Pavela Ryder Anthony, Haldeman Chloe, Legault-Wittmeyer Jennifer
Department of Psychology, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA 17022, USA.
NeuroSci. 2025 Jul 23;6(3):68. doi: 10.3390/neurosci6030068.
Human memory is inherently susceptible to errors, including the formation of false memories-instances where individuals mistakenly recall information they were never exposed to. While prior research has largely focused on neural activity associated with false memory, the structural brain correlates of this phenomenon remain relatively unexplored. This study bridges that gap by investigating gray matter structure as it relates to individual differences in false memory performance. Using publicly available magnetic resonance imaging datasets, we analyzed cortical thickness (CT) in neural regions implicated in memory processes. To assess false memory, we applied signal detection theory, which provides a robust framework for differentiating between true and false memory. Our findings reveal that increased CT in the parietal lobe and middle occipital gyrus correlates with greater susceptibility to false memories, highlighting its role in integrating and manipulating memory information. Conversely, CT in the middle frontal gyrus and occipital pole was associated with enhanced accuracy in memory recall, emphasizing its importance in perceptual processing and encoding true memories. These results provide novel insights into the structural basis of memory errors and offer a foundation for future investigations into the neural underpinnings of memory reliability.
人类记忆本质上容易出错，包括形成错误记忆，即个体错误地回忆起他们从未接触过的信息的情况。虽然先前的研究主要集中在与错误记忆相关的神经活动上，但这种现象在大脑结构方面的关联仍相对未被探索。本研究通过调查与错误记忆表现中的个体差异相关的灰质结构来弥补这一差距。利用公开可用的磁共振成像数据集，我们分析了涉及记忆过程的神经区域的皮质厚度（CT）。为了评估错误记忆，我们应用了信号检测理论，该理论为区分真实记忆和错误记忆提供了一个强大的框架。我们的研究结果表明，顶叶和枕中回的CT增加与更容易产生错误记忆相关，突出了其在整合和处理记忆信息中的作用。相反，额中回和枕极的CT与记忆回忆的更高准确性相关，强调了其在感知处理和编码真实记忆中的重要性。这些结果为记忆错误的结构基础提供了新的见解，并为未来对记忆可靠性的神经基础的研究奠定了基础。
