TY  - THES
T1  - Objects in context : the neurocognitive representation, binding, and processing of object and context features in recognition memory — an electrophysiological approach
A1  - Ecker,Ullrich K. H.
Y1  - 2007/08/30
N2  - In a series of recognition memory experiments using event-related potentials (ERPs), some predictions of the multi-process Type-Token model of human object memory (Ecker, Groh-Bordin & Zimmer, 2004) were tested. In particular, it is claimed that intrinsic object features (e.g., object colour) and features of the extrinsic object context (e.g., background colour) are represented and processed differently. The binding of intrinsic object information does not require an intact hippocampus, but seems to rely on adjacent cortical structures. The respective representation (the "object token") is considered the basis of familiarity memory. Accordingly, perceptual study-test manipulations of intrinsic information affected mainly the ERP old-new effect associated with familiarity processing. On the other hand, the binding of contextual features necessarily requires hippocampal processing, and the respective higher-level representation (the "episodic token") is considered to support recollection. Perceptual study-test manipulations of contextual information thus selectively affected recollection and the associated ERP old-new effect. Taken together, the thesis supports the following conclusions: 1) ERP results offer strong support for dual-process models of recognition memory. 2) Familiarity is not a purely conceptual process, but can also be perceptually specific given certain constraints. 3) Familiarity is in principle an acontextual process (as far as local context is concerned; obviously, familiarity needs to be context-sensitive with regard to more global context, e.g., the study-phase of the experiment — otherwise it would not be episodic). 4) Familiarity is a rather automatic and holistic process, whereas recollection is more controlled and flexible — thus, subjects may to some extent control which aspects of the context they do or do not retrieve. 5) Episodic recognition is an iterative process, supported by interacting subprocesses (familiarity, novelty detection, recollection) that depend on different brain regions, and influenced by non-mnemonic processing (e.g., attention, control processes, biased competition in perception). Thereby, because objects are preferred units of the cognitive system in general, evaluation of intrinsic features usually occurs before the evaluation of context features.
KW  - Wiedererkennen
KW  - Episodisches Gedächtnis
KW  - Ereigniskorreliertes Potenzial
KW  - Visuelles Gedächtnis
KW  - Explizites Gedächtnis
CY  - Saarbrücken
PB  - Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek
AD  - Postfach 151141, 66041 Saarbrücken
UR  - http://scidok.sulb.uni-saarland.de/volltexte/2007/1272
ER  -