The brain constantly anticipates future events, relying on internal models that compare predictions with reality, adjusting for prediction error. This process not only guides our actions but also impacts the way we remember. The recent study by Javier Ortiz-Tudela et al., published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, explores how schema-driven predictions affect episodic memory at different stages of life: childhood, adulthood and old age.
In this work, the researchers used visual narratives in comic book format to create expectations about the end of a sequence of actions. Specifically, each sequence of actions could end in a predictable, neutral or unpredictable way. To explore the mnemonic (memory-related) consequences of these endings, the authors measured different components of the memory trace in various age groups. Their results support the existence of two opposing memory mechanisms: schema integration and encoding driven by prediction errors.
In the first place, our brain easily integrates those events that fit our expectations and, therefore, easily remembered by connecting seamlessly with our prior knowledge (e.g., arriving home and finding our pet in its bed). On the other hand, those events that are highly surprising are also remembered very accurately. However, they do so by a different mechanism. When we encounter an unexpected event (e.g., arriving home and finding our pet in our bed), our brain generates a prediction error that signals the need to record this new information. Despite acting in opposite situations, these two mechanisms contribute to forming new memories.
The differences observed in different age groups contribute to the dissociation of these mechanisms and reflect how these processes develop and adapt with age. This approach opens new possibilities for understanding the role of predictions in memory and their applications in education and aging-related therapies.
Reference:
Ortiz-Tudela, J., Turan, G., Vilas, M., Melloni, L., & Shing, Y. L. (2024). Schema-driven prediction effects on episodic memory across the lifespan. Philosophical Transactions B, 379(1913), 20230401.