Empirical evidence suggesting colour influences object recognition is mixed; leading to conclusions that colour may not always be represented in object memory. Positive evidence for the representation of colour in episodic object memory is often complicated by the possibility that encoding specificity may be responsible for such observations. The current thesis examined whether colour is represented and makes an independent contribution of shape in episodic memory for familiar and novel objects, using a modified paradigm based on the typical retrieval- practice task (e.g., Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994). Participants studied pictures of objects, presented one at a time. In a subsequent practice phase, participants either performed Old/New recognition with a subset of the studied objects and their distractors (Experiments 1-7), or they rated a subset of the studied objects for attractiveness, complexity, and usefulness (Experiments 8 and 9). The critical manipulation concerned the nature of unpracticed objects. Unpracticed objects shared either shape only (Rp- Shape), colour only (Rp-Colour), both shape and colour (Rp-Both), or neither shape nor colour (Rp-Neither), with the practiced objects. Interference effects in memory between practiced and unpracticed items are revealed m the forgetting of related unpracticed items - retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). If both shape and colour information is explicit in the object representations in episodic memory, then there would be significant RIF for unpracticed objects sharing shape only and colour only with the practiced objects. RIF was significant for Rp-Shape and Rp-Colour objects, suggesting that shape and colour are represented and independently drive competition effects in episodic object memory. The use of RIF to probe those representations improves on previous evidence, because it bypasses alternative encoding specificity explanations. The current work provides proof of concept for a modified retrieval-practice paradigm and establishes it as a tool to probe feature- based representations that do not easily lend themselves to retrieval practice.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 1993. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

This study separated participants into four different conditions based on a 2 (blocked or random study trials) x 2 (blocked or random test trials) between-subjects design. Using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm the researcher investigated whether or not false memories were produced at the time of study or the time of test. According to the paradigm, participants who view a series of categorical words (mad, fear, hate, rage, temper) are thought to semantically associate critical lures (anger), as a part of the list presented, more frequently than participants who see a string of unrelated terms. The production of false memory is commonly accredited to the priming effect and the relationships among categorical terms. The current study explored whether manipulating blocked versus random word lists had an effect on false memory rates and further examined the conditions under which false memories are produced, in order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon. Participants' responses were assessed based on their recall under either blocked or random conditions in both the study and test phases. Using measures of recognition and reaction time (RT), the results indicate that false memories are created primarily during original study and not during · the test of recognition. However, although the highest rates of false memories occurred during the blocked-study condition, the fastest reaction times for false memories were seen during blocked-test. These findings can contribute to the theoretical understanding of the origin of false memory. After comparing false memory rates and reaction times, concluding whether or not the mind exclusively produces these memories during the encoding process has yet to be determined.

Memory monitoring, or the ability to accurately assess one’s memory retrieval success, is known to be declined for older adults. The behavioral decline has been well explored, and is specific to tasks of source monitoring; tasks involving item memory monitoring do not show age-related deficits. This study attempts to further characterize the decline by exploring neuroanatomical contributions to the decline, and genetic influences that may explain performance variability in older adults. Older adults were genotyped for the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) gene, and those that are carriers of the low-expressing allele demonstrate the expected age-related decline of source monitoring performance when compared to younger adults. Interestingly, older adults who lack this allele did not display any decline in performance when compared to younger adults. Neuroanatomical correlates of task performance indicate that prefrontal regions in the inferior and lateral cortices support accurate source memory monitoring, likely through their role in the proper selection of memory cues and inhibition of irrelevant information. This relationship suggests that age-related atrophy occurring in these structures could be responsible for the performance deficits on source memory monitoring tasks. There was no direct relationship seen between genotype for the 5-HTTLPR gene and cortical volumes, however diffusion tensor imaging shows that older adults who carry this allele have altered connections between the medial temporal lobe, responsible for memory retrieval, and prefrontal cortex, which monitors the retrieval process. Through stronger connections of critical networks, older adults who lack the 5-HTTLPR short allele may be able to compensate for the age-related atrophy seen in the prefrontal cortex. Functional results further indicate that the older adult non-carriers recruit inferior and lateral frontal regions to a greater extent than the older adult carriers during accurate memory monitoring. These results begin to suggest a neuroprotective mechanism for the 5-HTTLPR genotype, wherein some older adults may be able to postpone the expected decline of memory monitoring by retaining the ability to recruit essential inferior frontal structures through more organized white matter pathways. / text

The aim of my thesis is to analyze testimony of narrators from the perspective of scientific psychoanalysis. The thesis will also focus on memory which is at the origin of human thoughts and potential fiction. The thesis is not given only deals strictly by lies but also forgetting which stands for adjusting or accidental embellishing the truth. The aim of my thesis is also determine the extent to memory. Thought is responsible for the inaccuracy of information and understanding the lie was said in full consciousness and with the clear intention fiction and conceals the true past.