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Abstract:
Abstract: Encoding specificity, a broad principle of memory,
states that memory depends on the extent to which encoding
processes are recapitulated during retrieval. This principle
predicts that the pattern of brain activation during retrieval of a
past experience should match closely the pattern of brain
activation during encoding of that experience. We examined this
prediction in 8 healthy subjects using functional magnetic
resonance imaging. During the encoding scan, subjects encoded
alternating blocks of words and pictures of common objects. During
the retrieval scan, subjects made recognition memory judgments on
alternating blocks of words that were names of encoded pictures and
words that were encoded words. Results showed that encoding of
pictures activated lateral and medial occipital brain regions.
During recognition memory, a subset of picture-encoding occipital
regions were re-activated by words that were names of encoded
pictures. Thus, we found evidence for encoding specificity in the
brain because the pattern of activation during memory for pictures
matched closely the pattern of activation during encoding of
pictures.
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