# Retention analysis of edited knowledge after fine-tuning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.14198 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.14198/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 24 of its 27 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 14 Jul 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 24 of 24)

- [Training language models to follow instructions with human feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.02155/) (2022)
- [The Llama 3 Herd of Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.21783/) (2024)
- [Locating and Editing Factual Associations in GPT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.05262/) (2022)
- [Transformer Feed-Forward Layers Are Key-Value Memories](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.14913/) (2020)
- [Mass-Editing Memory in a Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.07229/) (2022)
- [A Comprehensive Survey of Continual Learning: Theory, Method and Application](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.00487/) (2023)
- [Knowledge Neurons in Pretrained Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.08696/) (2021)
- [Editing Factual Knowledge in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.08164/) (2021)
- [Fast Model Editing at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.11309/) (2021)
- [Memory-Based Model Editing at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.06520/) (2022)
- [Editing Large Language Models: Problems, Methods, and Opportunities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.13172/) (2023)
- [MQuAKE: Assessing Knowledge Editing in Language Models via Multi-Hop Questions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.14795/) (2023)
- [Can We Edit Factual Knowledge by In-Context Learning?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.12740/) (2023)
- [Aging with GRACE: Lifelong Model Editing with Discrete Key-Value Adaptors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.11031/) (2022)
- [Does Localization Inform Editing? Surprising Differences in Causality-Based Localization vs. Knowledge Editing in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.04213/) (2023)
- [Evaluating the Ripple Effects of Knowledge Editing in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.12976/) (2023)
- [AlphaEdit: Null-Space Constrained Knowledge Editing for Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.02355/) (2024)
- [Mind the Gap: Assessing Temporal Generalization in Neural Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.01951/) (2021)
- [Model Editing Harms General Abilities of Large Language Models: Regularization to the Rescue](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.04700/) (2024)
- [Model Editing at Scale leads to Gradual and Catastrophic Forgetting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.07453/) (2024)
- [Massive Editing for Large Language Models via Meta Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.04661/) (2023)
- [Language Models Resist Alignment: Evidence From Data Compression](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.06144/) (2024)
- [Can Knowledge Editing Really Correct Hallucinations?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.16251/) (2024)
- [Model Editing by Standard Fine-Tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.11078/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Intrinsic-Extrinsic Coupling in Learning Dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.30185/) (2026)
- [Fine Until Fine-Tuned: Repeated Solutions Make Reasoning Fragile](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.33559/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large language models (LLMs) store vast amounts of knowledge, which often requires updates to correct factual errors, incorporate newly acquired information, or adapt model behavior. Model editing methods have emerged as efficient solutions for such updates, offering localized and precise knowledge modification at significantly lower computational cost than continual training. In parallel, LLMs are frequently fine-tuned for a wide range of downstream tasks. However, the effect of fine-tuning on previously edited knowledge remains poorly understood. In this work, we systematically investigate how different fine-tuning objectives interact with various model editing techniques. Our findings show that edited knowledge is substantially more susceptible to forgetting during fine-tuning than intrinsic knowledge acquired through pre-training. This analysis highlights a key limitation of current editing approaches and suggests that evaluating edit robustness under downstream fine-tuning is critical for their practical deployment. We further find that knowledge retention can be significantly improved by either augmenting edit knowledge with paraphrases or by freezing layers associated with edited content in fine-tuning stage, offering insight for developing more robust editing algorithms.