Rest-related memory benefits cannot be explained by post-encoding rehearsal

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

Benjamin Chaloupka^1,2 (bchaloup@uoregon.edu), Matthew Fain^1,2, Emily Cowan³, Arielle Tambini^4,5, Vishnu Murty^1,2; ¹Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, ²Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, ³Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, ⁴Department of Psychiatry, New York University, ⁵Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research

There is an active debate regarding the role of rehearsal on memory benefits due to awake post-encoding consolidation. In the current study, we directly manipulated rehearsal during post-encoding wakeful rest to characterize downstream effects on associative memory in the context of a reward-motivated memory paradigm. To manipulate rehearsal during the post-encoding period, participants in the rehearsal group were explicitly instructed to rehearse high-reward memoranda for 15 minutes and then completed an incentivized mini-retrieval test. In contrast, participants in the rest group completed an incentivized mini-retrieval test immediately, eliminating the need to rehearse, then were instructed to rest for 15 minutes. A surprise memory test occurred approximately 24 hours later. We found that reward significantly enhanced item memory, replicating a large body of work. Importantly, we found that neither encouraging post-encoding rehearsal nor self-reported time spent rehearsing high-reward stimuli during the post-encoding period were related to reward memory enhancements. These findings suggest that active rehearsal during post-encoding rest is not solely driving consolidation-related memory benefits, consistent with the notion that endogenous processes support reward memory benefits on long-term memory.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic