Increase in physiological inhibitory control results in better suppression of unwanted memories

Abstract

Forgetting or suppressing a memory with unwanted content is just as important as remembering a desirable one. In addition to emphasizing the role of inhibitory control in memory suppression processes neuropsychological studies have indicated that an intentional inhibition targeting a brain area may exert its inhibitory effects in seemingly unrelated areas through a common inhibitory network. In this study we aimed to investigate whether the suppression of unwanted memories can be strengthened by recruiting an inhibitory task that can be simultaneously performed with a memory suppression task. Therefore we manipulated the level of urinary urgency-induced inhibition of participants (N = 180) and test its effect on the suppression of unwanted memories using a Think/No-Think (T/NT) task. The results of our study indicated that individuals with high levels of urinary urgency demonstrated greater memory suppression compared to those with low urinary urgency. Findings and their implications are discussed within the context of cognitive and clinical perspectives and recommendations are made for future research.