VERY LONG-LASTING PRIMING IN PICTURE NAMING

Abstract— A form of long-lasting repetition priming has been demonstrated by faster naming of pictures repeated from a prior exposure than new pictures. This facilitation is independent of explicit memory in both normal subjects (Mitchell & Brown, 1988) and amnesic patients (Cave & Squire. 1992). Using picture naming, the current study demonstrated that priming could be detected with delays of between 6 and 48 weeks between the initial exposure and the priming test. Recognition memory was also above chance at these delays, but performance on the two tests appeared independent. These results show that a single stimulus exposure can have very long-lasting effects. Accounts of repetition priming as a form of implicit memory will have to accommodate long-lasting changes in stimulus processing based on a single exposure.