The Hippocampus Supports Recognition Memory for Familiar Words but Not Unfamiliar Faces

被引:43
作者
Bird, Chris M. [1 ,2 ]
Burgess, Neil [1 ,2 ]
机构
[1] UCL, Inst Cognit Neurosci, London WC1N 3AR, England
[2] UCL, Inst Neurol, London WC1N 3AR, England
基金
英国医学研究理事会;
关键词
D O I
10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.046
中图分类号
Q5 [生物化学]; Q7 [分子生物学];
学科分类号
071010 ; 081704 ;
摘要
Bilateral damage to the human hippocampus profoundly impairs the ability to form long-term, consciously accessible memories, producing a classic amnesic syndrome. However, the effect of hippocampal damage on our ability to recognize items via a feeling of familiarity is hotly disputed. Dual-process theory predicts no effect [1-4], whereas declarative memory theory predicts impairment of all types of recognition memory [5]. Here, we demonstrate a striking material specificity in the effect of focal hippocampal damage: Recognition memory is impaired for words but intact for faces. The latter finding is incompatible with declarative memory theory, whereas the former constrains dual-process theory by revealing the limitations of postulated extrahippocampal familiarity-based processes. We suggest that the hippocampus boosts recognition of well-known stimuli (high-frequency words) by activating pre-experimental associations that enrich the context of their presentation. By contrast, recognition memory for some kinds of previously unfamiliar stimuli (unfamiliar faces) may be supported by extrahippocampal familiarity-based processes, at least over short intervals.
引用
收藏
页码:1932 / 1936
页数:5
相关论文
共 57 条
[1]  
Aggleton JP, 1999, BEHAV BRAIN SCI, V22, P425
[2]   Amnesia and recognition memory: A re-analysis of psychometric data [J].
Aggleton, JP ;
Shaw, C .
NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA, 1996, 34 (01) :51-62
[3]   Preserved recognition in a case of developmental amnesia: Implications for the acquisition of semantic memory? [J].
Baddeley, AD ;
Vargha-Khadem, F ;
Mishkin, M .
JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE, 2001, 13 (03) :357-369
[4]   Impaired memory for scenes but not faces in developmental hippocampal amnesia: A case study [J].
Bird, Chris M. ;
Vargha-Khadem, Faraneh ;
Burgess, Neil .
NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA, 2008, 46 (04) :1050-1059
[5]   Fractionation of memory in medial temporal lobe amnesia [J].
Bird, Chris M. ;
Shallice, Tim ;
Cipolotti, Lisa .
NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA, 2007, 45 (06) :1160-1171
[6]   Test-retest reliability, practice effects and reliable change indices for the recognition memory test [J].
Bird, CM ;
Papadopoulou, K ;
Ricciardelli, P ;
Rossor, MN ;
Cipolotti, L .
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, 2003, 42 :407-425
[7]   THE PERCEPTUAL PRIMING PHENOMENON IN AMNESIA [J].
CERMAK, LS ;
TALBOT, N ;
CHANDLER, K ;
WOLBARST, LR .
NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA, 1985, 23 (05) :615-622
[8]   Recollection and familiarity in dense hippocampal amnesia: A case study [J].
Cipolotti, L ;
Bird, C ;
Good, T ;
Macmanus, D ;
Rudge, P ;
Shallice, T .
NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA, 2006, 44 (03) :489-506
[9]   The medial temporal lobe and recognition memory [J].
Eichenbaum, H. ;
Yonelinas, A. P. ;
Ranganath, C. .
ANNUAL REVIEW OF NEUROSCIENCE, 2007, 30 :123-152
[10]   2 FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS OF THE HIPPOCAMPAL MEMORY SYSTEM [J].
EICHENBAUM, H ;
OTTO, T ;
COHEN, NJ .
BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES, 1994, 17 (03) :449-472