Electrocortical Signs of Levels of Processing: Perceptual Analysis and Recognition Memory

TLDR

The study examined how different levels of perceptual processing affect memory by recording ERPs during a verbal comparison task and a recognition test, interpreting the signals as evidence of associative activation in memory. Participants judged word pairs as same or different using orthographic, phonemic, or semantic criteria while ERPs were recorded, revealing a late positive component and slow wave that varied with the comparison criterion and judgment type. Orthographic processing produced poor recognition memory, while phonemic and semantic processing yielded progressively better performance, with same judgments further enhancing memory for phonemic and semantic items, and the late positive component tracking recognition accuracy.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The electrocortical manifestations of levels of perceptual processing and memory performance were investigated by recording event related potentials (ERPs) during a verbal comparison task and a subsequent test of recognition memory. Two words were judged, on each trial, to be the same or different according to an orthographic, phonemic, or semantic criterion. Orthographic processing of words led to poor performance on a test of recognition memory whereas phonemic and semantic processing led to increasingly better performance. “Same” judgments led to better memory performance for phonemically and semantically processed items. The ERP waveforms included a late positive component (LPC) and a slow wave, both of which were responsive to the comparison criterion and the type of judgment. Further, the LPC appeared to index recognition accuracy in the memory test. The ERP data are interpreted as reflecting associative activation in the human memory system.