On the Role of Memory Representations in Action Control: Neurophysiological Decoding Reveals the Reactivation of Integrated Stimulus–Response Feature Representations

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Efficient response selection is essential to flexible, goal-directed behavior. Prominent theoretical frameworks such as the Theory of Event Coding and Binding and Retrieval in Action Control have provided insights regarding the dynamics of perception–action integration processes. According to Theory of Event Coding and Binding and Retrieval in Action Control, encoded representations of stimulus–response bindings influence later retrieval processes of these bindings. However, this concept still lacks conclusive empirical evidence. In the current study, we applied representational decoding to EEG data. On the behavioral level, the findings replicated binding effects that have been established in previous studies: The task performance was impaired when an event file had to be reconfigured. The EEG-decoding results showed that retrieval processes of stimulus–response bindings could be decoded using the representational content developed after the initial establishment of these stimulus–response bindings. We showed that stimulus-related properties became immediately reactivated when re-encountering the respective stimulus–response association. These reactivations were temporally stable. In contrast, representations of stimulus–response mappings revealed a transient pattern of activity and could not successfully be decoded directly after stimulus–response binding. Information detailing the bi ndi ngs between sti mul i and responses were al so retrieved, but only after having been loaded into a memory system. The current study supports the notion that stimulus– response integration and memory processes are intertwined at multiple levels.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1246-1258
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of cognitive neuroscience
Volume34
Issue number7
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jun 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 35552449
ORCID /0000-0002-2989-9561/work/160952335

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas