Distinct anatomical correlates of discriminability and criterion setting in verbal recognition memory revealed by lesion‐symptom mapping

Abstract

Recognition memory, that is, the ability to judge whether an item has been previously encountered in a particular context, depends on two factors: discriminability and criterion setting. Discriminability draws on memory processes while criterion setting (i.e., the application of a threshold resulting in a yes/no response) is regarded as a process of cognitive control. Discriminability and criterion setting are assumed to draw on distinct anatomical structures, but definite evidence for this assumption is lacking. We applied voxel-based and region of interest-based lesion-symptom mapping to 83 patients in the acute phase of ischemic stroke to determine the anatomical correlates of discriminability and criterion setting in verbal recognition memory. Recognition memory was measured with the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Signal-detection theory was used to calculate measures for discriminability and criterion setting. Lesion-symptom mapping revealed that discriminability draws on left medial temporal and temporo-occipital structures, both thalami and the right hippocampus, while criterion setting draws on the right inferior frontal gyrus. Lesions in the right inferior frontal gyrus were associated with liberal response bias. These findings indicate that discriminability and criterion setting indeed depend on distinct anatomical structures and provide new insights in the anatomical correlates of these cognitive processes that underlie verbal recognition memory.

Regional structural impairments outside lesions are associated with verbal short-term memory deficits in chronic subcortical stroke

“…Voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM) was used to test the association between VSTM and lesions [ 14 , 32 – 36 ]. After normalizing the 3D T1-weighted images to MNI space [ 35 ], the stroke lesions were blindly outlined by three radiologists on the individual's T1-weighted images (reference to T2-weighted images) using the MRIcron software ( https://www.nitrc.org/projects/mricron ).…”

“…In contrast to considering the lesion location and volume as independent predictors, a prior study has proposed combining lesion location and volume to evaluate the clinical outcome after stroke [ 13 ]. For example, voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) has been used to investigate the relationship between stroke lesions and VSTM performance, and the results revealed that VSTM impairment is related to lesions in the thalami, the left medial temporal and temporooccipital structures, the right hippocampus and the inferior frontal gyrus [ 14 ]. However, those studies included mixed (cortical and subcortical) stroke patients, leaving the exact association between subcortical stroke lesions and VSTM impairment still unknown.…”

Differences between left- and right-sided neglect revisited: A large cohort study across multiple domains

“…Infarct segmentations were transformed to the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI)-152 template (Fonov, Evans, McKinstry, Almli, & Collins, 2009;Klein, Staring, Murphy, Viergever, & Pluim, 2010;Kuijf, Biesbroek, Viergever, Biessels, & Vincken, 2013), with an intermediate registration step using an age-specific CT and MRI template (Rorden, Bonilha, Fridriksson, Bender, & Karnath, 2012), which served to improve the quality of the registrations. A more detailed description of the procedures for lesion segmentation and registration are provided elsewhere (Biesbroek et al, 2014(Biesbroek et al, , 2016. Quality checks of the registration results were performed by comparing the native scan to the lesion map in MNI space.…”

Failure to Affect Decision Criteria During Recognition Memory With Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation

“…This study attempted to further illuminate neural mechanisms underlying the maintenance of a conservative decision criterion during recognition memory. Patients with damaged and/or dysfunction frontal lobes oftentimes establish overly liberal decision criteria when making recognition judgments (Biesbroek et al, 2015 ; Deason et al, 2017 ). In healthy individuals, widespread fronto-parietal BOLD activity is present in the H > CR contrast of recognition memory tests when maintaining a conservative decision criterion, but not a liberal criterion (Aminoff et al, 2015 ).…”

“…There is evidence to suggest the prefrontal cortex plays a role in maintaining a conservative decision criterion. Patients with frontal lobe lesions tend to establish more liberal decision criteria as evidenced by increased false alarm rates during recognition memory (Parkin et al, 1996 ; Schacter et al, 1996 ; Swick and Knight, 1999 ; Verfaellie et al, 2004 ; Callahan et al, 2011 ; Biesbroek et al, 2015 ). A tendency to set liberal decision criteria is also observed in other patient populations associated with frontal lobe damage or dysfunction, including Alzheimer's disease (Budson et al, 2006 ; Waring et al, 2008 ; Beth et al, 2009 ; Deason et al, 2017 ) and schizophrenia (Moritz et al, 2008 ).…”