Source Memory Engages Familiarity-Like, Not Recollection-Like, Neural Patterns: An fMRI Meta-Analysis

Description: Source-correct responses are often assumed to reflect strong, recollective retrieval, yet the structure of standard source memory paradigms suggests that they may instead depend on weaker, strategically controlled processes. To clarify the functional nature of source memory, a quantitative meta-analysis was conducted on 48 fMRI studies comparing source memory (source-correct > new), recollection (remember > new), and familiarity (know > new) contrasts. Activation Likelihood Estimation combined with network-based analyses identified convergent activity across both voxelwise and large-scale network levels. Source memory was characterized by dominant engagement of the frontoparietal network and limited involvement of the default mode network—an architecture indicative of effortful, control-based retrieval. Direct contrasts further revealed that this neural profile diverges sharply from recollection but closely parallels familiarity. These findings suggest that standard source memory paradigms primarily capture deliberate, control-based retrieval, refining its neural characterization and situating it along a continuum between controlled and spontaneous retrieval.