Neural correlates of graded familiarity resemble those of recollection: An fMRI meta-analysis and network model

Description: Recollection and familiarity are core components of episodic memory, yet their large-scale neural architecture remains debated. The default mode network (DMN) is typically linked to recollection and the frontoparietal network (FPN) to familiarity. To re-examine this distinction, this study performed an ALE meta-analysis of 48 fMRI experiments and evaluated a network-level model in which memory strength and control demands jointly shape DMN–FPN engagement. Analyses focused on graded familiarity contrasts (e.g., F3 > F2 > F1 > New) and their comparison with conventional binary familiarity (Know > New) and binary recollection (Remember > New). Graded familiarity engaged both the DMN and FPN, with greater DMN involvement than binary familiarity, which primarily recruited the FPN. By contrast, graded familiarity and binary recollection showed broadly similar patterns across both networks. Subnetwork analyses further revealed consistent engagement of the core DMN-A subsystem and all FPN subdivisions for both graded familiarity and binary recollection. Together, these findings suggest that recollection and familiarity may differ more in degree than in kind at the network level, reflecting graded variations in network recruitment that scale with memory strength and controlled retrieval demands.