title: Stimulus-response bindings code both abstract and specific representations of stimuli: evidence from a classification priming design that reverses multiple levels of response representation.
abstract: Repetition priming can be caused by the rapid retrieval of previously encoded stimulus-response (S-R) bindings. S-R bindings have recently been shown to simultaneously code multiple levels of response representation, from specific Motor-actions to more abstract Decisions ("yes"/"no") and Classifications (e.g., "man-made"/"natural"). Using an experimental design that reverses responses at all of these levels, we assessed whether S-R bindings also code multiple levels of stimulus representation. Across two experiments, we found effects of response reversal on priming when switching between object pictures and object names, consistent with S-R bindings that code stimuli at an abstract level. Nonetheless, the size of this reversal effect was smaller for such across-format (e.g., word-picture) repetition than for within-format (e.g., picture-picture) repetition, suggesting additional coding of format-specific stimulus representations. We conclude that S-R bindings simultaneously represent both stimuli and responses at multiple levels of abstraction.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany. a.horner@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Horner
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Henson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D060865:Repetition Priming / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult