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.

Interindividual Differences in Cognitive Functioning Are Associated with Autobiographical Memory Retrieval Specificity in Older Adults

GeroPsych ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Peters ◽  
Signy Sheldon
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Cognitive Status ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Generation Task ◽  
Interindividual Differences ◽  
Retrieval Cues ◽  
Contextual Support

Abstract. We examined whether interindividual differences in cognitive functioning among older adults are related to episodic memory engagement during autobiographical memory retrieval. Older adults ( n = 49, 24 males; mean age = 69.93; mean education = 15.45) with different levels of cognitive functioning, estimated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), retrieved multiple memories (generation task) and the details of a single memory (elaboration task) to cues representing thematic or event-specific autobiographical knowledge. We found that the MoCA score positively predicted the proportion of specific memories for generation and episodic details for elaboration, but only to cues that represented event-specific information. The results demonstrate that individuals with healthy, but not unhealthy, cognitive status can leverage contextual support from retrieval cues to improve autobiographical specificity.

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 Left Posterior Orbitofrontal Cortex Is Associated With Odor-Induced Autobiographical Memory: An fMRI Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Watanabe ◽  
Yuri Masaoka ◽  
Mitsuru Kawamura ◽  
Masaki Yoshida ◽  
Nobuyoshi Koiwa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Left Posterior

scholarly journals Age-Related Changes in the Functional Network Underlying Specific and General Autobiographical Memory Retrieval: A Pivotal Role for the Anterior Cingulate Cortex

PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e82385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pénélope Martinelli ◽  
Marco Sperduti ◽  
Anne-Dominique Devauchelle ◽  
Sandrine Kalenzaga ◽  
Thierry Gallarda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Pivotal Role ◽  
Functional Network ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

“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 Searching for the Past: Exploring the Dynamics of Direct and Generative Autobiographical Memory Reconstruction Among Young and Cognitively Normal Older Adults

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aubrey Anne Ladd Wank ◽  
Jessica R. Andrews-Hanna ◽  
Matthew D. Grilli
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Specific Detail ◽  
Cognitively Normal ◽  
The Past ◽  
Overgeneral Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Age Related

Episodic autobiographical memories (EAMs) can come to mind through two retrieval routes, one direct (i.e., an EAM is retrieved almost instantaneously) and the other generative (i.e., by using autobiographical/general knowledge to cue an EAM). It is well established that normal cognitive aging is associated with a reduction in the retrieval of EAMs, but the contributions of direct or generative reconstruction to the age-related shift toward general memories remain unknown. Prior studies also have not clarified whether similar cognitive mechanisms facilitate the ability to successfully reconstruct EAMs and elaborate them in event-specific detail. To address these gaps in knowledge, young and older participants were asked to reconstruct EAMs using a “think-aloud” paradigm and then describe in detail a subset of retrieved memories. An adapted scoring procedure was implemented to categorize memories accessed during reconstruction, and the Autobiographical Interview (AI) scoring procedure was utilized for elaboration scoring. Results indicated that in comparison to young adults, older adults not only engaged in direct retrieval less often than young adults, but they also more often ended generative retrieval at general events instead of EAMs. The ability to elaborate EAMs with internal details was positively associated with the ability to use generative retrieval to reconstruct EAMs in both young and older adults, but there was no relationship between internal detail elaboration and direct retrieval in either age group. Taken together, these results indicate age-related differences in direct and generative retrieval contribute to overgeneral autobiographical memory and they support a connection between generative retrieval and elaboration.

scholarly journals Age-Related Differences in Functional Asymmetry During Memory Retrieval Revisited: No Evidence for Contralateral Overactivation or Compensation

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 1129-1147 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M Roe ◽  
Didac Vidal-Piñeiro ◽  
Markus H Sneve ◽  
Kristiina Kompus ◽  
Douglas N Greve ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data ◽  
Processing Efficiency ◽  
Frontal Asymmetry ◽  
Functional Deficits ◽  
Age Related

Abstract Brain asymmetry is inherent to cognitive processing and seems to reflect processing efficiency. Lower frontal asymmetry is often observed in older adults during memory retrieval, yet it is unclear whether lower asymmetry implies an age-related increase in contralateral recruitment, whether less asymmetry reflects compensation, is limited to frontal regions, or predicts neurocognitive stability or decline. We assessed age-related differences in asymmetry across the entire cerebral cortex, using functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 89 young and 76 older adults during successful retrieval, and surface-based methods allowing direct homotopic comparison of activity between cortical hemispheres . An extensive left-asymmetric network facilitated retrieval in both young and older adults, whereas diverse frontal and parietal regions exhibited lower asymmetry in older adults. However, lower asymmetry was not associated with age-related increases in contralateral recruitment but primarily reflected either less deactivation in contralateral regions reliably signaling retrieval failure in the young or lower recruitment of the dominant hemisphere—suggesting that functional deficits may drive lower asymmetry in older brains, not compensatory activity. Lower asymmetry predicted neither current memory performance nor the extent of memory change across the preceding ~ 8 years in older adults. Together, these findings are inconsistent with a compensation account for lower asymmetry during retrieval and aging.

scholarly journals Eavesdropping on autobiographical memory: A naturalistic observation study of older adults' memory sharing in daily conversations

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aubrey Anne Ladd Wank ◽  
Matthias R. Mehl ◽  
Jessica R. Andrews-Hanna ◽  
Angelina Jantina Polsinelli ◽  
Suzanne Moseley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Real World ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Observation Study ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Episodic Memories

The retrieval of autobiographical memories is an integral part of everyday social interactions. Prior laboratory research has revealed that older age is associated with a reduction in the retrieval of autobiographical episodic memories, and the ability to elaborate these memories with episodic details. However, how age-related reductions in episodic specificity unfold in everyday social contexts remains largely unknown. Also, constraints of the laboratory-based approach have limited our understanding of how autobiographical semantic memory is linked to older age. To address these gaps in knowledge, we used a smartphone application known as the Electronically Activated Recorder, or “EAR”, to unobtrusively capture real-world conversations over four days. In a sample of 102 cognitively normal older adults, we extracted instances where memories and future thoughts were shared by the participants, and we scored the shared episodic memories and future thoughts for their make-up of episodic and semantic detail. We found that older age was associated with a reduction in real-world sharing of autobiographical episodic and semantic memories. We also found that older age was linked to less episodically and semantically detailed descriptions of autobiographical episodic memories. Frequency and level of detail of shared future thoughts yielded weaker relationships with age, which may be related to the low frequency of future thoughts in general. Similar to laboratory research, there was no correlation between autobiographical episodic detail sharing and a standard episodic memory test. However, in contrast to laboratory studies, episodic detail production while sharing autobiographical episodic memories was weakly related to episodic detail production while describing future events, unrelated to working memory, and not different between men and women. Overall, our findings provide novel evidence of how older age relates to episodic specificity when autobiographical memories are assessed unobtrusively and objectively “in the wild”.

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