title: Is conceptual implicit memory impaired in schizophrenia? Evidence from lexical decision and category verification.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Implicit memory tasks differ along two orthogonal dimensions, tapping the relative involvement of perceptual/conceptual and identification/production processes. Previous studies have documented a dissociation between perceptual (spared) and conceptual (impaired) implicit memory, using in the latter case a production task (category exemplar generation), in which there is high response competition during the retrieval phase. The present study sought to determine whether the perceptual/conceptual dissociation held when comparing two identification tasks, in which there is no response competition at retrieval.
  
  
  METHODS
  In two experiments, repetition priming was assessed in 44 schizophrenic patients and 46 healthy controls in lexical decision (a test based on perceptual identification processes) and category verification (a test based on conceptual identification processes).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Schizophrenic patients achieved a priming as high as that of controls in the lexical decision task. In contrast, only controls exhibited significant priming in the category verification task.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is concluded that schizophrenia is associated with a specific deficit in conceptual implicit memory, irrespective of the degree of response competition in the test phase.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Sapienza University of Rome , Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Valéria R S
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spataro
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cestari
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sciarretta
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Iannarelli
authors.forename: Clelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rossi-Arnaud
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D032882:Comprehension; D003210:Concept Formation; D004213:Dissociative Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011939:Mental Recall; D060865:Repetition Priming; D012559:Schizophrenia; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
keywords: conceptual priming; implicit memory; repetition priming; schizophrenia