An Exploration of Temporal Context in the Recollection of Previously Encoded Events

Abstract: The effect of temporal context in the encoding and retrieval of facial stimuli was examined based on behavioural and EEG data collection during a cued recall memory task. Participants were found to have greater accuracy in their recollection of serial list items encoded before a correctly retrieved facial stimulus in comparison to those encoded after a correctly retrieved facial stimulus. Additionally, participants’ accuracy in recalling the precise temporal context in which they encoded facial stimuli were impacted by both primacy and recency effects. EEG data indicated that ERPs correlates of familiarity and recollection were unaffected by the accurate retrieval of the temporal context during which retrieved faces were encoded. The retrieval of the temporal context in which retrieved faces were encoded was instead indexed by sustained late-onset negativity, previously shown to be associated with memory reconstruction. Together, these results suggest that memory reconstruction is an important underlying factor in the retrieval of temporal context within continuous episodes. This reconstruction is achieved through a combination of retrieving the preceding episode context and internal cognitive mechanisms such as temporal decay and interference. The implications of these findings with respect to existing literature on temporal recall and future research are discussed.