Word learning and semantic integration: the role of memory reactivation for building and updating the mental lexicon

KACZER LAURA; FORCATO CECILIA; PEDREIRA, MARÍA EUGENIA; LAURINO JULIETA

VIRTUAL

Congreso; 12th anual meeting of the Society for Neurobiology of language; 2020

Words are extremely malleable memories, subject to updating and modification. However, the mechanisms that allow this plasticity remain unclear. In two different studies we analyzed the contribution of memory reactivation either to the enhancement or to the updating of a word?s meaning. In both approaches, native Spanish speakers (19-35 years) learned low-frequency words within their native language (Spanish), with their corresponding definitions. In Study 1 (N=34), the Reactivation group started the following day with a reminder consisting of the learned words. The No Reactivation group, on the other hand, did not receive a reminder. Retention was evaluated 7 days after training using a cued-recall test and a semantic judgement task. In the latter task, our data show a significant enhancement of semantic recognition speed in the Reactivation group (p