Unitization modulates recognition of within-domain and cross-domain associations: Evidence from event-related potentials.

Bingcan Li,Chunyan Guo,Meng Han,Roni Tibon

doi:10.1111/psyp.13446

Bingcan Li, Chunyan Guo + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13446

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Abstract

Although it is often assumed that memory of episodic associations requires recollection, it has been suggested that, when stimuli are experienced as a unit, earlier memory processes might contribute to their subsequent associative recognition. We investigated the effects of associative relations and perceptual domain during episodic encoding on the ability to utilize early memory processes to retrieve associative information. During the study phase, participants encoded compound and noncompound words pairs, presented either to the same sensory modality (visual presentation) or to different sensory modalities (audiovisual presentation). At the test phase, they discriminated between old, rearranged, and new pairs while ERPs were recorded. In an early ERP component, differences related to associative memory emerged only for compounds, regardless of their encoding modality. These findings indicate that episodic retrieval of compound words can be supported by early‐onset recognition processes regardless of whether both words were presented to the same or different sensory modalities, and suggests that unitization can operate at an abstract level, across a broad range of materials.

Highlights

Remembering episodic associations—that several objects, people, or actions were experienced conjointly—is a core cognitive function
4 Discussion In the current study, an associative recognition memory task was employed to explore whether episodic associations between compounds versus non-compounds and between within-domain versus cross-domain word-pairs differentially recruit familiarity- and recollection-based recognition, as indexed by their putative electrophysiological signatures
Our data provide novel evidence for a multiplicity of processes supporting associative recognition, and afford new insights regarding two theoretical frameworks that account for mnemonic unitization effects— the Domain Dichotomy (DD) view and the Levels of Unitization (LOU) account

Summary

Introduction

Remembering episodic associations—that several objects, people, or actions were experienced conjointly—is a core cognitive function. Familiarity is a feeling of having encountered something or someone before, without retrieval of additional information, whereas recollection further provides contextual details about that encounter This distinction is supported by evidence from many behavioral, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging studies, including event-related potential (ERP) studies showing that two qualitatively distinct ERP components are associated with recognition judgments. The first is the early mid-frontal component, showing greater negative deflection for new vs old items, arising 300-500 ms post-stimulus presentation This effect has been widely described as the putative electrophysiological correlate of familiarity. The second is the late posterior component, showing greater positive deflection for old vs new items, and is prominent over left parietal electrodes 500-800 ms post-stimulus presentation This effect is considered to be an electrophysiological correlate of recollection (reviewed by Mecklinger, 2000, Rugg & Curran, 2007, Wilding & Ranganath, 2011)

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