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Abstract:
The principle of encoding specificity states that encoding
operations determine how information is stored in memory and that
retrieval cues which evoke the same processes used during encoding
will more effectively allow access to stored information (Tulving
& Thompson, 1973). Based on this principle, we hypothesized
that encoding-specific neural pathways will be re-activated during
episodic retrieval specifically under episodic retrieval conditions
that evoke encoding operations. In this study, subjects encoded
words under semantic (e.g., Like this word?) or perceptual (e.g.,
Easy to read?) conditions and subsequently performed recognition
memory judgments under semantic (e.g., See this word?) or
perceptual (e.g., See this word in font?) conditions. Functional
magnetic resonance imaging was performed during retrieval with a
T2* sensitive gradient echo spiral sequence (3.0 Tesla, TR = 1000
ms, TE = 30 ms, flip angle = 60 degrees) during alternating blocks
in which encoding and retrieval conditions matched or did not
match. Results revealed that for both perceptual and semantically
encoded words, brain regions that were activated during encoding
were more likely to be re-activated at retrieval under processing
conditions that matched relative to those that did not match. These
results suggest a neural correlate of the psychological principle
of encoding specificity.
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