratory.
