Cognitive mechanisms of aversive prediction error-induced memory enhancements.

= 355) estimated aversive shock probabilities after trial-unique stimuli. Physiological arousal and explicit PEs were measured during encoding to predict recognition memory tested either immediately after encoding (Experiment 3) or 24 hr later (Experiments 1-4). Our results show that the retroactive memory enhancement induced by PEs may extend back longer than previously assumed, impacting stimuli presented 10 s before the PE. Furthermore, PE-driven memory enhancement extends beyond predictive stimuli preceding the PE event to those encountered afterward. Importantly, our findings reveal that PE-related memory enhancement for stimuli preceding the PE event is specific to predictive stimuli, with uninformative stimuli not benefiting from PEs and even interfering with the PE-driven memory enhancement. This pattern demonstrates that PE effects are not unspecific but that PEs enhance memory for predictive stimuli encountered around a PE event. Notably, memory-enhancing effects of PEs persisted even when controlling for changes in arousal. These findings provide insights into the cognitive mechanisms of PE-induced enhancements of memory, with potential implications for understanding aberrant emotional memory in fear-related disorders. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).