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Conceptual and perceptual memory: Retrieval orientations reflected in event-related potentials

Stenberg, Georg LU ; Johansson, Mikael LU orcid and Rosén, Ingmar LU (2006) In Acta Psychologica 122(2). p.174-205
Abstract
In memory retrieval, search can be guided by mental sets towards different subsets of the available evidence. Such retrieval orientations have been suggested to leave an imprint on event-related potentials (ERPs). The present study aimed at characterizing orientations towards perceptual and conceptual evidence in a recognition task, where pictures and words were studied. In the recognition test, items were presented in either the same format as at study or in the opposite format. A between-subjects manipulation modified the task, instructing an Exclusion group to endorse only items that preserved their format from study, and an Inclusion group to endorse both formats of a studied item. It was hypothesized that exclusion instructions would... (More)
In memory retrieval, search can be guided by mental sets towards different subsets of the available evidence. Such retrieval orientations have been suggested to leave an imprint on event-related potentials (ERPs). The present study aimed at characterizing orientations towards perceptual and conceptual evidence in a recognition task, where pictures and words were studied. In the recognition test, items were presented in either the same format as at study or in the opposite format. A between-subjects manipulation modified the task, instructing an Exclusion group to endorse only items that preserved their format from study, and an Inclusion group to endorse both formats of a studied item. It was hypothesized that exclusion instructions would instil a perceptual and inclusion instructions a conceptual orientation. As a corollary, instructions were expected to dissociate the high end from the low end of the picture word mirror effect. This expectation was confirmed in a behavioural experiment. In an ERP experiment, retrieval orientations were examined in their effects on correct rejections of new pictures and words. Confirming earlier findings [Hornberger, M., Morcom, A. M., & Rugg, M. D. (2004). Neural correlates of retrieval orientation: effects of study-test similarity. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16(7), 1196-1210], a perceptual orientation was accompanied by more positive-going amplitudes over widespread areas. The difference was larger for pictures than for words, supporting behavioural evidence that new pictures are more easily rejected on perceptual grounds than are new words. The Exclusion group showed no ERP evidence of cross-format old-new effects, despite reaction times indicative of involuntary conceptual recognition. The results indicate that perceptual and conceptual retrieval orientations imprint distinct signatures on ERPs. They further suggest that the examined old-new effects in ERPs are mainly linked to voluntary aspects of memory, even in a task where involuntary memory exerts effects on reaction times. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
potentials, cortical evoked, pictorial stimuli, object recognition, explicit memory, electrophysiology
in
Acta Psychologica
volume
122
issue
2
pages
174 - 205
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000237755400004
  • pmid:16406205
  • scopus:33645961852
ISSN
1873-6297
DOI
10.1016/j.actpsy.2005.11.001
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
966cd71d-dbff-46e2-bb1e-e33e0dc1ce0c (old id 693218)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:29:56
date last changed
2022-01-27 05:54:16
@article{966cd71d-dbff-46e2-bb1e-e33e0dc1ce0c,
  abstract     = {{In memory retrieval, search can be guided by mental sets towards different subsets of the available evidence. Such retrieval orientations have been suggested to leave an imprint on event-related potentials (ERPs). The present study aimed at characterizing orientations towards perceptual and conceptual evidence in a recognition task, where pictures and words were studied. In the recognition test, items were presented in either the same format as at study or in the opposite format. A between-subjects manipulation modified the task, instructing an Exclusion group to endorse only items that preserved their format from study, and an Inclusion group to endorse both formats of a studied item. It was hypothesized that exclusion instructions would instil a perceptual and inclusion instructions a conceptual orientation. As a corollary, instructions were expected to dissociate the high end from the low end of the picture word mirror effect. This expectation was confirmed in a behavioural experiment. In an ERP experiment, retrieval orientations were examined in their effects on correct rejections of new pictures and words. Confirming earlier findings [Hornberger, M., Morcom, A. M., & Rugg, M. D. (2004). Neural correlates of retrieval orientation: effects of study-test similarity. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16(7), 1196-1210], a perceptual orientation was accompanied by more positive-going amplitudes over widespread areas. The difference was larger for pictures than for words, supporting behavioural evidence that new pictures are more easily rejected on perceptual grounds than are new words. The Exclusion group showed no ERP evidence of cross-format old-new effects, despite reaction times indicative of involuntary conceptual recognition. The results indicate that perceptual and conceptual retrieval orientations imprint distinct signatures on ERPs. They further suggest that the examined old-new effects in ERPs are mainly linked to voluntary aspects of memory, even in a task where involuntary memory exerts effects on reaction times.}},
  author       = {{Stenberg, Georg and Johansson, Mikael and Rosén, Ingmar}},
  issn         = {{1873-6297}},
  keywords     = {{potentials; cortical evoked; pictorial stimuli; object recognition; explicit memory; electrophysiology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{174--205}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Acta Psychologica}},
  title        = {{Conceptual and perceptual memory: Retrieval orientations reflected in event-related potentials}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2005.11.001}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.actpsy.2005.11.001}},
  volume       = {{122}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}