Fig. 1.

The instruction frame and first 8 sec of a representative encoding pseudoblock. A 2 sec instruction frame indicated the encoding task (classify words as abstract or concrete) and difficulty of the auditory discrimination task (easy or hard). Words were presented for 2 sec each and were pseudorandomly intermixed with fixation crosses. Sound patterns played throughout the pseudoblock, and participants pressed a button when they noted that the sound pattern changed (e.g., from pattern A to pattern B).