Humans accumulate knowledge throughout their entire lives. In what ways does this accumulation of knowledge influence learning of new information? Are there age-related differences in the way prior knowledge is leveraged for remembering new information? We review studies that have investigated these questions, focusing on those that have used the…

The ability to generate memories that persist throughout a lifetime (that is, memory persistence) emerges in early development across species. Although it has been shown that persistent fear memories emerge between late infancy and adolescence in mice, it is unclear exactly when this transition takes place, and whether two major fear conditioning…

Several studies have demonstrated that individual differences in processing speed fully mediate the association between age and intelligence, whereas the association between processing speed and intelligence cannot be explained by age differences. Because measures of processing speed reflect a plethora of cognitive and motivational processes, it…

Functional connectivity within and between Intrinsic Connectivity Networks (ICNs) transforms over development and is thought to support high order cognitive functions. But how variable is this process, and does it diverge with altered cognitive development? We investigated age-related changes in integration and segregation within and between ICNs…

Objective: The current study examined the association between subjective and objective cognitive measures and alcohol use in college students. Objective cognitive impairment is associated with alcohol use, however subjective cognitive impairment remains understudied in at-risk populations. Participants: Data were collected from 140 undergraduate…

The basolateral complex of amygdala (BLA) processes emotionally arousing aversive and rewarding experiences. The BLA is critical for acquisition and storage of threat-based memories and the modulation of the consolidation of arousing explicit memories, that is, the memories that are encoded and stored by the medial temporal lobe. In addition, in…

The association between physical fitness and age-related differences in cognition and brain structure has been studied fairly extensively during development and aging, yet comparatively less in young adulthood. The current study examined 1,195 young adults aged 22 to 36 (54% female; 67% Caucasian) to better understand associations between physical…

The hippocampal formation of the brain plays a crucial role in declarative learning and memory while at the same time being particularly susceptible to environmental influences. Education requires a well-functioning hippocampus, but may also influence the development of this brain structure. Understanding these bidirectional influences may have…

The neural bases of cognition may be greatly informed by relating temporally defined developmental changes in behavior with concurrent alterations in neural function. A robust improvement in performance in spatial learning and memory tasks occurs at 3 wk of age in rodents. We reported that the developmental increase of spontaneous alternation in a…

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a critical role in complex brain functions including decision-making, integration of emotional, and cognitive aspects in memory processing and memory consolidation. Because relatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying its development, we quantified rat mPFC basal expression levels…

Few studies have compared interference-based forgetting between item versus associative memory. The memory-system dependent forgetting hypothesis (Hardt, Nader, & Nadel, 2013) predicts that effects of interference on associative memory should be minimal because its hippocampal representation allows pattern separation even of highly similar…

Individuals with disorders of the corpus callosum (DCC) may have subtle cognitive differences. Historically, confabulation has been associated with DCC. Therapies to mitigate confabulation is a newly emerging field. This study explores the possible educational implications that those with DCC may experience with confabulation. The community of…

Sleep spindles are related to sleep-dependent memory consolidation and general cognitive abilities. However, they undergo drastic maturational changes during adolescence. Here we used a longitudinal approach (across 7 years) to explore whether developmental changes in sleep spindle density can explain individual differences in sleep-dependent…

Most tasks test memory within the same day, however, most forgetting occurs after 24 h. Further, testing memory for simple words or objects does not mimic real-world memory experiences. We designed a memory task showing participants video clips of everyday kinds of experiences, including positive, negative, and neutral stimuli, and tested memory…

Development and sex differentiation impart an organizational influence on the neuroanatomy and behavior of mammalian species. Prior studies suggest that brain regions associated with fear motivated defensive behavior undergo a protracted and sex-dependent development. Outside of adult animals, evidence for developmental sex differences in…