The Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Enactment Effect in Associative memory

Abstract: Research have demonstrated that memory for actions is usually better following subject-performed tasks (SPT) than verbal tasks (VT) in recognition memory tasks. This superiority of SPT over VT is known as the “enactment effect” or the “SPT effect”. Previous evidence for this SPT effect in recognition memory is mostly based on item recognition, recent research for the first time demonstrated that enactment can also improve associative recognition of verb and object. Our research aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of enactment effect in associative memory. Combining ERP, Eye-tracking and the online combination of these two techniques, this research will examine associative memory by using episodic priming, cue recognition and associative recognition paradigms under SPT and VT encodings. This research will deepen our understanding of how enactment enhances action memory and also of the role of unitization in associative memory and advance both lines of research and theories of memory. This research also promises practical progress of improving human learning and memory especially associative memory.