Electrophysiological Correlates of Saving-Enhanced Memory: Exploring Similarities to List-Method Directed Forgetting.

People regularly outsource parts of their memory onto external memory stores like computers or smartphones. Such cognitive offloading can enhance subsequent memory performance, as referred to the saving-enhanced memory effect [Storm & Stone, 2015. Saving-enhanced memory: The benefits of saving on the learning and remembering of new information. Psychological Science, 26(2), 182-188]. The cognitive mechanisms of this effect are not clear to date, however similarities to list-method directed forgetting (LMDF) have been stated. Here, we examined in 52 participants the electrophysiological (EEG) correlates of the saving-enhanced memory effect and compared our results to earlier LMDF findings [Hanslmayr et al., 2012. Prefrontally driven downregulation of neural synchrony mediates goal-directed forgetting. Journal of Neuroscience, 32(42), 14742-14751]. For this purpose, EEG alpha power and alpha phase synchrony during the encoding of two word lists were compared as a function of saving or no-saving. We hypothesized that if saving-enhanced memory was related to LMDF, saving in comparison to no-saving between lists should reduce alpha power and alpha phase synchrony during List 2 encoding, two effects that have been related to List 2 encoding benefits and List 1 inhibition in the earlier LMDF work. The results showed no statistically significant saving-enhanced memory effect and no significant effects in EEG alpha power or alpha phase synchrony. Possible explanations for and implications of these non-significant findings are discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.