Abstract

ABSTRACT—Neuroimaging data could help clarify the long-standing dispute between dual-store and single-store mod-els of the serial position curve. Dual-store models assume that retrieval from late positions is dependent on short-term memory (STM), whereas retrieval from early posi-tions is dependent on long-term memory (LTM). Single-store models, however, assume that retrieval processes for early and late items are similar, but that early items are more difficult to discriminate than late items. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to ex-amine this question. Ten young adults were scanned while they recognized items from early or late serial positions. Recognition of early items uniquely activated brain areas traditionally associated with LTM, namely, regions within the hippocampal memory system. None of these areas was