Left-frontal brain potentials index conceptual implicit memory for words initially viewed subliminally.pdfVIP

BRAIN RESEARCH 1285 (2009) 135–147 available at /locate/brainres Research Report Left-frontal brain potentials index conceptual implicit memory for words initially viewed subliminally Jason C.W. Chena,b,?,1, Wen Lib,c,2, Ming Luib,3, Ken A. Pallerb,c aLaboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan bDepartment of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA cInterdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA ARTICLE INFO Article history: Accepted 23 May 2009 Available online 6 June 2009 Keywords: Explicit memory Implicit memory Conceptual implicit memory Event-related potential ABSTRACT Neural correlates of explicit and implicit memory tend to co-occur and are therefore difficult to measure independently, posing problems for understanding the unique nature of different types of memory processing. To circumvent this problem, we developed an experimental design wherein subjects acquired information from words presented in a subliminal manner, such that conscious remembering was minimized. Cross-modal word repetition was used so that perceptual implicit memory would also be limited. Healthy human subjects viewed subliminal words six times each and about 2 min later heard the same words interspersed with new words in a category-verification test. Electrophysiological correlates of word repetition included negative brain potentials over left-frontal locations beginning approximately 500 ms after word onset. Behavioral responses were slower for repeated words than for new words. Differential processing of word meaning in the absence of explicit memory was most likely responsible for differential electrical and behavioral responses to old versus new words. Moreover, these effects were distinct from neural correlates of explicit memory observed in prior experiments, and were observed here in two separate experiments, thus providing a foundation for further investig