Semantic category differences in cross-form priming.

Findings of category-specific impairments have suggested that human semantic memory may be organized around a living/nonliving dichotomy. In order to assess implicit memory performance for living and nonliving concepts, one group of neurologically intact individuals participated in a cross-form conceptual priming paradigm. In Block 1, pictures primed words while in Block 2 words were used to prime pictures. Across all phases of the experiment, subjects decided whether items represented something which was living or nonliving, and response times were recorded. Results revealed greater priming for living concepts across both blocks. Greater priming for living concepts may have occurred because of increased or prolonged conceptual activation of these concepts. Results are discussed in the context of theoretical accounts of the category-specific impairments observed in brain-damaged populations.