Picture superiority doubly dissociates the ERP correlates of recollection and familiarity

■ Two experiments investigated the processes underlying the to be related to recollection, benefited from studying pictures, picture superiority effect on recognition memory. Studied pic- regardless of test format. The parallel between the accuracy and tures were associated with higher accuracy than studied words, parietal ERP results suggests that picture superiority may arise regardless of whether test stimuli were words (Experiment 1) from encoding the distinctive attributes of pictures in a manner or pictures (Experiment 2). Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) that enhances their later recollection. Furthermore, when words recorded during test suggested that the 300–500msec FN400 old / were tested, opposite effects of studying words versus studying new effect, hypothesized to be related to familiarity-based recog- pictures were observed on the FN400 (word> picture) versus nition, benefited from study/test congruity, such that it was larger parietal (picture> word) old/new effects—providing strong evi-when study and test format remained constant than when they dence for a crossover interaction between these components that differed. The 500–800 msec parietal old/new effect, hypothesized is consistent with a dual-process perspective.