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The Journal of Neuroscience, February 15, 2006, 26(7):1979-1985; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5370-05.2006

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Combined Pharmacological and Electrophysiological Dissociation of Familiarity and Recollection

Tim Curran,¹ Casey DeBuse,¹ Brion Woroch,¹ and Elliot Hirshman²

¹Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0345, and ²Department of Psychology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052

Correspondence should be addressed to Tim Curran, Department of Psychology, 345 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0345. Email: tcurran{at}colorado.edu

Dual-process theories of recognition memory hypothesize separate underlying familiarity and recollection processes, but the necessity of multiple processes is debated. Previous research has suggested that scalp-recorded event-related brain potentials (ERPs) may index the activity of separate familiarity and recollection processes. Other research indicates that the amnestic drug midazolam impairs recollection more than familiarity. Here, we used a convergent pharmacological and electrophysiological approach to manipulate and monitor human brain activity and provide evidence for separate processes. Midazolam selectively influenced the putative ERP-correlate of recollection but not the putative ERP-correlate of familiarity. Under control conditions (saline), subjects’ accuracy correlated with the recollection-related but not the familiarity-related ERP component, suggesting that recollection was dominant in driving memory. The opposite pattern was observed under midazolam administration, suggesting that when recollection fails, subjects may leverage familiarity to compensate. Thus, in contrast to perspectives holding that familiarity represents the default process, these results suggest that recollection was dominant until its impairment unveiled the influence of familiarity.

Key words: EEG; ERP; dual process; recognition memory; benzodiazapine; psychopharmacology

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Received Sept. 26, 2005; revised Jan. 9, 2006; accepted Jan. 10, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Tim Curran, Department of Psychology, 345 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0345. Email: tcurran{at}colorado.edu

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