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. 2005 Dec;12(6):993-8.
doi: 10.3758/bf03206434.

Hemispheric asymmetries in the time course of recognition memory

Kara D Federmeier  1 , Aaron S Benjamin
Affiliations

Hemispheric asymmetries in the time course of recognition memory

Kara D Federmeier et al. Psychon Bull Rev. 2005 Dec.

Abstract

Hemispheric specialization has been studied extensively within subfields ranging from perception to language comprehension. However, the study of asymmetries for basic memory functions--an area that holds promise for bridging these low- and high-level cognitive domains--has been sporadic at best. We examined each hemisphere's tendency to retain verbal information over time, using a continuous recognition memory task with lateralized study items and central test probes. We found that the ubiquitous advantage of the left hemisphere for the processing and retention of verbal information is attenuated and perhaps even reversed over long retention intervals. This result is consistent with theories that propose differences in the degree to which the hemispheres maintain veridical versus semantically transformed representations of the input they receive.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Hit rates (percent correct) for stimuli studied in the right visual field (RVF; diamonds) and the left visual field (LVF; squares) across the nine study-test lags. Error bars give the standard error. Trials in which saccades were detected during study were excluded. The false alarm rate was 9%.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Response times (in milliseconds) for hits to stimuli studied in the right visual field (RVF; diamonds) and the left visual field (LVF; squares) across the nine study-test lags. Error bars give the standard error. Trials in which saccades were detected during study were excluded.
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