从整合的角度看联结记忆中的项目再认

联结记忆由三种成分构成：项目1, 项目2以及项目1-项目2之间的联结, 其中, 对项目1和项目2的再认称之为项目再认, 而对项目1-项目2之间联结的再认称之为联结再认。双加工理论认为项目再认可以由熟悉性和回想加工来完成, 而联结再认只能由回想加工来完成。但近期有大量的研究发现：当要学习的项目对被整合为一个新的整体表征时, 熟悉性也能够支持联结再认。而关于整合对联结记忆中项目再认的研究较少, 总结已有研究提出两种观点：一种是“只有受益”观点(benefits-only)认为整合在增加联结再认的同时不影响项目再认; 另一种是“收支平衡”观点(costs and benefits)认为整合增加联结再认是以牺牲项目再认为代价的。未来研究应该关注整合对联结记忆中项目再认的影响及其神经机制, 了解整合对联结再认和项目再认的具体作用, 有助于针对具体记忆任务选择合适的编码方式来提高记忆表现。

Investigating the item recognition in associative memory: A unitization perspective

Associative memory (item 1 - item 2) has three discrete components: item 1, item 2, and the association between item 1 and item 2. The recognition of item 1 and item 2 is referred to as item recognition, whereas the recognition of the pairing relationship between item1 and item2 is called associative recognition. The dual-process theory posits that both familiarity and recollection can contribute to item recognition, though associative recognition can only be supported by recollection. Nonetheless, many recent studies found otherwise, particularly when the to-be-learned items are perceived as a single unitized representation during the study, familiarity can also contribute to associative recognition. However, very few studies have yet to examine the role of unitization on item recognition in associative memory. Currently, there are two opposing point of views. One is the ‘benefits only’ account, which claims that unitization can increase the associative recognition without affecting the item recognition; the other is the ‘costs and benefits’ account, which claims that the unitization increases the associative recognition at the cost of item recognition. Future studies are needed to investigate the impact of unitization on item recognition in associative memory and its neural mechanisms. Understanding the specific role of unitization in item and associative recognition will help to select appropriate encoding methods for specific memory tasks to improve memory performance.