ERP Studies of Dual Processes in Recognition Memory

描述(由申请人提供)：拟议研究的目的是了解构成人类识别记忆的神经认知过程。再认记忆由对信息的一般熟悉性敏感的过程以及能够回忆特定细节的过程支持(例如，知道一个人很熟悉，并记得她是一名医生)。我们最近的研究表明，可以通过事件相关脑电位(ERPs)测量大脑中的电活动来区分回忆和熟悉：早期(300-500ms)的额叶ERP效应似乎受到熟悉性的影响，而后期(400-800ms)的顶叶ERP效应似乎与回忆有关。这项拟议研究的主要目标是利用回忆和熟悉的神经生理学关联，结合其他行为和药理学方法，检查几个对理解识别记忆涉及的过程和神经系统至关重要的问题。这一目标将通过三个具体目标实现。第一个具体目标将集中在理解识别记忆过程的连续与阈值本质上。第二个具体目标将检验顶叶的旧/新效应是否对真实记忆或感知到的年龄敏感。第三个具体目标将审查几个不同的过程可能有助于我们从研究事件中识别和/或检索关联信息的方式。这项拟议的研究将进一步加深我们对再认记忆过程的基本理解，使我们能够在电生理反应和再认记忆成绩之间建立明确的关系，同时测试关于回忆和熟悉过程的性质的关键假设。为了清楚地了解认知记忆的组成过程是如何因年龄、疾病和神经损伤而选择性受损的，了解这些识别记忆过程的神经基础是至关重要的。拟议中的研究将带来更多的知识，这将有助于设计特定的干预措施，以改善这些不同人群的记忆，并将为了解衰老、疾病和脑损伤选择性地损害、更重要的是备用记忆过程的方式铺平道路。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of the proposed research is to understand the neurocognitive processes that underlie human recognition memory. Recognition memory is supported by processes that are sensitive to the general familiarity of information as well as by processes that enable the recollection of specific details (e.g., knowing that a person is familiar and recollecting that she is a doctor). Our recent research suggests that recollection and familiarity can be differentiated by measuring electrical activity in the brain with event-related brain potentials (ERPs): Early (300-500 ms) frontal ERP effects appear to be affected by familiarity, whereas later (400-800 ms) parietal ERP effects appear to be related to recollection. The overarching goal of the proposed research is to use these neurophysiological correlates of recollection and familiarity, in combination with other behavioral and pharmacological methods, to examine several issues that are central to understanding the processes and neural systems involved in recognition memory. This goal will be realized in three specific aims. The first specific aim will focus on understanding the continuous vs. threshold nature of recognition memory processes. The second specific aim will examine whether the parietal old/new effect is sensitive to veridical memory or perceived oldness. The third specific aim will examine the manner in which several distinct processes may contribute to our ability to recognize and/or retrieve associative information from a study episode. The proposed research will further our basic understanding of recognition memory processes by allowing us to establish clear relationships between electrophysiological responses and recognition memory performance while testing critical hypotheses about the nature of recollection and familiarity processes. To clearly understand the manner in which the component processes of recognition memory are selectively impaired by aging, disease, and neurological insult, it is crucial to understand the neural bases of these recognition memory processes. The enhanced knowledge that will result from the proposed research will help with the design of specific interventions to improve memory in each of these different populations, and will pave the way for understanding the manner in which aging, disease, and brain injury can selectively impair, and more importantly, spare memory processes.