2-031 - What happens after encoding? Children’s consolidation and integration of semantic memories

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Semantic memories are the cognitive foundation for understanding the world around us. Although memory researchers have made great strides in characterizing the content of children’s semantic memories, one limitation of this work is that children’s performance is commonly assessed immediately after training. As a result, we lack an understanding of how the consolidation and integration of information that occurs after training contributes to forming long-lasting memories. To address these gaps in the knowledge base, we focus on changes in semantic memories across delays. Presentation 1 explores the effect of sleep on consolidation by investigating two-year-old children’s memory for activity sequences (e.g., making cookies) immediately after encoding and after a delay during which children do or do not nap. Results indicate that napping promotes retrieval of sequences and that this advantage persisted 24 hours after encoding. Presentation 2 focuses on the consolidation of word learning in preschool-age children with and without language impairment. Children’s ability to retrieve word forms when shown trained objects was tested 10 minutes and 2-3 days after training. Both groups of children showed the same pattern, increased performance in word form tests after the delay. Presentation 3 identifies developmental and individual differences in the ability of preschool, elementary, and college-age students to integrate information presented during different learning episodes. The final discussion will outline the ways in which neuro-cognitive developmental research on semantic memory can inform clinical and educational practice.

Sub Unit

• Attention, Learning, Memory

Chair

• Katherine Gordon, University of Iowa

Discussant

• Haley Vlach, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Individual Presentations

• Memory consolidation over sleep in early childhood - Presenting Author: Rebecca Spencer, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Carolina Campanella, University of Massachusetts

• Consolidation of word learning in preschool-age children with and without language impairment - Presenting Author: Katherine Gordon, University of Iowa; Karla McGregor, University of Iowa

• Linking lessons: Integration of separate yet related episodes of new learning to build a knowledge base - Presenting Author: Patricia J. Bauer, Emory University