A neuropsychological argument for a processing view of memory

This study examined the case of a brain-damaged patient, I.R., who exhibits the pattern of performance typical of persons with a selective short-term memory deficit. Part 1 reveals a dissociation in performance between impaired shortterm memory and preserved long-term memory. Part 2 examines an alternative explanation of I.R. s performance under a processing view of memory that rejects the notion of dual stores. The results indicate that the patient s performance on immediate serial recall of short lists was influenced by the semantic properties of items. In contrast, the patient did not use phonological properties. A similar pattern was found in supraspan tasks, in which I.R. demonstrated excellent recall of lexico-semantic material, but impaired memory for phonological information. These data suggest that there is a disruption of memory for phonological features with preserved memory for lexico-semantic features, irrespective of the short-term/long-term memory distinction. 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.