Involuntary Autobiographical Memories

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Mace
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Main Body ◽  
Mental Life ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Memory Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Functional Nature ◽  
Involuntary Memories

Spontaneous recollections of the past are a common and salient part of everyday mental life. However, memory researchers have only recently (i.e. within the past twenty years) turned their attention to the study of this memory phenomenon. While research in this area has answered a number of pressing questions about the nature of involuntary memories, answers to some questions remain elusive (e.g. determining their functional nature). This chapter reviews the main body of this work. In addition, the chapter looks to the future of involuntary memory research, highlighting its promise in a number of regards (e.g. its potential role in informing an understanding of autobiographical memory retrieval).

Specificity and detail in autobiographical memory retrieval: A multi-site (re)investigation.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David John Hallford ◽  
Tom Joseph Barry ◽  
Eline Belmans ◽  
Filip Raes ◽  
Sam Dax ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Severe Depression ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Memory Specificity ◽  
Specific Event ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Cue Words

This investigation examined conflicting suggestions regarding the association between problems retrieving specific autobiographical memories and the tendency to retrieve the details of these memories. We also examined whether these tendencies are differentially related to depression symptoms. U.S., Belgian, Hong Kong and Japanese participants retrieved memories related to cue words. Responses were coded for if they referred to a specific event (i.e., an event lasting less than 24 hours) and their details (What? Where? Who?). Across sites, and in meta-analyses, the retrieval of more specific memories was associated with retrieval of more details. Memories that were specific included more detail than non-specific memories. Across sites, retrieval of more specific memories and more detail was associated with less severe depression symptoms. Episodic specificity and detailedness are related but separable constructs. Future investigations of autobiographical memory specificity, and methods for alleviating problematic specificity, should consider measures of episodic detailedness.

scholarly journals Odors Associated With Autobiographical Memory Induce Visual Imagination of Emotional Scenes as Well as Orbitofrontal-Fusiform Activation

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri Masaoka ◽  
Haruko Sugiyama ◽  
Masaki Yoshida ◽  
Akira Yoshikawa ◽  
Motoyasu Honma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Fusiform Gyrus ◽  
Path Model ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Subjective Memory ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Left Posterior

Specific odors can induce memories of the past, especially those associated with autobiographical and episodic memory. Odors associated with autobiographical memories have been found to elicit stronger activation in the orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus, and parahippocampus compared with odors not linked to personal memories. Here, we examined whether continuous odor stimuli associated with autobiographical memories could activate the above olfactory areas in older adults and speculated regarding whether this odor stimulation could have a protective effect against age-related cognitive decline. Specifically, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the relationship between blood oxygen levels in olfactory regions and odor-induced subjective memory retrieval and emotions associated with autobiographical memory in older adults. In our group of healthy older adults, the tested odors induced autobiographical memories that were accompanied by increasing levels of retrieval and the feeling of being “brought back in time.” The strength of the subjective feelings, including vividness of the memory and degree of comfort, impacted activation of the left fusiform gyrus and left posterior orbitofrontal cortex. Further, our path model suggested that the strength of memory retrieval and of the emotions induced by odor-evoked autobiographical memories directly influenced neural changes in the left fusiform gyrus, and impacted left posterior orbitofrontal cortex activation through the left fusiform response.

“Look at Me” – Eye Movements During Autobiographical Retrieval in Face-to-Face Interactions

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Quentin Lenoble ◽  
Mohamad El Haj
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Screen Design ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Laboratory Design ◽  
Blank Screen

Abstract. There has been a surge in social cognition and social neurosciences research comparing laboratory and real eye movements. Eye movements during the retrieval of autobiographical memories (i.e., personal memories) in laboratory situations are also receiving more attention. We compared eye movements during the retrieval of autobiographical memories using a strict laboratory design versus a design mimicking social interactions. In the first design, eye movements were recorded during autobiographical memory retrieval while participants were looking at a blank screen; in the second design, participants wore eye-tracking glasses and communicated autobiographical memories to the experimenter. Compared with the “screen” design, the “glasses” design yielded more fixations ( p < .05), shorter duration of fixations ( p < .001), more saccades ( p < .01), and longer duration of saccades ( p < .001). These findings demonstrate how eye movements during autobiographical memory retrieval differ between strict laboratory design and face-to-face interactions.

scholarly journals The Proust Machine: What a Public Science Event Tells Us About Autobiographical Memory and the Five Senses

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Ernst ◽  
Julie M. F. Bertrand ◽  
Virginie Voltzenlogel ◽  
Céline Souchay ◽  
Christopher J. A. Moulin
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Sensory Cues ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Memory Research ◽  
Public Science ◽  
Five Senses

Our senses are constantly stimulated in our daily lives but we have only a limited understanding of how they affect our cognitive processes and, especially, our autobiographical memory. Capitalizing on a public science event, we conducted the first empirical study that aimed to compare the relative influence of the five senses on the access, temporal distribution, and phenomenological characteristics of autobiographical memories in a sample of about 400 participants. We found that the access and the phenomenological features of memories varied as a function of the type of sensory cues, but not their temporal distribution. With regard to their influence on autobiographical memory, an overlap between some senses was found, with on one hand, olfaction and taste and, on the other, vision, audition, and touch. We discuss these findings in the light of theories of perception, memory, and the self, and consider methodological implications of the sensory cuing technique in memory research, as well as clinical implications for research in psychopathological and neuropsychological populations.

The organization and structure of autobiographical memory

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Basic Structure ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Memory Organization ◽  
Memory Research ◽  
Reminiscence Bump ◽  
The Past ◽  
Functional Perspective ◽  
And Function

The topic of autobiographical memory has held a prominent role in memory research for the past 30 years, as it has proven indispensable to the understanding of human memory and cognition. An important focus of autobiographical memory research is uncovering the basic structure, nature, and organization of the autobiographical memory system. This edited volume addresses the organization and structure of autobiographical memory. Based on over 30 years of research, and the latest empirical findings, this volume presents the major theories and problems in the science of autobiographical memory organization. At its core are two influential global views on the organization, structure, and function of autobiographical memory (chapters 2 and 3). In addition, the volume examines the organization of autobiographical memory from a developmental perspective (chapter 4), a chapter examining the neuroscience of autobiographical memory organization (chapter 7), and a chapter examining organization from a functional perspective (chapter 6). Also covered is the role of culture in forming autobiographical memory (chapter 5), the role of the self in organizing autobiographical memory (chapter 8), insights from the reminiscence bump on organization (chapter 9), and a chapter on the organization of episodic autobiographical memories (chapter 10).

Distorted Memory Beliefs

2020 ◽  
pp. 19-41
Author(s):  
Lisa Bortolotti
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
The Past ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Epistemic Innocence

In this chapter, the author argues that beliefs about the past that are based on distorted autobiographical memories have the potential for epistemic innocence. The focus is on beliefs about the past that people report in the context of dementia and other conditions in which autobiographical memory is severely compromised. Such beliefs may embellish people’s past achievements or present circumstances, or simply be inconsistent with life events that people can no longer remember. Having memory beliefs to report increases the opportunity for socialisation and information exchange with peers, making content available for sharing and enabling feedback on it. More important still, the maintenance and reporting of memory beliefs about the autobiographical past, when these are not entirely fabricated and contain a grain of truth, enable the retention of key self-related information that would otherwise be threatened by progressive memory loss.

scholarly journals Trait Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation upon Autobiographical Memory Retrieval during Depression Remission

Mindfulness ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2828-2840
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Eriksen Isham ◽  
Adriana del Palacio-Gonzalez ◽  
Barbara Dritschel
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Trait Mindfulness ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Memory Suppression ◽  
History Of ◽  
Remitted Depression

Abstract Objectives Depression is associated with both emotion dysregulation upon retrieval of autobiographical memories and low trait mindfulness. The present study raised the question of whether these processes are related to each other and whether they may reflect a cognitive-affective vulnerability in individuals at risk of depression. The study examined emotion regulation in response to involuntary and voluntary autobiographical memories during depression remission and explored how trait mindfulness relates to such emotion regulation. Methods The study employed a naturalistic design in which individuals with remitted depression (n = 35) and individuals with no history of depression (n = 32) completed a trait mindfulness measure and a structured memory diary where they rated state use of five emotion regulation strategies upon involuntary and voluntary autobiographical memory retrieval. Results Individuals with remitted depression reported heightened brooding in response to autobiographical memories when memory retrieval occurred involuntarily, and trait mindfulness was low. Depression remission and higher trait mindfulness were independently associated with greater cognitive reappraisal efforts upon involuntary retrieval of autobiographical memories. Higher trait mindfulness predicted less memory suppression, irrespective of depression history and memory retrieval mode. Conclusions The findings suggest a vulnerability in emotional processing of autobiographical memories during depression remission that is dependent on mindfulness skill level and how memories come to mind.

scholarly journals Routes to the past: Neural substrates of direct and generative autobiographical memory retrieval

NeuroImage ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 2908-2922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Rose Addis ◽  
Katie Knapp ◽  
Reece P. Roberts ◽  
Daniel L. Schacter
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
The Past

scholarly journals Reminiscence groupwork and autobiographical memory as part of meaningful activities

Groupwork ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-87
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Allen ◽  
Mary Lee Tully ◽  
Desmond O’Neill ◽  
Richard A.P. Roche
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Memory Impairment ◽  
Memory Recall ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Group Activities ◽  
The Past ◽  
With Memory

The current paper describes a reminiscence group activity session held as part of meaningful activities engagement for older adults. Topics of reminiscence included both autobiographical memories and memories of broader historical events from the past. Participants included those with memory impairment and those without, and participants with healthy memory were helpful in prompting memories in participants with memory impairment. Semantic and episodic autobiographical memory were assessed at baseline and following the end of both group activities, using the Episodic Autobiographical Memory Interview (EAMI) and quality of life was assessed using the Quality of Life AD-scale (QOL-AD). The reminiscence intervention did not significantly affect autobiographical memory recall or quality of life. However, oral reminiscence was reported to have increased outside of the reminiscence sessions.

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