Recollection and familiarity deficits in amnesia: Convergence of remember-know, process dissociation, and receiver operating characteristic data.

TLDR

Previous studies using the process dissociation and remember‑know procedures have produced conflicting conclusions about how anterograde amnesia affects recollection and familiarity. The authors contend that these contradictions stem from differing model assumptions and false‑alarm rate disparities, and they aim to test the model’s assumptions and assess recognition deficits in amnesics through receiver‑operating characteristic analysis. They examined receiver‑operating characteristic curves in amnesic patients and matched controls to evaluate the dual‑process signal‑detection model. Reanalysis with a bias‑aware dual‑process model revealed a pronounced reduction in recollection and a smaller but consistent decline in familiarity, while ROC curves showed symmetrical curves for amnesics versus asymmetrical curves for controls, confirming deficits in both processes.

Abstract

Previous studies using the process dissociation and the remember-know procedures led to conflicting conclusions regarding the effects of anterograde amnesia on recollection and familiarity. We argue that these apparent contradictions arose because different models were used to interpret the results and because differences in false-alarm rates between groups biased the estimates provided by those models. A reanalysis of those studies with a dual-process signal-detection model that incorporates response bias revealed that amnesia led to a pronounced reduction in recollection and smaller but consistent reduction in familiarity. To test the assumptions of the model and to further assess recognition deficits in amnesics, we examined receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) in amnesics and controls. The ROCs of the controls were curved and asymmetrical, whereas those of the amnesics were curved and symmetrical. The results supported the predictions of the model and indicated that amnesia was associated with deficits in both recollection and familiarity.