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Semantic category differences in cross-form priming

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2003

DAVID GOLD
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
MARIO BEAUREGARD
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montréal, Canada Département de radiologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), Hôpital Notre-Dame, Montréal, Canada Centre de recherche en sciences neurologiques, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal (CRSN), Montréal, Canada Groupe de Recherche en Neuropsychologie Expérimentale (GRENE), Montréal, Canada
ANDRE ROCH LECOURS
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
HOWARD CHERTKOW
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montréal, Canada Bloomfield Center for Research in Ageing, Jewish General Hospital of Montreal, Montréal, Canada

Abstract

Findings of category-specific impairments have suggested that human semantic memory may be organized around a living/nonliving dichotomy. In order to assess implicit memory performance for living and nonliving concepts, one group of neurologically intact individuals participated in a cross-form conceptual priming paradigm. In Block 1, pictures primed words while in Block 2 words were used to prime pictures. Across all phases of the experiment, subjects decided whether items represented something which was living or nonliving, and response times were recorded. Results revealed greater priming for living concepts across both blocks. Greater priming for living concepts may have occurred because of increased or prolonged conceptual activation of these concepts. Results are discussed in the context of theoretical accounts of the category-specific impairments observed in brain-damaged populations. (JINS, 2003, 9, 796–805.)

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2003 The International Neuropsychological Society

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