Considerable research in cognitive psychology has demonstrated that testing improves the performance on later retention tests (i.e., the testing-effect).

One key factor is the inclusion of feedback which enhances the benefits. Participants (n=21) first studied 60 Swahili-Swedish word-pairs. Subsequently, they underwent fMRI while being tested on each study-item either with or without feedback.

Contrary to no feedback, several regions were identified as a feedback-network with the strongest contribution from the bilateral MTL regions (anterior hippocampus, amygdala), insula and left IFC. Several of these responses were modulated by type of response (correct/incorrect) and repetition (1,2,3).

These findings link the effect of feedback on learning to strengthening of semantic representations, providing novel insights about the crucial role of feedback during test-enhanced learning.