Recognition Memory in Developmental Prosopagnosia: Behavioural and Electrophysiological Evidence for an Impairment of Recollection of Faces E Burns, J Tree, C Weidemann |
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Department of Psychology, Swansea University, United Kingdom
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| Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a face perception disorder characterised by an impairment for recognising faces combined with normal intelligence and intact low level visual processing. While a deficit for recognising faces in DP is well established, the exact nature of this impairment still remains unclear. Dual-process theories of recognition memory propose two distinct mechanisms that contribute towards recognition memory performance: recollection and familiarity. The Remember/Know (R/K) procedure is thought to measure the respective contributions of recollection and familiarity to recognition performance. Previous research in DP has neglected to take into account these distinct processes when examining face recognition. We recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) activity during a R/K recognition memory task for faces in 25 controls and 10 DPs. DPs displayed an overall impairment in recognising faces which was driven by a smaller proportion of "remember" responses. EEG activity for controls and DPs was qualitatively similar, but DPs exhibited smaller waveform differences between "remember" and correct "new" responses and across a smaller area of the scalp. These findings suggest a specific impairment of recollection (but not familiarity) of faces in DP. |
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