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Jin B, Gongwer MW, Ohanian L, Holden-Wingate L, Le B, Darmawan A, Nakayama Y, Rueda Mora SA, DeNardo LA. A developmental brain-wide screen identifies retrosplenial cortex as a key player in the emergence of persistent memory. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.07.574554. [PMID: 38260633 PMCID: PMC10802387 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.07.574554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Memories formed early in life are short-lived while those formed later persist. Recent work revealed that infant memories are stored in a latent state. But why they fail to be retrieved is poorly understood. Here we investigated brain-wide circuit mechanisms underlying infantile amnesia in mice. We performed a screen that combined activity-dependent neuronal tagging at different postnatal ages, tissue clearing and light sheet microscopy. We observed striking developmental transitions in the organization of fear memory networks and changes in the activity and functional connectivity of the retrosplenial cortex (RSP) that aligned with the emergence of persistent memory. 7 days after learning, chemogenetic reactivation of tagged RSP ensembles enhanced memory in adults but not in infants. But after 33 days, reactivating infant-tagged RSP ensembles recovered forgotten memories. These studies show that RSP ensembles store latent infant memories, reveal the time course of RSP functional maturation, and suggest that immature RSP functional networks contribute to infantile amnesia.
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2
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Martschuk N, Harris DA, Powell MB, Goodman-Delahunty J. Early childhood memories of individuals convicted of sexual offences. Memory 2024; 32:1-10. [PMID: 37922396 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2023.2276977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/05/2023]
Abstract
This study used innovative transdisciplinary methods to describe the nature and extent of early childhood memories recalled by 84 adults convicted of sexual offences. The timing of the memories, level of detail recalled and way memories were recollected were largely consistent with extant memory research. One important finding, however, was that more than 30% of our participants recalled particularly traumatic and distressing childhood experiences - a much higher proportion than previously observed in nonoffending samples. The extent to which these memories laid the foundation for subsequent emotional content and feature in the evolution of cognitive schemata is not yet well understood. With that in mind, we consider the implications of our findings for the event centrality in self-narratives. We recommend the inclusion of treatment modalities that maximise as yet unrecognised and undervalued narrative inclinations and story-telling abilities of a complicated population of individuals with rich lived experience that stands to benefit greatly from such approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Martschuk
- Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | | | - Martine B Powell
- Centre for Investigative Interviewing, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
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3
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Fernández-Pérez D, Ros L, Jimeno MV, Latorre JM. Effect of the emotional valence of autobiographical memory and parental bonding on depressive symptoms in a community sample. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6722. [PMID: 37185929 PMCID: PMC10130174 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33916-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Retrospective perceptions of parental bonding may be a protective factor for emotional health. These perceptions are grounded in autobiographical memory, which plays a key role in the onset and maintenance of depressive symptomatology. The aim of the present study was to explore whether the emotional valence of autobiographical memories (positive and negative) and the dimensions of parental bonding (care and protection) have an impact on depressive symptomatology, examining the role of depressive rumination and possible age-related differences. A total of 139 young adults (18-28 years) and 124 older adults (65-88 years) completed the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), the Autobiographical Memory Test and the Short Depressive Rumination Scale. Our results show that positive autobiographical memories serve as a protective factor for depressive symptoms in both young and older adults. Additionally, in young adults, high paternal care and protection scores are associated with increased negative autobiographical memories, although this association has no effect on depressive symptomatology. In older adults, high maternal protection scores are directly related to greater depressive symptomatology. Depressive rumination significantly increases depressive symptoms in both young and older adults, with an increase in negative autobiographical memories in young adults, and a decrease in such memories in older adults. Our findings progress the understanding of the relationships between parental bonding and autobiographical memory with respect to emotional disorders, which, in turn, will help in the design of effective prevention measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dolores Fernández-Pérez
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain.
- Neurological Disabilities Research Institute, Albacete, Spain.
| | - Laura Ros
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
- Neurological Disabilities Research Institute, Albacete, Spain
| | - María V Jimeno
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - José Miguel Latorre
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
- Neurological Disabilities Research Institute, Albacete, Spain
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4
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Earliest versus other autobiographical memories of school-age children. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04377-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
AbstractEarliest memories have been the topic of scientific research for over a century and seen use as tools of clinical assessment. Still, it remains unclear whether they are in some way distinct or revealing about the person reporting them. This preregistered study examined whether children’s self-reported earliest memories differ from other memories, and how their features link with mood and gender. Urban 9–13-year-old children in Finland (N = 166) reported on their earliest memory and another old autobiographical memory, and mood. Memories were coded for specificity, thematic content, social orientation, and emotional content. No differences between earliest and other memories were noted in specificity, trauma- and accident-related content, or emotional content. However, earliest memories had more play- and less visit-related content and were less likely to be social. Negative mood did not generally correlate with features of memories. Girls reported more social earliest and other memories, and more positive earliest memories. The findings are compared to research in other cultural environments. Overall, they do not support a privileged position for the earliest memory as an object of scientific research or clinical assessment.
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Howe ML. Early Childhood Memories Are not Repressed: Either They Were Never Formed or Were Quickly Forgotten. Top Cogn Sci 2022. [PMID: 36458626 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Early childhood events are rarely remembered in adulthood. In fact, memory for these early experiences declines during childhood itself. This holds regardless of whether these memories of autobiographical experiences are traumatic or mundane, everyday experiences. Indeed, what people tend to remember from their childhoods involves relatively innocuous experiences, ones often devoid of emotion. In this article, I provide an overview of the types of memories adults recall from their childhoods and the ages at which these memories are believed to have been formed. Along the way, I provide a brief exegesis of the neurobiological and cognitive underpinnings of early memory development. I will show that changes and growth in neural interconnectivity as well as the development of various cognitive structures (e.g., the inception of the cognitive self) help propel the emergence of a mature autobiographical memory system, one that can and does serve as a reconstructive base for remembering events that occur in later childhood and adulthood. During the course of this review, I detail the nature of early memories, their fragility, and the adaptive consequences of forgetting and supplanting these memories with newer, more age-appropriate experiences throughout childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark L Howe
- Department of Psychology, School of Health and Psychological Sciences, City, University of London
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6
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Öner S, Gülgöz S. Adults’ recollection of the earliest memories: early parental elaboration mediated the link between attachment and remembering. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03811-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
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7
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Peterson C, Wang Q, Lillington NB, Hallett D. Strategies for Dating Earliest Memories. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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8
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Hutmacher F, Morgenroth K. The Beginning of the Life Story: The Meaning of the Earliest Autobiographical Memory From an Adult Perspective. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Hutmacher
- Human‐Computer‐Media Institute University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
- Department of Psychology University of Regensburg Regensburg Germany
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9
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Abstract
This article is a selective review of the literature on childhood amnesia, followed by new analyses of both published and unpublished data that has been collected in my laboratory over two decades. Analyses point to the fluidity of people's earliest memories; furthermore, methodological variation leads to individuals recalling memories from substantially earlier in their lives. How early one's "earliest" memory is depends on whether you have multiple interviews, how many early memories were requested within an interview, the type of interview, participation in prior tasks, etc. As well, people often provide chronologically earlier memories within the same interview in which they later identify a chronologically older memory as their "earliest". There may also be systematic mis-dating to older ages of very early memories. Overall, people may have a lot more memories from their preschool years than is widely believed, and be able to recall events from earlier in their lives than has been historically documented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carole Peterson
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada
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10
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Saragosa-Harris NM, Cohen AO, Shen X, Sardar H, Alberini CM, Hartley CA. Associative memory persistence in 3- to 5-year-olds. Dev Sci 2021; 24:e13105. [PMID: 33626196 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Adults struggle to recollect episodic memories from early life. This phenomenon-referred to as "infantile" and "childhood amnesia"-has been widely observed across species and is characterized by rapid forgetting from birth until early childhood. While a number of studies have focused on infancy, few studies have examined the persistence of memory for newly learned associations during the putative period of childhood amnesia. In this study, we investigated forgetting in 137 children ages 3-5 years old by using an interactive storybook task. We assessed associative memory between subjects after 5-min, 24-h, and 1-week delay periods. Across all delays, we observed a significant increase in memory performance with age. While all ages demonstrated above-chance memory performance after 5-min and 24-h delays, we observed chance-level memory accuracy in 3-year-olds following a 1-week delay. The observed age differences in associative memory support the proposal that hippocampal-dependent memory systems undergo rapid development during the preschool years. These data have the potential to inform future work translating memory persistence and malleability research from rodent models to humans by establishing timescales at which we expect young children to forget newly learned associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie M Saragosa-Harris
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Xinxu Shen
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Haniyyah Sardar
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Catherine A Hartley
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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11
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Aydin C, Conway MA. Cultural self-goals influence how much is remembered from early childhood events. J Pers 2019; 88:794-805. [PMID: 31758802 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Prior work examining the role of cultural self-goals on the retrieval of early memories treated the presence of self-goals; such as autonomy and relatedness, as a binary category which has led to overlooking within-group nuances. Here, based on the idea that these goals co-exist in varying degrees in individuals, we explore the relative contributions of self-goals on age-at-event and the level of detail in positive and negative early memories. METHOD Participants (N = 119) recalled and dated two earliest positive and negative memories that they were highly confident were memories, and answered a set of questions about event-specific details. They also completed a self-construal scale. RESULTS For positive memories, Autonomous-Related Self scores predicted both the age-at-event and the amount of detail in early memories, while. no such relationship was observed for negative memories. CONCLUSIONS Together these findings indicate that cultural self-goals operate on the accessibility of early memories not only at the level of the boundaries of childhood amnesia but also on how much is recalled from early experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cagla Aydin
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Martin A Conway
- Department of Psychology, City University of London, London, UK
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12
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Autobiographical memory stability in the context of the Adult Attachment Interview. Cognition 2019; 191:103980. [PMID: 31238247 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Revised: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that both attachment representations and autobiographical memories are moderately stable over time. Evidence examining the stability of attachment-related memories is scarce, although these memories of early caregiving are thought to underpin attachment representations. Connecting research on stability of autobiographical memories with research on attachment representation, the present study investigated the stability of attachment-related autobiographical memories, which were provided by 151 emerging adults in repeated Adult Attachment Interviews conducted seven years apart. Results show that these childhood memories are as stable as other memories from later periods of life, and that memory stability depends on retrieval mode, memory valence, autobiographical memory specificity, and memory content (i.e., maternal vs. paternal caregiver). Investigating the relation of stability of attachment-related memory content with attachment security revealed mainly an association with secure base script knowledge, supporting the notion that attachment representations are firmly rooted in semantic and autobiographical memory systems.
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13
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine Reese
- Psychology Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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14
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Hamidi AB, Ramirez S. Memory: The Majestic Case of an Amnestic Trace. Curr Biol 2018; 28:R784-R786. [PMID: 30040937 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Memories formed during infancy are forgotten in adulthood, a phenomenon called 'infantile amnesia'. New research suggests that these memories can be artificially recovered in adulthood, suggesting that they were never completely lost in the first place.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anahita B Hamidi
- Boston University, Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
| | - Steve Ramirez
- Boston University, Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 610 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
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15
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Affiliation(s)
- Berivan Ece
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, MEF University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Burcu Demiray
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Sami Gülgöz
- Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey
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16
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Waters TEA, Köber C, Raby KL, Habermas T, Fivush R. Consistency and stability of narrative coherence: An examination of personal narrative as a domain of adult personality. J Pers 2018; 87:151-162. [PMID: 29498422 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2017] [Revised: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Narrative theories of personality assume that individual differences in coherence reflect consistent and stable differences in narrative style rather than situational and event-specific differences (e.g., McAdams & McLean, 2013). However, this assumption has received only modest empirical attention. Therefore, we present two studies testing the theoretical assumption of a consistent and stable coherent narrative style. METHOD Study 1 focused on the two most traumatic and most positive life events of 224 undergraduates. These event-specific narratives were coded for three coherence dimensions: theme, context, and chronology (NaCCs; Reese et al., 2011). Study 2 focused on two life narratives told 4 years apart by 98 adults, which were coded for thematic, causal, and temporal coherence (Köber, Schmiedek, & Habermas, 2015). RESULTS Confirmatory factor analysis in both studies revealed that individual differences in the coherence ratings were best explained by a model including both narrative style and event-/narration-specific latent variables. CONCLUSIONS The ways in which we tell autobiographical narratives reflect a stable feature of individual differences. Further, they suggest that this stable element of personality is necessary, but not sufficient, in accounting for specific event and life narrative coherence.
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17
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Tustin K, Hayne H. Recollection improves with age: children's and adults' accounts of their childhood experiences. Memory 2018; 27:92-102. [PMID: 29376766 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2018.1432661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Since the time of Freud, psychologists have drawn conclusions about children's memory on the basis of retrospective research with adults. Here, we turn the tables by examining what prospective studies with children and adolescents can tell us about the retrospective memory accounts provided by adults. Adults were interviewed about recent events and events from different points during their childhood (Age 5, Age 10) and early adolescence (Age 13). Children (5- and 8- to 9-year-olds) and young adolescents (12- to 13-year-olds) were interviewed about recent events. When matched for age at the time of encoding, adults recalled more about the target events than did 5-year-olds, even though the retention interval for adults was substantially longer. We conclude that retrospective studies with adults may lead researchers to overestimate the content of the early childhood memories that survive. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for an understanding of memory development and the practical implications for the interpretation of adults' retrospective accounts in the courtroom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Tustin
- a Psychology Department , University of Otago , Dunedin , New Zealand
| | - Harlene Hayne
- a Psychology Department , University of Otago , Dunedin , New Zealand
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18
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Bauer PJ, Larkina M. Predictors of age-related and individual variability in autobiographical memory in childhood. Memory 2017; 27:63-78. [PMID: 28978277 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2017.1381267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Development of autobiographical memory is as a gradual process beginning in early childhood and continuing through late adolescence. Substantial attention has been paid to early childhood when first personal memories are formed; less attention has been focused on the flourishing of memories from the late preschool years onward. We addressed this void with a three-year cohort-sequential study of age-related changes in the length, completeness, and coherence of autobiographical narratives by children 4-10 years. We also examined the unique and combined variance in autobiographical narrative explained by children's own language, maternal narrative style, domain-general cognitive abilities, non-autobiographical story recall, and memory-specific skills. There was substantial growth in autobiographical narrative skill across the 4-10-year period. Non-autobiographical story recall was a strong concurrent and cross-lagged predictor for all autobiographical narrative measures. Memory-specific and domain-general cognitive abilities systematically predicted narrative completeness and coherence but not length. Children's language and maternal narrative style did not contribute additional variance when these predictors were considered. The findings highlight that age-related changes in autobiographical memory are the results of combined contributions of a variety of domain-general and domain-specific predictors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia J Bauer
- a Department of Psychology , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
| | - Marina Larkina
- a Department of Psychology , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
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19
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Peterson C, Hallett D, Compton-Gillingham C. Childhood Amnesia in Children: A Prospective Study Across Eight Years. Child Dev 2017; 89:e520-e534. [PMID: 28972273 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
This was a prospective study of earliest memories across 8 years for 37 children who were of age 4-9 years initially. In three interviews (initial and after 2 and 8 years) children provided their three earliest memories; those from earlier interviews that were not spontaneously provided later were cued. There was little consistency in the earliest memory or overlap across interviews in spontaneous memories. The youngest group also forgot over half their initial memories although few were forgotten by older children. For consistency of content, 25%-32% of information by former 6- to 9-year-olds was the same after 8 years, but < 10% provided by the youngest children was the same and 22% was contradictory. Emotion and contextual coherence predicted memory retention.
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Larkina M, Merrill NA, Bauer PJ. Developmental changes in consistency of autobiographical memories: adolescents' and young adults' repeated recall of recent and distance events. Memory 2016; 25:1036-1051. [PMID: 27924682 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2016.1253750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Autobiographical memories contribute continuity and stability to one's self yet they also are subject to change: they can be forgotten or be inconsistently remembered and reported. In the present research, we compared the consistency of two reports of recent and distant personal events in adolescents (12- to 14-year-olds) and young adults (18- to 23-year-olds). In line with expectations of greater mnemonic consistency among young adults relative to adolescents, adolescents reported the same events 80% of the time compared with 90% consistency among young adults; the significant difference disappeared after taking into consideration narrative characteristics of individual memories. Neither age group showed high levels of content consistency (30% vs. 36%); young adults were more consistent than adolescents even after controlling for other potential predictors of content consistency. Adolescents and young adults did not differ in consistency of estimating when their past experiences occurred. Multilevel modelling indicated that the level of thematic coherence of the initial memory report and ratings of event valence significantly predicted memory consistency at the level of the event. Thematic coherence was a significant negative predictor of content consistency. The findings suggest a developmental progression in the robustness and stability of personal memories between adolescence and young adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Larkina
- a Department of Psychology , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
| | | | - Patricia J Bauer
- a Department of Psychology , Emory University , Atlanta , GA , USA
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21
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Luchetti M, Rossi N, Montebarocci O, Sutin AR. Continuity of phenomenology and (in)consistency of content of meaningful autobiographical memories. Conscious Cogn 2016; 42:15-25. [PMID: 26967757 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2015] [Revised: 01/13/2016] [Accepted: 02/14/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Phenomenology is a critical component of autobiographical memory retrieval; it reflects both (a) memory-specific features and (b) stable individual differences. Few studies have tested phenomenology longitudinally. The present work examined the continuity of memory phenomenology in a sample of Italians adults (N=105) over a 4-week period. Participants retrieved two 'key' personal memories, a Turning Point and an Early Childhood Memory, rated the phenomenology of each memory, and completed measures of personality, psychological distress and subjective well-being. Phenomenological ratings were moderately stable over time (median correlation >.40), regardless of memory content. Personality traits, psychological distress and well-being were associated with phenomenology cross-sectionally and with changes in phenomenology over time. These results suggest that how individuals re-experience their most important personal memories is relatively consistent over time and shaped by both trait and state aspects of psychological functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Luchetti
- Florida State University College of Medicine, Department Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, 1115 West Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.
| | - Nicolino Rossi
- University of Bologna, Department of Psychology, Viale Berti Pichat 5, Bologna 40126, Italy.
| | - Ornella Montebarocci
- University of Bologna, Department of Psychology, Viale Berti Pichat 5, Bologna 40126, Italy.
| | - Angelina R Sutin
- Florida State University College of Medicine, Department Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, 1115 West Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.
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22
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Bauer PJ. Development of episodic and autobiographical memory: The importance of remembering forgetting. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2015; 38:146-166. [PMID: 26644633 DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2015.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Some memories of the events of our lives have a long shelf-life-they remain accessible to recollection even after long delays. Yet many other of our experiences are forgotten, sometimes very soon after they take place. In spite of the prevalence of forgetting, theories of the development of episodic and autobiographical memory largely ignore it as a potential source of variance in explanation of age-related variability in long-term recall. They focus instead on what may be viewed as positive developmental changes, that is, changes that result in improvements in the quality of memory representations that are formed. The purpose of this review is to highlight the role of forgetting as an important variable in understanding the development of episodic and autobiographical memory. Forgetting processes are implicated as a source of variability in long-term recall due to the protracted course of development of the neural substrate responsible for transformation of fleeting experiences into memory traces that can be integrated into long-term stores and retrieved at later points in time. It is logical to assume that while the substrate is developing, neural processing is relatively inefficient and ineffective, resulting in loss of information from memory (i.e., forgetting). For this reason, focus on developmental increases in the quality of representations of past events and experiences will tell only a part of the story of how memory develops. A more complete account is afforded when we also consider changes in forgetting.
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