Fig. 4: Differential encoding-retrieval similarity of remembered and forgotten items.

A Encoding-retrieval similarity for all to-be-remembered (TBR; top) and to-be-forgotten (TBF; bottom) items, separately for words that were later remembered (blue) or forgotten (orange) based on LTC power (n = 16). Blue, orange, and black lines indicate significant item-specific encoding-retrieval similarity of remembered items, forgotten items, and their difference, respectively. Shaded error bars indicate the standard error of the mean. The direct contrast between intentionally vs. incidentally forgotten items (i.e., TBR forgotten vs. TBF forgotten) is separately displayed (B). C Time-frequency responses during retrieval (averaged across all lateral temporal channels) for remembered and forgotten TBR (top) and TBF (bottom) words. Alpha/beta power was significantly higher for forgotten words in a late window (white outline). D Time-shifted encoding-retrieval similarity analyses showed similar patterns as the main analyses. The white outline indicates significance (cluster-corrected for multiple comparisons). Insets at the bottom represent the time windows at which effects are significant when encoding-retrieval similarity is based on the same encoding and retrieval time. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.