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In this study, we investigate the effect on recognition memory of having target and distractor stimuli consisting of different combinations of low-level elements (letters), relative to when targets and distractors consist of combinations of the same elements (nonoverlap and overlap conditions, respectively). It was found that recognition memory was enhanced in the nonoverlap condition, even though subjects reported being unaware of this experimental manipulation. This confirms the importance of perceptually driven processing in the implicit memory component of recognition memory. The extent to which this effect occurs is found to be age dependent, with elderly subjects benefiting more from having targets and distractors consisting of nonoverlapping elements. This is consistent with the notion that elderly subjects show less reliance on item-specific/contextual detail to support recognition memory.

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In this study we examined the value of errorless learning as a means of restoring memory for proper names in an individual who had becomedysnomic following herpes simplex encephalitis. In Experiment 1 the errorless learning technique was used to teach the subject (PM) the names of eightpoliticians thathe had forgotten. In evaluating thetechnique, we also examined whether there was any generalisation to the naming of untrained politicians' names that he had also forgotten and whether the technique had any effect on politicians' names he was able to produce at the outset of training. Training was successful in that PM reached criterion on naming the trained faces but there was no recovery of untrained names. Moreover, we also observed inhibition of politicians' name he was able to produce at the outset of the study. Experiment 2 used a similar procedure to teach PM the names of personal friends that he could not remember. However, the technique was modified so as to include a "refresh" trial at the end of each training session for those friends' names he was already able to produce. Errorless learning again facilitated the reacquisition of names but there was no inhibition of names available at the outset. These data illustrate that errorless learning can be used as a means of restoring lost vocabulary but demonstrate how retrieval inhibition is an important element in evaluating overall effectiveness. In addition, the data are discussed in relation to recent theories of memory restoration.