Amygdala real-time fMRI neurofeedback upregulation in treatment resistant depression: Proof of concept and dose determination

Previous work has shown that adults suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) can increase their amygdala reactivity while recalling positive memories via real-time neurofeedback (rt-fMRI-nf) training, which is associated with reduction in depressive symptoms. This study investigated if this intervention could also be considered for patients suffering from MDD who do not respond to standard psychological and pharmacological interventions, i.e., treatment resistant (TR-MDD). 15 participants received 5 neurofeedback sessions. Outcome measures were depressive symptoms assessed by BDI scores up to 12 weeks following acute intervention, and amygdala activity changes from initial baseline to final transfer run during neurofeedback sessions (neurofeedback success). Participants succeeded in increasing their amygdala activity. A main effect of visit on BDI scores indicated a significant reduction in depressive symptomatology. Percent signal change in the amygdala showed a learning curve during the first session only. Neurofeedback success computed by session was significantly positive only during the second session. When examining the baseline amygdala response, baseline activity stabilized/asymptoted by session 3. This proof-of-concept study suggests that only two neurofeedback sessions are necessary to enable those patients to upregulate their amygdala activity, warranting a future RCT. Over the course of the rtfMRI-nf intervention, participants also reported reduced depressive symptomatology. Clinical trial registration number: NCT03428828 on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Stimulus-elicited involuntary autobiographical memories

The reflexive imagery task (RIT) has been used to investigate stimulus-elicited involuntary mental processes. The task has been successful in eliciting involuntary perceptual experiences, urges, and even higher-order cognitions, but it has never been used to elicit autobiographical memories, even though in everyday life these memories are often activated involuntarily by external stimuli. These memories are different in interesting ways from the kinds of mental representations that have been activated involuntarily in the RIT. The memories have properties which might make them insusceptible to such a form of external influence. Perhaps substantive effects will not arise because the mental representations associated with autobiographical memories are complex, poly-sensory, and rich in terms of content. To investigate this matter, we developed a variant of the RIT in which participants were presented with external stimuli (line drawings of everyday objects) and instructed not to recall any autobiographical memories. We investigated whether the nature of the involuntary memories was influenced by the nature of the stimulus. In two experiments, the involuntary memories were associated to the stimulus on a majority of the trials (∼80%). We discuss theoretical implications of this finding and of identifying the conditions in which such involuntary effects will not arise. The boundary conditions of the RIT effect illuminate the limits of unconscious processing and also the role of conscious processing in nervous function.

Memory control immediately improves unpleasant emotions associated with autobiographical memories of past immoral actions

The ability to stop unwanted memories from coming to mind is theorised to be essential for maintaining good mental health. People can employ intentional strategies to prevent conscious intrusions of negative memories, and repeated attempts to stop retrieval both reduces the frequency of intrusions and improves subsequent emotions elicited by those memories. However, it is still unknown whether memory control can improve negative emotions immediately, at the time control is attempted. It is also not clear which strategy is most beneficial for emotion regulation; clearing the mind of any thoughts of negative memories via direct suppression, or substituting memory recall with alternative thoughts. Here, we provide novel evidence that memory control immediately regulates negative emotions associated with autobiographical memories of morally wrong actions. Repeated control significantly improved negative emotions over time, regardless of the strategy used to implement control. Thought substitution involving either positive diversionary thinking or counterfactual thinking both induced positive feelings, whereas direct suppression neutralised emotions, regardless of whether memories were positive or negative. These empirical findings have implications for clinical practice as they indicate that memory control strategies could be effective emotion regulation methods for real-world intrusive memories.

Unlocking the past: efficacy of guided self-compassion and benefit-focused online interventions for managing negative personal memories

Positive reappraisal strategies have been found to reduce negative affect following the recall of negative personal events. This study examined the restorative effect of two mood-repair instructions (self-compassion vs benefit-focused reappraisal) and a control condition with no instructions following a negative Mood Induction Procedure by using the guided recall of a negative autobiographical event. A total of 112 university students participated in the online study (81% women, Mage: 21.0 years). Immediately following the negative memory recall, participants were randomised to each condition [(self-compassion: n = 36, benefit-focused: n = 39) or a control condition (n = 37)]. Repeated measures ANOVAs 3 (Repair condition) × 3 (Time of mood assessment: pre-recall, post-recall, post-regulation) showed that, as expected, negative mood (sadness, shame, and guilt) worsened significantly after the guided recall in all groups (p < .001). After the mood-repair intervention, participants in the self-compassion and benefit-focused conditions showed a significant reduction in negative mood (p < .019), while such improvement was not observed in the control group. Self-compassion and benefit-focused reappraisal functioned similarly as mood repair strategies after experiencing negative affect induced by the recall of negative personal memories. Implications in the context of autobiographical memory biases are discussed.

FMRI correlates of autobiographical memory: Comparing silent retrieval with narrated retrieval

FMRI studies of autobiographical memory (AM) retrieval typically ask subjects to retrieve memories silently to avoid speech-related motion artifacts. Recently, some fMRI studies have started to use overt (spoken) retrieval to probe moment-to-moment retrieved content. However, the extent to which the overt retrieval method alters fMRI activations during retrieval is unknown. Here we examined this question by eliciting unrehearsed AMs during fMRI scanning either overtly or silently, in the same subjects, in different runs. Differences between retrieval modality (silent vs. narrated) included greater activation for silent retrieval in the anterior hippocampus, left angular gyrus, PCC, and superior PFC, and greater activation for narrated retrieval in speech production regions, posterior hippocampus, and the DLPFC. To probe temporal dynamics, we divided each retrieval period into an initial search phase and a later elaboration phase. The activations during the search and elaboration phases were broadly similar regardless of modality, and these activations were in line with previous fMRI studies of AM temporal dynamics employing silent retrieval. For both retrieval modalities, search activated the hippocampus, mPFC, ACC, and PCC, and elaboration activated the left DLPFC and middle temporal gyri. To examine content-specific reactivation during retrieval, the timecourse of narrated memory content was transcribed and modeled. We observed dynamic activation associated with object content in the lateral occipital complex, and activation associated with scene content in the retrosplenial cortex. The current findings show that both silent and narrated AMs activate a broadly similar memory network, with some key differences, and add to current knowledge regarding the content-specific dynamics of AM retrieval. However, these observed differences between retrieval modality suggest that studies using overt retrieval should carefully consider this method's possible effects on cognitive and neural processing.

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

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

Uncertainty salience reduces the accessibility of episodic future thoughts

We live in uncertain times and how this pervasive sense of uncertainty affects our ability to think about the future remains largely unexplored. This study aims to investigate the effects of uncertainty salience on episodic future thinking-the ability to mentally represent specific future events. Experiment 1 assessed the impact of uncertainty on the accessibility of episodic future thoughts using an event fluency task. Participants were randomly assigned to either an uncertainty induction or control condition, and then were asked to imagine as many future events as possible that could happen in different time periods. The results showed that participants in the uncertainty condition produced fewer events, suggesting that uncertainty salience reduced the accessibility of episodic future thoughts. Experiment 2 investigated in further detail the mechanisms of production of episodic future thoughts that are affected by uncertainty. The results showed that uncertainty primarily reduced the accessibility of previously formed future thoughts (i.e., memories of the future) rather than affecting the ability to generatively think about the future and construct events. These findings shed new light on the impact of uncertainty on episodic future thinking, paving the way to further investigation into its implications for decision-making and future-oriented behavior.

Emotional and temporal order effects - a comparison between word-cued and important autobiographical memories recall orders

The retrieval mechanisms associated with the recall of autobiographical memories (AMs) may differ according to the cueing method used to elicit AMs. In the present study, we provide a systematic comparison between word-cued and important AMs in terms of two recall order effects, namely a temporal and an emotional order effect. The sample comprised 104 adults aged between 59 and 90 years. On two measurement occasions, participants recalled up to 20 word-cued and 15 important AMs. For each memory, participants provided their age at the time when the event occurred (age-at-event) and rated its emotionality. Order effects were analysed based on multivariate multilevel model with autoregressive effects for emotionality and age-at-event, respectively. Whereas word-cued AMs showed a stronger emotional order effect, important AMs were recalled temporarily ordered. Individuals differed in the extent to which they ordered AMs along a temporal or emotional dimension. These differences could partly be explained by personality traits. For instance, higher scores on neuroticism were associated with a stronger emotional order effect in both memory types. Findings are discussed in terms of the retrieval mechanisms that are involved in the recall of word-cued and important memory recall and how they may be affected by personality.

Repeated exposure to body-related memories in women with high body-related self-disgust: Impact on disgust, avoidance, and acceptance

Disgust-based body image concerns can bias autobiographical memory towards the recall and avoidant processing of disgust-related memories of the own body. Repeated exposure to such memories may help breaking avoidance and promote the habituation of disgust, thereby lowering body concerns. Using a pre-post within-participant experimental design, we tested if repeatedly exposing women with high self-disgust (N = 61) to disgust-focused body memories vs. neutral memories led to changes in disgust, body acceptance, and reactive avoidance. Contrary to expectations, state disgust towards the body itself only decreased following exposure to neutral memories. Yet, disgust elicited by body-related memories decreased following both repeated exposure to neutral and body memories. Although acceptance was not found to significantly change in either exposure session, pre-post decreases in state disgust were associated with increases in acceptance following the disgust-focused exposure. In contrast to expectations, reactive avoidance increased from pre to post in the disgust-focused exposure. Overall, the results indicate that repeated exposure to disgust-focused body memories may help reduce disgust elicited by these memories and promote body acceptance. Yet, the effect of this repeated exposure to body memories did not extend to changing state disgust towards the body, possibly due to reactive avoidance.

An experimental approach: Investigating the directive function of autobiographical memory

Why do we have autobiographical memory and how is it useful? Researchers have proposed a directive function; our experiences guide our behavior, particularly when faced with an open-ended problem. Two experiments (one between-participant and one mixed design) were therefore conducted to test whether success autobiographical memories - any experience when the participant felt successful and competent - are helpful for generating solutions to problem scenarios. One research aim was to experimentally test the directive function as current experimental evidence is limited and results are mixed. Consequently, it is unclear if and how autobiographical memory is helpful for open-ended problem solving. Another aim was to test whether self-efficacy is an important factor that supports open-ended problem solving and thus the directive function. Although success memories enhanced self-ratings of self-efficacy across both experiments, in samples of undergraduate students there was no experimental effect of success autobiographical memories on problem solving. Instead, some participants across the memory and control conditions in both experiments, even when not instructed, recalled autobiographical memories related to the problem scenarios presented in the problem-solving task, and these participants did better at problem solving than those who did not. This may hint to a directive function and is perhaps one reason why there is no experimental effect. Sample and experimental design differences are discussed as potential factors that may contribute to non-significant effects in this study but significant effects in others. Our results highlight the complexity of the directive function, and the difficulty of experimentally testing how autobiographical memory directs behavior.

It's not a lie … If you believe it: Narrative analysis of autobiographical memories reveals over-confidence disposition in patients who confabulate

Humans perceive their personal memories as fundamentally true, and although memory is prone to inaccuracies, flagrant memory errors are rare. Some patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) recall and act upon patently erroneous memories (spontaneous confabulations). Clinical observations suggest these memories carry a strong sense of confidence, a function ascribed to vmPFC in studies of memory and decision making. However, most studies of the underlying mechanisms of memory overconfidence do not directly probe personal recollections and resort instead to laboratory-based tasks and contrived rating scales. We analyzed naturalistic word use of patients with focal vmPFC damage (N = 18) and matched healthy controls (N = 23) while they recalled autobiographical memories using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) method. We found that patients with spontaneous confabulation (N = 7) tended to over-use words related to the categories of 'certainty' and of 'swearwords' compared to both non-confabulating vmPFC patients (N = 11) and control participants. Certainty related expressions among confabulating patients were at normal levels during erroneous memories and were over-expressed during accurate memories, contrary to our predictions. We found no elevation in expressions of affect (positive or negative), temporality or drive as would be predicted by some models of confabulation. Thus, erroneous memories may be associated with subjectively lower certainty, but still exceed patients' report criterion because of a global proclivity for overconfidence. This may be compounded by disinhibition reflected by elevated use of swearwords. These findings demonstrate that analysis of naturalistic expressions of memory content can illuminate global meta-mnemonic contributions to memory accuracy complementing indirect laboratory-based correlates of behavior. Memory accuracy is the result of complex interactions among multiple meta-mnemonic processes such as monitoring, report criteria, and control processes which may be shared across decision-making domains.

Language and autobiographical memory development from 5 to 12 years: A longitudinal perspective

The main aim of this study, with two repeated measurements, was to analyze the development of autobiographical memory in a sample of 78 Spanish participants at ages 5 (Time 1; M = 62.43 months, range: 50-74 months) and 12 (Time 2; M = 142.71 months, range: 132-155 months). Data were collected on autobiographical memory and verbal functions. We analyzed the relation between language and autobiographical memory specificity from a longitudinal perspective and assessed the indirect effect of vocabulary in the relationship between age and specific memory at both temporal moments. The results showed that language skills were positively related with autobiographical memory specificity at preschool age, but not at the second measurement. Furthermore, vocabulary scores appear to mediate the relationship between age and autobiographical specificity when children are in the preschool years, but not later. These findings agree with previous research that consider preschool age to be a crucial period for the development of autobiographical memory and its relations with language, but once basic command of language is acquired, linguistic differences impact much less on individual differences in autobiographical specificity.

Examining the roles of visual imagery and working memory in the retrieval of autobiographical memories using a dual-task paradigm

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.

Automated scoring of the autobiographical interview with natural language processing

The autobiographical interview has been used in more than 200 studies to assess the content of autobiographical memories. In a typical experiment, participants recall memories, which are then scored manually for internal details (episodic details from the central event) and external details (largely non-episodic details). Scoring these narratives requires a significant amount of time. As a result, large studies with this procedure are often impractical, and even conducting small studies is time-consuming. To reduce scoring burden and enable larger studies, we developed an approach to automatically score responses with natural language processing. We fine-tuned an existing language model (distilBERT) to identify the amount of internal and external content in each sentence. These predictions were aggregated to obtain internal and external content estimates for each narrative. We evaluated our model by comparing manual scores with automated scores in five datasets. We found that our model performed well across datasets. In four datasets, we found a strong correlation between internal detail counts and the amount of predicted internal content. In these datasets, manual and automated external scores were also strongly correlated, and we found minimal misclassification of content. In a fifth dataset, our model performed well after additional preprocessing. To make automated scoring available to other researchers, we provide a Colab notebook that is intended to be used without additional coding.

The positive dimension of schizotypy is associated with self-report measures of autobiographical memory and future thinking but not experimenter-scored indices

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.

Relationship between personal recovery, autobiographical memory, and clinical recovery in people with mental illness in the acute phase

Aim

Narratives are important in psychiatric rehabilitation. People with a psychiatric diagnosis find it difficult to recall specific autobiographical memories of events that lasted less than a day. Although personal narratives play a central role in personal recovery, the factors influencing personal and clinical recovery, such as psychiatric symptoms and cognitive function, have not been fully explored. Therefore, this study examined the associations between personal recovery and autobiographical memory, age, psychiatric symptoms, and neurocognitive function.

Method

The Self-Identified Stage of Recovery, Parts A and B (SISR-A, SISR-B), Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT), Japanese version of the Brief Assessment Scale of Schizophrenia Cognitive Function, and Brief Psychiatric Symptom Rating Scale were administered to 40 individuals with psychiatric disorders who were undergoing psychiatric rehabilitation.

Results

A significant positive correlation was found between the total number of specific memories in the AMT and total SISR-B scores. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the total number of specific memories, especially high responsiveness to negative cue words, significantly predicted greater personal recovery. Age, psychiatric symptoms, and neurocognitive function did not significantly predict higher personal recovery.

Conclusion

In psychiatric rehabilitation, negative episodes should be treated with caution; however, they may also facilitate personal recovery.

Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM): A Systematic Review

Individuals possessing a Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) demonstrate an exceptional ability to recall their own past, excelling most when dates from their lifetime are used as retrieval cues. Fully understanding how neurocognitive mechanisms support exceptional memory could lead to benefits in areas of healthcare in which memory plays a central role and in legal fields reliant on witnesses' memories. Predominantly due to the rareness of the phenomenon, existing HSAM literature is highly heterogenous in its methodologies used. Therefore, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we performed the first systematic review on this topic, to collate the existing behavioural, neuroanatomical, and functional HSAM data. Results from the 20 experimental selected studies revealed that HSAM is categorised by rapidly retrieved, detailed and accurate autobiographical memories, and appears to avoid the normal aging process. Functional neuroimaging studies showed HSAM retrieval seems characterised by an intense overactivation of the usual autobiographical memory network, including posterior visual areas (e.g., the precuneus). Structural neuroanatomical differences do not appear to characterise HSAM, but altered hippocampal resting-state connectivity was commonly observed. We discuss theories of HSAM in relation to autobiographical encoding, consolidation, and retrieval, and suggest future directions for this research.

Place and Memory: Revisiting the Past Self Through Autobiographical Memory

Place is everywhere as geography, location, territory, and landscape permeates everyday encounter. In contrast, memory is embedded in the physical setting as the burgeoning narratives of cities. In recent instances, literary settings of novels and characters are interpretations of actual life events. An immigrant from New York City returns to Lagos after a long period in Teju Cole's Every Day is for the Thief (2007) and (2014) investigates the correlation of the past self within the present state of the setting. Exploring interrelated memories and places to revisit the sense of self, the present study aims to analyse how autobiographical memory distinguishes personal memory from social events and defines place attachment and identity in society. This article also explores the lack of conformity to the tendency to find the past self in different time and spatial aspects through which this research tries to bridge the past with the present using narrators' autobiographical memories.

Brain connectivity patterns associated with individual differences in the access to experience-near personal semantics: a resting-state fMRI study

It has been proposed that a continuum of specificity exists between episodic and semantic autobiographical memory. Personal semantics have been theorized to situate intermediately on this continuum, with more "experience-near" personal semantics (enPS) closer to the episodic end. We used individual differences in behavior as a model to investigate brain networks associated with the access to episodic autobiographical (EAM) and enPS information, assessing the relation between performance in the EAM and enPS conditions of the Autobiographical Fluency Task (AFT) and intrinsic brain connectivity. Results of an intrinsic connectivity contrast analysis showed that the global connectivity of two clusters in the left and right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) was predicted by performance in the enPS conditions. Moreover, enPS scores predicted the connectivity strength of the right PCC with the bilateral anterior hippocampus (aHC), anterior middle temporal gyrus (aMTG) and medial orbitofrontal cortex, and the left aMTG and PCC. enPS scores also predicted the connectivity strength of the left PCC with the bilateral HC and MTG. The network highlighted involves parts of the core and of the dorsal medial subsystems of the Default Mode Network, in line with the proposal that enPS represents an intermediate entity between episodic and semantic memory.

When you look at your past: Eye movement during autobiographical retrieval

Until recently, little was known about whether or how autobiographical memory (i.e., memory of personal information) activates eye movement. This issue is now being addressed by several studies demonstrating not only how autobiographical memory activates eye movement, but also how eye movement influences the characteristics of autobiographical retrieval. This paper summarizes this research and presents a hypothesis according to which fixations and saccades during autobiographical retrieval mirror the construction of the visual image of the retrieved event. This hypothesis suggests that eye movements during autobiographical retrieval mirror the attempts of the visual system to generate and manipulate mental representations of autobiographical retrieval. It offers a theoretical framework for a burgeoning area of research that provides a rigorous behavioral evaluation of the phenomenological experience of memory.

Taking stock of the past: A psychometric evaluation of the Autobiographical Interview

Autobiographical memory (AM) involves a rich phenomenological re-experiencing of a spatio-temporal event from the past, which is challenging to objectively quantify. The Autobiographical Interview (AI; Levine et al. Psychology and Aging, 17(4), 677-689, 2002) is a manualized performance-based assessment designed to quantify episodic (internal) and semantic (external) features of recalled and verbally conveyed prior experiences. The AI has been widely adopted, yet has not undergone a comprehensive psychometric validation. We investigated the reliability, validity, association to individual differences measures, and factor structure in healthy younger and older adults (N = 352). Evidence for the AI's reliability was strong: the subjective scoring protocol showed high inter-rater reliability and previously identified age effects were replicated. Internal consistency across timepoints was robust, suggesting stability in recollection. Central to our validation, internal AI scores were positively correlated with standard, performance-based measures of episodic memory, demonstrating convergent validity. The two-factor structure for the AI was not well supported by confirmatory factor analysis. Adjusting internal and external detail scores for the number of words spoken (detail density) improved trait estimation of AM performance. Overall, the AI demonstrated sound psychometric properties for inquiry into the qualities of autobiographical remembering.

Neural substrates of specific and general autobiographical memory retrieval in younger and older adults

Healthy aging is associated with a shift away from the retrieval of specific episodic autobiographical memories (AMs), towards more general and semanticized memories. Younger adults modulate activity in the default mode network according to the episodic specificity of AM retrieval. However, little is known about whether aging disrupts this neural modulation. In the current study we examine age-related changes in the modulation of whole-brain networks in response to three tasks falling along a gradient of episodic specificity. Younger and older adults retrieved specific (unique) AMs, general (routine) AMs, and semantic (general knowledge) memories. We found that both younger and older adults modulated default mode regions in response to varying episodic specificity. In addition, younger adults upregulated activity in several default mode regions with increasing episodic specificity, while older adults either did not modulate these regions, or downregulated activity in these regions. In contrast, older adults upregulated activity in the left temporal pole for tasks with higher episodic specificity. These brain activation patterns converge with prior findings that specific AMs are diminished in episodic richness with age, but are supplemented with conceptual and general information. Age-related reductions in the modulation of default mode regions might contribute to the shift away from episodic retrieval and towards semantic retrieval, resulting in reduced episodic specificity of personal memories.

Brain Functional Correlates of Recall of Life Events in Medication-Naïve Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder

INTRODUCTION

Recall of autobiographical events has been found to be impaired in borderline personality disorder (BPD), but few studies have examined if this impairment has brain functional correlates. This study evaluated brain functional alterations during autobiographical recall using medication-naive adolescent patients to avoid potential confounding effects of treatment.

METHODS

Thirty-two adolescent female patients with BPD who were never-medicated and without psychiatric comorbidity and 33 matched healthy females underwent fMRI while they viewed individualized cue words that evoked autobiographical memories. Control conditions included viewing non-memory-evoking cues and a low-level baseline (cross-fixation).

RESULTS

During autobiographical recall, in comparison to the low-level baseline, the BPD patients showed increased brain activity in regions including the posterior hippocampus, the lingual and calcarine cortex, and the precuneus compared to the healthy controls. The BPD patients also showed a failure to deactivate the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during autobiographical recall. No patient-control differences were found when memory-evoking words were compared to non-memory-evoking words.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS

This study finds evidence of hippocampal/lingual/calcarine/precuneus hyperactivation to stimuli that evoke autobiographical memories in patients with BPD. As the changes were seen in never-treated patients without other comorbidities, they could be considered intrinsic to the disorder. Our study also adds to existing evidence for failure of deactivation in BPD, this time outside the default mode network.

If My Memory Serves Me Well: Investigating My Memory for the Past 24 Years

This paper reports on a study of my autobiographical memory for 2691 notes recorded over 24 years in my diary, without any intention to ever use the notes as test material. I never read any of the notes again until the start of the memory study. I remembered less than two thirds of the recorded events and the retention curve showed a curvilinear shape. I dated 2% of the described events correctly but misdated on average about one and a half year, with an equal number of over and underestimations of the event age. Retention correlated significantly with ratings of salience, emotional involvement, pleasantness, event rehearsal and self-relatedness, but not with intimacy. Dating accuracy correlated with salience, pleasantness, intimacy and event rehearsal, but not with emotional involvement or self-relatedness. Regression analyses showed that event rehearsal was the best predictor of retention and dating, but the predictive value of other ratings was dependent on the content of the recorded events.

How reminiscing about deceased close others together with continuing bonds relates to grief severity and personal growth: a cross-sectional study with bereaved adults

OBJECTIVES

One of the reasons why people engage in reminiscences about their past is to maintain intimacy with deceased close others. Although previous research alerts to the negative effects of reminiscence for intimacy maintenance on mental health, little is known about its relation to individuals' reactions to loss (i.e. grief severity and personal growth). In two samples, we focus on time since loss and continuing bonds, to elucidate the role of reminiscence for intimacy maintenance in grief.

METHOD

The samples comprised 111 and 198 bereaved adults. All participants rated the frequency of reminiscence for intimacy maintenance and loss-related variables, such as time since loss, continuing bonds, and grief severity. Sample 2 additionally completed measures of personal growth, loss-centrality, and their interconnectedness with the deceased.

RESULTS

Reminiscence on intimacy maintenance was positively related to grief severity. This relation was independent of time since loss and partly driven by externalized bonds. Internalized bonds mediated the relation between reminiscence for intimacy maintenance and grief severity (in sample 1) and personal growth (in sample 2).

CONCLUSION

Continuing bonds help explain why reminiscing for intimacy maintenance can be harmful in terms of grief severity but also fosters personal growth after the loss.

Predicting the likelihood and amount of fading, fixed, flourishing, and flexible positive and negative affect of autobiographical memories

The emotions attributed to an event can change from occurrence to recall. Autobiographical memories (AMs) exhibit fixed affect (i.e., no change in emotionality), fading affect (i.e., a decrease in emotional intensity), flourishing affect (i.e., an increase in emotional intensity), and flexible affect (i.e., change of valence). Mixed-effects multinomial models were used to predict the likelihood of the different affect change categories. Mixed-effects regression models were used to predict the amount of emotional change within each category. Predictors at the event-level were initial intensity, social rehearsal, and recall frequency. Predictors at the participant-level were components of subjective wellbeing. Analyses were based on 1,748 AMs reported by 117 young participants in response to 16 event cues. Frequency biases, and biases in the amount of change across positive and negative emotionality, were found for all types of emotional change. Specifically, there was more fading of negative (29.98%) than positive affect (11.90%), more flourishing of positive (34.27%) than negative affect (9.61%), and more AMs changing from negative to positive valence (13.33%) than vice versa (3.95%). These biases were also evident in the amount of change within the categories. Moreover, slightly more AMs remained fixed in positive (49.89%) than negative affect (47.08%). Both event and participant level predictors were significantly associated with the likelihood of different affect change categories and the amount of emotional change within the categories. The present findings highlight the importance of considering the different ways in which AMs change emotionally from occurrence to later recall.

Improving autobiographical memory in schizophrenia using wearable cameras: A single-case experimental study

Autobiographical memory (AM) impairments influence both sense of identity and social functioning of patients with schizophrenia. However, cognitive remediation methods addressing these difficulties do not sufficiently consider the heterogeneity of this disorder and frequently face methodological limitations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a method using a wearable camera (NarrativeClip®), through an alternating treatments design across two types of AM training. In parallel, repeated measures were used to appreciate the efficacy, specificity, and generalizability of the programme's benefits. Three patients were invited to wear the camera during 24 personal events. Ten of these events memories were trained by visual cueing (wearable camera condition), 10 others by verbal cueing (written diary condition) and 4 were not trained (control condition). Using pictures collected by the wearable camera seemed particularly relevant, since it promoted more detailed recalls than the diary method, from the first training session and until the end of a one-year follow-up. In addition, the repeated measures performed revealed (1) the efficacy (improvement in AM capacities after participating in the programme), (2) specificity (persistence of working memory deficits), and (3) generalizability (improvement in measures of episodic memory) of our cognitive remediation programme's effects.

Autobiographical memory in chronic schizophrenia: A follow-up study

Chronic schizophrenia is a very disabling disease and patient's social integration remains difficult. One important aspect is autobiographical memory (AM) as it is impaired in schizophrenia and highly correlated to patient's outcome, since its closely linked to self and identity. Reduced specificity and lack of details are characteristics of patients' AM, but its longitudinal course in schizophrenia remains unclear. We examined 21 patients who underwent our protocol twice with an interval of 7 years. AM was assessed using a semi-structured interview, covering four periods of life and addressing semantic knowledge and autobiographical episodes as well as their details. The results can be divided into three parts, separating semantic memories, specific autobiographical memories and details describing the latter. While a significant deterioration of semantic AM over time could be revealed, the specificity of the free recalled autobiographical episodes remained rather stable - albeit on a low level. In contrast, unique events were remembered with significantly less details at follow-up than at the first examination. While floor-effects given a relatively small number of unique events have to be considered, semantic AM and episodic details seem to be a valuable target for AM remediation given their further deterioration over time.

Emotion-dependent language featuring depression

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Understanding language features of depression contributes to the detection of the disorder. Considering that depression is characterized by dysfunctions in emotion and individuals with depression often show emotion-dependent cognition, the present study investigated the speech features and word use of emotion-dependent narrations in patients with depression.

METHODS

Forty depression patients and forty controls were required to narrate self-relevant memories under five basic human emotions (i.e., sad, angry, fearful, neutral, and happy). Recorded speech and transcribed texts were analyzed.

RESULTS

Patients with depression, as compared to non-depressed individuals, talked slower and less. They also performed differently in using negative emotion, work, family, sex, biology, health, and assent words regardless of emotion manipulation. Moreover, the use of words such as first person singular pronoun, past tense, causation, achievement, family, death, psychology, impersonal pronoun, quantifier and preposition words displayed emotion-dependent differences between groups. With the involvement of emotion, linguistic indicators associated with depressive symptoms were identified and explained 71.6% variances of depression severity.

LIMITATIONS

Word use was analyzed based on the dictionary which does not cover all the words spoken in the memory task, resulting in text data loss. Besides, a relatively small number of depression patients were included in the present study and therefore the results need confirmation in future research using big emotion-dependent data of speech and texts.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that consideration of different emotional contexts is an effective means to improve the accuracy of depression detection via the analysis of word use and speech features.

Temporal dynamics of attitude decisions: A test of the iterative reprocessing model using event-related potentials

Although evaluative judgments are a central component of everyday decision making little is known about the temporal dynamics of the processes used to make them. The present study used the high temporal resolution of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to test Cunningham and Zelazo's (2007) posited differences in the timing of attitude tag retrieval relative to stimulus categorization for 'attitudes' and 'evaluations,' as well as tenets of their Iterative Reprocessing (IR) loop model. Participants made agree/disagree decisions about their attitudes and You/Not You decisions about their autobiographical memories in separate reaction time (RT) tasks while brain activity was recorded from 32 scalp sites. A median-split analysis on RT was used to separate fast and slow decisions. Decisions about autobiographical stimuli produced the typical results in which retrieval and stimulus categorization occurred together just before the response regardless of decision difficulty. By contrast, the relative timing of tag retrieval and categorization differed with difficulty for attitude decisions as predicted by the model. Fast attitude decisions were processed similarly to fast You decisions with retrieval and categorization timing coupled to the response. Slow attitude decisions, however, differed because, while tag retrieval timing was the same as for fast attitude decisions, post-retrieval processing delayed stimulus categorization and a response by 450 msec. ERP activity over dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in the pre-response interval was asymmetrical, with greater activity for attitude and autobiographical decisions over left and right hemispheres, respectively, while amplitude and duration increased with decision difficulty for both. Slow attitude decisions alone elicited a reduced pre-response positivity, a correlate of goal-directed response selection. The results provide empirical support for key aspects of Cunningham and Zelazo's (2007) attitude-evaluation dichotomy and the timing of the posited component processes in their IR model as well as novel information about the roles of stored tags and reflective processes in different attitude decisions.

Is Deceitful Autobiographical Memory Really Forgotten?

Autobiographical memory for deceitful events is said to be forgotten over time to reduce guilt and stress. People who engage in deceitful behavior continue to do so because they are able to stretch their memories to match their moral outlook. In this study, the authors wanted to see if participants who engage in deceitful behavior will change their behavior if they are reminded of their previous misdeeds and compare it with reminding them of past moral behavior and any neutral event. We also studied how the experience, or phenomenology of remembering, differs between immoral and moral memories. In Experiment 1, we found evidence to suggest that reminding deceptive autobiographical memory does not reduce deceptive behavior. In Experiment 2, we found evidence to suggest phenomenological characteristics of Immoral and moral memories are not significantly different from each other but they are both significantly different from that of neutral memory. This contradicts established results in the field. It is interesting to note that only emotional valence is significantly different between immoral and moral memory.

Listeners' effects on autobiographical memory for recent events

The current study tested the effects of attentive versus distracted listening on both speakers and listeners in recall of an autobiographical memory. Participants included 128 pairs of friends who spoke with each other over a video call about recent negative experience that one of them had. Participants were randomly assigned to be speakers or listeners, and listeners were randomly assigned to an attentive and a distracted condition. Memory narratives were coded for factual and interpretive content. Participants returned approximately 4 weeks later, when both speaker and listener separately reported their memories of the prior conversation. Attentive listening was linked both to greater recall by the speaker at time 1 and greater listener recall at time 2, but not to speaker's recall at time 2. Results show the effects of listener contributions to recall in the moment but raise questions as to whether they persist beyond the conversation in many scenarios.

Semantic-to-autobiographical memory priming is ubiquitous

It is now well established that the activation of semantic memories leads to the activation of autobiographical memories. Studies have shown that semantic processing of words or pictures primes autobiographical memories on voluntary and involuntary autobiographical memory tasks (the Crovitz cue-word task and the vigilance task). Known as semantic-to-autobiographical memory priming, our goal in the current study was to demonstrate the ubiquitous nature of this form of priming by showing that a wide variety of stimuli will prime involuntary autobiographical memories on the vigilance task. In Experiment 1, semantic-to-autobiographical priming was obtained on the vigilance task following the processing of sounds (e.g., the sound of bowling) and spoken words (e.g., the word bowling). In Experiment 2, semantic-to-autobiographical priming was observed on the vigilance task following tactile processing (e.g., the objects ball, glasses) and visual word processing (e.g., the words ball, glasses). In Experiment 3, semantic-to-autobiographical priming was observed on the vigilance task following the processing of videos (e.g., videos of a marching parade) and visual word processing (e.g., the word parade). The results of these experiments support the idea that semantic-to-autobiographical activations occur across a wide variety of stimuli (e.g., linguistic, perceptual). The results also further support the idea that semantic-to-autobiographical memory priming may play an important role in the production of involuntary memories in everyday life. Additional implications (for priming theory and autobiographical memory functions) are discussed.

My Turning Point Tells the Story: A Longitudinal Examination of Greater Episodic Detail and Youth Depressive Symptoms

Although research findings show that the personal memories of people who are depressed are characterized by sparse episodic detail, under some circumstances, the opposite pattern emerges. Specifically, a recent study (Salmon et al., 2021) has shown that for community youth, greater episodic detail in a highly self-relevant narrative (a life turning point) predicted increased depressive symptoms concurrently and one year later. In a new longitudinal study of young people (N = 320 at Time 1, M = 16.9 years; 81% female) followed up over six months, we aimed to replicate and extend this finding. In Study A, we compared the turning point with a narrative about a conflict event, to establish whether the detail in a turning point memory uniquely predicted depressive symptoms. Supporting the first hypothesis, at both time-points, greater episodic detail was concurrently positively associated with depressive symptoms for turning point narratives only. Contrary to our second hypothesis, greater detail did not predict increased depressive symptoms longitudinally. The reverse pattern was significant, however, in that greater initial depressive symptoms predicted greater detail uniquely in the turning point narrative six months later. In Study B, we determined that the concurrent association between episodic detail and depressive symptoms in turning points (but not conflict events) was exacerbated by linguistic markers of self-focus (greater I-talk and lower distancing language). These findings suggest that greater detail in a turning point narrative may uniquely signify risk of psychological distress when youth narrate the experience with heightened self-focus.

Specific autobiographical memories are a resource for identity strength among mature but not emerging adults

Four studies, three pre-planned on Open Science Framework, with 2296 participants explored the potential role of recollecting autobiographical memories in enhancing the sense of identity. Among emerging adults (college students under age 25), recollecting important autobiographical memories did not strengthen sense of identity. Autobiographical memories failed to strengthen identity among emerging adults despite inducing low self-clarity first; despite attempts to prime self-consistent memories by having emerging adults report their stable self-aspects first; and despite attempts to inspire self-event connections by asking emerging adults to explain how the memories exemplified something enduring about the self. Among mature adults (age 25 and older), recollecting important autobiographical memories strengthened sense of identity. Identity was strengthened regardless of whether mature adults were asked to explain how the memories exemplified something enduring about the self. Differences in types of memories or motivation did not account for the differential effects of recollecting autobiographical memories in identity. In short, mature adults appear to readily use autobiographical memories as a resource for identity in a way that emerging adults have not yet mastered.

Time heals all wounds? Naïve theories about the fading of affect associated with autobiographical events

The current research examined the naïve theories that individuals hold about how affect fades over time. In three studies (with various replications), participants read about positive and negative events and estimated the emotional impact of those events on either themselves or a hypothetical other over different time frames (i.e., 1 week, 1 month, 1 year-Studies 1a-1c) or how long it would take for specific amounts of fade to occur (Studies 2a & 2b). In a final study, participants were directly asked about their beliefs regarding affect fade. Results demonstrated that people have inaccurate expectations about affect fade for positive and negative events. Specifically, participants rate that positive events fade more in the short term, but that negative events fade more in the long term. Results are discussed in terms of how these (incorrect) naïve theories of affect fade relate to metacognitive biases in memory and emotion.

Visual perspective in autobiographical memories of self-incongruent episodes

It is widely assumed that autobiographical memory relies on an integration of episodic memory with the self-model. We hypothesise that self-memory integration depends critically on self-congruence. More specifically, self-incongruent experiences such as those that elicit shame or guilt may be more difficult to integrate. Self-incongruence may affect both the semantic reports of memories and their phenomenological characteristics, in particular their visual perspective (1PP or 3PP, i.e., field or observer perspective), their affective valence, and their perceived centrality. Diary based memories were assigned to 4 categories (shame, guilt, negative, neutral) and were rated for the different phenomenological dimensions. We used a deep neural network, univariate and multilevel models to assess differences and relationships between different variables. We found that memories that elicited shame (but not guilt) showed more pronounced 3PP as compared to other experiences. Shameful episodes also elicited the most pronounced negative affect. A multilevel analysis revealed that the amount of shame that an episode elicited, and its semantic similarity with shame episodes, predicted higher 3PP, while affective valence did not. Our results show that self-incongruence affects memories both at the level of their semantic reports and their phenomenology, and thus contributes to a mechanistic understanding of self-memory integration.

The neutral past: emotional (dys)regulation of autobiographical memory in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia

BACKGROUND

While affective disturbances are a key symptomatic indicator of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), little is known about how patients process the emotional load of their autobiographical (i.e. personal) memories.

METHODS

We assessed the interplay of emotional regulation and autobiographical memory by inviting 18 bvFTD and 20 control participants to remember past personal events. For each memory, participants rated its emotional valence "then" (i.e. when the event has occurred) vs "now" (i.e. when retrieving the event).

RESULTS

Patients with bvFTD described their memories as neutral at both times (p = .85), while control participants rated their memories as more positive during "then" than during "now" (p = .013). Autobiographical retrieval triggered fewer emotional words (p < .001) and less specificity (p < .001) in bvFTD patients compared to control participants.

CONCLUSIONS

The lack of significant differences between the emotional characteristics during "then" than "now" in patients with bvFTD (and the flattening of both) may mirror their hampered ability for emotional generation, which may be associated with difficulties in reframing their past experiences to modify and adapt their meaning. The hampered emotional regulation in bvFTD may also be associated with an avoidance strategy and a passive attitude toward the past.

Aberrant neural network activation during reliving of autobiographical memories in adolescent depression

BACKGROUND

Adolescents with depression exhibit negative biases in autobiographical memory with detrimental consequences for their self-concept and well-being. Investigating how adolescents relive positive autobiographical memories and activate the underlying neural networks could reveal mechanisms that drive such biases. This study investigated neural networks when reliving positive and neutral memories, and how neural activity is modulated by valence and vividness in adolescents with and without depression.

METHODS

Adolescents (N = 69; n = 17 with depression) retrieved positive and neutral autobiographical memories. On a separate day, they relived these memories during fMRI scanning, and reported on pleasantness and vividness after reliving each memory. We used a multivariate, data-driven approach - event-related independent component analysis (eICA) - to characterize neural networks supporting autobiographical recollection.

RESULTS

Adolescents with depression reported their positive memories as significantly less pleasant compared to healthy controls, while subjective vividness was unaffected. Using eICA, we identified a broad autobiographical memory network, and subnetworks related to reliving positive vs neutral memories. These subnetworks comprised a 'self-referential processing network' including medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus, and temporoparietal junction, anti-correlating with parts of the central executive network and salience network. Adolescents with depression exhibited aberrant activation in this self-referential network, but only when reliving relatively 'low' pleasant memories.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide first insights into how the quality of reliving autobiographical memories in adolescents with depression may relate to aberrant self-referential neural network activation, and underscore the potential of targeting memory reliving in therapeutic interventions to foster self-esteem and diminish depressive symptoms.

Enhanced efficacy of CBT following augmentation with amygdala rtfMRI neurofeedback in depression

BACKGROUND

Despite cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) being a standard treatment in major depressive disorder (MDD), nearly half of patients do not respond. As one of the predictors of CBT's efficacy is amygdala reactivity to positive information, which is often decreased in MDD, we explored whether real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rtfMRI-nf) training to increase amygdala responses during positive memory recall prior CBT would enhance its efficacy.

METHODS

In a double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized clinical trial, 35 adults with MDD received two sessions of rtfMRI-nf training to increase their amygdala (experimental group, n = 16) or parietal (control group, n = 19) responses during positive memory neurofeedback prior to receiving 10 CBT sessions. Depressive symptomatology was monitored between the rtfMRI sessions, the first three, 9th and 10th sessions of CBT and at 6 months and 1 year follow-up.

RESULTS

Participants in the experimental group showed decreased depressive symptomatology and higher remission rates at 6 months and 1 year follow-up than the control group. Analysis of CBT content highlighted that participants in the experimental group focused more on positive thinking and behaviors than the control group.

LIMITATIONS

The study was relatively small and not sufficiently powered to detect small effects.

CONCLUSIONS

CBT, when combined with amygdala neurofeedback, results in sustained clinical changes and leads to long-lasting clinical improvement, potentially by increasing focus on positive memories and cognitions.

Effects of past and future autobiographical thinking on the working self-concept

While the role of autobiographical memory in self-representation is well established, the identity function of future thinking has received much less attention. Yet, most people commonly imagine future events that convey meaningful information about the person they wish or expect to become. In three experiments, we assessed the extent to which thinking about such self-defining future events influences the current content of self-representation (i.e., the working self-concept). Participants were asked to think about either a past or future self-defining event, or a control topic, before describing aspects of their identity in the form of "I am" statements (Experiments 1 and 3) or completing scales assessing self-related dimensions (Experiments 2 and 3). We found that thinking about a future self-defining event led participants to conceptualise themselves more in terms of their psychological traits, as did thinking about a past self-defining event. Furthermore, thinking about a future self-defining event increased the sense of present-future self-continuity, whereas thinking about a past self-defining event increased the sense of past-present self-continuity. These results suggest that self-representations are fuelled not only by autobiographical memories, but also by projections into the future.

Effects of Healthy and Neuropathological Aging on Autobiographical Memory: A Meta-Analysis of Studies Using the Autobiographical Interview

OBJECTIVES

A meta-analytic review was conducted to assess the effects of healthy aging, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) on naturalistic autobiographical memory using the Autobiographical Interview, a widely used, standardized assessment that derives measures of internal (episodic) and external (nonepisodic) details from freely recalled autobiographical narratives.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search identified 21 aging, 6 MCI, and 7 AD studies (total N = 1,556 participants). Summary statistics for internal and external details for each comparison (younger vs older or MCI/AD vs age-matched comparison groups) and effect size statistics were extracted and summarized using Hedges' g (random effects model) and adjusted for the presence of publication bias.

RESULTS

The pattern of reduced internal and elevated external details in aging was robust and consistent across nearly all 21 studies. MCI and-to a greater extent-AD were associated with reduced internal details, whereas the external detail elevation faded with MCI and AD. Although there was evidence of publication bias on reporting of internal detail effects, these effects remained robust after correction.

DISCUSSION

The canonical changes to episodic memory observed in aging and neurodegenerative disease are mirrored in the free recall of real-life events. Our findings indicate that the onset of neuropathology overwhelms the capacity of older adults to draw upon distributed neural systems to elaborate on past experiences, including both episodic details specific to identified events and nonepisodic content characteristic of healthy older adults' autobiographical narratives.

Individual differences in autobiographical memory predict the tendency to engage in spontaneous thoughts

Individual differences in autobiographical memory have become a research area of interest, but little is known about its associations with other individual differences dimensions, such as the tendency to engage in spontaneous cognition. We report two studies examining individual differences in autobiographical memory, as measured by the Autobiographical Recollection Test (ART), in relation to eight trait-like measures of spontaneous thought and, in Study 2, also a measure of fantasy proneness. In Study 1, the ART correlated positively and systematically with six out of eight measures of spontaneous thought, even when controlling for age, gender, and trait positive and negative affect. The two exceptions concerned spontaneous thoughts specifically related to attentional deficits. Study 2 replicated these findings and extended them to a measure of fantasy proneness. The findings demonstrate that people who generally consider their autobiographical memories to be vivid, detailed, relevant, and coherent, report a higher tendency to engage in various forms of spontaneous cognition, including positive constructive daydreaming, spontaneous mind wandering, involuntary mental time travel, and vivid and immersive fantasy. We discuss these findings in terms of the role autobiographical memory plays in spontaneous thoughts.

Attentional switch to memory: An early and critical phase of the cognitive cascade allowing autobiographical memory retrieval

Remembering and mentally reliving yesterday's lunch is a typical example of episodic autobiographical memory retrieval. In the present review, we reappraised the complex cascade of cognitive processes involved in memory retrieval, by highlighting one particular phase that has received little interest so far: attentional switch to memory (ASM). As attention cannot be simultaneously directed toward external stimuli and internal memories, there has to be an attentional switch from the external to the internal world in order to initiate memory retrieval. We formulated hypotheses and developed hypothetical models of both the cognitive and brain processes that accompany ASM. We suggest that gaze aversion could serve as an objective temporal marker of the point at which people switch their attention to memory, and highlight several fields (neuropsychology, neuroscience, social cognition, comparative psychology) in which ASM markers could be essential. Our review thus provides a new framework for understanding the early stages of autobiographical memory retrieval.

The influence of electroconvulsive therapy on reconsolidation of autobiographical memories: A retrospective quasi-experimental study in patients with depression

Background/Objective

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is effective for treatment-resistant and psychotic depression. One previously reported side effect of ECT is the disruption of memory reconsolidation. This study examines whether this disruption induced by ECT can be detected in routine neuropsychological assessments.

Methods

In this retrospective study, the Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI) was applied before and after ECT. Memories of the same events and facts were tested pre and post ECT treatments. 38 patients, receiving ECT for the treatment of unipolar or bipolar depression, were matched for age, sex, and stimulus intensity and divided into two groups: Group A was tested on the day before the first ECT treatment, whereas group B two or more days before.

Results

Patients who were tested by AMI on the day before ECT and thus reactivated memorie shortly before the first ECT treatment deteriorated in AMI score. Patients who had at least two days between memory activation and treatment improved regarding the number of recalled memories. Memory impairment was not associated with depression severity.

Conclusion

This finding suggests that ECT might be capable of impairing reconsolidation. The study demonstrates that memories of personal events can potentially be affected by ECT within a time interval of 24 h of memory vulnerability after reactivation. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Repeated simulation increases belief in the future occurrence of uncertain events

The feeling that an imagined event will or will not occur in the future - referred to as belief in future occurrence - plays a key role in guiding our decisions and actions. Recent research suggests that this belief may increase with repeated simulation of future events, but the boundary conditions for this effect remain unclear. Considering the key role of autobiographical knowledge in shaping belief in occurrence, we suggest that the effect of repeated simulation only occurs when prior autobiographical knowledge does not clearly support or contradict the occurrence of the imagined event. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the repetition effect for events that were either plausible or implausible due to their coherence or incoherence with autobiographical knowledge (Experiment 1), and for events that initially appeared uncertain because they were not clearly supported or contradicted by autobiographical knowledge (Experiment 2). We found that all types of events became more detailed and took less time to construct after repeated simulation, but belief in their future occurrence increased only for uncertain events; repetition did not influence belief for events already believed or considered implausible. These findings show that the effect of repeated simulation on belief in future occurrence depends on the consistency of imagined events with autobiographical knowledge.

Why and when do you look away when trying to remember? Gaze aversion as a marker of the attentional switch to the internal world during memory retrieval

It is common to look away while trying to remember specific information, for example during autobiographical memory retrieval, a behavior referred to as gaze aversion. Given the competition between internal and external attention, gaze aversion is assumed to play a role in visual decoupling, i.e., suppressing environmental distractors during internal tasks. This suggests a link between gaze aversion and the attentional switch from the outside world to a temporary internal mental space that takes place during the initial stage of memory retrieval, but this assumption has never been verified so far. We designed a protocol where 33 participants answered 48 autobiographical questions while their eye movements were recorded with an eye-tracker and a camcorder. Results indicated that gaze aversion occurred early (median 1.09 s) and predominantly during the access phase of memory retrieval-i.e., the moment when the attentional switch is assumed to take place. In addition, gaze aversion lasted a relatively long time (on average 6 s), and was notably decoupled from concurrent head movements. These results support a role of gaze aversion in perceptual decoupling. Gaze aversion was also related to higher retrieval effort and was rare during memories which came spontaneously to mind. This suggests that gaze aversion might be required only when cognitive effort is required to switch the attention toward the internal world to help retrieving hard-to-access memories. Compared to eye vergence, another visual decoupling strategy, the association with the attentional switch seemed specific to gaze aversion. Our results provide for the first time several arguments supporting the hypothesis that gaze aversion is related to the attentional switch from the outside world to memory.

Cognitive and social well-being in older adulthood: The CoSoWELL corpus of written life stories

This paper presents the Cognitive and Social WELL-being (CoSoWELL) project that consists of two components. One is a large corpus of narratives written by over 1000 North American older adults (55+ years old) in five test sessions before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The other component is a rich collection of socio-demographic data collected through a survey from the same participants. This paper introduces the first release of the corpus consisting of 1.3 million tokens and the survey data (CoSoWELL version 1.0). It also presents a series of analyses validating design decisions for creating the corpus of narratives written about personal life events that took place in the distant past, recent past (yesterday) and future, along with control narratives. We report results of computational topic modeling and linguistic analyses of the narratives in the corpus, which track the time-locked impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the content of autobiographical memories before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The main findings demonstrate a high validity of our analytical approach to unique narrative data and point to both the locus of topical shifts (narratives about recent past and future) and their detailed timeline. We make the CoSoWELL corpus and survey data available to researchers and discuss implications of our findings in the framework of research on aging and autobiographical memories under stress.

Emotional autobiographical memory retrieval in time domain

Autobiographical memory (AM) is an important psychological phenomenon that has significance for self-development and mental health. The psychological mechanisms of emotional AM retrieval and their association with individual emotional symptoms remain largely unclear in the literature. For this purpose, the current study provided cue words to elicit emotional AMs. Event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with the retrieval process of AMs were recorded and analyzed. We found that the ERP component N400 was sensitive to both emotional valence and retrieval state, such that its amplitude was larger for negative compared to positive AMs, and larger responses for unrecalled compared to recalled AMs. Further, the N400 amplitude in the positive recalled condition was correlated with individual difference in depression (measured by the Beck Depression Inventory). Another ERP component, the late positive potential (LPP), was also sensitive to emotional valence, such that its amplitude was larger (i.e., more positive-going) for positive compared to negative cues. No significant effect was observed on the early ERP components P1, N1, or P2. The current findings bring new understanding on the difference between positive and negative AMs retrieval in the time domain. Also, the importance of this difference to the individual level of depression is worth noting.

Imagining one's personal future in women undergoing treatment for breast cancer: an exploratory study

We assessed self-defining future projections (SDFPs) in women with breast cancer (BC) and their relationships with disease characteristics and quality of life. Forty women with BC in the course of treatment and 50 controls were asked to generate SDFPs and completed questionnaires for depression and anxiety symptoms and quality of life. There was no group difference regarding specificity, meaning making, probability of produced future events, and the experience of a sense of personal continuity within SDFPs. BC patients' SDFPs were less distant in the future and characterised by more narratives about life threatening events and fewer narratives about future achievements. Chemotherapy was related to narratives about life threatening events and BC. Patients undergoing breast reconstruction reported fewer life-threatening events related to their cancer. Lower quality of life was associated with lower narratives about relationships in patients. Women undergoing treatment for BC envision their future in a less optimistic way with more narratives about life threatening events and a reduced time perspective that varied according to the type of treatment. Self-continuity and ability to imagine future specific events were preserved in patients, which are important processes helping individuals to cope with life difficulties and find meaning and direction in life.