The contribution of recollection and familiarity to yes-no and forced-choice recognition tests in healthy subjects and amnesics

Recent reports suggest that some amnesic patients perform relatively normal ly on forced-choice recognition memory tests. Their preserved performance m ay reflect the fact that the test relies more heavily on assessments of fam iliarity, a process that is relatively preserved in these patients, than do other recognition tests such as yes-no tests, which may rely more on recol lection. The current study examined recognition memory using yes-no and for ced-choice procedures in control and amnesic patients in order to determine whether the two tasks differentially relied on recollection and familiarit y, and whether the extent of the recognition memory deficit observed in amn esia was dependent upon the type of recognition test used to measure perfor mance. Results using the remember-know procedure with healthy subjects show ed that there were no substantial differences in recognition accuracy or in the contribution of recollection to these two tasks. Moreover, amnesic pat ients were not found to perform better on a forced-choice test than on a ye s-no test, suggesting that familiarity contributed equally to these two typ es of recognition test. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.