Yes/no recognition, forced-choice recognition, and the human hippocampus.

Full Abstract

Two recent studies reported that yes/no recognition can be more impaired by hippocampal lesions than forced-choice recognition when the targets and foils are highly similar. This finding has been taken in support of two fundamental proposals: (1) yes/no recognition tests depend more on recollection than do forced-choice tests; and (2) the hippocampus selectively supports the recollection process. Using the same stimulus materials as in the earlier studies, we tested five memory-impaired patients with circumscribed hippocampal lesions and 15 controls. As in the earlier studies, participants studied 12 pictures of objects and then took either a 12-item forced-choice test with four alternatives or a 60-item yes/no test. Patients were impaired on both tests but did more poorly on the yes/no test. However, a yes/no test based on 12 study items would conventionally involve only 24 test items (i.e., 12 study items and 12 foil items). When we scored only the first 24 test items, the patients performed identically on the yes/no and forced-choice tests. Examination of the data in blocks of 12 trials indicated that the scores of the patients declined as testing continued. We suggest that a yes/no test of 60 items is difficult relative to a 12-item forced-choice test due to the increased study-test delay and due to increased interference, not because of any fundamental difference between the yes/no and forced-choice formats. We conclude that hippocampal lesions impair yes/no and forced-choice recognition to the same extent.

Author information

Author/s: Bayley, P J (PJ); Wixted, J T (JT); Hopkins, R O (RO); Squire, L R (LR);

Affiliation: University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.

Grants: MH 24600 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; R01 MH024600-34 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: Journal of cognitive neuroscience (J Cogn Neurosci), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Mar; vol 20 (issue 3) : pp 505-12

Dates: Created 2008/02/13; Completed 2008/07/02; Revised 2008/11/20;

PMID: 18004951, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.