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Novel vs. well-learned memory for faces: a positron emission tomography study.

A K Wiser¹, N Andreasen, D S O'Leary

¹University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242-1057, USA.

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

|April 20, 2000

Summary

Novelty affects face memory differently than verbal memory. Familiar face recognition engages distributed brain circuits, while novel face recognition relies more on the frontal lobe.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Memory Research

Background:

Previous studies on memory familiarity and novelty focused on verbal materials.
These studies suggested familiarity mainly impacts activation size, not patterns, in memory recall and recognition.
The neural basis for nonverbal memory processing, particularly faces, remained less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if familiarity and novelty influence neural activation patterns and sizes in nonverbal (face) memory recognition.
To compare the neural correlates of novel versus well-learned face recognition.

Main Methods:

Utilized Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to scan healthy volunteers.
Employed a memory task involving recognition of faces learned either a week prior (well-learned) or one minute prior (novel).

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Included distractor faces during the recognition task to isolate memory retrieval processes.

Main Results:

Unlike verbal memory, face familiarity and retention interval altered both the pattern and size of brain activations.
Novel face recognition primarily engaged frontal lobe circuits.
Well-learned face recognition involved a more distributed network, including visual areas potentially acting as memory storage sites.

Conclusions:

The neural processing of memory novelty and familiarity differs between verbal and nonverbal (face) materials.
Face recognition memory recruitment varies based on learning history, with distinct frontal and distributed network involvement.
Visual areas play a role in storing well-learned face memories.