Introduction to the cognitive abilities account for the reminiscence bump in the temporal distribution of autobiographical memory

People tend to recall more specific personal events from adolescence and early adulthood than from other lifetime periods, a finding known as the reminiscence bump. Several explanations have suggested that events from the reminiscence bump are especially emotional, important, or positive, but studies using cue words have not found support for these claims. An alternative account postulates that cognitive abilities function optimally in adolescence and early adulthood, which may cause more memories to be stored in those lifetime periods. Although other studies have previously discussed the cognitive abilities account as a possible explanation for the reminiscence bump, it was only recently shown that cognitive abilities are indeed related to autobiographical memory performance. When this recent finding is combined with previous findings that cognitive abilities as well as autobiographical memory function optimally in adolescence and early adulthood, they suggest that the cognitive abilities account is a promising explanation for the reminiscence bump in the temporal distribution of word-cued memories. However, because the account does not aim to explain the reminiscence bump in the distribution of highly significant events, it should be regarded as complementary to the existing accounts.

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The Cue-dependency of the “Reminiscence Bumps” in Autobiographical Memory and Memory for Public Events

The organization and structure of autobiographical memory ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198784845.003.0009 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 160-182

Author(s):

Jonathan Koppel ◽

Dorthe Berntsen

Keyword(s):

Autobiographical Memory ◽

Early Adulthood ◽

Large Role ◽

Autobiographical Memories ◽

Public Events ◽

Reminiscence Bump ◽

Retrieval Processes ◽

Temporal Location ◽

Disproportionate Number ◽

Cue Words

The reminiscence bump most commonly refers to the disproportionate number of autobiographical memories, in adults aged ≥40 years, dating from youth and early adulthood. Whereas the bump in autobiographical memory has primarily been studied by psychologists, it has been paralleled in the sociology literature in a spike in recall for public events that occurred at a similar period of the lifespan. This chapter reviews findings illustrating that the temporal location of the bump (in autobiographical memory) and the frequency with which it is found (in memory for public events) vary according to the cueing method used to elicit the memories. For instance, in autobiographical memory, the bump is earlier when memories are elicited through cue words than when memories are elicited through requests for important memories. In memory for public events, the bump is more frequently attained when recall is tested through open-ended recall than when it is tested through knowledge tests. It is argued that these findings indicate that retrieval processes play a large role in the bump in each domain, and therefore challenge most existing theoretical accounts, which stress encoding processes. The relevant retrieval processes in each domain are then discussed. Finally, the implications of the reviewed findings, in particular those concerning autobiographical memory, are discussed as they relate to models of the organization of autobiographical memory.

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Autobiographical Memory in Normal Ageing and Dementia

Behavioural Neurology ◽

10.1155/1991/972419 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 235-248 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Harvey J. Sagar ◽

Edith V. Sullivan ◽

Suzanne Corkin

Keyword(s):

Memory Function ◽

Early Adulthood ◽

Normal Subjects ◽

Elderly Subjects ◽

Retrieval Cues ◽

Age Related ◽

Normal Ageing ◽

Severity Of Dementia ◽

And Control ◽

Cue Words

Autobiographical memories in young and elderly normal subjects are drawn mostly from the recent past but elderly subjects relate a second peak of memories from early adulthood. Memory for remote past public events is relatively preserved in dementia, possibly reflecting integrity of semantic relative to episodic memory. We examined recall of specific, consistent autobiographical episodes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in response to cue words. Patients and control subjects drew most memories from the recent 20 years: episode age related to anterograde memory function but not subject age or dementia. Subjects also related a secondary peak of memories from early adulthood; episode age related to subject age and severity of dementia. The results suggest that preferential recall of memories from early adulthood is based on the salience of retrieval cues, altered by age and dementia, superimposed on a temporal gradient of semantic memory. Further, AD shows behavioural similarity to normal ageing.

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Temporal distribution of autobiographical memory: Uncovering the reminiscence bump in Japanese young and middle-aged adults1

Japanese Psychological Research ◽

10.1111/j.1468-5884.2010.00451.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

pp. 86-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

YAYOI KAWASAKI ◽

STEVE M. J. JANSSEN ◽

TOMOYOSHI INOUE

Keyword(s):

Autobiographical Memory ◽

Temporal Distribution ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Reminiscence Bump

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RETROSPECTIVE LIFE HISTORY SURVEY REVEALED AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY BUMP

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.2559 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S695-S695

Author(s):

Marina Larkina ◽

Lindsey Meister ◽

Jacqui Smith

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Life History ◽

Autobiographical Memory ◽

Life Events ◽

Early Adulthood ◽

Mail Survey ◽

Reminiscence Bump ◽

Cultural Life ◽

Specific Order ◽

Life Script

Abstract The reminiscence bump is a well-documented autobiographical memory phenomenon characterized by middle-aged and older adults reporting a disproportionate number of memories from adolescence and early adulthood (Rubin, Wetzler, & Nebes, 1986). It is typically assessed through either cue word or important memory techniques. The Life History Mail Survey (LHMS) in the Health and Retirement Study affords unique data to investigate this phenomenon among a representative US sample of older adults. At the beginning of the LHMS, participants (N=3088, M age=70, range 50-107) completed a calendar noting the important things that happened to them in seven life decades, starting with ages 0-9 and ending by ages 70-79 (or their actual age). For each life period, we coded the number of events respondents reported. We observed significantly more memories reported for the age decade 20-29, compared with other life periods (80% vs 47-66%). Our results are consistent with previous findings in the autobiographical memory literature. Follow-up analyses evaluated existing theoretical accounts of the bump, such as cultural life script theory which suggests that life events occur in a specific order and are characterized by a prototypical life course. For example, we determined whether respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics, such as age cohort, gender, marital and educational histories (information available in LHMS) influenced the size and temporal location of the reminiscence bump. We also analyzed the content of reported important life events to investigate whether types of events included in each decade of life are consistent with the cultural life script account of the phenomenon.

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Evidence for a pervasive autobiographical memory impairment in Logopenic Progressive Aphasia: clinical and neural correlates

10.1101/2020.06.14.20131383 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Siddharth Ramanan ◽

David Foxe ◽

Hashim El-Omar ◽

Rebekah M. Ahmed ◽

John R. Hodges ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Autobiographical Memory ◽

Memory Impairment ◽

Language Disorder ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Memory Function ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Progressive Aphasia ◽

Memory Impairments

ABSTRACTLogopenic Progressive Aphasia is a rare language disorder characterised by repetition and naming difficulties, reflecting the progressive degeneration of left-lateralized peri-sylvian temporal and inferior parietal regions. Mounting evidence suggests that cognitive impairments in this syndrome extend beyond the language domain to include episodic encoding and retrieval disturbances. To date, it remains unknown whether autobiographical memories from across the lifespan are also subject to decline, yet this information is critical to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the Logopenic syndrome. The objective of this study was to provide the first in depth examination of autobiographical memory function in Logopenic Progressive Aphasia using the Autobiographical Interview, a validated semi-structured interview which assesses recollection of the past under free and probed recall conditions. Autobiographical memory performance in 10 well-characterised Logopenic Progressive Aphasia patients was contrasted with that of 18 typical amnestic Alzheimer’s disease and 16 healthy Control participants. Relative to Controls, Logopenic Progressive Aphasia cases showed marked impairment in the free recall of episodic details, scoring comparably to disease-matched cases of Alzheimer’s disease. This impairment was evident across all time periods and persisted even when formal structured probing was provided. Importantly, controlling for overall level of language disruption failed to ameliorate the autobiographical memory impairment in the Logopenic Progressive Aphasia group, suggesting a genuine amnesia spanning recent and remote memories. Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses revealed that total episodic information retrieved in Logopenic Progressive Aphasia was associated with decreased grey matter intensity predominantly in a bilateral posterior parietal network. Taken together, our findings reveal for the first time the presence of marked remote and recent autobiographical memory impairments in Logopenic Progressive Aphasia, that cannot be explained solely due to their language difficulties or disease staging. Our findings hold important clinical implications for the accurate characterization of Logopenic Progressive Aphasia, and suggest that episodic memory difficulties should be considered as one of the core clinical features of this syndrome.

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The temporal distribution of autobiographical memory: changes in reliving and vividness over the life span do not explain the reminiscence bump

Memory & Cognition ◽

10.3758/s13421-010-0003-x ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Steve M. J. Janssen ◽

David C. Rubin ◽

Peggy L. St. Jacques

Keyword(s):

Life Span ◽

Autobiographical Memory ◽

Temporal Distribution ◽

Reminiscence Bump

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Psychosocial Risks and Management for Children and Adolescents With 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2019_pers-sig5-2019-0002 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 633-640 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Canice E. Crerand ◽

Ari N. Rabkin

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Psychotic Disorders ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Early Adulthood ◽

22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome ◽

Deletion Syndrome ◽

22Q11.2 Deletion ◽

Psychosocial Risks ◽

Empirically Supported ◽

Specific Education

Purpose This article reviews the psychosocial risks associated with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, a relatively common genetic condition associated with a range of physical and psychiatric problems. Risks associated with developmental stages from infancy through adolescence and early adulthood are described, including developmental, learning, and intellectual disabilities as well as psychiatric disorders including anxiety, mood, and psychotic disorders. Other risks related to coping with health problems and related treatments are also detailed for both affected individuals and their families. Conclusion The article ends with strategies for addressing psychosocial risks including provision of condition-specific education, enhancement of social support, routine assessment of cognitive abilities, regular mental health screening, and referrals for empirically supported psychiatric and psychological treatments.

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Impact of Comorbid Depression on Serial Position Effects in Alzheimer’s Disease

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000115 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 161-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nienke A. Hofrichter ◽

Sandra Dick ◽

Thomas G. Riemer ◽

Carsten Schleussner ◽

Monique Goerke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Serial Position ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Memory Function ◽

Word List ◽

Position Effects ◽

Serial Position Effects ◽

List Memory

Hippocampal dysfunction and deficits in episodic memory have been reported for both Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Primacy performance has been associated with hippocampus-dependent episodic memory, while recency may reflect working memory performance. In this study, serial position profiles were examined in a total of 73 patients with MDD, AD, both AD and MDD, and healthy controls (HC) by means of CERAD-NP word list memory. Primacy performance was most impaired in AD with comorbid MDD, followed by AD, MDD, and HC. Recency performance, on the other hand, was comparable across groups. These findings indicate that primacy in AD is impaired in the presence of comorbid MDD, suggesting additive performance decrements in this specific episodic memory function.

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