title: The human hippocampus contributes to both the recollection and familiarity components of recognition memory.
abstract: Despite a substantial body of work comprising theoretical modeling, the effects of medial temporal lobe lesions, and electrophysiological signal analysis, the role of the hippocampus in recognition memory remains controversial. In particular, it is not known whether the hippocampus exclusively supports recollection or both recollection and familiarity--the two latent cognitive processes theorized to underlie recognition memory. We studied recognition memory in a large group of patients undergoing intracranial electroencephalographic (iEEG) monitoring for epilepsy. By measuring high-frequency activity (HFA)--a signal associated with precise spatiotemporal properties--we show that hippocampal activity during recognition predicted recognition memory performance and tracked both recollection and familiarity. Through the lens of dual-process models, these results indicate that the hippocampus supports both the recollection and familiarity processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104; maxwell.merkow@uphs.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Maxwell B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Merkow
authors.affiliation: Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104;
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kahana
mesh_terms: D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008959:Models, Neurological
keywords: familiarity; high-frequency activity; hippocampus; recognition memory; recollection