The critical importance of timing of retrieval practice for the fate of nonretrieved memories

Abstract

Retrieval practice performed shortly upon the encoding of information benefits recall of the retrieved information but causes forgetting of nonretrieved information. Here, we show that the forgetting effect on the nonretrieved information can quickly evolve into recall enhancement when retrieval practice is delayed. During a time window of twenty minutes upon the encoding of information, the forgetting effect observed shortly after encoding first disappeared and then turned into recall enhancement when the temporal lag between encoding and retrieval practice was prolonged. Strikingly, recall enhancement continued to emerge when retrieval practice was postponed up to one week. The results illustrate a fast transition from the forgetting of nonretrieved information to recall enhancement. This fast transition is of relevance for daily life, in which retrieval is often selective and delayed.