![]() In a series of experiments, participants were asked to listen to prose passages and were afterward tested on their memory for them. In a classical study, Bransford and Johnson (1972) demonstrated the impact of prior knowledge on comprehension and memory. Behavioral Evidence Illustrating the Influence of Prior Knowledge on Memory We hereby acknowledge that differences among related terms such as conceptual knowledge, rule knowledge, associative knowledge, and schema are not being considered. This knowledge can be declarative (i.e., semantic, episodic) or non-declarative (e.g., implicit or procedural). Throughout the review, we use the term prior knowledge in a broad sense as stored knowledge and beliefs about the world that have been acquired by an individual. This developmental cognitive neuroscience perspective shall guide future investigations of age-related changes in the use of prior knowledge for remembering in brain and behavior simultaneously. In the remainder of the review, we outline a developmental cognitive neuroscience perspective that combines our understanding about changes in brain structure and function across development with behavioral findings of age differences in the use of prior knowledge for remembering. The representations built up from these processes form the basis of semantic memory, which is factual knowledge about the world, and episodic memory, which is memory bound in time and place ( Tulving, 1972). We focus on studies that examined long-term storage of memory, as prior knowledge directly influences cognitive processes that are important for learning and retaining new information in the memory system. In the following sections, we discuss both behavioral and neuroscience findings concerning the influence of prior knowledge on memory. ![]() So far, surprisingly little is known about how the interaction between pre-existing knowledge and new incoming information takes place within the brain. Despite the long-standing recognition of the important role of prior knowledge, most psychological and cognitive neuroscience experiments are designed with the implicit assumption that learning and memory take place in a tabula rasa state of the brain. In his work with children, Piaget (1929) showed that, in addition to the assimilation of new information into existing knowledge frames (or schemata), knowledge has to be updated frequently in order to adapt to changing demands of the environment, a process he called accommodation. Bartlett (1932) showed that humans, while recalling a specific event, often construct these memories based on their knowledge about the world, thus illustrating the susceptibility of human memories to errors due to their reconstructive nature. The importance of prior knowledge for memory has been introduced in the classical work of Piaget (1929) and Bartlett (1932). Growth in knowledge is one of the most prominent aspects in ontogeny and exerts its influence on memory functioning across the whole lifespan ( Craik and Bialystok, 2006). This knowledge is accumulated across ontogenetic development through experiences during which the individual detects regularities in the environment. Rather, we integrate new incoming information from the surroundings in relation to our pre-existing knowledge about the world. For future direction, we argue that, to measure age differential effects of prior knowledge on memory, it is necessary to distinguish the availability of prior knowledge from its accessibility and use.Īs humans, we do not store verbatim copies of experiences in our memory. We take the lateral PFC into consideration as well and discuss changes in both medial and lateral PFC and HC across development and postulate how these may be related to the development of the use of prior knowledge for remembering. ![]() Recent neuroscience findings point to a prominent role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and of the hippocampus (HC) in the emergence of prior knowledge and in its application during the processes of successful memory encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. In this review, we discuss the influence of prior knowledge on memory from both the psychology and the emerging cognitive neuroscience literature and provide a developmental perspective on this topic. This knowledge is used to guide behavior, make predictions, and acquire further new knowledge. ![]() Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, GermanyĪcross ontogenetic development, individuals gather manifold experiences during which they detect regularities in their environment and thereby accumulate knowledge. ![]() Markus Werkle-Bergner* and Yee Lee Shing* ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |