Figure 1. Experiment design.

During Study, subjects viewed objects in random locations on a scene background (Remote Context). During Refresh, subjects studied centrally presented faces on a gray background. Before each face onset, subjects completed a Passive or Active reactivation task with the studied objects on a different scene background (Proximal Context). In the Passive condition (depicted in top panel), subjects moved the object to a predetermined location. In the Active condition (shown in bottom panel), subjects recalled the object's location and then moved it accordingly (recall was always inaccurate to some extent, see Methods). During Recognition, memory of the faces was tested in either the Remote Context or Proximal Context. If an old face was tested in the Remote Context, then a new face was tested in the corresponding Proximal Context (example shown in top panel). Alternatively, if an old face was tested in the Proximal Context, then a new face was tested in the corresponding Remote Context (example shown in bottom panel). Face-scene pairings were individually presented during the Recognition phase. Both possible Refresh and Recognition options are shown for each face (for illustration purposes), although only one option was used for each face in the experiment (see Methods). ERPs were time-locked to face onset during Refresh and Recognition.