Herron Jane E, Rugg Michael D
Cardiff University.
J Cogn Neurosci. 2003 Aug 15;15(6):843-54. doi: 10.1162/089892903322370762.
Event-related potentials (ERPs) were employed to investigate whether recognition test items are processed differently according to whether they are used to probe memory for previously studied words or pictures. In each of two study-test blocks, subjects encoded a mixed list of words and pictures, and then performed a recognition memory task with words as the test items. In one block, the requirement was to respond positively to test items corresponding to studied words, and to reject both new items and items corresponding to the studied pictures. In the other block, positive responses were made to test items corresponding to pictures, and items corresponding to words were classified along with the new items. ERPs elicited during the test phase by correctly classified new items differed according to whether words or pictures were the sought-for modality. This finding was interpreted as a neural correlate of the different retrieval orientations adopted when searching memory for words versus pictures. Relative to new items, correctly classified items studied in both target modalities elicited robust, positive-going "old/new" effects. When pictures were targets, test items corresponding to studied words also elicited large effects. By contrast, when words were targets, old/new effects were absent for the items corresponding to studied pictures. These findings were interpreted as evidence that, in some circumstances, adoption of an appropriate retrieval orientation permits retrieval cues to be employed with a high degree of specificity.
事件相关电位（ERPs）被用于研究识别测试项目根据其是用于探测对先前学习的单词还是图片的记忆而是否被不同地处理。在两个学习 - 测试块中的每一个中，受试者对单词和图片的混合列表进行编码，然后以单词作为测试项目执行识别记忆任务。在一个块中，要求对与学习的单词相对应的测试项目做出肯定反应，并拒绝新项目和与学习的图片相对应的项目。在另一个块中，对与图片相对应的测试项目做出肯定反应，并且将与单词相对应的项目与新项目归为一类。在测试阶段，由正确分类的新项目引发的ERPs根据所寻找的模态是单词还是图片而有所不同。这一发现被解释为在搜索单词与图片的记忆时所采用的不同检索方向的神经关联。相对于新项目，在两种目标模态中都学习过的正确分类的项目引发了强烈的、正向的“旧/新”效应。当图片是目标时，与学习的单词相对应的测试项目也引发了较大的效应。相比之下，当单词是目标时，与学习的图片相对应的项目不存在旧/新效应。这些发现被解释为证据，即在某些情况下，采用适当的检索方向允许高度特异性地使用检索线索。
