EEG evidence that negative images generate increased neural recapitulation early during memory retrieval

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

Luvada R. Mayle¹, Allison F. Cline², Elizabeth A. Kensinger³, Holly J. Bowen⁴, Eric C. Fields⁵; ¹Indiana University, ²Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA, ³Boston College, ⁴Southern Methodist University, ⁵University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Behavioral evidence suggests that negative memories are often particularly vivid and characterized by increased sensory specificity. FMRI studies show greater neural recapitulation (overlap between activation patterns at encoding and retrieval) for memories of negative images vs. positive and neutral images. However, fMRI gives little information about the timing of these processes. One possibility is that this increased recapitulation occurs early in retrieval, coinciding with early ERP signatures of recollection (starting around 500 ms) and before the initial old/new decision. In this case, differences in recapitulation may influence the nature and success of ongoing retrieval. Alternatively, increased recapitulation may be a result of the way a memory is processed or attended after initial retrieval. In the present study, we used EEG to test the timing of the effects of valence on neural recapitulation. Participants viewed an abstract line drawing of an image followed by the full image. The line drawing was used as a retrieval cue during memory testing. We measured similarity in the neural response to the full image at encoding and the retrieval cue during memory testing. Initial results suggest that, consistent with previous fMRI studies, encoding-retrieval similarity was greater for negative images than for positive or neutral images. This increase in similarity for negative images began within 500 ms after the presentation of the retrieval cue and overlapped with early ERP old-new effects, suggesting rapid effects of valence on recapitulation.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic