The nature of item representations in memory.

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The overarching goal of our research is to understand the nature of memory and the neural systems that support the formation and retrieval of different classes of memory representations. Items, as well as their relative spatial and temporal associations, comprise the 'what', 'where' and 'when', respectively, that are the essential building blocks of our memories for the daily events in our lives. The focus of this proposed research is on the nature of item memory representations. Perception, and ultimately, recognition, of an item may be affected by two different types of memory: memory for the features within the item, and memory for information that was associated with the item during the original encounter. We will investigate the extent to which our memories for single items are initially hyperspecific, such that any change made to a feature of an item causes a change in perceptual processing and a decline in explicit recognition. We will also examine whether information that has come to be associated with an item is used to support processing and recognition, and even changes the nature of the item representation itself, so that items may be recognized under a variety of circumstances.