title: When memory leads the brain to take scenes at face value: face areas are reactivated at test by scenes that were paired with faces at study.
abstract: In the first use of the event-related optical signal as a brain imaging tool for the study of long-term memory, we examined relational or associative aspects of memory, widely presumed to involve the interplay among multiple brain regions in representing and reactivating different elements of a given event. Here, we found that a brain region known to be involved in face processing (the posterior superior temporal sulcus) was active not only when viewing faces during the study phase but also when viewing scenes at test that, through prior learning, were associated with specific faces. These findings, demonstrating the activation of stimulus-specific cortical regions in the absence of stimuli of that type, based on learned relations, reveal cortical substrates of the reactivation of relational memories.
authors: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL, USA ; Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL, USA.
authors: John A
authors: JA
authors: Walker
authors: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL, USA.
authors: Kathy A
authors: KA
authors: Low
authors: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL, USA ; Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL, USA.
authors: Neal J
authors: NJ
authors: Cohen
authors: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL, USA ; Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL, USA.
authors: Monica
authors: M
authors: Fabiani
authors: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL, USA ; Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL, USA.
authors: Gabriele
authors: G
authors: Gratton
keywords: brain imaging; cortical reactivation; event-related optical signal (EROS); face processing; relational memory; scene processing