Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39027985›Full record

ArticleeLife2024

Prediction error determines how memories are organized in the brain.

Nicholas G W Kennedy, Jessica C Lee, Simon Killcross, R Fred Westbrook, Nathan M Holmes

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in eLife, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Memory erasure by dopamine-gated retrospective learning.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Nicholas G W KennedySchool of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1585-8240
Jessica C LeeSchool of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Simon KillcrossSchool of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
R Fred WestbrookSchool of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Nathan M HolmesSchool of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0592-2026

Funding

Australian Research Council DE210100292Australian Research Council DP2201036501Australian Research Council FT190100697
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

How is new information organized in memory? According to latent state theories, this is determined by the level of surprise, or prediction error, generated by the new information: a small prediction error leads to the updating of existing memory, large prediction error leads to encoding of a new memory. We tested this idea using a protocol in which rats were first conditioned to fear a stimulus paired with shock. The stimulus was then gradually extinguished by progressively reducing the shock intensity until the stimulus was presented alone. Consistent with latent state theories, this gradual extinction protocol (small prediction errors) was better than standard extinction (large prediction errors) in producing long-term suppression of fear responses, and the benefit of gradual extinction was due to updating of the conditioning memory with information about extinction. Thus, prediction error determines how new information is organized in memory, and latent state theories adequately describe the ways in which this occurs.

Indexed as

BrainFearMemoryAnimalsConditioning, ClassicalExtinction, PsychologicalMaleRatsextinctionfearlatent statelearningmemoryneuroscienceprediction errorrat

Identifiers

PMID39027985
PMCPMC11259430

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.