![]() ![]() Research on educational techniques shows that “active learning”, an instructional method that stimulates student activity in class, such as making button-press responses, is more effective than passively receiving information from an instructor 1, 2. However, the extent to which actions influence episodic memory encoding is currently unknown. Many of the episodic memories we form in daily life are encoded whilst we are physically active. We therefore provide converging evidence that action boosts episodic memory encoding via a noradrenergic mechanism. A final experiment, replicated in two independent samples, confirmed a novel prediction derived from these data that emotionally aversive stimuli, which recruit the noradrenergic system, modulate the mnemonic advantage conferred by Go-responses relative to neutral stimuli. ![]() ![]() Functional magnetic resonance imaging, and pupil diameter as a proxy measure for LC-noradrenaline transmission, indicate increased encoding-related LC activity during action. Here we demonstrate, across seven experiments, that action (Go-response) enhances episodic encoding for stimuli unrelated to the action itself, compared to action inhibition (NoGo). Noradrenaline is also known to enhance episodic encoding, suggesting that action could improve memory via LC engagement. Goal-directed movement engages the locus coeruleus (LC), the main source of noradrenaline in the brain. However, how actions influence memory formation remains poorly understood. We are constantly interacting with our environment whilst we encode memories. ![]()
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