Bird, Chris M and Burgess, Neil (2008) The hippocampus supports recognition memory for familiar words but not unfamiliar faces. Current Biology, 18 (24). pp. 1932-1936. ISSN 0960-9822

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Abstract

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, whereas declarative memory theory predicts impairment of all types of recognition memory. 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

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Psychology > Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion
Depositing User:	Lene Hyltoft
Date Deposited:	15 Nov 2012 09:16
Last Modified:	11 Jun 2013 11:16
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/42476

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