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Recognition of faces and names: multimodal physiological correlates of memory and executive function

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Abstract

We sought to characterize electrophysiological, eye-tracking and behavioral correlates of face-name recognition memory in healthy younger adults using high-density electroencephalography (EEG), infrared eye-tracking (ET), and neuropsychological measures. Twenty-one participants first studied 40 face-name (FN) pairs; 20 were presented four times (4R) and 20 were shown once (1R). Recognition memory was assessed by asking participants to make old/new judgments for 80 FN pairs, of which half were previously studied items and half were novel FN pairs (N). Simultaneous EEG and ET recording were collected during recognition trials. Comparisons of event-related potentials (ERPs) for correctly identified FN pairs were compared across the three item types revealing classic ERP old/new effects including 1) relative positivity (1R > N) bi-frontally from 300 to 500 ms, reflecting enhanced familiarity, 2) relative positivity (4R > 1R and 4R > N) in parietal areas from 500 to 800 ms, reflecting enhanced recollection, and 3) late frontal effects (1R > N) from 1000 to 1800 ms in right frontal areas, reflecting post-retrieval monitoring. ET analysis also revealed significant differences in eye movements across conditions. Exploration of cross-modality relationships suggested associations between memory and executive function measures and the three ERP effects. Executive function measures were associated with several indicators of saccadic eye movements and fixations, which were also associated with all three ERP effects. This novel characterization of face-name recognition memory performance using simultaneous EEG and ET reproduced classic ERP and ET effects, supports the construct validity of the multimodal FN paradigm, and holds promise as an integrative tool to probe brain networks supporting memory and executive functioning.

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Acknowledgments

This study and the writing of this paper were supported by grants, funds, facilities and resources at several institutions including by the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), ENRM Bedford Veterans Affairs Hospital, Bedford, MA, the GRECC Post Funds and the GRECC Investigators Funds; by the Atri Cure AD Fund at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; by NIH grants to the Center for Functional Neuroimaging Technologies (P41RR14075), Dr. Atri (AG027171), and Dr. McLaren (AG042228); and by resources provided by the Ray Dolby Endowed Chair in Brain Health Research at the Ray Dolby Brain Center, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA. Drs. Mitchell and Atri are former employees of the ENRM Bedford VA Hospital. Dr. Mitchell received support during this project through the VA Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) GRECC Advanced Fellowship in Geriatrics. The contents of this study do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes of Health or the United States Government. We express our deep gratitude for the commitment of our study participants without whose generous contribution and dedication this research would not be possible. The authors have no conflicts of interest with the present study. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Tewksbury Hospital, 365 East Street, Tewksbury, MA, 01876, USA

    Meghan B. Mitchell

  2. Research Service, ENRM Bedford Veterans Affairs Hospital, Bedford, MA, USA

    Steven D. Shirk & Donald G. McLaren

  3. Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Donald G. McLaren & Alireza Atri

  4. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Donald G. McLaren & Alireza Atri

  5. Quinnipiac University, North Haven, CT, USA

    Jessica S. Dodd

  6. Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA

    Ali Ezzati

  7. Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA

    Brandon A. Ally

  8. Ray Dolby Brain Health Center and California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, Sutter Health, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Alireza Atri

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  1. Meghan B. Mitchell
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  2. Steven D. Shirk
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  3. Donald G. McLaren
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Correspondence to Meghan B. Mitchell.

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Meghan B. Mitchell and Steven D. Shirk are co-primary authors.

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Mitchell, M.B., Shirk, S.D., McLaren, D.G. et al. Recognition of faces and names: multimodal physiological correlates of memory and executive function. Brain Imaging and Behavior 10, 408–423 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-015-9420-6

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