Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory– Memory for our life story– Refers to memory for an individual’s life events
and other knowledge about that specific individual’s life
– It includes self knowledge such as information about individual goals, aspirations, etc.
includes information about specific events or episodes that we have experienced
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– AM is both episodic and semantic– Episodic (e.g., memory for where you were and how you
experienced 9/11)– Semantic (e.g., when and where you were born)– AM memories often have episodic and semantic elements– AM constructive and integrative, often spanning multiple
events– AM is always self-referential
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)Martin Conway AM investigator– Conway views AM as hierarchical (see Figure)– At the highest level of the hierarchy are themes
or important life goals – professional goals, relationship goals etc.
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)Martin Conway AM investigator– Often organized into lifetime periods that may
overlap (e.g., time at high school, university); time I dated person 1, person 2 etc.
– These life narrative memories tend to be organized into narrative structures
Conway model of AMConway model of AM
• Conway model of AM• Major components:
event-specific memories, general events, and working self (conceptual self)
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– At a more specific level there may be memories
of general events– Finally there may be specific episodic memories
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)Event specific memories ESMs are specific event
memories
ESMs are episodic memories, but they often have semantic elements
Event memories can either be brief (e.g., time you dropped your cell phone into your bath); or extended (e.g., when you went into a casino for the first time)
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Two types of general events (GEs)– 1. combined, averaged, cumulative memories of
similar events.– E.g., grocery shopping– Events that are repetitive tend to be combined
into a schema that is general but lacks detail about a specific visit to grocery store
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Two types of general events (GEs)– 1. combined, averaged, cumulative memories of
similar events; e.g., grocery shopping– Occasionally may be specific episodic memory
that takes place when engaged in a general event– (e.g., time you waited in express line while woman
ahead paid her bill in pennies and quarters)
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Two types of general events– 1. combined, averaged, cumulative memories of
similar events– Everyone’s life filled with numerous general events
of this sort– Integration is required to identify common elements
that tend to occur in order to create these types of memories
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Two types of general events– 2. extended events. Refers to events that consist
of a long sequence of episodic memories (e.g., trip to Prague)
– Trip to Prague consists of several specific episodic memories – seeing town hall clock; walking through square on a rainy day; seeing Kafka’s family home
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Two types of general events– 2. extended events. Extended events require
integration to join events together into a integrated narrative
– Extended events often consist of the events that together achieve a particular goal and take place over a particular time
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– General events (GEs)– GEs are the preferred level of processing in AM– Provide cognitive economy (Rosch), maxiumum
specific information for least effort– Used to aid encoding of new information and
retrieve stored information from AM and episodic memory
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Working self– Refers to a monitoring function that controls the
retrieval of information from AM– Not a level of representation but acts on AM to
retrieve information from different levels of AM– Working self includes information about goals
and self images
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Working self– Correspondence process that ensures there is a
correspondence or match between our memories and particular episodic memories
– E.g., belief you are a good student, but you did poorly on one test
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Flashbulb memories– Have been used to investigate AM– Flashbulb memories are personal memories of
surprising events (e.g., 9/11; assassination of JFK; October crisis)
– Usually studied by investigating memory for public events; advantage—can determine accuracy of memory, when it occurred etc.
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Flashbulb memories– Early study by Brown and Kulik (1977)– Investigated memory for assassinations of MLK
and JFK– People were highly confident their memories
were accurate, vivid, and detailed
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Flashbulb memories– African Americans were more likely to have
flashbulb memory for MLK than European Americans
– Conclusion is that the more relevant the event the more likely the person is going to have a flashbulb memory
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Hirst (2009) investigated memory for 9/11, 1 and
4 years after the event– participants had very strong negative emotional
reactions to event 1 year after the event but that they tended to forget their strong negative reactions to the event
– continued to remember where and when they heard the news
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Hirst findings suggest that although strong affect
may be necessary for flashbulb memories to be produced, it does not appear to be necessary for their maintenance
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Accuracy of flashbulb memories– Findings from numerous studies suggest that flashbulb
memories are subject to distortion and error like other types of memory
– one study by Weaver (1993) compared normal memories and flashbulb memories – 1 and 3 months after event in undergrads
– Normal memory (details of an ordinary interaction with a roomate)
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– study by Weaver (1993) showed that normal
memories and flashbulb memories did not differ in accuracy, in amount of detail;
– both declined over time– However, participants were more confident about
accuracy of flashbulb memories than normal memories
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Kensinger and Schacter (2006) investigated
memory of New York and Boston baseball fans for victory by Boston in game 7 of world series
– Event interesting because same event has positive and negative affect for Boston and New York fans
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory (AM)– Results showed that memory for game 7 was
more consistent between an initial report and a subsequent report for NY fans than Boston fans, but Boston fans were more confident about the accuracy of their memories
– Conclusion– positive events lead to more confidence and distortion than negative events
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Functions of Autobiographical memory (AM)– Prime function of AM to ground self– AM places constraints on goals an individual can
maintain and pursue realistically– Memory and self should be congruent– When memory and self are split and no longer
constrain each other, pathologies occur
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Functions of Autobiographical memory (AM)– Baddeley reported that delusional schizophrenics
had beliefs that were not supported by memories or were contradicted by accessible autobiographical memories
– Also had ‘memories’ that supported their delusion (e.g., bad angel removed part of brain)
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Retrieval from Autobiographical memory (AM)– Conway and Pleydell-Pearse in a review
concluded that two types of cue-driven processes mediate retrieval from AM
– Direct retrieval and generative retrieval (similar to distinction of Moscovitch and others)
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Retrieval from Autobiographical memory (AM)– Direct retrieval– Retrieval cue directly or automatically causes
patterns of activation in AM– These retrieval cues are often ineffective
because they tend to activate GEs and lifetime periods not specific AMs
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Retrieval from Autobiographical memory (AM)– Generative retrieval– In generative retrieval the retrieval cue is
elaborated and memory searched (automatically) outputs from memory are evaluated, new retrieval cues evaluated with this process continuing over a prolonged period of time
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Phenomenology of Autobiographical memory (AM)– Much of the processing occurs outside of
conscious awareness– Conway proposes that function of consciousness
during AM processing is to allow for decision making and planning
– AM is particularly useful for planning because it contains goal attainment knowledge
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM) Conway (2009) Neuropsychologia– Structure of EMs—Conway argues that EMs consist
of episodic elements and a conceptual frame– EMs are embedded in a more complex conceptual
system and become the basis of AM– 1 function of EM is to keep a record of progress
toward short-goals
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM) Conway (2009) Neuropsychologia– Organization of EMs—argues that access to
most EMs is lost after a few days– EMs that are retained are integrated into AM and
many appear to have a conceptual structure
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM) Conway (2009) Neuropsychologia– Representation of EMs – 3 types of representation – episodic elements
(EEs), simple episodic memories, complex episodic memories
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM)– Episodic elements (EEs)– Most event specific, closest to experience, often
in the form of a visual image– Represent moments of experience or contents or
consciousness
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM)– Episodic elements (EEs)– EEs are usually in a ‘frame’ or conceptual
schema– Frame organizes or helps to interpret experience
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM)– Simple episodic memory (SEM)– SEM consists of episodic elements and a
conceptual frame– see Figure
Conway’s conceptualization of episodic memory
Conway’s conceptualization of episodic memory
• Structure of simple and complex episodic memories
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM)– Retrieval of SEM can be through EE or frame– Conceptual frame may be more important when
attempting to retrieve a memory
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM)– EEs and frames can be dissociated– E.g., post-traumatic stress disorder may reflect a
process in which EE remains highly activated and intrude into consciousness
– More commonly SEM frames are retained and EEs are lost; this may be what occurs in old age (Levine et al., 2002)
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM)– Complex episodic memories (CEMs) (see Figure)– Consist of one or more SEMs associated with a
higher-order conceptual frame– E.g., a day at work may be represented as
several SEMs (e.g., meet with students, have lunch, respond to emails, teach course)
Conway’s conceptualization of episodic memory
Conway’s conceptualization of episodic memory
• Structure of simple and complex episodic memories
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM)– Representing episodic knowledge in AM – Episodic memories tend to become represented
in AM– This integration facilitates retrieval– See Figure – shows integration of EMs with AM
and working self
• Embedding of episodic memories in autobiographical structures
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM)– Note in figure the nested hierarchy – complex
episodic memory provides skeleton form representing an event, but both AM and working self may be linked to CEM
– Hierarchical representation – SEMs are part-of CEM; CEM part of AM; AM part of or linked to working self
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Relation between Episodic memory (EM) and Autobiographical memory (AM)– Hierarchical representation allows for generative
retrieval via linkages
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Factors affecting the degree to which a memory is episodic (Cabeza (2007) TICS)– Recent memories are more episodic (less
semantic)– Recent memories tend to be more vivid and have
more detail than remote memories– Repeated events tend to be less episodic and
more semantic than remote memories
• As illustrated in this slide different tests assess different types of memory (semantic, episodic)
• Lab episodic memory test memories acquired recently; AM more remotely; this affects degree of episodic content
• This figure illustrates point that AM is hierarchical and higher levels in hierarchy tend to be more semantic
• Repeated events tend to be the preferred level of access to AM and to memory for specific events
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Neuroimaging of Autobiographical memory (AM) Cabeza (2007) TICS– study of AM permits the study of certain
properties of memory that are difficult to study in laboratory including
– Retrieval of complex stimuli– Recollection of vivid and emotional events– Retrieval of remote memories
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Neuroimaging of Autobiographical memory (AM) Cabeza (2007) TICS– as noted previously AMs often require
generative or constructive retrieval– Different aspects of the prefrontal cortex (PFC)
appear to be associated with different types of constructive retrieval
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Neuroimaging of Autobiographical memory (AM) Cabeza (2007) TICS– constructive retrieval– Search processes appear to be associated with
the lateral PFC– Monitoring or evaluation of retrieved AMs is
associated with ventromedial PFC; Moscovitch, Gilboa, and others have suggested it is a feeling of rightness (FOR); rapid automatic process
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Neuroimaging of Autobiographical memory (AM) Cabeza (2007) TICS– constructive retrieval– Self-referential processing associated with medial
PFC (see Fig)– study compared medial PFC activation when
participants shown photos of familiar locations taken by themselves (self) compared to photos taken by others (other)
• This figure shows greater activation of the medial PFC when participants recognized pictures taken by themselves (self) compared to photos taken by others (other)
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Neuroimaging of Autobiographical memory (AM) Cabeza (2007) TICS
Effects of vividness and emotion on AM
Emotional AMs tend to elicit more right-lateralized activation in comparison to left-lateralized activation found in lab studies and AM studies with neutral stimuli
Emotional AMs associated with activation in the amygdala and hippocampus
AM retrieval networkAM retrieval network
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Neuroimaging of Autobiographical memory (AM) Cabeza (2007) TICS– Remoteness of AM– A strength of AM is that it permits investigation of
remote memories; most lab studies can only investigate recent memories
– Remote memories are important to test memory consolidation theories
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Neuroimaging of Autobiographical memory (AM) Cabeza (2007) TICS– Theories of memory consolidation– Standard consolidation model (SCM) proposes
that hippocampus has a time-limited role in the storage and retrieval of AMs
– Hippocampus is necessary during initial storage and retrieval, but memories become independent of hippocampus following consolidation
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Neuroimaging of Autobiographical memory (AM) Cabeza (2007) TICS– Theories of memory consolidation– Multiple trace theory (MTT) proposes that
hippocampus is always required for theories that are vivid and detailed
–
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Neuroimaging of Autobiographical memory (AM) Cabeza (2007) TICS– Results generally support MTT– See Figure– This study investigated AM retrieval for recent
and remote memories– Results showed equivalent activation of the
hippocampus for recent and remote memories
AM memoryAM memory
• Equivalent activation for recent and remote AM memories in hippocampus
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Neuroimaging of Autobiographical memory (AM) Cabeza (2007) TICS– Recent and remote memories were selected so
that they did not differ in their vividness, emotional intensity, importance, or number of details
– These factors tend to differ depending on the age of the memory and need to be controlled
Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory
• Neuroimaging of Autobiographical memory (AM) Cabeza (2007) TICS– Findings from patient literature suggest that MTL
damage can impact remote memories to a greater degree than previously thought (Steinvorth, 2005)