NEW-ASSOCIATION PRIMING OF WORD IDENTIFICATION IN NORMAL AND AMNESIC SUBJECTS

Subjects took an implicit memory test in which pairs of unrelated word s were flashed briefly and the ability to identify the second word of each pair was measured as a function of prior study. In young subjects , identification was better when the second word had been studied comp ared to when it had not been studied (word-specific priming). Identifi cation was also better when the two words had been paired at study com pared to when they had been studied separately (association-specific p riming). In amnesic patients, word-specific priming was normal compare d to that in age- and IQ-matched control subjects. Association-specifi c priming was observed, but it was below normal levels. This outcome s uggests that the amnesic dysfunction can encompass priming of new verb al associations but spare priming of existing verbal information.