The neural mechanisms of decision processes underlying memory retrieval
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Episodic memory retrieval can be construed as a set of decision processes in which retrieved event information guides a categorical response. Successful retrieval requires the establishment of cortical representations of event features during stimulus encoding, and the cortical reinstatement of these representations at retrieval. Additionally, retrieval requires neural mechanisms, often thought to be localized in lateral frontal and parietal cortex, to transform these representations into a decision variable that guides action selection. Finally, mnemonic decisions ultimately require the implementation of a motor response. The research described in this dissertation examines several aspects of the neural mechanisms that support mnemonic decision making, with three experiments. The first experiment examines how the strength of categorical representations during initial encoding and during retrieval influences behavioral outcomes of the mnemonic decision. The second experiment employs matched perceptual and memory tasks, to assess commonalities between the neural substrates of mnemonic and perceptual decision making. The final experiment examines retrieval acts made with oculomotor and manual responses, to assess whether lateral parietal activity associated with memory retrieval is specific to manual responses or general across response modalities. Collectively, these studies provide an account for how neural representations, decision processes, and response functions work together to support memory retrieval.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2014 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Gordon, Alan M |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Psychology. |
| Primary advisor | Wagner, Anthony David |
| Thesis advisor | Wagner, Anthony David |
| Thesis advisor | McClelland, James L |
| Thesis advisor | Norcia, Anthony Matthew |
| Advisor | McClelland, James L |
| Advisor | Norcia, Anthony Matthew |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Alan M. Gordon. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Psychology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2014. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2014 by Alan M Gordon
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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