Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Value-Directed Remembering

Every day, we encounter an enormous stream of incoming information and are able to selectively remember most of the key events and things that are most important and valuable to us, while simultaneously forgetting much of the rest. This project addresses the basis for our human ability to assign value to information, and to make valuable information a priority in memory.

The project also addresses the role that different parts of the brain play in storing this information. Unfortunately, the ability to prioritize is sometimes impaired in older adults who may also have difficulties with recall and memory. The research in this award develops new ways to help people use their memory more efficiently by focusing on what matters most and by developing memory skills that will help to improve memory.

This research tests the hypothesis that people learn valuable information by two independent mechanisms: (1) automatic memorization of highly salient and important stimuli, and (2) more effective, attention-driven strategies to commit information to memory that is believed to be important. This hypothesis will be tested by using functional magnetic resonance brain imaging that will allow visualization of which brain areas are active under two conditions: (1) when people are presented with valuable information and remember it without intending to, and (2) when people intentionally try to learn information that is valuable.

To explore the role of different brain areas, different components of the brain network for memory are stimulated using non-invasive, transcranial direct current stimulation to enhance the specific learning of valuable information. To study the effects of aging on recall and remembering, the investigators compare memory in younger and older adults to determine whether the use of strategies (compared to more automatic learning of high value items) comes into play differently for the elderly.

This research yields a deeper understanding of the role of value in shaping our memories and of the key brain networks involved in this process. The translational impact of this understanding will benefit society by improving behavioral and neurobiological methods to enhance value-directed remembering.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.