Ullrich Ecker

Objects in Context- the Neurocognitive Representation, Binding, and Processing of Object and Context Features in Recognition Memory - an Electrophysiological Approach Ullrich Ecker

Recognition memory (RM) is one of the most studied areas in cognitive psychology and neuroscience; yet, there are many unresolved matters. This thesis tackles some of the main contentious issues. A model of object memory and perceptual feature binding is introduced and tested in a series of RM experiments, applying the event-related potentials method. Conclusions are: 1) ERP results strongly support dual-process models of RM. 2) Familiarity is not a purely conceptual process, but can also be perceptually specific. 3) Familiarity is in principle acontextual. 4) Familiarity is a rather automatic and holistic process, whereas recollection is more controlled and flexible. 5) Episodic RM is an iterative process, supported by interacting subprocesses that depend on different brain regions, and influenced by non-mnemonic processing. Thereby, because objects are preferred units of the cognitive system in general, evaluation of intrinsic features usually occurs before the evaluation of context features. Beyond these thought-provoking results, researchers, lecturers, and students interested in memory psychology will enjoy a state-of-the-art account of recent views on feature binding and RM.