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. 2024 Jun;24(3):440-452.
doi: 10.3758/s13415-024-01183-y. Epub 2024 Mar 19.

Warning before misinformation exposure modulates memory encoding

Jessica M Karanian  1 , Ayanna K Thomas  2 , Elizabeth Race  2
Affiliations

Warning before misinformation exposure modulates memory encoding

Jessica M Karanian et al. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Exposure to misleading information after witnessing an event can impair future memory reports about the event. This pervasive form of memory distortion, termed the misinformation effect, can be significantly reduced if individuals are warned about the reliability of post-event information before exposure to misleading information. The present fMRI study investigated whether such prewarnings improve subsequent memory accuracy by influencing encoding-related neural activity during exposure to misinformation. We employed a repeated retrieval misinformation paradigm in which participants watched a crime video (Witnessed Event), completed an initial test of memory, listened to a post-event auditory narrative that contained consistent, neutral, and misleading details (Post-Event Information), and then completed a final test of memory. At the behavioral level, participants who were given a prewarning before the Post-Event Information were less susceptible to misinformation on the final memory test compared with participants who were not given a warning (Karanian et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117, 22771-22779, 2020). This protection from misinformation was accompanied by greater activity in frontal regions associated with source encoding (lateral PFC) and conflict detection (ACC) during misleading trials as well as a more global reduction in activity in auditory cortex and semantic processing regions (left inferior frontal gyrus) across all trials (consistent, neutral, misleading) of the Post-Event Information narrative. Importantly, the strength of these warning-related activity modulations was associated with better protection from misinformation on the final memory test (improved memory accuracy on misleading trials). Together, these results suggest that warnings modulate encoding-related neural activity during exposure to misinformation to improve memory accuracy.

Keywords: False memory; Misinformation effect; Prewarning; Prospective warning; Source misattribution; fMRI.

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Conflict of interest statement

We have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Not applicable.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Behavioral results from the final memory test. Proportion correct refers to the proportion of trials within each trial type (consistent, neutral, misleading) that were answered correctly (i.e., the number of trials in which participants selected the correct video detail divided by the total number of trials within that trial type). Error bars indicate between-participant SEs. *p < 0.001
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Whole Brain: Prewarning > No Warning. (A) Frontal activation was revealed by the contrast of prewarning > no warning for Misleading Trials – Baseline. (B) Extracted beta weights are plotted by trial type and condition. (C) Collapsing across warning condition, extracted beta weights are plotted in relation to accuracy on misleading trials on the final memory test
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Whole Brain: Prewarning < No Warning. (A) Frontal activation was revealed by the contrast of prewarnings < no warning for All Trials – Baseline. (B) Extracted beta weights from the region are plotted by trial type and condition. (C) Collapsing across warning condition, extracted beta weights are plotted in relation to accuracy on misleading trials on the final memory test
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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