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Under what circumstances does wakeful rest promote episodic memory consolidation?

Poster Session E - Monday, March 9, 2026, 2:30 – 4:30 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Carmen E Westerberg¹ (), Gabrielle Gaubert¹, Daniel Gonsalez¹, Yordanos Kinfe¹, Favour Kowe¹; ¹Texas State University

New episodic memories are stabilized and strengthened during post-learning consolidation. Whereas most research indicates that systems memory consolidation primarily moves forward during sleep, other research suggests that wakeful rest (WR), quiet wakefulness with minimal sensory encoding, may also facilitate memory consolidation. However, the circumstances under which WR may optimally promote memory consolidation are not well understood. In this experiment, participants (N = 95) completed two consecutive blocks. During both blocks, participants watched a 5-min video and completed an immediate memory test before taking a 15-minute break monitored with electroencephalography (EEG). During the break, participants engaged in either WR by sitting quietly or active wakefulness (AW) by playing a computer game; counterbalanced across blocks. Participants then completed a mind-wandering questionnaire to determine how attention was allocated during the break followed by a delayed memory test for the video. Half of the participants took multiple-choice memory tests, and the other half took free recall tests. Preliminary results indicate that memory declined across both the WR and AW breaks when participants completed multiple-choice but not free recall tests. Furthermore, attention was more internally focused during the WR than during the AW break, and as time spent internally focused increased, memory retention across the break increased. Additional analyses will examine how aspects of EEG, including slow-oscillatory (.5 – 1.5 Hz) and alpha (8 – 12 Hz) activity, may relate to memory change across the break. These results will help illuminate the conditions and mechanisms through which WR meaningfully contributes to episodic memory consolidation.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic