Andrew Yonelinas, Ph.D.

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Professor of Psychology

  • Center for Neuroscience
  • Center for Mind and Brain

Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory and Memory Impairments

Research Summary

Dr. Yonelinas aims to understand how memory works, and why it often fails. In order to characterize the functional nature of different memory processes he uses implicit and explicit tests as well as several 'second generation' procedures such as the process dissociation procedure, the independence remember/know procedure, and ROC modeling procedure. In order to determine the neural substrates of memory encoding and retrieval processes he is i) examining memory impaired patients such as amnesics and Alzheimer's patients, and ii) examining the physiological correlates of memory processes using neuroimaging techniques such as function magnetic resonance imaging. The goal of this work is to develop and test models of memory that address recent behavioral, neuropsychological and brain imaging data. Other research interests include studying the role of the medial temporal lobes in perception and working memory, and examining the effects of emotion and stress on memory and cognition.

Select Publications

  • Koen, J. D., & Yonelinas, A. P. (2014). The effects of healthy aging, amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease on recollection and familiarity: A meta-analytic review. Neuropsychology Review, 24(3): 332-354.
  • Yonelinas AP, Ritchey M. (2015). The slow forgetting of emotional episodic memories: an emotional binding account. Trends Cogn Sci. May;19(5):259-67.
  • Elfman KW, Aly M, Yonelinas AP. (2014). Neurocomputational account of memory and perception: Thresholded and graded signals in the hippocampus. Hippocampus. Dec;24(12):1672-86.
  • Shields GS, Sazma MA, McCullough AM, Yonelinas AP. (2017). The effects of acute stress on episodic memory: A meta-analysis and integrative review. Psychol Bull. Jun;143(6):636-675.
  • Wang, W. C., Ranganath, C., & Yonelinas, A. P. (2014). Activity reductions in perirhinal cortex predict conceptual priming and familiarity-based recognition. Neuropsychologia, 52, 19–26.