Task-invariant networks interfere with and task-specific networks support memory formation: An fMRI meta-analysis.

Why some moments are remembered while others are forgotten involves a dissociation in large-scale brain networks. A meta-analysis of 56 fMRI studies using the subsequent memory paradigm found that brain activity linked to forgetting is consistent across different tasks, recruiting specific subsystems within the default mode, frontoparietal, and ventral attention networks—a pattern suggesting distraction or mind-wandering. In contrast, activity supporting successful memory encoding is task-specific: verbal encoding engages language-related networks, while pictorial encoding activates visuo-perceptual systems. This indicates that encoding failure may stem from similar attentional lapses regardless of context, whereas successful encoding requires precise, context-sensitive neural engagement.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Why do some moments imprint themselves in memory while others vanish without a trace? This meta-analysis identifies a dissociation in large-scale brain networks during encoding: networks associated with impairing encoding are task-invariant, whereas those supporting it are task-specific. Drawing on 56 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies employing the subsequent memory paradigm, the analysis contrasted neural activity for later-remembered versus later-forgotten trials across verbal and pictorial tasks. Using Yeo et al.'s 17-network parcellation, the results show that encoding-impairing effects consistently recruit specific subsystems within the default mode, frontoparietal, and ventral attention networks-a pattern consistent with distraction or mind-wandering. Conversely, encoding-supporting effects diverge by task: verbal encoding engages language-related networks, whereas pictorial encoding activates visuo-perceptual systems. This asymmetry suggests that encoding failure may arise from similar attentional lapses across contexts, whereas successful encoding requires precise, context-sensitive neural engagement. Taken together, these findings provide a network-level perspective on how the brain shifts between states conducive to remembering and states conducive to forgetting.