title: Damage to the lateral prefrontal cortex impairs familiarity but not recollection.
abstract: Frontal lobe lesions impair recognition memory but it is unclear whether the deficits arise from impaired recollection, impaired familiarity, or both. In the current study, recognition memory for verbal materials was examined in patients with damage to the left or right lateral prefrontal cortex. Words were incidentally encoded under semantic or phonological orienting conditions, and recognition memory was tested using a 6-point confidence procedure. Receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) were examined in order to measure the contributions of recollection and familiarity to recognition memory. In both encoding conditions, lateral prefrontal cortex damage led to a deficit in familiarity but not recollection. Similar deficits were observed in left and right hemisphere patients. The results indicate that the lateral prefrontal cortex plays a critical role in the monitoring or decision processes required for accurate familiarity-based recognition responses.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, Department of Psychology, 134 Young Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United States. maly@ucdavis.edu
authors.forename: Mariam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aly
authors.forename: Andrew P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Yonelinas
authors.forename: Mark M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kishiyama
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Knight
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D012372:ROC Curve; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*