Neural manifestations of memory with and without awareness.

Full Abstract

Neurophysiological events responsible for different types of human memory tend to occur concurrently and are therefore difficult to measure independently. To surmount this problem, we produced perceptual priming (indicated by speeded responses) in the absence of conscious remembering. At encoding, faces appeared briefly while subjects' attention was diverted to other stimuli. Faces appeared again in either an implicit or explicit memory test. Neural correlates of priming were identified as brain potentials beginning 270 ms after face onset with more negative amplitudes for repeated than for new faces. Remembered faces, in contrast, activated a different configuration of intracranial sources producing positive potentials maximal at 600-700 ms. We thus disentangled and characterized distinct neural events associated with memory with and without awareness.

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Author information

Author/s: Paller, Ken A (KA); Hutson, Craig A (CA); Miller, Brennan B (BB); Boehm, Stephan G (SG);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. kap(-atsign-)northwestern.edu

Grants: NS34639 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Neuron (Neuron), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-May; vol 38 (issue 3) : pp 507-16

Dates: Created 2003/05/13; Completed 2003/06/10; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 12741996, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Awareness - physiology
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Cortex - anatomy & histology; physiology
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials - physiology
Face

Female
Humans
Male
Memory - physiology
Neuropsychological Tests
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Photic Stimulation
Reaction Time - physiology

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