Kisker Joanna, Soethe Marius, Sieverding Jonas, Lange Leon, Sagehorn Merle, Schöne Benjamin, Gruber Thomas
Experimental Psychology I, Institute of Psychology, Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany.
Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, Institute for Neural Computation, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA.
Eur J Neurosci. 2025 Sep;62(5):e70239. doi: 10.1111/ejn.70239.
Initial findings linking Virtual Reality (VR)-based encoding to increased recollection at retrieval remain inconclusive due to heterogeneous study designs and dependence on behavioral data. To clarify under which circumstances VR-based encoding affects or enhances episodic memory retrieval, the fundamental question remains whether the encoding modality, i.e., VR or 2D-desktops (PC), functions as a source for recollection, independent of further contextual factors. Specifically, the electrophysiological correlates (EEG) of item and source memory could objectively determine whether source retrieval fosters recollection and attenuates familiarity of VR-encoded information (i.e., VR-engrams) compared to PC-encoded information (i.e., PC-engrams). To this end, participants incidentally encoded everyday objects in VR and on a 2D desktop in a within-subjects design, followed by unannounced old/new and source identification tasks. Our results indicate that encoding modality affects item memory only to a limited degree: Recognition memory performance, alongside the electrophysiological markers of item memory, i.e., the frontal and parietal old/new effects (FN400, LPC) and the theta band response, yielded comparable results for both engrams. Yet source memory differs depending on the encoding modality: The late posterior negativity indicated a shift towards recollection regarding the retrieval of VR-engrams compared to PC-engrams. This shift might result from attenuated familiarity with VR-engrams, particularly reflected in the alpha band and phase-amplitude coupling of theta and gamma band. In conclusion, encoding modality functions to some degree as a relevant source for recognition memory. Yet our results propose that familiarity is more strongly affected than recollection if contextual information beyond dimensionality is matched between encoding modalities.
由于研究设计的异质性以及对行为数据的依赖，将基于虚拟现实（VR）的编码与检索时增强的回忆联系起来的初步研究结果尚无定论。为了阐明在何种情况下基于VR的编码会影响或增强情景记忆检索，根本问题仍然是编码方式，即VR还是二维桌面（个人电脑），是否作为回忆的来源发挥作用，而与其他背景因素无关。具体而言，项目和来源记忆的电生理相关性（脑电图）可以客观地确定与基于个人电脑编码的信息（即个人电脑记忆痕迹）相比，来源检索是否促进了对VR编码信息（即VR记忆痕迹）的回忆并减弱了其熟悉度。为此，参与者在一项被试内设计中，在VR环境和二维桌面上对日常物品进行了 incidental编码，随后进行了未事先通知的新旧识别和来源识别任务。我们的结果表明，编码方式仅在有限程度上影响项目记忆：识别记忆表现以及项目记忆的电生理标记，即额叶和顶叶的新旧效应（FN400，LPC）以及θ波段反应，两种记忆痕迹的结果相当。然而，来源记忆因编码方式而异：晚期后负波表明，与个人电脑记忆痕迹相比，在检索VR记忆痕迹时向回忆方向转变。这种转变可能是由于对VR记忆痕迹的熟悉度降低，特别是在α波段以及θ波段和γ波段的相位-振幅耦合中有所体现。总之，编码方式在一定程度上作为识别记忆的相关来源发挥作用。然而，我们的结果表明，如果编码方式之间除维度之外的背景信息相匹配，熟悉度比回忆受到的影响更大。
