The convergence of naturalistic paradigms and cognitive neuroscience methods to investigate memory and its development

Studies that involve lab-based stimuli (e.g., words, pictures) are fundamental in the memory literature. At the same time, there is growing acknowledgment that memory processes assessed in the lab may not be analogous to how memory operates in the real world. Naturalistic paradigms can bridge this gap and over the decades a growing proportion of memory research has involved more naturalistic events. However, there is significant variation in the types of naturalistic studies used to study memory and its development, each with various advantages and limitations. Further, there are notable gaps in how often different types of naturalistic approaches have been combined with cognitive neuroscience methods (e.g., fMRI, EEG) to elucidate the neural processes and substrates involved in memory encoding and retrieval in the real world. Here we summarize and discuss what we identify as progressively more naturalistic methodologies used in the memory literature (movie, virtual reality, staged-events inside and outside of the lab, photo-taking, and naturally occurring event studies). Our goal is to describe each approach's benefits (e.g., naturalistic quality, feasibility), limitations (e.g., viability of neuroimaging method for event encoding versus event retrieval), and discuss possible future directions with each approach. We focus on child studies, when available, but also highlight past adult studies. Although there is a growing body of child memory research, naturalistic approaches combined with cognitive neuroscience methodologies in this domain remain sparse. Overall, this viewpoint article reviews how we can study memory through the lens of developmental cognitive neuroscience, while utilizing naturalistic and real-world events.

Childhood parental companionship, self-esteem and prosocial behavior in college students: A correlation analysis

BACKGROUND

We aimed to evaluate the correlation of Childhood parental companionship, self-esteem and prosocial behavior in college students.

METHODS

We conducted a survey to assess the childhood parental companionship, self-esteem and prosocial behavior in our college from November 1, 2021 to December 15, 2021. The parental companionship status questionnaire, Self-Esteem Scale (SES) and prosocial behavior questionnaire were used for survey. Pearson linear correlation analysis was used for evaluating the correlation of childhood parental companionship, self-esteem and prosocial behavior in college students. The Bootstrap method was used to test the potentially mediating effect.

RESULTS

A total of 2186 college students were included. The average total companionship score was (60.52 ± 5.17), the average self-esteem scale score was (27.15 ± 8.56), the prosocial behavior questionnaire score was (61.19 ± 15.04). Pearson correlation analysis indicated that childhood parental companionship was positively correlated with self-esteem (r = 0.679) and prosocial behavior(r = 0.679) in included college students (all P < 0.05). Self-esteem had mediating effect on parental companionship and prosocial behavior of included college students, its mediating effect was -0.445, accounting for 77.92 % of the total effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Childhood parental companionship is positively correlated with self-esteem and prosocial behavior, and self-esteem play a mediating role in the parental companionship and prosocial behavior of college students.

Emotional autobiographical memory impairment features in three mental disorders

We proposed the Emotional Autobiographical Memory Test (EAMT) as a specialized method for measuring emotional autobiographical memory impairment in patients with mental disorders. The EAMT was tested with 32 patients with schizophrenia, 18 patients with bipolar disorder, 32 patients with depression, and 42 people undiagnosed with such disorders. We extracted 13 indices of five kinds of features from participants' emotional autobiographical memory and compared them among the four groups. The overgeneralization result in the schizophrenia and depression groups was consistent with previous results, supporting the EAMT's validity. However, inconsistent with previous results, overgeneralization was not found in the bipolar disorder group. Further, the count of involuntary memories in the patient groups (vs. control group) was significantly smaller, which can guide future researchers in investigating the psychopathology of mental disorders.

Adults who are more anxious and were anxiously attached as children report later first memories

Here, we examined retrospective reports of adults' earliest autobiographical memory, the age of this report and whether the reported age was associated with exposure to early life adversity, current anxiety and childhood attachment. Across four studies, we found that reporting a later 'earliest' memory was associated with higher self-reported anxiety in both American (Studies 1, 2 and 4) and Australian (Study 3) samples. Furthermore, in Studies 2-4, we found that reporting a later earliest memory uniquely predicted anxiety when controlling for number of adverse childhood events (a risk factor for the development of anxiety). In Study 4, we established that this relation is partially mediated by childhood anxious attachment. Although we consistently demonstrated that later earliest memories were associated with current anxiety, we found little evidence for a relation between reported age at the time of earliest memory and childhood adversity. We also found no evidence of gender differences in the associations of interest. These results suggest that poorer memory of early childhood is associated with greater childhood anxious attachment and anxiety in adulthood. The implications of this work are discussed in terms of the adaptive nature of autobiographical memory and the development of a coherent life narrative.

What is your earliest memory? It depends

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.

Earliest memories in Israeli kibbutz upbringing: it is parental engagement that makes a difference

Culture and parenting shape the ability to recall early childhood experiences. This research focused on the unique context of upbringing in the Israeli kibbutz and examined how cultural orientation and experiences of parental engagement in Kibbutz and non-Kibbutz settings shaped adults' earliest memories. Participants were 108 women (study 1) and 75 women and men (study 2) who were raised in traditional kibbutz upbringing or in a non-kibbutz family setting. In addition to reporting their earliest memory and age at earliest memory, participants estimated retrospectively the amount of daily time spent in interaction with parents, caregivers, and other children during the time of earliest memory. Overall, upbringing-related variations in cultural orientation were evident in the content of memories. A prediction of later age at earliest memory due to limited opportunities for parent-child interaction characteristic of traditional kibbutz upbringing was not supported. Rather, in both studies, age at earliest memory was linked to retrospective estimation of parental engagement, after controlling for childhood ecology. Study 2 revealed also a link of age at earliest memory to retrospective estimation of involvement with non-parental caregivers. These findings are congruent with the social-interaction model's claims about the importance of interaction with caregiving adults to autobiographical memory's development.

Parental bonding and neuropsychological performance are associated with episodic simulation of future events in trauma-exposed patients with major depressive disorder

INTRODUCTION

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and trauma-related disorders are associated with deficits in remembering the past and imagining the future (i.e., episodic simulation). We examined parental bonding and neuropsychological performance in relation to episodic simulation in trauma-exposed patients with recurrent MDD.

METHODS

Trauma-exposed patients with MDD (n = 21) and matched controls (n = 20) completed a future-oriented Autobiographical Interview, the Parental Bonding Instrument, and a standardized neuropsychological battery.

RESULTS

Patients with major depressive disorder generated fewer episodic details for future neutral events compared to controls. Although higher reported levels of maternal care were associated with increased specificity of negative future events among the patient group, higher maternal overprotection was related to decreased specificity of negative and positive future events. Higher levels of performance on measures of intelligence, verbal memory, executive functioning, and sustained attention were associated with increased specificity of future events.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal relations during childhood and neuropsychological performance are related to the specificity of episodic simulation in adult patients with MDD. Childhood experience continues to influence memory performance into adulthood.