Is the late positive potential (LPP) a marker of emotional memory encoding and consolidation?

Poster Session E - Monday, April 15, 2024, 2:30 – 4:30 pm EDT, Sheraton Hall ABC

Hannah R. Piccirilli¹ (picchr52@westminster.edu), Eric C. Fields; ¹Westminster College

This study investigates the role of the late positive potential (LPP) in the encoding and consolidation of emotional memory. The LPP is the component of the event-related potential (ERP) that is most consistently modulated by emotion, but the cognitive function represented by the LPP is currently unclear. It is well known that emotion affects how well information is remembered, and some studies suggest that LPP amplitude predicts later memory. The present study tests the hypothesis that the LPP is related to processes that enhance memory for emotional stimuli; more specifically, we hypothesize that the LPP may represent the process by which emotional memories are “tagged” for enhanced consolidation. In a pre-registered study, we recorded EEG as participants read negative and neutral words. Memory for these words was then tested at both a short delay (~15 minutes) and a long delay (~24 hours and after a period of sleep). We hypothesize that trials with larger LPPs will be more likely to be remembered, and that the LPP will mediate the relationship between emotion and memory. If the hypothesis about tagging for consolidation is correct, we expect these effects to be more pronounced after the long delay, during which memory consolidation occurs.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Other