Neural correlates of retrieval control in human episodic memory (360G-Wellcome-106278_Z_14_Z)

It is widely assumed that control processes help to extract task-relevant information from episodic memory. Preparatory control processes are thought to facilitate this by influencing the way in which retrieval cues are processed. Neural correlates of preparatory control processes will be obtained by contrasting brain activity elicited by cues directing participants to prepare to retrieve different types of episodic information. Neural correlates of retrieval cue processing will be obtained by c ontrasting brain activity elicited by unstudied items across different episodic memory tasks. The overarching aim of the proposed research is to investigate the extent to which retrieval control processes directly impact upon successful episodic retrieval, thus extending the study of retrieval control from the correlational to the causal. Key goals will include: i) separating EEG correlates of preparatory control processes according to the accuracy of the subsequent memory judgment, then asking whether this neural activity predicts retrieval accuracy, ii) observing whether a resource depletion manipulation decreases both EEG correlates of retrieval control processes and episodic retrieval accuracy, and iii) employing EEG source localisation to identify possible neural generators of retrieval control processes, then targeting these cortical regions with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and observing the effects on episodic retrieval accuracy.