Editorial: Representational states in memory: where do we stand?

Abstract

This editorial discusses representational states in memory. For decades researchers have assessed the interactions and dissociations across memory systems and representational states using behavioral investigations, seeking for the key principles that govern them. Recent advances in neuroscience have provided the field with a new set of tools that can be employed to complement and extend previous efforts by means of assessing the corresponding underlying neural mechanisms. In an effort to move toward a more unified perspective, this research topic brought together a collection of empirical, theoretical and review articles that collectively advance our understanding of representational states in memory, as well as bear the potential to reconcile some of the differences across the models. The authors conclude by highlighting several venues for future research. Recent advances in neuroscience now enable powerful approaches that combine behavioral indices along with complementary neuroscience methods that can utilize univariate and multivariate analyses of neuroimaging data on healthy individuals, as well as transcranial magnetic stimulation and lesion studies to test and infer similarities and dissociations across the hypothesized states of memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)