The neural mechanisms underlying test-enhanced learning: An event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study

• Considerable research in cognitive psychology has demonstrated that testing improves the performance on later retention tests, a phenomenon called the testing-effect. However, the neural mechanisms of test-enhanced learning are not well understood. The current study examined changes in functional brain networks in relation to repeated retrieval (i.e. test-enhanced learning).Participants (n=20) first studied 60 Swahili-Swedish word-pairs. Subsequently, they underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while being tested on each study item three times.Successful repeated retrieval was characterized by decreased activity in prefrontal and premotor regions and in the right caudate, compared to items not successfully retrieved at consecutive tests. Successful repeated retrieval was also characterized by increased activity in right middle temporal cortex (BA 37 & 21).Tentatively, these results imply that the benefits of test-enhanced learning in part is due to decreased need for executive processing along with strengthening of semantic representations.The current results generate novel information on the effectiveness of testing as a learning method and thus contribute to bridge the current gap between cognitive neuroscience and educational research.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Psychology

Psykologi

Psychology

psykologi

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