I am interested in individual differences in memory processing, in particular in how far certain personality traits can explain such differences. The personality trait I am particularly interested in is extraversion as this trait has been linked to the functioning of the dopamine system. This relationship allows me to treat measures of extraversion as a proxy measure of dopamine availability and thus make an attempt to link differences in the efficiency of the dopamine system to potential differences in memory processing. I study this question using EEG/ERP using already established ERP measures to investigate whether levels of extraversion (and thus dopamine availability) affect processes underlying memory encoding and retrieval. The use of EEG/ERP is particularly useful as it will show differences in neuronal processing even in the absence of behavioural differences (i.e. differences in memory performance).

Electrophysiological correlates of memory encoding and retrieval, Individual differences in memory processing, Cognitive Ageing

• Rugg, M.D., Mark, R.E., Walla, P., Schloerscheidt, A.M., Birch, C.S. & Allan K.A. (1998). Dissociation of the neural correlates of implicit and explicit memory. Nature, 39, 595-598
• Schloerscheidt, A.M. & Rugg, M.D. (2004) The impact of change in stimulus format on the electrophysiological indices of recognition Neuropsychologia, 42, 451-466
• Rugg, M.D., Schloerscheidt, A.M. & Mark, R.E. (1998). An electrophysiological comparison of two indices of recollection. Journal of Memory and Language, 39, 47-69

Prof. Fergus Craik, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto International

Dr. Douglas Potter, University of Dundee Scotland