Event-related potential study of intentional and incidental retrieval of item and source memory during early childhood.

The event related potential (ERP) technique is a useful methodology for studying neural changes underlying memory development during childhood. However, systematic comparisons of differences in memory tasks and retrieval demands are lacking. To address this gap, the present study explored the effects of memory task (i.e., item versus source) and retrieval paradigm (i.e., intentional versus incidental) on 4- to 5-year-old children's memory performance and associated electrophysiological responses. Children were familiarized with items in a play-like setting and then asked to retrieve item or source memory details while their brain activity was recorded (intentional retrieval) or while they passively viewed images of the items with no explicit task (incidental retrieval). Memory assessments for the incidental groups followed ERP recording. Analyses of the ERP data suggested that the brain's response during intentional retrieval of source information differed from the other three conditions. These results are discussed within a two-component framework of memory development (e.g., Shing et al., 2010), and implications for future methodological decisions are presented.