Schedule of Events | Search Abstracts | Invited Symposia | Symposia | Poster Sessions | Data Blitz

No Evidence for a Benefit of Theta Band Visual Entrainment on Scene Recognition Memory

Poster Session D - Monday, March 9, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Savannah Tremblay^1,2 (), Graham Flick^1,2, Ariana Giuliano^1,2, Rosanna K. Olsen^1,2; ¹Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, ²University of Toronto

Previous work has demonstrated that the neural activity in the theta band (3-8Hz) supports memory processes, with evidence suggesting that low theta may be related to successful recognition, while high theta supports interference resolution. Modulating theta activity through non-invasive visual entrainment may also allow us to influence memory. Research investigating theta entrainment to enhance memory has yielded mixed results regarding its effectiveness. Here, we asked two questions: (1) does visual entrainment improve memory retrieval, compared to a no-flicker control? And (2), does entrainment at 3, 7.5, or 10Hz differentially affect memory? Participants studied 120 scenes while providing indoor/outdoor judgements. Afterwards, participants completed a recognition memory task where they were presented with the 120 studied scenes and 60 novel scenes. During the memory test, scenes were presented with background visual flickers at 3, 7.5, or 10Hz to induce entrainment, along with a no-flicker control condition. In Experiment 1, flicker and no-flicker trials were split across two blocks, with block order counter-balanced, whereas Experiment 2 interweaved all trial types. Across both experiments, we failed to find evidence of an entrainment effect on memory. In the blocked design, entrainment at any frequency lowered performance compared to the no-flicker condition, when the flicker block was second, suggesting that low-frequency entrainment might interfere with recognition when participants are fatigued. Overall, we failed to find evidence that entrainment benefits recognition memory when visual flickers are applied during memory retrieval.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic