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Causal role of the angular gyrus in imagination-guided memory distortions

Poster Session F - Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Kennedy King¹, Himanshu Chaudhary², Ayanna Thomas², Elizabeth Race², Alexa Tompary¹; ¹Drexel University, ²Tufts University

Exposure to misleading information after a witnessed event leads to memory distortion for that event (misinformation effect). Prior research has demonstrated that the misinformation effect involves faulty reconstructive processes during memory retrieval whereby misleading information is remembered as part of an original event. Recombinatory errors of this nature are perpetuated by attributing certain details in memory to incorrect contexts during reconstruction. Importantly, such errors can be exasperated when memories harbor perceptual, semantic, or contextual similarities with one another. Difficulties with disseminating between similar contexts in memory don’t just occur for similar externally perceived memories, but can also be the result of internally generating similar contexts through imagination. For instance, the act of imagining can facilitate the erroneous recombination of information from non-occuring events when retrieving a memory causing individuals to make false endorsements about past experiences. Research suggests that the left angular gyrus plays a causal role in imagination-based integration of narratives. This project seeks to understand whether the left angular gyrus promotes the integration of source information from two conflicting narratives, perpetuating the misinformation effect, and whether the act of imagining (constructing vivid representations of the new information) facilitates the angular gyrus is this process. Using a behavioral misinformation paradigm, we plan to uncover whether inhibitory TMS to the left angular gyrus before imagining erroneous information about an experienced event reduces misinformation endorsement at retrieval. We will present initial findings and hope to benefit from feedback on our methods and preliminary analyses.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic