Guest Lecture of Prof. Dr. David Donaldson

Guest Lecture of Prof. Dr. David Donaldson

from the University of Stirling, UK

Date: 07.07.2010

Topic: Psychological Imaging: Investigating Memory with Event-Related Potentials

Abstract: Current models of memory are largely based on behavioural and neuropsychological evidence; here I present an alternative view based on imaging data. The traditional account is that there are distinct neuro-cognitive systems, each associated with a different type of memory experience (e.g., conscious versus unconscious forms of memory), and each supported by a discrete set of memory processes. From this perspective, Episodic Memory (conscious remembering of every day events) is thought to reflect a combination of two processes: the feeling of Familiarity (the general sense that an event has been previously experienced) and full-blown Recollection (retrieval of the specific context in which the event occurred). Here I present evidence from Event-Related Potentials (based on scalp recorded electrical signals) that challenges this traditional view, and suggests a more complex mapping between types of memory experience and the memory processes that support them.