scholarly journals When your face describes your memories: facial expressions during retrieval of autobiographical memories

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 861-872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad El Haj ◽  
Mohamed Daoudi ◽  
Karim Gallouj ◽  
Ahmed A. Moustafa ◽  
Jean-Louis Nandrino
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Affective Characteristics ◽  
Software Analysis ◽  
Emotional Memories ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
Positive Memories

Abstract Thanks to the current advances in the software analysis of facial expressions, there is a burgeoning interest in understanding emotional facial expressions observed during the retrieval of autobiographical memories. This review describes the research on facial expressions during autobiographical retrieval showing distinct emotional facial expressions according to the characteristics of retrieved memoires. More specifically, this research demonstrates that the retrieval of emotional memories can trigger corresponding emotional facial expressions (e.g. positive memories may trigger positive facial expressions). Also, this study demonstrates the variations of facial expressions according to specificity, self-relevance, or past versus future direction of memory construction. Besides linking research on facial expressions during autobiographical retrieval to cognitive and affective characteristics of autobiographical memory in general, this review positions this research within the broader context research on the physiologic characteristics of autobiographical retrieval. We also provide several perspectives for clinical studies to investigate facial expressions in populations with deficits in autobiographical memory (e.g. whether autobiographical overgenerality in neurologic and psychiatric populations may trigger few emotional facial expressions). In sum, this review paper demonstrates how the evaluation of facial expressions during autobiographical retrieval may help understand the functioning and dysfunctioning of autobiographical memory.

A Study of Autobiographical Memories in Depressed and Nondepressed Elderly Individuals

1993 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Anderson Yang ◽  
Lynn P. Rehm
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Positive Change ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Elderly Individuals ◽  
Affective Tone ◽  
Mood Congruence ◽  
Current Mood ◽  
Positive Memories ◽  
Looking Back

An autobiographical memory task was used to study memory processes and depression in elderly individuals. Twenty-seven nondepressed and twenty-seven depressed elderly participants recalled thirty memories. Each memory was self-rated for happiness versus sadness and the degree of importance of the event at the time the event occurred (i.e., “then”) and looking back on the event (“now”). Nondepressed participants perceived greater positive change in affective tone between “then” and “now” ratings. Depressed participants recalled more memories rated as sad “now” than nondepressed, and perceived negative and positive memories to become more neutral than nondepressed participants. These results are consistent with a mood congruence hypothesis, in that participants recalled more memories affectively consistent with current mood, and a self-enhancement view of reminiscing, such that recalling memories evaluated as happier was associated with less depression.

scholarly journals Finding a positive me: Affective and neural insights into the challenges of positive autobiographical memory reliving in borderline personality disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte C van Schie ◽  
Chui-De Chiu ◽  
Serge Rombouts ◽  
Willem J. Heiser ◽  
Bernet M. Elzinga
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Lingual Gyrus ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Autonoetic Consciousness ◽  
Positive Memories

Background:This study aimed to investigate whether people with BPD can benefit from reliving positive autobiographical memories in terms of mood and state self-esteem and elucidate the neural processes supporting optimal memory reliving. Particularly the role of vividness and brain areas involved in autonoetic consciousness were studied, as key factors involved in improving mood and state self-esteem by positive memory reliving. Methods:People with BPD (BPD, N = 25), Healthy Controls (HC, N = 33) and controls with Low Self-Esteem (LSE, N = 22) relived four neutral and four positive autobiographical memories in an MRI scanner. After reliving each memory mood and vividness was rated. State self-esteem was assessed before and after the Reliving Autobiographical Memories (RAM) task. Results:Overall, mood and state self-esteem were lower in BPD compared to HC and LSE, but improved significantly after positive memory reliving. Moreover, participants with BPD indicated that they relived their memories with less vividness than HC, regardless of valence. When reliving (vs reading) memories, participants with BPD showed increased precuneus and lingual gyrus activation compared to HC, which was inversely related to vividness. Discussion:People with BPD seem less immersed in reliving neutral and positive autobiographical memories with increased precuneus activation potentially indicating more distant autonoetic consciousness. Nevertheless, participants with BPD do benefit in mood and self-esteem from reliving positive memories. These findings underline the potential of positive autobiographical memory reliving and suggest that interventions may be further shaped to improvet mood and strengthen self-views in BPD.

scholarly journals Emotional and Phenomenological Properties of Odor-Evoked Autobiographical Memories in Alzheimer’s Disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ophélie Glachet ◽  
Mohamad El Haj
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Alzheimer Disease ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Free Condition ◽  
Odor Exposure ◽  
Positive Memories ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Arousal And Valence

Autobiographical memory, which contains all personal memories relative to our identity, has been found to be impaired in Alzheimer’ Disease (AD). Recent research has demonstrated that odor may serve as a powerful cue for the recovery of autobiographical memories in AD. Building on this research, we investigated emotional characteristics (arousal and valence) and subjective reliving of odor-evoked autobiographical memories in AD. We also investigated the relationship between these characteristics and depression. To this end, we invited participants with mild AD and controls to retrieve autobiographical memories after odor exposure or without odor. Results showed higher arousal, subjective reliving and more positive memories after odor exposure compared with the odor-free condition, these differences being observed only in AD participants. We also found that emotion (arousal and valence) and subjective reliving triggered by odor were associated with depressive symptoms in AD. These findings demonstrate that odor may be a useful cue to trigger more detailed, vivid and positive events in AD.

Exploring an Emotional Basis of Cognitive Control in the Flanker Task

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motonori Yamaguchi ◽  
Jack Dylan Moore ◽  
Sarah Hendry ◽  
Felicity Wolohan
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Mood Induction ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Flanker Effect ◽  
Sequential Modulation ◽  
Emotional Basis ◽  
Negative Stimuli

The emotional basis of cognitive control has been investigated in the flanker task with various procedures and materials across different studies. The present study examined the issue with the same flanker task but with different types of emotional stimuli and design. In seven experiments, the flanker effect and its sequential modulation according to the preceding trial type were assessed. Experiments 1 and 2 used affective pictures and emotional facial expressions as emotional stimuli, and positive and negative stimuli were intermixed. There was little evidence that emotional stimuli influenced cognitive control. Experiments 3 and 4 used the same affective pictures and facial expressions, but positive and negative stimuli were separated between different participant groups. Emotional stimuli reduced the flanker effect as well as its sequential modulation regardless of valence. Experiments 5 and 6 used affective pictures but manipulated arousal and valence of stimuli orthogonally The results did not replicate the reduced flanker effect or sequential modulation by valence, nor did they show consistent effects of arousal. Experiment 7 used a mood induction technique and showed that sequential modulation was positively correlated with valence rating (the higher the more positive) but was negatively correlated with arousal rating. These results are inconsistent with several previous findings and are difficult to reconcile within a single theoretical framework, confirming an elusive nature of the emotional basis of cognitive control in the flanker task.

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 The effects of sleep deprivation on the processing of emotional facial expressions in young adults with and without ADHD

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ami Cohen ◽  
Kfir Asraf ◽  
Ivgeny Saveliev ◽  
Orrie Dan ◽  
Iris Haimov
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Sleep Deprivation ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Experimental Session ◽  
Poor Sleep ◽  
Adhd Group ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Oddball Task

AbstractThe ability to recognize emotions from facial expressions is essential to the development of complex social cognition behaviors, and impairments in this ability are associated with poor social competence. This study aimed to examine the effects of sleep deprivation on the processing of emotional facial expressions and nonfacial stimuli in young adults with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Thirty-five men (mean age 25.4) with (n = 19) and without (n = 16) ADHD participated in the study. During the five days preceding the experimental session, the participants were required to sleep at least seven hours per night (23:00/24:00–7:00/9:00) and their sleep was monitored via actigraphy. On the morning of the experimental session, the participants completed a 4-stimulus visual oddball task combining facial and nonfacial stimuli, and repeated it after 25 h of sustained wakefulness. At baseline, both study groups had poorer performance in response to facial rather than non-facial target stimuli on all indices of the oddball task, with no differences between the groups. Following sleep deprivation, rates of omission errors, commission errors and reaction time variability increased significantly in the ADHD group but not in the control group. Time and target type (face/non-face) did not have an interactive effect on any indices of the oddball task. Young adults with ADHD are more sensitive to the negative effects of sleep deprivation on attentional processes, including those related to the processing of emotional facial expressions. As poor sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness are common in individuals with ADHD, it is feasible that poor sleep quality and quantity play an important role in cognitive functioning deficits, including the processing of emotional facial expressions that are associated with ADHD.

The face of future: Face expressions during future thinking

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182199299
Author(s):  
Mohamad El Haj ◽  
Emin Altintas ◽  
Ahmed A Moustafa ◽  
Abdel Halim Boudoukha
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expression ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Future Scenarios ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Analysis Software ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Facial Analysis ◽  
The Face ◽  
Face Expressions

Future thinking, which is the ability to project oneself forward in time to pre-experience an event, is intimately associated with emotions. We investigated whether emotional future thinking can activate emotional facial expressions. We invited 43 participants to imagine future scenarios, cued by the words “happy,” “sad,” and “city.” Future thinking was video recorded and analysed with a facial analysis software to classify whether facial expressions (i.e., happy, sad, angry, surprised, scared, disgusted, and neutral facial expression) of participants were neutral or emotional. Analysis demonstrated higher levels of happy facial expressions during future thinking cued by the word “happy” than “sad” or “city.” In contrast, higher levels of sad facial expressions were observed during future thinking cued by the word “sad” than “happy” or “city.” Higher levels of neutral facial expressions were observed during future thinking cued by the word “city” than “happy” or “sad.” In the three conditions, the neutral facial expressions were high compared with happy and sad facial expressions. Together, emotional future thinking, at least for future scenarios cued by “happy” and “sad,” seems to trigger the corresponding facial expression. Our study provides an original physiological window into the subjective emotional experience during future thinking.

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