1
|
Siena MJ, Simons JS. Metacognitive Awareness and the Subjective Experience of Remembering in Aphantasia. J Cogn Neurosci 2024; 36:1578-1598. [PMID: 38319889 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Individuals with aphantasia, a nonclinical condition typically characterized by mental imagery deficits, often report reduced episodic memory. However, findings have hitherto rested largely on subjective self-reports, with few studies experimentally investigating both objective and subjective aspects of episodic memory in aphantasia. In this study, we tested both aspects of remembering in aphantasic individuals using a custom 3-D object and spatial memory task that manipulated visuospatial perspective, which is considered to be a key factor determining the subjective experience of remembering. Objective and subjective measures of memory performance were taken for both object and spatial memory features under different perspective conditions. Surprisingly, aphantasic participants were found to be unimpaired on all objective memory measures, including those for object memory features, despite reporting weaker overall mental imagery experience and lower subjective vividness ratings on the memory task. These results add to newly emerging evidence that aphantasia is a heterogenous condition, where some aphantasic individuals may lack metacognitive awareness of mental imagery rather than mental imagery itself. In addition, we found that both participant groups remembered object memory features with greater precision when encoded and retrieved in the first person versus third person, suggesting a first-person perspective might facilitate subjective memory reliving by enhancing the representational quality of scene contents.
Collapse
|
2
|
Anthony K, Wong HK, Lim A, Sow F, Janssen SMJ. Examining the roles of visual imagery and working memory in the retrieval of autobiographical memories using a dual-task paradigm. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2024; 77:447-460. [PMID: 37649149 PMCID: PMC10880419 DOI: 10.1177/17470218231200724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
The retrieval of autobiographical memories involves the construction of mental representations of past personal events. Many researchers examining the processes underlying memory retrieval argue that visual imagery plays a fundamental role. Other researchers, however, have argued that working memory is an integral component involved in memory retrieval. The goal of this study was to resolve these conflicting arguments by comparing the relative contributions of visual imagery and working memory during the retrieval of autobiographical memories in a dual-task paradigm. While following a moving dot, viewing a dynamic visual noise (DVN), or viewing a blank screen, 95 participants recalled their memories and subsequently rated them on different memory characteristics. The results suggest that inhibiting visual imagery by having participants view DVN merely delayed memory retrieval but did not affect the phenomenological quality of the memories retrieved. Taxations to the working memory by having participants follow a moving dot, on the contrary, resulted in only longer retrieval latencies and no reductions in the specificity, vividness, or the emotional intensity of the memories retrieved. Whereas the role of visual imagery during retrieval is clear, future studies could further examine the role of working memory during retrieval by administering a task that is less difficult or by recruiting a larger sample than this study. The results of this study seem to suggest that both visual imagery and working memory play a role during the retrieval of autobiographical memory, but more research needs to be conducted to determine their exact roles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kristine Anthony
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
| | - Hoo Keat Wong
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
| | - Alfred Lim
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
- Centre for Research in Child Development, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Farrah Sow
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
| | - Steve MJ Janssen
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Reed LS, Evans LH. The positive dimension of schizotypy is associated with self-report measures of autobiographical memory and future thinking but not experimenter-scored indices. Memory 2024; 32:383-395. [PMID: 38466582 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2024.2325525] [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: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
ABSTRACTThe ability to remember our past and to imagine the future are critical to our sense of self. Previous research has indicated that they are disrupted in schizophrenia. However, it is unclear (i) whether this is found when examining experimenter-scored indices of content and/or participants' self-report of phenomenological characteristics, and (ii) how these abilities might be related to symptoms. This study sought to address these questions by taking a dimensional approach and measuring positive and negative schizotypal experiences in healthy people (n = 90). Participants were given cue words. For some, they remembered an event from the past and for others they generated an event in the future. No significant relationships were found with any aspect of schizotypy when participants' descriptions were scored by the experimenter according to a standardised episodic content measure. In contrast, several significant positive correlations were observed for past memory and future thinking when examining the positive dimension of schizotypy and participants' ratings, particularly to sensory characteristics of the experience and mental pre- or reliving. These results indicate enhanced subjective experiences of autobiographical memory and future thinking in those who report delusional and hallucinatory-like occurrences, which might be linked to mental imagery or metacognitive alterations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lucie S Reed
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Lisa H Evans
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Chiorri C, Vannucci M. The Subjective Experience of Autobiographical Remembering: Conceptual and Methodological Advances and Challenges. J Intell 2024; 12:21. [PMID: 38392177 PMCID: PMC10890313 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence12020021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The investigation of the phenomenology of autobiographical memories (i.e., how a memory is subjectively experienced and its meaning) has provided an important contribution to our understanding of autobiographical remembering. Over the last two decades, the study of phenomenology has received widespread scientific attention, and the field has undergone quite relevant conceptual and methodological changes. In the present work, we (1) review some basic and well-established research findings and methodological achievements; (2) discuss new theoretical and methodological challenges, with a special focus on the issue of the phenomenological experience of the retrieval process and its relationship with the phenomenology of the products of retrieval; and (3) propose an alternative way of conceptualizing and understanding it in the framework of experimental phenomenology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carlo Chiorri
- Department of Educational Sciences, University of Genoa, Corso A. Podestà 2, 16128 Genova, Italy
| | - Manila Vannucci
- Department of Neurofarba, Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Via San Salvi 12, Padiglione 26, 50135 Florence, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Watanuki S. Identifying distinctive brain regions related to consumer choice behaviors on branded foods using activation likelihood estimation and machine learning. Front Comput Neurosci 2024; 18:1310013. [PMID: 38374888 PMCID: PMC10875973 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2024.1310013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Brand equity plays a crucial role in a brand's commercial success; however, research on the brain regions associated with brand equity has had mixed results. This study aimed to investigate key brain regions associated with the decision-making of branded and unbranded foods using quantitative neuroimaging meta-analysis and machine learning. Methods Quantitative neuroimaging meta-analysis was performed using the activation likelihood method. Activation of the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) overlapped between branded and unbranded foods. The lingual and parahippocampal gyri (PHG) were activated in the case of branded foods, whereas no brain regions were characteristically activated in response to unbranded foods. We proposed a novel predictive method based on the reported foci data, referencing the multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) results. This approach is referred to as the multi-coordinate pattern analysis (MCPA). We conducted the MCPA, adopting the sparse partial least squares discriminant analysis (sPLS-DA) to detect unique brain regions associated with branded and unbranded foods based on coordinate data. The sPLS-DA is an extended PLS method that enables the processing of categorical data as outcome variables. Results We found that the lingual gyrus is a distinct brain region in branded foods. Thus, the VMPFC might be a core brain region in food categories in consumer behavior, regardless of whether they are branded foods. Moreover, the connection between the PHG and lingual gyrus might be a unique neural mechanism in branded foods. Discussion As this mechanism engages in imaging the feature-self based on emotionally subjective contextual associative memories, brand managers should create future-oriented relevancies between brands and consumers to build valuable brands.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shinya Watanuki
- Department of Marketing, Faculty of Commerce, University of Marketing and Distribution Sciences, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Trakas M. Journeying to the past: time travel and mental time travel, how far apart? Front Psychol 2023; 14:1260458. [PMID: 38213608 PMCID: PMC10783551 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1260458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Spatial models dominated memory research throughout much of the twentieth century, but in recent decades, the concept of memory as a form of mental time travel (MTT) to the past has gained prominence. Initially introduced as a metaphor, the MTT perspective shifted the focus from internal memory processes to the subjective conscious experience of remembering. Despite its significant impact on empirical and theoretical memory research, there has been limited discussion regarding the meaning and adequacy of the MTT metaphor in accounting for memory. While in previous work I have addressed the general limitations of the MTT metaphor in explaining memory, the objective of this article is more focused and modest: to gain a better understanding of what constitutes MTT to the past. To achieve this objective, a detailed analysis of the characteristics of MTT to the past is presented through a comparison with time travel (TT) to the past. Although acknowledging that TT does not refer to an existing physical phenomenon, it is an older concept extensively discussed in the philosophical literature and provides commonly accepted grounds, particularly within orthodox theories of time, that can offer insights into the nature of MTT. Six specific characteristics serve as points of comparison: (1) a destination distinct from the present, (2) the distinction between subjective time and objective time, (3) the subjective experience of the time traveler, (4) their differentiation from the past self, (5) the existence of the past, and (6) its unchangeability. Through this research, a detailed exploration of the phenomenal and metaphysical aspects of MTT to the past is undertaken, shedding light on the distinct features that mental time travel to the past acquires when it occurs within the realm of the mind rather than as a physical phenomenon. By examining these characteristics, a deeper understanding of the nature of mental time travel is achieved, offering insights into how it operates in relation to memory and the past.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marina Trakas
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Blomkvist A, Marks DF. Defining and 'diagnosing' aphantasia: Condition or individual difference? Cortex 2023; 169:220-234. [PMID: 37948876 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Research into the newly-coined 'condition' of 'aphantasia', an individual difference involving the self-reported absence of voluntary visual imagery, has taken off in recent years, and more and more people are 'self-diagnosing' as aphantasic. Yet, there is no consensus on whether aphantasia should really be described as a 'condition', and there is no battery of psychometric instruments to detect or 'diagnose' aphantasia. Instead, researchers currently rely on the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) to 'diagnose' aphantasia. We review here fundamental and methodological problems affecting aphantasia research stemming from an inadequate focus on how we should define aphantasia, whether aphantasia is a pathological condition, and the extensive use of VVIQ as a 'diagnostic test' for aphantasia. Firstly, we draw attention to 'literature blindness' for visual imagery research from the 1960s-1990s concerning individual differences in visual imagery vividness. Secondly, despite aphantasia being defined as a 'condition' where voluntary visual imagery is absent as indicated by the lowest score on the VVIQ, aphantasia studies inconsistently employ samples comprised of a mixture of participants with no visual imagery and low visual imagery, and we argue that this hinders the uncovering of the underlying cause of aphantasia. Thirdly, the scores used to designate the boundary between aphantasia and non-aphantasia are arbitrary and differ between studies, compromising the possibility for cross-study comparison of results. Fourthly, the problems of 'diagnosing' aphantasia are not limited to the academic sphere, as one can 'self-diagnose' online, for example by using the variant-VVIQ on the Aphantasia Network website. However, the variant-VVIQ departs from the original in ways likely to impact validity and accuracy, which could lead people to falsely believe they have been 'diagnosed' with aphantasia by a scientifically-validated measure. Fifthly, we discuss the hypothesis that people who believe they have been 'diagnosed' with aphantasia might be vulnerable to health anxiety, distress, and stigma. We conclude with a discussion about some fundamental aspects of how to classify a disorder, and suggest the need for a new psychometric measure of aphantasia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Blomkvist
- Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Sciences, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK.
| | - David F Marks
- 13200 Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Dando CJ, Nahouli Z, Hart A, Pounder Z. Real-world implications of aphantasia: episodic recall of eyewitnesses with aphantasia is less complete but no less accurate than typical imagers. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:231007. [PMID: 37885991 PMCID: PMC10598423 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with aphantasia report an inability to voluntarily visually image and reduced episodic memory, yet episodic accounts provided by witnesses and victims are fundamental for criminal justice. Using the mock-witness paradigm, we investigated eyewitness memory of individuals with aphantasia versus typical imagers. Participants viewed a mock crime and 48 hours later were interviewed about the event, randomly allocated to one of three conditions. Two interview conditions included techniques designed to support episodic retrieval mode, namely (i) Mental Reinstatement of Context (MRC) and (ii) Sketch Reinstatement of Context (Sketch-RC). A third Control condition did not include retrieval support. Aphantasic mock-eyewitnesses recalled 30% less correct information and accounts were less complete, but they made no more errors and were as accurate as typical imagers. Interaction effects revealed reduced correct recall and less complete accounts for aphantasic participants in MRC interviews versus Sketch-RC and Control. Aphantaisic participants in the Control outperformed those in both the Sketch-RC and MRC, although Sketch-RC improved completeness by 15% versus MRC. Our pattern of results indicates reduced mental imagery ability might be compensated for by alternative self-initiated cognitive strategies. Findings offer novel insights into episodic recall performance in information gathering interviews when ability to voluntarily visualize is impoverished.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Coral J. Dando
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Science, University of Westminster, London W1B 2HW, UK
| | | | - Alison Hart
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Science, University of Westminster, London W1B 2HW, UK
| | - Zoe Pounder
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Pociunaite J, Zimprich D. Characteristics of positive and negative autobiographical memories central to identity: emotionality, vividness, rehearsal, rumination, and reflection. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1225068. [PMID: 37780161 PMCID: PMC10534006 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1225068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Some events are remembered as more central to a person's identity than others. However, it is not entirely clear what characterizes these autobiographical memories central to one's identity. In this study, we examined the effects of various characteristics on centrality to identity of positive and negative memories. Characteristics such as emotionality, vividness, and how frequently a memory is retrieved and shared with others as well as ruminative and reflective self-foci were studied. Methods The sample included 356 participants (18-92 years of age). First, participants responded to demographic questions and individual difference questionnaires. Next, they recalled memories in response to 12 emotional cue words. The cue words were balanced for emotional valence (i.e., six positive and six negative) and presented in a random order. After retrieving all memories, participants rated them regarding centrality, using the short seven-item Centrality of Event Scale and other memory characteristics, on a seven-point Likert scale. Multivariate multilevel regression was used for data analyzes, to consider multiple characteristics at the same time and account for data dependency within individual. Results The results showed that emotionality, vividness, and frequency of memory retrieval contributed to higher centrality of memories, and employing a reflective self-focus resulted in rating memories as more central. In specific cases, these characteristics were associated differently with centrality of positive and negative memories. Discussion Central memories can be perceived as markers in a person's life story. The findings of this study suggest that these marker events are also highly available in a person's memory system, by being actively emotional, visually rich, and frequently retrieved. Moreover, not only memory characteristics but also individual's features are important to fully understand the autobiographical memory centrality.
Collapse
|
10
|
Clark IA, Maguire EA. Release of cognitive and multimodal MRI data including real-world tasks and hippocampal subfield segmentations. Sci Data 2023; 10:540. [PMID: 37587129 PMCID: PMC10432478 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02449-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
We share data from N = 217 healthy adults (mean age 29 years, range 20-41; 109 females, 108 males) who underwent extensive cognitive assessment and neuroimaging to examine the neural basis of individual differences, with a particular focus on a brain structure called the hippocampus. Cognitive data were collected using a wide array of questionnaires, naturalistic tests that examined imagination, autobiographical memory recall and spatial navigation, traditional laboratory-based tests such as recalling word pairs, and comprehensive characterisation of the strategies used to perform the cognitive tests. 3 Tesla MRI data were also acquired and include multi-parameter mapping to examine tissue microstructure, diffusion-weighted MRI, T2-weighted high-resolution partial volume structural MRI scans (with the masks of hippocampal subfields manually segmented from these scans), whole brain resting state functional MRI scans and partial volume high resolution resting state functional MRI scans. This rich dataset will be of value to cognitive and clinical neuroscientists researching individual differences, real-world cognition, brain-behaviour associations, hippocampal subfields and more. All data are freely available on Dryad.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ian A Clark
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Department of Imaging Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Eleanor A Maguire
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Department of Imaging Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Allen A, McKillop N, Katsikitis M, Millear P. The effects of bilateral stimulation using eye movements on sexual fantasies with follow-up. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2023; 79:101826. [PMID: 36521200 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2022.101826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Sexual fantasies represent a common aspect of human sexuality that can support sexual well-being but also contribute to psychopathology. The latter warrants intervention and bilateral stimulation with eye movements (EMs) may be a suitable intervention for impairing mental imagery of sexual fantasies. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of multiple rounds of EMs on sexual fantasies, gauge the effect over time with a one-week follow-up, and assess how impaired sexual imagery may influence behaviour and behavioural intention. METHODS Twenty-eight participants (14 male, Mage = 44.10, SDage = 9.77) selected a favoured sexual fantasy and engaged in five repeated rounds of an EM task, either face-to-face or via telehealth. Baseline phenomenological characteristics of sexual fantasies were compared against repeated measures after each round of EMs and at one-week follow-up, as well as hypothetical behavioural intention and frequency of fantasy masturbation. RESULTS All sexual fantasy characteristics (e.g., vividness, sensations, arousal, believability) diminished progressively between each round of EMs. These characteristics increased from round five to follow-up. However, they remained significantly reduced compared to baseline. Participants' hypothetical behavioural intention and frequency of masturbation associated with their sexual fantasies also reduced post-EM task. LIMITATIONS Use of self-report measures; participants' mental imagery could not be measured directly; and no comparison groups were included. CONCLUSIONS As an imagery impairing task, bilateral stimulation with EMs is effective for diminishing the phenomenological properties of sexual fantasies, extending upon extant literature. Collectively, the progressive research regarding EMs and sexual fantasies encourages replication in specific populations (e.g., individuals with problematic or harmful sexual fantasies).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Allen
- Sunshine Coast Mind & Neuroscience - Thompson Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, 12 Innovation Parkway, Birtinya, Queensland, 4575, Australia; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs, Queensland, 4556, Australia.
| | - Nadine McKillop
- Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit, School of Law & Society, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs, Queensland, 4556, Australia
| | - Mary Katsikitis
- College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia
| | - Prudence Millear
- School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs, Queensland, 4556, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Allen A, Millear P, McKillop N, Katsikitis M. Sexual Fantasies and Harmful Sexual Interests: Exploring Differences in Sexual Memory Intensity and Sexual Fantasy Characteristics. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OFFENDER THERAPY AND COMPARATIVE CRIMINOLOGY 2023; 67:835-860. [PMID: 35354408 DOI: 10.1177/0306624x221086580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The perpetration of harmful sexual behavior is a global concern, with deviant sexual fantasies identified as a prominent etiological risk factor. However, the concepts of state sexual fantasy characteristics (e.g., vividness and emotionality) and associated trait sexual memory intensity have received minimal investigation concerning harmful sexual interests, formulating the impetus for this research. Two online surveys were conducted in community populations. Study 1 (N = 414) aimed to validate the psychometric properties of a trait sexual memory intensity scale (SMIS) through principal components analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and evaluation of concurrent validity. Study 2 (N = 820) endeavored to explore associations between state sexual fantasy characteristics and cognitive-behavior variables (e.g., frequency of masturbation to a reported fantasy), and evaluate differences in fantasy characteristics and SMIS scores between participants with and without harmful sexual interests. Collectively, results supported the factor structure, concurrent validity, and internal consistency of the SMIS, while revealing significant associations between the SMIS, sexual fantasy characteristics, and several variables. Significant differences in sexual fantasy characteristics and SMIS scores were evident but variable among harmful sexual interests. Findings encourage the consideration and research of interventions focused on impairing mental imagery and memory in the management of harmful sexual interests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Allen
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, Australia
| | | | - Nadine McKillop
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, Australia
| | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Brown NR. Autobiographical memory and the self: A transition theory perspective. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2023; 14:e1621. [PMID: 36189848 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
In contrast to much theoretical work on the topic, Transition Theory (Brown, 2016, 2021) attempts to account for important aspects of autobiographical memory in a way that emphasizes the structure of experience, rather than the relation between personal-event memories and the Self. This article provides the rationale for adopting this minimalist stance. Here it is argued that: (a) an all-inclusive notion of the Self is of little utility to the study of autobiographical memory because virtually all sentient goal-directed activities can be seen as reflecting the Self, hence, adopting this view provides no bias for predicting event memorability; (b) although some event memories are clearly Self-relevant (e.g., life-story events, turning points, self-defining memories), most are not; (c) the formation of and access to Self-knowledge typically does not depend on the availability of specific autobiographical memories; rather, (d) Self-knowledge is generally derived from massive amounts of readily forgotten role-relevant experience. This article is categorized under: Philosophy > Representation Philosophy > Knowledge and Belief Psychology > Memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Norman R Brown
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Herrmann D, Oudman E, Postma A. The era of our lives: The memory of Korsakoff patients for the first Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in the Netherlands. Conscious Cogn 2023; 107:103454. [PMID: 36525743 PMCID: PMC9742220 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2022.103454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Memories for worldwide and emotional events (such as 9/11) are more vividly relived and recalled than memories for everyday events. Previous studies have shown that flashbulb memories of a single event enhanced the memory strength in severe amnesia. It is currently unknown whether macro-events that stretch out over longer periods of time (weeks, months) strengthen memory even further. Our aim was therefore to investigate to what extent patients with severe amnesia, due to Korsakoff's syndrome (KS), were able to relive the first Covid-19 lockdown in the Netherlands, and whether experienced emotions enhanced reliving of the participants. We included 22 KS patients and 24 age-, education-, and gender-matched healthy controls. Covid-19 related memories were assessed by measures of autobiographical memory specificity, phenomenological reliving, emotional intensity and semantic-and episodic knowledge about the first lockdown in March 2020 - May 2020 in the Netherlands. Although amnesia patients remembered significantly fewer autobiographical details regarding the Covid-19 lockdown than healthy controls, one fourth of the KS patients recalled specific events. Amnesia patients reported levels of emotional intensity equivalent to those in the control group. Stronger autobiographical reliving was associated with higher emotional intensity. Both amnesia patients and healthy controls had higher recall of episodic than semantic lockdown related information. In conclusion, results demonstrate that information for macro-events can still be memorized and relived, most specifically when emotional valence is high, even by highly amnestic patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dianne Herrmann
- Helmholtz Institute, Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Lelie Care Group, Slingedael Korsakoff Center, Slinge, 901, 3086 EZ Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
15
|
Wittmann BC, Şatırer Y. Decreased associative processing and memory confidence in aphantasia. Learn Mem 2022; 29:412-420. [PMID: 36253008 PMCID: PMC9578376 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053610.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Visual imagery and mental reconstruction of scenes are considered core components of episodic memory retrieval. Individuals with absent visual imagery (aphantasia) score lower on tests of autobiographical memory, suggesting that aphantasia may be associated with differences in episodic and associative processing. In this online study, we tested aphantasic participants and controls on associative recognition and memory confidence for three types of associations encoded incidentally: associations between visual-visual and audio-visual stimulus pairs, associations between an object and its location on the screen, and intraitem associations. Aphantasic participants had a lower rate of high-confidence hits in all associative memory tests compared with controls. Performance on auditory-visual associations was correlated with individual differences in a measure of object imagery in the aphantasic group but not in controls. No overall group difference in memory performance was found, indicating that visual imagery selectively contributes to memory confidence. Analysis of the encoding task revealed that aphantasics made fewer associative links between the stimuli, suggesting a role for visual imagery in associative processing of visual and auditory input. These data enhance our understanding of visual imagery contributions to associative memory and further characterize the cognitive profile of aphantasia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bianca C Wittmann
- Department of Psychology, Justus Liebig University, 35394 Giessen, Germany
| | - Yılmaz Şatırer
- Department of Psychology, Justus Liebig University, 35394 Giessen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Bo O'Connor B, Fowler Z. How Imagination and Memory Shape the Moral Mind. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2022; 27:226-249. [PMID: 36062349 DOI: 10.1177/10888683221114215] [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] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Interdisciplinary research has proposed a multifaceted view of human cognition and morality, establishing that inputs from multiple cognitive and affective processes guide moral decisions. However, extant work on moral cognition has largely overlooked the contributions of episodic representation. The ability to remember or imagine a specific moment in time plays a broadly influential role in cognition and behavior. Yet, existing research has only begun exploring the influence of episodic representation on moral cognition. Here, we evaluate the theoretical connections between episodic representation and moral cognition, review emerging empirical work revealing how episodic representation affects moral decision-making, and conclude by highlighting gaps in the literature and open questions. We argue that a comprehensive model of moral cognition will require including the episodic memory system, further delineating its direct influence on moral thought, and better understanding its interactions with other mental processes to fundamentally shape our sense of right and wrong.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Zoë Fowler
- University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Dawes AJ, Keogh R, Robuck S, Pearson J. Memories with a blind mind: Remembering the past and imagining the future with aphantasia. Cognition 2022; 227:105192. [PMID: 35752014 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Our capacity to re-experience the past and simulate the future is thought to depend heavily on visual imagery, which allows us to construct complex sensory representations in the absence of sensory stimulation. There are large individual differences in visual imagery ability, but their impact on autobiographical memory and future prospection remains poorly understood. Research in this field assumes the normative use of visual imagery as a cognitive tool to simulate the past and future, however some individuals lack the ability to visualise altogether (a condition termed "aphantasia"). Aphantasia represents a rare and naturally occurring knock-out model for examining the role of visual imagery in episodic memory recall. Here, we assessed individuals with aphantasia on an adapted form of the Autobiographical Interview, a behavioural measure of the specificity and richness of episodic details underpinning the memory of events. Aphantasic participants generated significantly fewer episodic details than controls for both past and future events. This effect was most pronounced for novel future events, driven by selective reductions in visual detail retrieval, accompanied by comparatively reduced ratings of the phenomenological richness of simulated events, and paralleled by quantitative linguistic markers of reduced perceptual language use in aphantasic participants compared to those with visual imagery. Our findings represent the first systematic evidence (using combined objective and subjective data streams) that aphantasia is associated with a diminished ability to re-experience the past and simulate the future, indicating that visual imagery is an important cognitive tool for the dynamic retrieval and recombination of episodic details during mental simulation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexei J Dawes
- School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Rebecca Keogh
- School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Sarah Robuck
- School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Joel Pearson
- School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Gibson EC, Ford L, Robinson GA. Investigating the role of future thinking in highly superior autobiographical memory. Cortex 2022; 149:188-201. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
19
|
Individual Differences in Autobiographical Memory: The Autobiographical Recollection Test Predicts Ratings of Specific Memories Across Cueing Conditions. JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN MEMORY AND COGNITION 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2021.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
20
|
Berg JJ, Gilmore AW, Shaffer RA, McDermott KB. The stability of visual perspective and vividness during mental time travel. Conscious Cogn 2021; 92:103116. [PMID: 34038829 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Revised: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
When remembering or imagining, people can experience an event from their own eyes, or as an outside observer, with differing levels of vividness. The perspective from, and vividness with, which a person remembers or imagines has been related to numerous individual difference characteristics. These findings require that phenomenology during mental time travel be trait-like-that people consistently experience similar perspectives and levels of vividness. This assumption remains untested. Across two studies (combined N = 295), we examined the stability of visual perspective and vividness across multiple trials and timepoints. Perspective and vividness showed weak within-session stability when reported across just a few trials but showed strong within-session stability when sufficient trials were collected. Importantly, both visual perspective and vividness demonstrated good-to-excellent across-session stability across different delay intervals (two days to six weeks). Overall, our results suggest that people dependably experience similar visual phenomenology across occurrences of mental time travel.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey J Berg
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States.
| | - Adrian W Gilmore
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Ruth A Shaffer
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Vestibular cues improve landmark-based route navigation: A simulated driving study. Mem Cognit 2021; 49:1633-1644. [PMID: 34018119 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-021-01181-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
It is well established that humans use self-motion and landmark cues to successfully navigate their environment. Existing research has demonstrated a critical role of the vestibular system in supporting navigation across many species. However, less is known about how vestibular cues interact with landmarks to promote successful navigation in humans. In the present study, we used a motion simulator to manipulate the presence or absence of vestibular cues during a virtual navigation task. Participants learned routes to a target destination in three different landmark blocks in a virtual town: one with proximal landmarks, one with distal landmarks, and one with no landmarks present. Afterwards, they were tested on their ability to retrace the route and find the target destination. We observed a significant interaction between vestibular cues and proximal landmarks, demonstrating that the potential for vestibular cues to improve route navigation is dependent on landmarks that are present in the environment. In particular, vestibular cues significantly improved route navigation when proximal landmarks were present, but this was not significant when distal landmarks or no landmarks were present. Overall, our results indicate that landmarks play an important role in the successful incorporation of vestibular cues to human spatial navigation.
Collapse
|
22
|
Zaman A, Russell C. Does autonoetic consciousness in episodic memory rely on recall from a first-person perspective? JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2021.1922419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Andreea Zaman
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Charlotte Russell
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Milton F, Fulford J, Dance C, Gaddum J, Heuerman-Williamson B, Jones K, Knight KF, MacKisack M, Winlove C, Zeman A. Behavioral and Neural Signatures of Visual Imagery Vividness Extremes: Aphantasia versus Hyperphantasia. Cereb Cortex Commun 2021; 2:tgab035. [PMID: 34296179 PMCID: PMC8186241 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgab035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2021] [Revised: 04/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Although Galton recognized in the 1880s that some individuals lack visual imagery, this phenomenon was mostly neglected over the following century. We recently coined the terms "aphantasia" and "hyperphantasia" to describe visual imagery vividness extremes, unlocking a sustained surge of public interest. Aphantasia is associated with subjective impairment of face recognition and autobiographical memory. Here we report the first systematic, wide-ranging neuropsychological and brain imaging study of people with aphantasia (n = 24), hyperphantasia (n = 25), and midrange imagery vividness (n = 20). Despite equivalent performance on standard memory tests, marked group differences were measured in autobiographical memory and imagination, participants with hyperphantasia outperforming controls who outperformed participants with aphantasia. Face recognition difficulties and autistic spectrum traits were reported more commonly in aphantasia. The Revised NEO Personality Inventory highlighted reduced extraversion in the aphantasia group and increased openness in the hyperphantasia group. Resting state fMRI revealed stronger connectivity between prefrontal cortices and the visual network among hyperphantasic than aphantasic participants. In an active fMRI paradigm, there was greater anterior parietal activation among hyperphantasic and control than aphantasic participants when comparing visualization of famous faces and places with perception. These behavioral and neural signatures of visual imagery vividness extremes validate and illuminate this significant but neglected dimension of individual difference.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fraser Milton
- Discipline of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Jon Fulford
- Cognitive Neurology Research Group, University of Exeter Medical School, College House, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
| | - Carla Dance
- Cognitive Neurology Research Group, University of Exeter Medical School, College House, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
| | - James Gaddum
- Cognitive Neurology Research Group, University of Exeter Medical School, College House, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
| | | | - Kealan Jones
- Cognitive Neurology Research Group, University of Exeter Medical School, College House, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
| | - Kathryn F Knight
- Discipline of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Matthew MacKisack
- Cognitive Neurology Research Group, University of Exeter Medical School, College House, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
| | - Crawford Winlove
- Cognitive Neurology Research Group, University of Exeter Medical School, College House, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
| | - Adam Zeman
- Cognitive Neurology Research Group, University of Exeter Medical School, College House, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Classical Introspection Revisited: Implications of Research on Visual Imagery for the Functions of Pristine Inner Experience as Apprehended by Descriptive Experience Sampling. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-019-00176-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
25
|
Hutmacher F. Do you remember? Similarities and differences between the earliest childhood memories for the five senses. Memory 2021; 29:345-352. [PMID: 33686908 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2021.1895222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
We perceive the world with our five senses. However, the role that these five senses play in early childhood memories has received relatively little attention. Against this background, participants (N = 117) were asked to write down their earliest childhood memories for the five senses and to answer additional questions regarding these memories. There was no significant difference between the five senses regarding the percentage of participants reporting a memory or between the valence and the subjective reliability of the reported memories. However, memories reported for sight were marginally longer, from a younger age, and estimated to be more important compared to memories reported for the other senses. A qualitative content analysis revealed that the vast majority of the reported memories fell into a limited number of categories. Interestingly, several categories played a role in more than one sense. Nevertheless, the reported memories also mirrored the characteristic properties that one is able to perceive with each sense. Overall, the findings support the notion that sight is the dominant sense. At the same time, they remind us that each sense provides us with unique information about ourselves and the world around us.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Hutmacher
- Department of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.,Human-Computer-Media Institute, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Keogh R, Pearson J. Attention driven phantom vision: measuring the sensory strength of attentional templates and their relation to visual mental imagery and aphantasia. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20190688. [PMID: 33308064 PMCID: PMC7741074 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
When we search for an object in an array or anticipate attending to a future object, we create an 'attentional template' of the object. The definitions of attentional templates and visual imagery share many similarities as well as many of the same neural characteristics. However, the phenomenology of these attentional templates and their neural similarities to visual imagery and perception are rarely, if ever discussed. Here, we investigate the relationship between these two forms of non-retinal phantom vision through the use of the binocular rivalry technique, which allows us to measure the sensory strength of attentional templates in the absence of concurrent perceptual stimuli. We find that attentional templates correlate with both feature-based attention and visual imagery. Attentional templates, like imagery, were significantly disrupted by the presence of irrelevant visual stimuli, while feature-based attention was not. We also found that a special population who lack the ability to visualize (aphantasia), showed evidence of feature-based attention when measured using the binocular rivalry paradigm, but not attentional templates. Taken together, these data suggest functional similarities between attentional templates and visual imagery, advancing the theory of visual imagery as a general simulation tool used across cognition. This article is part of the theme issue 'Offline perception: voluntary and spontaneous perceptual experiences without matching external stimulation'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Keogh
- School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
Lopis D, Le Pape T, Manetta C, Conty L. Sensory Cueing of Autobiographical Memories in Normal Aging and Alzheimer's Disease: A Comparison Between Visual, Auditory, and Olfactory Information. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 80:1169-1183. [PMID: 33646149 PMCID: PMC8150461 DOI: 10.3233/jad-200841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic, neurodegenerative disease resulting in a progressive decline of autobiographical memories (AMs) which favors the development of psycho-behavioral disorders. One of the most popular psychosocial interventions in dementia care, Reminiscence Therapy, commonly uses sensory cueing to stimulate AMs retrieval. However, few empirical studies have investigated the impact of sensory stimulation on AMs retrieval in AD. OBJECTIVE Our goal was to determine the most relevant cue for AMs retrieval in patients with early to mild AD when comparing odors, sounds and pictures. METHODS Sixty AD patients, 60 healthy older adults (OA), and 60 healthy young adults (YA) participated in our study. Participants were presented with either 4 odors, 4 sounds, or 4 pictures. For each stimulus, they were asked to retrieve a personal memory, to rate it across 3 dimensions (emotionality, vividness, rarity) and then to date it. RESULTS Overall, results showed no clear dominance of one sensory modality over the others in evoking higher-quality AMs. However, they show that using pictures is the better way to stimulate AD patients' AM, as it helps to retrieve a higher number of memories that are also less frequently retrieved, followed by odors. By contrast, auditory cueing with environmental sounds presented no true advantage. CONCLUSION Our data should help dementia care professionals to increase the efficiency of Reminiscence Therapy using sensory elicitors. Other clinical implications and future directions are also discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Desirée Lopis
- ULR 4072 - PSITEC - Psychologie: Interactions Temps Émotions Cognition, Université de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Thibault Le Pape
- International Flavors & Fragrances (Inc.), Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
| | - Céline Manetta
- International Flavors & Fragrances (Inc.), Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
| | - Laurence Conty
- Laboratory Cognitive Functioning and Dysfunctioning (DysCo), University of Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Keogh R, Pearson J, Zeman A. Aphantasia: The science of visual imagery extremes. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 178:277-296. [PMID: 33832681 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821377-3.00012-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Visual imagery allows us to revisit the appearance of things in their absence and to test out virtual combinations of sensory experience. Visual imagery has been linked to many cognitive processes, such as autobiographical and visual working memory. Imagery also plays symptomatic and mechanistic roles in neurologic and mental disorders and is utilized in treatment. A large network of brain activity spanning frontal, parietal, temporal, and visual cortex is involved in generating and maintain images in mind. The ability to visualize has extreme variations, ranging from completely absent (aphantasia) to photo-like (hyperphantasia). The anatomy and functionality of visual cortex, including primary visual cortex, have been associated with individual differences in visual imagery ability, pointing to a potential correlate for both aphantasia and hyperphantasia. Preliminary evidence suggests that lifelong aphantasia is associated with prosopagnosia and reduction in autobiographical memory; hyperphantasia is associated with synesthesia. Aphantasic individuals can also be highly imaginative and are able to complete many tasks that were previously thought to rely on visual imagery, demonstrating that visualization is only one of many ways of representing things in their absence. The study of extreme imagination reminds us how easily invisible differences can escape detection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Keogh
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Joel Pearson
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Adam Zeman
- Cognitive Neurology Research Group, University of Exeter College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Armson MJ, Diamond NB, Levesque L, Ryan JD, Levine B. Vividness of recollection is supported by eye movements in individuals with high, but not low trait autobiographical memory. Cognition 2021; 206:104487. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
30
|
Lalla A, Agostino C, Sheldon S. The link between detail generation and eye movements when encoding and retrieving complex images. Memory 2020; 28:1231-1244. [PMID: 33016244 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2020.1828927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Examining eye movement patterns when encoding and retrieving visually complex memories is useful to understand the link between visuo-perceptual processes and how associated details are represented within these memories. Here, we used images of real-world scenes (e.g., a couple grocery shopping) to examine how encoding and retrieval eye movements are linked to the details used to describe complex images during these two phases of memory. Given that memories are often elaborated upon during retrieval, we also examined whether eye-movements at retrieval related to details that were the same as those described when encoding the image (reinstated details) as well as details about the image event that were not initially described at encoding (newly generated details). Testing young healthy participants, we found that retrieval eye movements, specifically eye fixation rate, predicted reinstated details, but not newly generated details. This suggests that visuo-perceptual processes are preferentially engaged at retrieval to reactivate perceived information. At encoding, we found a relationship between eye movements and detail generation that changed over time. This relationship was positive early on in the encoding phase but changed to a negative relationship later in the phase, indicating that a unique relationship exists between activating visuo-perceptual processes during early encoding versus late encoding. Overall, our results provide new insights into how visuo-perceptual processes contribute to different components of complex memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Azara Lalla
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Signy Sheldon
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
On the relationship between trait autobiographical episodic memory and spatial navigation. Mem Cognit 2020; 49:265-275. [PMID: 33051816 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-020-01093-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Influential research has focused on identifying the common neural and behavioural substrates underlying episodic memory (the re-experiencing of specific details from past experiences) and spatial cognition, with some theories proposing that these are supported by the same mechanisms. However, the similarities and differences between these two forms of memory in humans require further specification. We used an individual-differences approach based on self-reported survey data collected in a large online study (n = 7,487), focusing on autobiographical episodic memory and spatial navigation and their relationship to object and spatial imagery abilities. Multivariate analyses replicated prior findings that autobiographical episodic memory abilities dissociated from spatial navigational abilities. Considering imagery, episodic autobiographical memory overlapped with imagery of objects, whereas spatial navigation overlapped with a tendency to focus on spatial schematics and manipulation. These results suggest that trait episodic autobiographical memory and spatial navigation correspond to distinct mental processes.
Collapse
|
32
|
Zeman A, Milton F, Della Sala S, Dewar M, Frayling T, Gaddum J, Hattersley A, Heuerman-Williamson B, Jones K, MacKisack M, Winlove C. Phantasia–The psychological significance of lifelong visual imagery vividness extremes. Cortex 2020; 130:426-440. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
|
33
|
Clark IA, Monk AM, Maguire EA. Characterizing Strategy Use During the Performance of Hippocampal-Dependent Tasks. Front Psychol 2020; 11:2119. [PMID: 32982868 PMCID: PMC7490521 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Recalling the past, thinking about the future, and navigating in the world are linked with a brain structure called the hippocampus. Precisely, how the hippocampus enables these critical cognitive functions is still debated. The strategies people use to perform tasks associated with these functions have been under-studied, and yet, such information could augment our understanding of the associated cognitive processes and neural substrates. Here, we devised and deployed an in-depth protocol to examine the explicit strategies used by 217 participants to perform four naturalistic tasks widely acknowledged to be hippocampal-dependent, namely, those assessing scene imagination, autobiographical memory recall, future thinking, and spatial navigation. In addition, we also investigated strategy use for three laboratory-based memory tasks, one of which is held to be hippocampal-dependent - concrete verbal paired associates (VPA) - and two tasks, which are likely hippocampal-independent - abstract VPA and the dead or alive semantic memory test. We found that scene visual imagery was the dominant strategy not only when mentally imagining scenes, but also during autobiographical memory recall, when thinking about the future and during navigation. Moreover, scene visual imagery strategies were used most frequently during the concrete VPA task, whereas verbal strategies were most prevalent for the abstract VPA task and the dead or alive semantic memory task. The ubiquity of specifically scene visual imagery use across a range of tasks may attest to its, perhaps underappreciated, importance in facilitating cognition, while also aligning with perspectives that emphasize a key role for the hippocampus in constructing scene imagery.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Eleanor A. Maguire
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
A cognitive profile of multi-sensory imagery, memory and dreaming in aphantasia. Sci Rep 2020; 10:10022. [PMID: 32572039 PMCID: PMC7308278 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-65705-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
For most people, visual imagery is an innate feature of many of our internal experiences, and appears to play a critical role in supporting core cognitive processes. Some individuals, however, lack the ability to voluntarily generate visual imagery altogether - a condition termed "aphantasia". Recent research suggests that aphantasia is a condition defined by the absence of visual imagery, rather than a lack of metacognitive awareness of internal visual imagery. Here we further illustrate a cognitive "fingerprint" of aphantasia, demonstrating that compared to control participants with imagery ability, aphantasic individuals report decreased imagery in other sensory domains, although not all report a complete lack of multi-sensory imagery. They also report less vivid and phenomenologically rich autobiographical memories and imagined future scenarios, suggesting a constructive role for visual imagery in representing episodic events. Interestingly, aphantasic individuals report fewer and qualitatively impoverished dreams compared to controls. However, spatial abilities appear unaffected, and aphantasic individuals do not appear to be considerably protected against all forms of trauma symptomatology in response to stressful life events. Collectively, these data suggest that imagery may be a normative representational tool for wider cognitive processes, highlighting the large inter-individual variability that characterises our internal mental representations.
Collapse
|
35
|
Petrican R, Palombo DJ, Sheldon S, Levine B. The Neural Dynamics of Individual Differences in Episodic Autobiographical Memory. eNeuro 2020; 7:ENEURO.0531-19.2020. [PMID: 32060035 PMCID: PMC7171291 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0531-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Revised: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to mentally travel to specific events from one's past, dubbed episodic autobiographical memory (E-AM), contributes to adaptive functioning. Nonetheless, the mechanisms underlying its typical interindividual variation remain poorly understood. To address this issue, we capitalize on existing evidence that successful performance on E-AM tasks draws on the ability to visualize past episodes and reinstate their unique spatiotemporal context. Hence, here, we test whether features of the brain's functional architecture relevant to perceptual versus conceptual processes shape individual differences in both self-rated E-AM and laboratory-based episodic memory (EM) for random visual scene sequences (visual EM). We propose that superior subjective E-AM and visual EM are associated with greater similarity in static neural organization patterns, potentially indicating greater efficiency in switching, between rest and mental states relevant to encoding perceptual information. Complementarily, we postulate that impoverished subjective E-AM and visual EM are linked to dynamic brain organization patterns implying a predisposition towards semanticizing novel perceptual information. Analyses were conducted on resting state and task-based fMRI data from 329 participants (160 women) in the Human Connectome Project (HCP) who completed visual and verbal EM assessments, and an independent gender diverse sample (N = 59) who self-rated their E-AM. Interindividual differences in subjective E-AM were linked to the same neural mechanisms underlying visual, but not verbal, EM, in general agreement with the hypothesized static and dynamic brain organization patterns. Our results suggest that higher E-AM entails more efficient processing of temporally extended information sequences, whereas lower E-AM entails more efficient semantic or gist-based processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Raluca Petrican
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Daniela J Palombo
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4 Canada
| | - Signy Sheldon
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Brian Levine
- Rotman Research Institute and Departments of Psychology and Neurology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Vannucci M, Chiorri C, Marchetti I. Shaping our personal past: Assessing the phenomenology of autobiographical memory and its association with object and spatial imagery. Scand J Psychol 2020; 61:599-606. [PMID: 32246729 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
A new instrument has been developed that allows a comprehensive assessment of the relevant dimensions of the phenomenology of autobiographical memories (Assessment of the Phenomenology of Autobiographical Memory, APAM), and their association with visual object and spatial imagery has been examined. An initial version of APAM consisting of 30 items (the first 28 measured on a seven-point Likert-type scale) was developed and administered to a sample of 138 undergraduates. To test whether each item consistently measured the same dimension across different memories, all questions were rated for 12 cues. Results showed that 25 Likert-type items possessed adequate levels of internal consistency and unidimensionality across cues. We also found that higher levels of visual object imagery were associated with more sensory details and recollective qualities of memory, and with stronger experience of sensory and emotional reliving. The theoretical and practical usefulness of APAM as well as the relevance of visual object imagery in the phenomenology of autobiographical memory are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manila Vannucci
- Department of NEUROFARBA - Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Carlo Chiorri
- Department of Educational Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Igor Marchetti
- Department of Life Sciences, Psychology Unit, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Rubin DC. The ability to recall scenes is a stable individual difference: Evidence from autobiographical remembering. Cognition 2020; 197:104164. [PMID: 31918237 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.104164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 12/08/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Four behavioral studies (ns ~ 200 to 400) extended neural studies of ventral stream damage and fMRI activation and behavioral studies of scene recall conducted on individual memories to individual differences in normal populations. Ratings of scene and contents were made on one set of autobiographical memories. Ratings of reliving, vividness, belief, emotional intensity, and temporal specificity were made on different memories. Thus, correlations between these ratings were due to variability in the participants, not the events remembered. Scene correlated more highly than contents with reliving, vividness, belief, and emotional intensity but not temporal specificity. Scene correlated more highly than other visual imagery tests with reliving, vividness, and belief. Scene correlated with individual differences tests of episodic memories and future events more highly than it did with tests of semantic memory and spatial navigation abilities. Moreover, scene had high test-retest correlations measured at periods of up to one month. The ability to recall scenes is a stable disposition, with both convergent and divergent validity, which predicts basic qualities of autobiographical memories. A Scene Recall Imagery Test is introduced.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David C Rubin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0086, USA; Center on Autobiographical Memory Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000C, Denmark.
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Clark IA, Maguire EA. Do questionnaires reflect their purported cognitive functions? Cognition 2019; 195:104114. [PMID: 31869709 PMCID: PMC6963768 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.104114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Imagery and navigation questionnaires reflect their purported cognitive functions. Memory questionnaires reflect autobiographical memory vividness. Episodic details and memory questionnaires measure different aspects of memory. Imagery questionnaires also correlated with memory vividness and future thinking. Single questions modelled performance comparably to established questionnaires.
Questionnaires are used widely across psychology and permit valuable insights into a person’s thoughts and beliefs, which are difficult to derive from task performance measures alone. Given their importance and widespread use, it is vital that questionnaires map onto the cognitive functions they purport to reflect. However, where performance on naturalistic tasks such as imagination, autobiographical memory, future thinking and navigation is concerned, there is a dearth of knowledge about the relationships between task performance and questionnaire measures. Questionnaires are also typically designed to probe a specific aspect of cognition, when instead researchers sometimes want to obtain a broad profile of a participant. To the best of our knowledge, no questionnaire exists that asks simple single questions about a wide range of cognitive functions. To address these gaps in the literature, we recruited a large sample of participants (n = 217), all of whom completed a battery of widely used questionnaires and performed naturalistic tasks involving imagination, autobiographical memory, future thinking and navigation. We also devised a questionnaire that comprised simple single questions about the cognitive functions of interest. There were four main findings. First, imagination and navigation questionnaires reflected performance on their related tasks. Second, memory questionnaires were associated with autobiographical memory vividness and not internal (episodic) details. Third, imagery questionnaires were more associated with autobiographical memory vividness and future thinking than the questionnaires purporting to reflect these functions. Finally, initial exploratory analyses suggested that a broad profile of information can be obtained efficiently using a small number of simple single questions, and these modelled task performance comparably to established questionnaires in young, healthy adults. Overall, while some questionnaires can act as proxies for behaviour, the relationships between memory and future thinking tasks and questionnaires are more complex and require further elucidation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ian A Clark
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Eleanor A Maguire
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In this paper, I review three 'anomalies' or disorders in autobiographical memory: neurological retrograde amnesia (RA), spontaneous confabulation, and psychogenic amnesia. METHODS Existing theories are reviewed, their limitations considered, some of my own empirical findings briefly described, and possible interpretations proposed and interspersed with illustrative case-reports. RESULTS In RA, there may be an important retrieval component to the deficit, and factors at encoding may give rise to the relative preservation of early memories (and the reminiscence bump) which manifests as a temporal gradient. Spontaneous confabulation appears to be associated with a damaged 'filter' in orbitofrontal and ventromedial frontal regions. Consistent with this, an empirical study has shown that both the initial severity of confabulation and its subsequent decline are associated with changes in the executive function (especially in cognitive estimate errors) and inversely with the quantity of accurate autobiographical memories retrieved. Psychogenic amnesia can be 'global' or 'situation-specific'. The former is associated with a precipitating stress, depressed mood, and (often) a past history of a transient neurological amnesia. In these circumstances, frontal control mechanisms can inhibit retrieval of autobiographical memories, and even the sense of 'self' (identity), while compromised medial temporal function prevents subsequent retrieval of what occurred during a 'fugue'. An empirical investigation of psychogenic amnesia and some recent imaging studies have provided findings consistent with this view. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these various observations point to the importance of frontal 'control' systems (in interaction with medial temporal/hippocampal systems) in the retrieval and, more particularly, the disrupted retrieval of 'old' memories.
Collapse
|
40
|
van Schie CC, Chiu CD, Rombouts SARB, Heiser WJ, Elzinga BM. When I relive a positive me: Vivid autobiographical memories facilitate autonoetic brain activation and enhance mood. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:4859-4871. [PMID: 31348599 PMCID: PMC6852129 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2019] [Revised: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Autobiographical memory is vital for our well‐being and therefore used in therapeutic interventions. However, not much is known about the (neural) processes by which reliving memories can have beneficial effects. This study investigates what brain activation patterns and memory characteristics facilitate the effectiveness of reliving positive autobiographical memories for mood and sense of self. Particularly, the role of vividness and autonoetic consciousness is studied. Participants (N = 47) with a wide range of trait self‐esteem relived neutral and positive memories while their bold responses, experienced vividness of the memory, mood, and state self‐esteem were recorded. More vivid memories related to better mood and activation in amygdala, hippocampus and insula, indicative of increased awareness of oneself (i.e., prereflective aspect of autonoetic consciousness). Lower vividness was associated with increased activation in the occipital lobe, PCC, and precuneus, indicative of a more distant mode of reliving. While individuals with lower trait self‐esteem increased in state self‐esteem, they showed less deactivation of the lateral occipital cortex during positive memories. In sum, the vividness of the memory seemingly distinguished a more immersed and more distant manner of memory reliving. In particular, when reliving positive memories higher vividness facilitated increased prereflective autonoetic consciousness, which likely is instrumental in boosting mood.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte C van Schie
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Illawarra health and medical research institute and school of psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Chui-De Chiu
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Serge A R B Rombouts
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Willem J Heiser
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Mathematical Institute, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Bernet M Elzinga
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Robin J, Rivest J, Rosenbaum RS, Moscovitch M. Remote spatial and autobiographical memory in cases of episodic amnesia and topographical disorientation. Cortex 2019; 119:237-257. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Revised: 03/24/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
|
42
|
Pearson J. The human imagination: the cognitive neuroscience of visual mental imagery. Nat Rev Neurosci 2019; 20:624-634. [DOI: 10.1038/s41583-019-0202-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 181] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
|
43
|
Purkart R, Versace R, Vallet GT. "Does It Improve the Mind's Eye?": Sensorimotor Simulation in Episodic Event Construction. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1403. [PMID: 31244746 PMCID: PMC6581725 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Memories are not frozen in the past. Instead, they can be dynamically combined to allow individuals to adapt to the present or even imagine the future. This recombination, called event construction, also means that it might be possible to improve memory through specific interventions such as episodic specificity induction (ESI). ESI provides brief training in recollecting the details of a past event that boosts the retrieval of specific details in subsequent tasks if these tasks involve the recombination of memories. However, very little is known about how event construction is accomplished, and this is essential if we are (1) to understand how episodic memory might work and (2) to promote a specific mechanism that will help people remember the past better. The present study assesses the sensorimotor simulation hypothesis, which has been proposed within the embodied approaches to cognition. According to these approaches, access to and the recombination of memories occur through the simulation of the sensory and motor propreties of our past experiences. This hypothesis was tested using a sensory interference paradigm. In a first phase, the participants watched videos and then received a specificity or a control induction. In a second phase, they described their memories of the videos while simultaneously viewing an interfering stimulus (dynamic visual noise; DVN) or a gray control screen. In line with a sensorimotor simulation account, the presentation of a DVN during the description of the videos led to a decrease in the number of internal details (details specific to the event) only after the specificity induction rather than the control induction. The findings provide evidence that the specificity induction targets and facilitates the sensorimotor simulation mechanism, thus confirming the crucial involvement of a mechanism of this sort in the constructive functioning of memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rudy Purkart
- EA 3082, Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - Rémy Versace
- EA 3082, Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - Guillaume T. Vallet
- CNRS UMR 6024, Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Sheldon S, Cool K, El-Asmar N. The processes involved in mentally constructing event- and scene-based autobiographical representations. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2019.1614004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Signy Sheldon
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Kelly Cool
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nadim El-Asmar
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
El Haj M, Moustafa AA, Nandrino JL. Future Thinking in Korsakoff Syndrome. Alcohol Alcohol 2019; 54:455-462. [DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agz037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2019] [Revised: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Aims
Prior research has been mainly concerned with the ability of patients with Korsakoff syndrome (KS) to project themselves into the past. Little is known about the patients’ ability to project themselves into the future. We therefore compared past and future thinking in patients with KS.
Methods
We invited patients with KS and control participants to retrieve past events and reconstruct future events. Participants were also invited to rate subjective characteristics (i.e. time travel, emotional feeling, and visual imagery) of the past and future events.
Results
Patients with KS demonstrated low specificity, time travel, and emotional experience during past and future thinking. However, while lower emotional experience was observed in patients with KS than in the control participants during future thinking, no significant differences were observed between the two populations during past thinking. Regarding within-group comparisons, patients with KS demonstrated no significant differences between past and future thinking in terms of specificity, time travel, and visual imagery; however, they demonstrated higher emotional experience during past than during future thinking. Regarding control participants, they demonstrated no significant differences between past and future thinking in terms of specificity, time travel, emotional experience, and visual imagery.
Conclusion
Our findings demonstrate a diminished ability to construct specific future scenarios as well as a diminished subjective experience during future thinking in KS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mohamad El Haj
- Univ Nantes, Laboratoire de psychologie des Pays de la Loire, LPPL, EA 4638, Nantes, France
- Unité de Gériatrie, Centre Hospitalier de Tourcoing, Tourcoing, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | - Ahmed A Moustafa
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology & Marcs Institute for Brain and Behaviour, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jean-Louis Nandrino
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, CHU Lille, UMR 9193—SCALab—Sciences Cognitives et, Sciences Affectives, Lille, France
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Abstract
Visual mental imagery resembles visual working memory (VWM). Because both visual mental imagery and VWM involve the representation and manipulation of visual information, it was hypothesized that they would exert similar effects on visual attention. Several previous studies have demonstrated that working-memory representations guide attention toward a memory-matching task-irrelevant stimulus during visual-search tasks. Therefore, mental imagery may also guide attention toward imagery-matching stimuli. In the present study, five experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of visual mental imagery on visual attention during a visual-search task. Participants were instructed to visualize a color or an object clearly associated with a specific color, after which they were asked to detect a colored target in the visual-search task. Reaction times for target detection were shorter when the color of the target matched the imagined color, and when the color of the target was similar to that strongly associated with the imagined object, than when the color of the target did not match that of the mental representation. This effect was not observed when participants were not instructed to imagine a color. These results suggest that similar to VWM, visual mental imagery guides attention toward imagery-matching stimuli.
Collapse
|
47
|
Purkart R, T. Vallet G, Versace R. Améliorer la remémoration d’évènements autobiographiques et l’imagination d’évènements futurs grâce à l’Induction de spécificité épisodique : adaptation et validation en Français. ANNEE PSYCHOLOGIQUE 2019. [DOI: 10.3917/anpsy1.191.0025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
|
48
|
Clark IA, Hotchin V, Monk A, Pizzamiglio G, Liefgreen A, Maguire EA. Identifying the cognitive processes underpinning hippocampal-dependent tasks. J Exp Psychol Gen 2019; 148:1861-1881. [PMID: 30829521 PMCID: PMC6818684 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Autobiographical memory, future thinking, and spatial navigation are critical cognitive functions that are thought to be related and are known to depend upon a brain structure called the hippocampus. Surprisingly, direct evidence for their interrelatedness is lacking, as is an understanding of why they might be related. There is debate about whether they are linked by an underlying memory-related process or, as has more recently been suggested, because they each require the endogenous construction of scene imagery. Here, using a large sample of participants and multiple cognitive tests with a wide spread of individual differences in performance, we found that these functions are indeed related. Mediation analyses further showed that scene construction, and not memory, mediated (explained) the relationships between the functions. These findings offer a fresh perspective on autobiographical memory, future thinking, navigation, and also on the hippocampus, where scene imagery appears to play an influential role. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Anna Monk
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
49
|
Chen JY, Cao JP, Wang YC, Li SQ, Wang ZZ. A New Measure for Assessing the Intensity of Addiction Memory in Illicit Drug Users: The Addiction Memory Intensity Scale. J Clin Med 2018; 7:jcm7120467. [PMID: 30469500 PMCID: PMC6306924 DOI: 10.3390/jcm7120467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Disrupting the process of memory reconsolidation could be a promising treatment for addiction. However, its application may be constrained by the intensity of addiction memory. This study aimed to develop and initially validate a new measure, the Addiction Memory Intensity Scale (AMIS), for assessing the intensity of addiction memory in illicit drug users. Two studies were conducted in China for item analysis (n = 345) and initial validation (n = 1550) of the AMIS. The nine-item AMIS was found to have two factors (labelled Visual Clarity and Other Sensory Intensity), which accounted for 64.11% of the total variance. The two-factor structure provided a reasonable fit for sample data and was invariant across groups of different genders and different primary drugs of use. Significant correlations were found between scores on the AMIS and the measures of craving. The AMIS and its factors showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's α: 0.72⁻0.89) and test-retest reliability (r: 0.72⁻0.80). These results suggest that the AMIS, which demonstrates an advantage as it is brief and easy to administer, is a reliable and valid tool for measuring the intensity of addiction memory in illicit drug users, and has the potential to be useful in future clinical research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Yan Chen
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
| | - Jie-Pin Cao
- Tongji Research Centre of Mental Health, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
- School of Nursing, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
| | - Yun-Cui Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
- School of Nursing, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065, China.
| | - Shuai-Qi Li
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
- Tongji Research Centre of Mental Health, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
| | - Zeng-Zhen Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
- Tongji Research Centre of Mental Health, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Serra L, Bozzali M, Fadda L, De Simone MS, Bruschini M, Perri R, Caltagirone C, Carlesimo GA. The role of hippocampus in the retrieval of autobiographical memories in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer's disease. J Neuropsychol 2018; 14:46-68. [PMID: 30451384 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Revised: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The role of the hippocampus and neocortical areas in the retrieval of past memories in pre-dementia Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients was investigated. The aim was to assess whether the hippocampus has a temporary role in memory trace formation, according to the Cortical Reallocation Theory (CRT), or whether it continuously updates and enriches memories, according to the Multiple Trace Theory. According to the former theory, hippocampal damage should affect more recent memories, whereas the association cortex is expected to affect memories of the entire lifespan. In the second case, damage to either the hippocampus or the association cortices should affect memories of the entire lifespan. Seventeen patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment due to AD were submitted to autobiographical (i.e., episodic and semantic personal) memory assessment. Patients underwent MRI for the acquisition of T1-weighted brain volumes. Voxel-based morphometry was used to assess correlations between grey matter (GM) volumes and autobiographical memory. Correlation analyses revealed a strict association between GM volumes in the hippocampus and patients' ability to retrieve the most recent but not the oldest autobiographical memories in both aspects, episodic and semantic. Moreover, patients' GM volumes in the pre-frontal and temporal polar areas were associated with recollection of episodic and semantic events, respectively. Finally, GM volumes in the precuneus and occipital cortex were associated with retrieval of the most recent episodic events. These findings indicate that the hippocampus has a specific time-dependent role; thus, they support the CRT.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Serra
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Bozzali
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Lucia Fadda
- Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata', Italy
| | | | | | - Roberta Perri
- Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata', Italy
| | - Giovanni A Carlesimo
- Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata', Italy
| |
Collapse
|