Neural correlates of word-stem priming.
The purpose of this study was to identify the neural correlates of implicit memory in a word-stem completion task. Given that both explicit and implicit retrieval tend to occur in this type of memory task, conventional analyses of old/new event-related potential effects are equivocal. To overcome this problem, depth of processing was manipulated and subjective awareness measured. From 400 ms poststimulus, event-related potentials evoked by stems completed with studied words were more positive than those evoked by stems completed with unstudied items. This difference was maximal at parietooccipital electrode sites. Event-related potentials were not modulated by either depth of processing or awareness. Behavioral and event-related potential data converged to indicate that the old/new effect reflects processes either contributing to, or contingent upon, implicit memory retrieval.
Fay
Séverine
S
Université François-Rabelais, E.A. 2114 Vieillissement et Développement Adulte, 3 rue des Tanneurs, B.P. 4103, 37041 Tours Cedex 1 2, France.
Pouthas
Viviane
V
Ragot
Richard
R
Isingrini
Michel
M
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D012660:Semantics; D014825:Vocabulary