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Sample records for episodic memory impairment

  1. Cortical Thickness and Episodic Memory Impairment in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bizzo, Bernardo Canedo; Sanchez, Tiago Arruda; Tukamoto, Gustavo; Zimmermann, Nicolle; Netto, Tania Maria; Gasparetto, Emerson Leandro

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in brain cortical thickness of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with and without episodic memory impairment and healthy controls. We studied 51 patients divided in 2 groups (SLE with episodic memory deficit, n = 17; SLE without episodic memory deficit, n = 34) by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and 34 healthy controls. Groups were paired based on sex, age, education, Mini-Mental State Examination score, and accumulation of disease burden. Cortical thickness from magnetic resonance imaging scans was determined using the FreeSurfer software package. SLE patients with episodic memory deficits presented reduced cortical thickness in the left supramarginal cortex and superior temporal gyrus when compared to the control group and in the right superior frontal, caudal, and rostral middle frontal and precentral gyri when compared to the SLE group without episodic memory impairment considering time since diagnosis of SLE as covaried. There were no significant differences in the cortical thickness between the SLE without episodic memory and control groups. Different memory-related cortical regions thinning were found in the episodic memory deficit group when individually compared to the groups of patients without memory impairment and healthy controls. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Neuroimaging.

  2. Episodic memory impairment in systemic lupus erythematosus: involvement of thalamic structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, Nicolle; Corrêa, Diogo Goulart; Netto, Tania Maria; Kubo, Tadeu; Pereira, Denis Batista; Fonseca, Rochele Paz; Gasparetto, Emerson Leandro

    2015-02-01

    Episodic memory deficits in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have been frequently reported in the literature; however, little is known about the neural correlates of these deficits. We investigated differences in the volumes of different brain structures of SLE patients with and without episodic memory impairments diagnosed by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Groups were paired based on age, education, sex, Mini Mental State Examination score, accumulation of disease burden (SLICC), and focused attention dimension score. Patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cortical volumetric reconstruction and segmentation of the MR images were performed with the FreeSurfer software program. SLE patients with episodic memory deficits presented shorter time of diagnosis than SLE patients without episodic memory deficits. ANOVA revealed that SLE patients with episodic memory deficits had a larger third ventricle volume than SLE patients without episodic memory deficits and controls. Additionally, covariance analysis indicated group effects on the bilateral thalamus and on the third ventricle. Our findings indicate that episodic memory may be impaired in SLE patients with normal hippocampal volume. In addition, the thalamus may undergo volumetric changes associated with episodic memory loss in SLE.

  3. Neutral and emotional episodic memory: global impairment after lorazepam or scopolamine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamboj, Sunjeev K; Curran, H Valerie

    2006-11-01

    Benzodiazepines and anticholinergic drugs have repeatedly been shown to impair episodic memory for emotionally neutral material in humans. However, their effect on memory for emotionally laden stimuli has been relatively neglected. We sought to investigate the effects of the benzodiazepine, lorazepam, and the anticholinergic, scopolamine, on incidental episodic memory for neutral and emotional components of a narrative memory task in humans. A double-blind, placebo-controlled independent group design was used with 48 healthy volunteers to examine the effects of these drugs on emotional and neutral episodic memory. As expected, the emotional memory advantage was retained for recall and recognition memory under placebo conditions. However, lorazepam and scopolamine produced anterograde recognition memory impairments on both the neutral and emotional components of the narrative, although floor effects were obtained for recall memory. Furthermore, compared with placebo, recognition memory for both central (gist) and peripheral (detail) aspects of neutral and emotional elements of the narrative was poorer after either drug. Benzodiazepine-induced GABAergic enhancement or scopolamine-induced cholinergic hypofunction results in a loss of the enhancing effect of emotional arousal on memory. Furthermore, lorazepam- and scopolamine-induced memory impairment for both gist (which is amygdala dependent) and detail raises the possibility that their effects on emotional memory do not depend only on the amygdala. We discuss the results with reference to potential clinical/forensic implications of processing emotional memories under conditions of globally impaired episodic memory.

  4. Everyday episodic memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a preliminary investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irish, Muireann; Lawlor, Brian A; Coen, Robert F; O'Mara, Shane M

    2011-08-04

    Decline in episodic memory is one of the hallmark features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is also a defining feature of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), which is posited as a potential prodrome of AD. While deficits in episodic memory are well documented in MCI, the nature of this impairment remains relatively under-researched, particularly for those domains with direct relevance and meaning for the patient's daily life. In order to fully explore the impact of disruption to the episodic memory system on everyday memory in MCI, we examined participants' episodic memory capacity using a battery of experimental tasks with real-world relevance. We investigated episodic acquisition and delayed recall (story-memory), associative memory (face-name pairings), spatial memory (route learning and recall), and memory for everyday mundane events in 16 amnestic MCI and 18 control participants. Furthermore, we followed MCI participants longitudinally to gain preliminary evidence regarding the possible predictive efficacy of these real-world episodic memory tasks for subsequent conversion to AD. The most discriminating tests at baseline were measures of acquisition, delayed recall, and associative memory, followed by everyday memory, and spatial memory tasks, with MCI patients scoring significantly lower than controls. At follow-up (mean time elapsed: 22.4 months), 6 MCI cases had progressed to clinically probable AD. Exploratory logistic regression analyses revealed that delayed associative memory performance at baseline was a potential predictor of subsequent conversion to AD. As a preliminary study, our findings suggest that simple associative memory paradigms with real-world relevance represent an important line of enquiry in future longitudinal studies charting MCI progression over time.

  5. Everyday episodic memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a preliminary investigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lawlor Brian A

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Decline in episodic memory is one of the hallmark features of Alzheimer's disease (AD and is also a defining feature of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI, which is posited as a potential prodrome of AD. While deficits in episodic memory are well documented in MCI, the nature of this impairment remains relatively under-researched, particularly for those domains with direct relevance and meaning for the patient's daily life. In order to fully explore the impact of disruption to the episodic memory system on everyday memory in MCI, we examined participants' episodic memory capacity using a battery of experimental tasks with real-world relevance. We investigated episodic acquisition and delayed recall (story-memory, associative memory (face-name pairings, spatial memory (route learning and recall, and memory for everyday mundane events in 16 amnestic MCI and 18 control participants. Furthermore, we followed MCI participants longitudinally to gain preliminary evidence regarding the possible predictive efficacy of these real-world episodic memory tasks for subsequent conversion to AD. Results The most discriminating tests at baseline were measures of acquisition, delayed recall, and associative memory, followed by everyday memory, and spatial memory tasks, with MCI patients scoring significantly lower than controls. At follow-up (mean time elapsed: 22.4 months, 6 MCI cases had progressed to clinically probable AD. Exploratory logistic regression analyses revealed that delayed associative memory performance at baseline was a potential predictor of subsequent conversion to AD. Conclusions As a preliminary study, our findings suggest that simple associative memory paradigms with real-world relevance represent an important line of enquiry in future longitudinal studies charting MCI progression over time.

  6. Everyday episodic memory in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: a preliminary investigation

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Irish, Muireann

    2011-08-04

    Abstract Background Decline in episodic memory is one of the hallmark features of Alzheimer\\'s disease (AD) and is also a defining feature of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), which is posited as a potential prodrome of AD. While deficits in episodic memory are well documented in MCI, the nature of this impairment remains relatively under-researched, particularly for those domains with direct relevance and meaning for the patient\\'s daily life. In order to fully explore the impact of disruption to the episodic memory system on everyday memory in MCI, we examined participants\\' episodic memory capacity using a battery of experimental tasks with real-world relevance. We investigated episodic acquisition and delayed recall (story-memory), associative memory (face-name pairings), spatial memory (route learning and recall), and memory for everyday mundane events in 16 amnestic MCI and 18 control participants. Furthermore, we followed MCI participants longitudinally to gain preliminary evidence regarding the possible predictive efficacy of these real-world episodic memory tasks for subsequent conversion to AD. Results The most discriminating tests at baseline were measures of acquisition, delayed recall, and associative memory, followed by everyday memory, and spatial memory tasks, with MCI patients scoring significantly lower than controls. At follow-up (mean time elapsed: 22.4 months), 6 MCI cases had progressed to clinically probable AD. Exploratory logistic regression analyses revealed that delayed associative memory performance at baseline was a potential predictor of subsequent conversion to AD. Conclusions As a preliminary study, our findings suggest that simple associative memory paradigms with real-world relevance represent an important line of enquiry in future longitudinal studies charting MCI progression over time.

  7. Everyday episodic memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a preliminary investigation

    OpenAIRE

    LAWLOR, BRIAN; COEN, ROBERT; O'MARA, SHANE MICHAEL

    2011-01-01

    PUBLISHED Background: Decline in episodic memory is one of the hallmark features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is also a defining feature of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), which is posited as a potential prodrome of AD. While deficits in episodic memory are well documented in MCI, the nature of this impairment remains relatively under-researched, particularly for those domains with direct relevance and meaning for the patient's daily life. In order to fully explore the impa...

  8. Everyday episodic memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a preliminary investigation

    OpenAIRE

    Irish, Muireann; Lawlor, Brian A; Coen, Robert F; O'Mara, Shane M

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Background Decline in episodic memory is one of the hallmark features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is also a defining feature of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), which is posited as a potential prodrome of AD. While deficits in episodic memory are well documented in MCI, the nature of this impairment remains relatively under-researched, particularly for those domains with direct relevance and meaning for the patient's daily life. In order to fully explore the impact of di...

  9. The reduction of adult neurogenesis in depression impairs the retrieval of new as well as remote episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Jing; Demic, Selver; Cheng, Sen

    2018-01-01

    Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with an impairment of episodic memory, but the mechanisms underlying this deficit remain unclear. Animal models of MDD find impaired adult neurogenesis (AN) in the dentate gyrus (DG), and AN in DG has been suggested to play a critical role in reducing the interference between overlapping memories through pattern separation. Here, we study the effect of reduced AN in MDD on the accuracy of episodic memory using computational modeling. We focus on how memory is affected when periods with a normal rate of AN (asymptomatic states) alternate with periods with a low rate (depressive episodes), which has never been studied before. Also, unlike previous models of adult neurogenesis, which consider memories as static patterns, we model episodic memory as sequences of neural activity patterns. In our model, AN adds additional random components to the memory patterns, which results in the decorrelation of similar patterns. Consistent with previous studies, higher rates of AN lead to higher memory accuracy in our model, which implies that memories stored in the depressive state are impaired. Intriguingly, our model makes the novel prediction that memories stored in an earlier asymptomatic state are also impaired by a later depressive episode. This retrograde effect exacerbates with increased duration of the depressive episode. Finally, pattern separation at the sensory processing stage does not improve, but rather worsens, the accuracy of episodic memory retrieval, suggesting an explanation for why AN is found in brain areas serving memory rather than sensory function. In conclusion, while cognitive retrieval biases might contribute to episodic memory deficits in MDD, our model suggests a mechanistic explanation that affects all episodic memories, regardless of emotional relevance.

  10. The reduction of adult neurogenesis in depression impairs the retrieval of new as well as remote episodic memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Jing; Demic, Selver; Cheng, Sen

    2018-01-01

    Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with an impairment of episodic memory, but the mechanisms underlying this deficit remain unclear. Animal models of MDD find impaired adult neurogenesis (AN) in the dentate gyrus (DG), and AN in DG has been suggested to play a critical role in reducing the interference between overlapping memories through pattern separation. Here, we study the effect of reduced AN in MDD on the accuracy of episodic memory using computational modeling. We focus on how memory is affected when periods with a normal rate of AN (asymptomatic states) alternate with periods with a low rate (depressive episodes), which has never been studied before. Also, unlike previous models of adult neurogenesis, which consider memories as static patterns, we model episodic memory as sequences of neural activity patterns. In our model, AN adds additional random components to the memory patterns, which results in the decorrelation of similar patterns. Consistent with previous studies, higher rates of AN lead to higher memory accuracy in our model, which implies that memories stored in the depressive state are impaired. Intriguingly, our model makes the novel prediction that memories stored in an earlier asymptomatic state are also impaired by a later depressive episode. This retrograde effect exacerbates with increased duration of the depressive episode. Finally, pattern separation at the sensory processing stage does not improve, but rather worsens, the accuracy of episodic memory retrieval, suggesting an explanation for why AN is found in brain areas serving memory rather than sensory function. In conclusion, while cognitive retrieval biases might contribute to episodic memory deficits in MDD, our model suggests a mechanistic explanation that affects all episodic memories, regardless of emotional relevance. PMID:29879169

  11. Perspectives on Episodic-Like and Episodic Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pause, Bettina M.; Zlomuzica, Armin; Kinugawa, Kiyoka; Mariani, Jean; Pietrowsky, Reinhard; Dere, Ekrem

    2013-01-01

    Episodic memory refers to the conscious recollection of a personal experience that contains information on what has happened and also where and when it happened. Recollection from episodic memory also implies a kind of first-person subjectivity that has been termed autonoetic consciousness. Episodic memory is extremely sensitive to cerebral aging and neurodegenerative diseases. In Alzheimer’s disease deficits in episodic memory function are among the first cognitive symptoms observed. Furthermore, impaired episodic memory function is also observed in a variety of other neuropsychiatric diseases including dissociative disorders, schizophrenia, and Parkinson disease. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to induce and measure episodic memories in the laboratory and it is even more difficult to measure it in clinical populations. Presently, the tests used to assess episodic memory function do not comply with even down-sized definitions of episodic-like memory as a memory for what happened, where, and when. They also require sophisticated verbal competences and are difficult to apply to patient populations. In this review, we will summarize the progress made in defining behavioral criteria of episodic-like memory in animals (and humans) as well as the perspectives in developing novel tests of human episodic memory which can also account for phenomenological aspects of episodic memory such as autonoetic awareness. We will also define basic behavioral, procedural, and phenomenological criteria which might be helpful for the development of a valid and reliable clinical test of human episodic memory. PMID:23616754

  12. Electrolytic lesions of dorsal CA3 impair episodic-like memory in rats.

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    Li, Jay-Shake; Chao, Yuen-Shin

    2008-02-01

    Episodic memory is the ability to recollect one's past experiences occurring in an unique spatial and temporal context. In non-human animals, it is expressed in the ability to combine "what", "where" and "when" factors to form an integrated memory system. During the search for its neural substrates, the hippocampus has attracted a lot of attentions. Yet, it is not yet possible to induce a pure episodic-like memory deficit in animal studies without being confounded by impairments in the spatial cognition. Here, we present a lesion study evidencing direct links between the hippocampus CA3 region and the episodic-like memory in rats. In a spontaneous object exploration task, lesioned rats showed no interaction between the temporal and spatial elements in their memory associated with the objects. In separate tests carried out subsequently, the same animals still expressed abilities to process spatial, temporal, and object recognition memory. In conclusions, our results support the idea that the hippocampus CA3 has a particular status in the neural mechanism of the episodic-like memory system. It is responsible for combining information from different modules of cognitive processes.

  13. Episodic memory, semantic memory, and amnesia.

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    Squire, L R; Zola, S M

    1998-01-01

    Episodic memory and semantic memory are two types of declarative memory. There have been two principal views about how this distinction might be reflected in the organization of memory functions in the brain. One view, that episodic memory and semantic memory are both dependent on the integrity of medial temporal lobe and midline diencephalic structures, predicts that amnesic patients with medial temporal lobe/diencephalic damage should be proportionately impaired in both episodic and semantic memory. An alternative view is that the capacity for semantic memory is spared, or partially spared, in amnesia relative to episodic memory ability. This article reviews two kinds of relevant data: 1) case studies where amnesia has occurred early in childhood, before much of an individual's semantic knowledge has been acquired, and 2) experimental studies with amnesic patients of fact and event learning, remembering and knowing, and remote memory. The data provide no compelling support for the view that episodic and semantic memory are affected differently in medial temporal lobe/diencephalic amnesia. However, episodic and semantic memory may be dissociable in those amnesic patients who additionally have severe frontal lobe damage.

  14. Amyloid-independent functional neural correlates of episodic memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

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    Seo, Eun Hyun; Choo, I L Han

    2016-06-01

    Although amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) could have various biological characteristics, little attention has been given to the nature of episodic memory decline in aMCI with pathophysiologies other than Alzheimer's disease (AD), i.e., aMCI with low beta-amyloid (Aβ) burden. This study aimed to identify the functional neural basis of episodic memory impairment in aMCI with Aβ burden negative (aMCI-Aβ-) and to compare these results with aMCI with Aβ burden positive (aMCI-Aβ+). Individuals with aMCI (n = 498) were selected from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database. Based on the mean florbetapir standard uptake value ratio, participants were classified as aMCI-Aβ- or aMCI-Aβ+. Correlations between memory scores and regional cerebral glucose metabolism (rCMglc) were analyzed separately for the two subgroups using a multiple regression model. For aMCI-Aβ-, significant positive correlations between memory and rCMglc were found in the bilateral claustrum, right thalamus, left anterior cingulate cortex, left insula, and right posterior cingulate. For aMCI-Aβ+, significant positive correlations between memory and rCMglc were found in the temporoparietal areas. These correlation patterns remained unchanged when clinical severity was added as a covariate Our findings indicate that memory impairment in aMCI-Aβ- is related to multimodal integrative processing and the attentional control system, whereas memory impairment in aMCI-Aβ+ is related to the typical brain memory systems and AD signature. These results suggest that although the two subgroups are clinically in the same category as aMCI, the memory impairment process depends on completely different functional brain regions according to their Aβ burden level.

  15. Episodic memory and episodic future thinking impairments in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: an underlying difficulty with scene construction or self-projection?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lind, Sophie E; Williams, David M; Bowler, Dermot M; Peel, Anna

    2014-01-01

    There appears to be a common network of brain regions that underlie the ability to recall past personal experiences (episodic memory) and the ability to imagine possible future personal experiences (episodic future thinking). At the cognitive level, these abilities are thought to rely on "scene construction" (the ability to bind together multimodal elements of a scene in mind--dependent on hippocampal functioning) and temporal "self-projection" (the ability to mentally project oneself through time--dependent on prefrontal cortex functioning). Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by diminished episodic memory, it is unclear whether episodic future thinking is correspondingly impaired. Moreover, the underlying basis of such impairments (difficulties with scene construction, self-projection, or both) is yet to be established. The current study therefore aimed to elucidate these issues. Twenty-seven intellectually high-functioning adults with ASD and 29 age- and IQ-matched neurotypical comparison adults were asked to describe (a) imagined atemporal, non-self-relevant fictitious scenes (assessing scene construction), (b) imagined plausible self-relevant future episodes (assessing episodic future thinking), and (c) recalled personally experienced past episodes (assessing episodic memory). Tests of narrative ability and theory of mind were also completed. Performances of participants with ASD were significantly and equally diminished in each condition and, crucially, this diminution was independent of general narrative ability. Given that participants with ASD were impaired in the fictitious scene condition, which does not involve self-projection, we suggest the underlying difficulty with episodic memory/future thinking is one of scene construction.

  16. [A new assessment for episodic memory. Episodic memory test and caregiver's episodic memory test].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojea Ortega, T; González Álvarez de Sotomayor, M M; Pérez González, O; Fernández Fernández, O

    2013-10-01

    The purpose of the episodic memory test and the caregiver's episodic memory test is to evaluate episodic memory according to its definition in a way that is feasible for families and achieves high degrees of sensitivity and specificity. We administered a test consisting of 10 questions about episodic events to 332 subjects, of whom 65 had Alzheimer's disease (AD), 115 had amnestic MCI (aMCI) and 152 showed no cognitive impairment according to Reisberg's global deterioration scale (GDS). We calculated the test's sensitivity and specificity to distinguish AD from episodic aMCI and from normal ageing. The area under the ROC curve for the diagnosis of aMCI was 0.94 and the best cut-off value was 20; for that value, sensitivity was 89% and specificity was 82%. For a diagnosis of AD, the area under the ROC curve was 0.99 and the best cut-off point was 17, with a sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 91%. A subsequent study using similar methodology yielded similar results when the test was administered directly by the caregiver. The episodic memory test and the caregiver's episodic memory test are useful as brief screening tools for identifying patients with early-stage AD. It is suitable for use by primary care medical staff and in the home, since it can be administered by a caregiver. The test's limitations are that it must be administered by a reliable caregiver and the fact that it measures episodic memory only. Copyright © 2012 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  17. Using memories to understand others: the role of episodic memory in theory of mind impairment in Alzheimer disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreau, Noémie; Viallet, François; Champagne-Lavau, Maud

    2013-09-01

    Theory of mind (TOM) refers to the ability to infer one's own and other's mental states. Growing evidence highlighted the presence of impairment on the most complex TOM tasks in Alzheimer disease (AD). However, how TOM deficit is related to other cognitive dysfunctions and more specifically to episodic memory impairment - the prominent feature of this disease - is still under debate. Recent neuroanatomical findings have shown that remembering past events and inferring others' states of mind share the same cerebral network suggesting the two abilities share a common process .This paper proposes to review emergent evidence of TOM impairment in AD patients and to discuss the evidence of a relationship between TOM and episodic memory. We will discuss about AD patients' deficit in TOM being possibly related to their difficulties in recollecting memories of past social interactions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Working memory binding and episodic memory formation in aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's dementia.

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    van Geldorp, Bonnie; Heringa, Sophie M; van den Berg, Esther; Olde Rikkert, Marcel G M; Biessels, Geert Jan; Kessels, Roy P C

    2015-01-01

    Recent studies indicate that in both normal and pathological aging working memory (WM) performance deteriorates, especially when associations have to be maintained. However, most studies typically do not assess the relationship between WM and episodic memory formation. In the present study, we examined WM and episodic memory formation in normal aging and in patients with early Alzheimer's disease (mild cognitive impairment, MCI; and Alzheimer's dementia, AD). In the first study, 26 young adults (mean age 29.6 years) were compared to 18 middle-aged adults (mean age 52.2 years) and 25 older adults (mean age 72.8 years). We used an associative delayed-match-to-sample WM task, which requires participants to maintain two pairs of faces and houses presented on a computer screen for short (3 s) or long (6 s) maintenance intervals. After the WM task, an unexpected subsequent associative memory task was administered (two-alternative forced choice). In the second study, 27 patients with AD and 19 patients with MCI were compared to 25 older controls, using the same paradigm as that in Experiment 1. Older adults performed worse than both middle-aged and young adults. No effect of delay was observed in the healthy adults, and pairs that were processed during long maintenance intervals were not better remembered in the subsequent memory task. In the MCI and AD patients, longer maintenance intervals hampered the task performance. Also, both patient groups performed significantly worse than controls on the episodic memory task as well as the associative WM task. Aging and AD present with a decline in WM binding, a finding that extends similar results in episodic memory. Longer delays in the WM task did not affect episodic memory formation. We conclude that WM deficits are found when WM capacity is exceeded, which may occur during associative processing.

  19. Impairments in component processes of executive function and episodic memory in alcoholism, HIV infection, and HIV infection with alcoholism comorbidity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fama, Rosemary; Sullivan, Edith V.; Sassoon, Stephanie A.; Pfefferbaum, Adolf; Zahr, Natalie M.

    2016-01-01

    Background Executive functioning and episodic memory impairment occur in HIV infection (HIV) and chronic alcoholism (ALC). Comorbidity of these conditions (HIV+ALC) is prevalent and heightens risk for vulnerability to separate and compounded deficits. Age and disease-related variables can also serve as mediators of cognitive impairment and should be considered, given the extended longevity of HIV-infected individuals in this era of improved pharmacological therapy. Methods HIV, ALC, HIV+ALC, and normal controls (NC) were administered traditional and computerized tests of executive function and episodic memory. Test scores were expressed as age- and education-corrected Z-scores; selective tests were averaged to compute Executive Function and Episodic Memory Composite scores. Efficiency scores were calculated for tests with accuracy and response times. Results HIV, ALC, and HIV+ALC had lower scores than NC on Executive Function and Episodic Memory Composites, with HIV+ALC even lower than ALC and HIV on the Episodic Memory Composite. Impairments in planning and free recall of visuospatial material were observed in ALC, whereas impairments in psychomotor speed, sequencing, narrative free recall, and pattern recognition were observed in HIV. Lower decision-making efficiency scores than NC occurred in all three clinical groups. In ALC, age and lifetime alcohol consumption were each unique predictors of Executive Function and Episodic Memory Composite scores. In HIV+ALC, age was a unique predictor of Episodic Memory Composite score. Conclusions Disease-specific and disease-overlapping patterns of impairment in HIV,ALC, and HIV+ALC have implications regarding brain systems disrupted by each disease and clinical ramifications regarding the complexities and compounded damping of cognitive functioning associated with dual diagnosis that may be exacerbated with aging. PMID:27759882

  20. Aging-related episodic memory decline: are emotions the key?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinugawa, Kiyoka; Schumm, Sophie; Pollina, Monica; Depre, Marion; Jungbluth, Carolin; Doulazmi, Mohamed; Sebban, Claude; Zlomuzica, Armin; Pietrowsky, Reinhard; Pause, Bettina; Mariani, Jean; Dere, Ekrem

    2013-01-01

    Episodic memory refers to the recollection of personal experiences that contain information on what has happened and also where and when these events took place. Episodic memory function is extremely sensitive to cerebral aging and neurodegerative diseases. We examined episodic memory performance with a novel test in young (N = 17, age: 21–45), middle-aged (N = 16, age: 48–62) and aged but otherwise healthy participants (N = 8, age: 71–83) along with measurements of trait and state anxiety. As expected we found significantly impaired episodic memory performance in the aged group as compared to the young group. The aged group also showed impaired working memory performance as well as significantly decreased levels of trait anxiety. No significant correlation between the total episodic memory and trait or state anxiety scores was found. The present results show an age-dependent episodic memory decline along with lower trait anxiety in the aged group. Yet, it still remains to be determined whether this difference in anxiety is related to the impaired episodic memory performance in the aged group. PMID:23378831

  1. Impaired cue identification and intention retrieval underlie prospective memory deficits in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Dengtang; Ji, Chengfeng; Zhuo, Kaiming; Song, Zhenhua; Wang, Yingchan; Mei, Li; Zhu, Dianming; Xiang, Qiong; Chen, Tianyi; Yang, Zhilei; Zhu, Guang; Wang, Ya; Cheung, Eric Fc; Xiang, Yu-Tao; Fan, Xiaoduo; Chan, Raymond Ck; Xu, Yifeng; Jiang, Kaida

    2017-03-01

    Schizophrenia is associated with impairment in prospective memory, the ability to remember to carry out an intended action in the future. It has been established that cue identification (detection of the cue event signaling that an intended action should be performed) and intention retrieval (retrieval of an intention from long-term memory following the recognition of a prospective cue) are two important processes underlying prospective memory. The purpose of this study was to examine prospective memory deficit and underlying cognitive processes in patients with first-episode schizophrenia. This study examined cue identification and intention retrieval components of event-based prospective memory using a dual-task paradigm in 30 patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 30 healthy controls. All participants were also administered a set of tests assessing working memory and retrospective memory. Both cue identification and intention retrieval were impaired in patients with first-episode schizophrenia compared with healthy controls ( ps cue identification (Cohen's d = 0.98) and a medium effect size for intention retrieval (Cohen's d = 0.62). After controlling for working memory and retrospective memory, the difference in cue identification between patients and healthy controls remained significant. However, the difference in intention retrieval between the two groups was no longer significant. In addition, there was a significant inverse relationship between cue identification and negative symptoms ( r = -0.446, p = 0.013) in the patient group. These findings suggest that both cue identification and intention retrieval in event-based prospective memory are impaired in patients with first-episode schizophrenia. Cue identification and intention retrieval could be potentially used as biomarkers for early detection and treatment prognosis of schizophrenia. In addition, addressing cue identification deficit through cognitive enhancement training may

  2. Impairments in Component Processes of Executive Function and Episodic Memory in Alcoholism, HIV Infection, and HIV Infection with Alcoholism Comorbidity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fama, Rosemary; Sullivan, Edith V; Sassoon, Stephanie A; Pfefferbaum, Adolf; Zahr, Natalie M

    2016-12-01

    Executive functioning and episodic memory impairment occur in HIV infection (HIV) and chronic alcoholism (ALC). Comorbidity of these conditions (HIV + ALC) is prevalent and heightens risk of vulnerability to separate and compounded deficits. Age and disease-related variables can also serve as mediators of cognitive impairment and should be considered, given the extended longevity of HIV-infected individuals in this era of improved pharmacological therapy. HIV, ALC, HIV + ALC, and normal controls (NC) were administered traditional and computerized tests of executive function and episodic memory. Test scores were expressed as age- and education-corrected Z-scores; selective tests were averaged to compute Executive Function and Episodic Memory Composite scores. Efficiency scores were calculated for tests with accuracy and response times. HIV, ALC, and HIV + ALC had lower scores than NC on Executive Function and Episodic Memory Composites, with HIV + ALC even lower than ALC and HIV on the Episodic Memory Composite. Impairments in planning and free recall of visuospatial material were observed in ALC, whereas impairments in psychomotor speed, sequencing, narrative free recall, and pattern recognition were observed in HIV. Lower decision-making efficiency scores than NC occurred in all 3 clinical groups. In ALC, age and lifetime alcohol consumption were each unique predictors of Executive Function and Episodic Memory Composite scores. In HIV + ALC, age was a unique predictor of Episodic Memory Composite score. Disease-specific and disease-overlapping patterns of impairment in HIV, ALC, and HIV + ALC have implications regarding brain systems disrupted by each disease and clinical ramifications regarding the complexities and compounded damping of cognitive functioning associated with dual diagnosis that may be exacerbated with aging. Copyright © 2016 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

  3. Spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder: evidence for impairments in mental simulation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lind, Sophie E; Bowler, Dermot M; Raber, Jacob

    2014-01-01

    This study explored spatial navigation alongside several other cognitive abilities that are thought to share common underlying neurocognitive mechanisms (e.g., the capacity for self-projection, scene construction, or mental simulation), and which we hypothesized may be impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty intellectually high-functioning children with ASD (with a mean age of ~8 years) were compared to 20 sex, age, IQ, and language ability matched typically developing children on a series of tasks to assess spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking (also known as episodic foresight or prospection), theory of mind (ToM), relational memory, and central coherence. This is the first study to explore these abilities concurrently within the same sample. Spatial navigation was assessed using the "memory island" task, which involves finding objects within a realistic, computer simulated, three-dimensional environment. Episodic memory and episodic future thinking were assessed using a past and future event description task. ToM was assessed using the "animations" task, in which children were asked to describe the interactions between two animated triangles. Relational memory was assessed using a recognition task involving memory for items (line drawings), patterned backgrounds, or combinations of items and backgrounds. Central coherence was assessed by exploring differences in performance across segmented and unsegmented versions of block design. Children with ASD were found to show impairments in spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and central coherence, but not ToM or relational memory. Among children with ASD, spatial navigation was found to be significantly negatively related to the number of repetitive behaviors. In other words, children who showed more repetitive behaviors showed poorer spatial navigation. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

  4. Spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder: Evidence for impairments in mental simulation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophie Elizabeth Lind

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This study explored spatial navigation alongside several other cognitive abilities that are thought to share common underlying neurocognitive mechanisms (e.g., the capacity for self-projection, scene construction, or mental simulation, and which we hypothesised may be impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD. Twenty intellectually high-functioning children with ASD (with a mean age of ~8 years were compared to 20 sex, age, IQ, and language ability matched typically developing children on a series of tasks to assess spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking (also known as episodic foresight or prospection, theory of mind, relational memory, and central coherence. This is the first study to explore these abilities concurrently within the same sample. Spatial navigation was assessed using the memory island task, which involves finding objects within a realistic, computer simulated, three-dimensional environment. Episodic memory and episodic future thinking were assessed using a past and future event description task. Theory of mind was assessed using the animations task, in which children were asked to describe the interactions between two animated triangles. Relational memory was assessed using a recognition task involving memory for items (line drawings, patterned backgrounds, or combinations of items and backgrounds. Central coherence was assessed by exploring differences in performance across segmented and unsegmented versions of block design. Children with ASD were found to show impairments in spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and central coherence, but not theory of mind or relational memory. Among children with ASD, spatial navigation was found to be significantly negatively related to number of repetitive behaviours. In other words, children who showed more repetitive behaviours showed poorer spatial navigation. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

  5. Spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder: evidence for impairments in mental simulation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lind, Sophie E.; Bowler, Dermot M.; Raber, Jacob

    2014-01-01

    This study explored spatial navigation alongside several other cognitive abilities that are thought to share common underlying neurocognitive mechanisms (e.g., the capacity for self-projection, scene construction, or mental simulation), and which we hypothesized may be impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty intellectually high-functioning children with ASD (with a mean age of ~8 years) were compared to 20 sex, age, IQ, and language ability matched typically developing children on a series of tasks to assess spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking (also known as episodic foresight or prospection), theory of mind (ToM), relational memory, and central coherence. This is the first study to explore these abilities concurrently within the same sample. Spatial navigation was assessed using the “memory island” task, which involves finding objects within a realistic, computer simulated, three-dimensional environment. Episodic memory and episodic future thinking were assessed using a past and future event description task. ToM was assessed using the “animations” task, in which children were asked to describe the interactions between two animated triangles. Relational memory was assessed using a recognition task involving memory for items (line drawings), patterned backgrounds, or combinations of items and backgrounds. Central coherence was assessed by exploring differences in performance across segmented and unsegmented versions of block design. Children with ASD were found to show impairments in spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and central coherence, but not ToM or relational memory. Among children with ASD, spatial navigation was found to be significantly negatively related to the number of repetitive behaviors. In other words, children who showed more repetitive behaviors showed poorer spatial navigation. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed. PMID:25538661

  6. A combined electrophysiological and morphological examination of episodic memory decline in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael eHoppstädter

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD are characterized by neuropathological changes within the medial temporal lobe cortex (MTLC, which lead to characteristic impairments in episodic memory, i.e., amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI. Here, we tested the neural correlates of this memory impairment using event-related potentials (ERPs and voxel-based morphometry. Twenty-four participants were instructed to encode lists of words and were tested in a yes/no recognition memory task. The dual-process model of recognition memory dissociates between acontextual familiarity and recollection of contextual details. The early frontal ERP old/new-effect, which is thought to represent a neural correlate of familiarity-based memory, was absent in aMCI, whereas the control group showed a significant early old/new effect at frontal electrodes. This effect was positively correlated with behavioral episodic memory performance. Analyses of brain morphology revealed a focused gray matter loss in the inferior and medial temporal lobes in aMCI versus healthy controls. Moreover, the positive correlation between gray matter volume in the MTLC and the familiarity-related early frontal old/new effect supports the notion that this effect relies upon the integrity of the MTLC. Thus, the present findings might provide a further functional marker for prodromal AD.

  7. Ill-defined problem solving in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: linking episodic memory to effective solution generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheldon, S; Vandermorris, S; Al-Haj, M; Cohen, S; Winocur, G; Moscovitch, M

    2015-02-01

    It is well accepted that the medial temporal lobes (MTL), and the hippocampus specifically, support episodic memory processes. Emerging evidence suggests that these processes also support the ability to effectively solve ill-defined problems which are those that do not have a set routine or solution. To test the relation between episodic memory and problem solving, we examined the ability of individuals with single domain amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), a condition characterized by episodic memory impairment, to solve ill-defined social problems. Participants with aMCI and age and education matched controls were given a battery of tests that included standardized neuropsychological measures, the Autobiographical Interview (Levine et al., 2002) that scored for episodic content in descriptions of past personal events, and a measure of ill-defined social problem solving. Corroborating previous findings, the aMCI group generated less episodically rich narratives when describing past events. Individuals with aMCI also generated less effective solutions when solving ill-defined problems compared to the control participants. Correlation analyses demonstrated that the ability to recall episodic elements from autobiographical memories was positively related to the ability to effectively solve ill-defined problems. The ability to solve these ill-defined problems was related to measures of activities of daily living. In conjunction with previous reports, the results of the present study point to a new functional role of episodic memory in ill-defined goal-directed behavior and other non-memory tasks that require flexible thinking. Our findings also have implications for the cognitive and behavioural profile of aMCI by suggesting that the ability to effectively solve ill-defined problems is related to sustained functional independence. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Episodic, but not semantic, autobiographical memory is reduced in amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Kelly J; Troyer, Angela K; Levine, Brian; Moscovitch, Morris

    2008-11-01

    Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is characterized by decline in anterograde memory as measured by the ability to learn and remember new information. We investigated whether retrograde memory for autobiographical information was affected by aMCI. Eighteen control (age 66-84 years) and 17 aMCI (age 66-84 years) participants described a personal event from each of the five periods across the lifespan. These events were transcribed and scored according to procedures that separate episodic (specific happenings) from semantic (general knowledge) elements of autobiographical memory. Although both groups generated protocols of similar length, the composition of autobiographical recall differentiated the groups. The aMCI group protocols were characterized by reduced episodic and increased semantic information relative to the control group. Both groups showed a similar pattern of recall across time periods, with no evidence that the aMCI group had more difficulty recalling recent, rather than remote, life events. These results indicate that episodic and semantic autobiographical memories are differentially affected by the early brain changes associated with aMCI. Reduced autobiographical episodic memories in aMCI may be the result of medial temporal lobe dysfunction, consistent with multiple trace theory, or alternatively, could be related to dysfunction of a wider related network of neocortical structures. In contrast, the preservation of autobiographical semantic memories in aMCI suggests neural systems, such as lateral temporal cortex, that support these memories, may remain relatively intact.

  9. Verbal episodic memory in 426 multiple sclerosis patients: impairment in encoding, retrieval or both?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brissart, H; Morele, E; Baumann, C; Debouverie, M

    2012-10-01

    Episodic memory is frequently impaired in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients but the exact nature of the disorder is controversial. It was initially thought to be due to a retrieval deficit but some studies have demonstrated an encoding deficit, which could be linked to a slowing of information processing speed or to a deficit in elaboration of strategies. The main objective of this study is to assess the prevalence and the nature of verbal episodic memory (VEM) impairment in MS patients. We retrieved memory performances of 426 patients [314 F-112 M; mean age: 46.1 years; median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score: 3.1] from a neuropsychological data base. VEM was assessed using the 16 words RL-RI 16 test. 66% MS patients present at least one recall impaired in VEM (37.2% from 2 to 5 recall). 14.2% MS patients present an impairment in encoding phase. We observed that 5% of patients presented recognition difficulties. Correlations were observed between VEM performances and EDSS, and disease duration but no group effect (ANOVA) is observed between form of MS and VEM performances. These results confirm the high prevalence of VEM impairment in MS patients. Deficits affect mainly information retrieval in early stage MS patients and are then linked to encoding as disability increases. Storage disorders are infrequent, so cognitive rehabilitation with mental imaging could be effective in MS patients.

  10. Episodic memory impairment in Addison's disease: results from a telephonic cognitive assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Michelle; Thomas, Kevin G F; Ross, Ian L

    2014-06-01

    Patients with Addison's disease frequently self-report memory and attention difficulties, even when on standard replacement therapy. However, few published studies examine, using objective measures and assessing across multiple domains, the cognitive functioning of Addison's disease patients relative to healthy controls. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether the previously reported subjective cognitive deficits in Addison's disease are confirmed by objective measures. Conducting comprehensive neuropsychological assessments of patients with relatively rare clinical disorders, such as Addison's disease, is challenging because access to those patients is often limited, and because their medical condition might prevent extended testing sessions. Brief telephonic cognitive assessments are a useful tool in such circumstances. Hence, we administered the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone to 27 Addison's disease patients and 27 matched healthy controls. The instrument provides objective assessment of episodic memory, working memory, executive functioning, reasoning, and speed of processing. Statistical analyses confirmed that, as expected, patients performed significantly more poorly than controls on the episodic memory subtest. There were, however, no significant between-group differences on the attention, executive functioning, reasoning, and speed of processing subtests. Furthermore, patients with a longer duration of illness performed more poorly across all domains of cognition. We conclude that, for Addison's disease patients, previously reported subjective cognitive deficits are matched by objective impairment, but only in the domain of episodic memory. Future research might investigate (a) whether these memory deficits are material-specific (i.e., whether non-verbal memory is also affected), and (b) the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these deficits.

  11. The chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel selectively impairs reversal learning while sparing prior learning, new learning and episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panoz-Brown, Danielle; Carey, Lawrence M; Smith, Alexandra E; Gentry, Meredith; Sluka, Christina M; Corbin, Hannah E; Wu, Jie-En; Hohmann, Andrea G; Crystal, Jonathon D

    2017-10-01

    Chemotherapy is widely used to treat patients with systemic cancer. The efficacy of cancer therapies is frequently undermined by adverse side effects that have a negative impact on the quality of life of cancer survivors. Cancer patients who receive chemotherapy often experience chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment across a variety of domains including memory, learning, and attention. In the current study, the impact of paclitaxel, a taxane derived chemotherapeutic agent, on episodic memory, prior learning, new learning, and reversal learning were evaluated in rats. Neurogenesis was quantified post-treatment in the dentate gyrus of the same rats using immunostaining for 5-Bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) and Ki67. Paclitaxel treatment selectively impaired reversal learning while sparing episodic memory, prior learning, and new learning. Furthermore, paclitaxel-treated rats showed decreases in markers of hippocampal cell proliferation, as measured by markers of cell proliferation assessed using immunostaining for Ki67 and BrdU. This work highlights the importance of using multiple measures of learning and memory to identify the pattern of impaired and spared aspects of chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Homotaurine Effects on Hippocampal Volume Loss and Episodic Memory in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spalletta, Gianfranco; Cravello, Luca; Gianni, Walter; Piras, Federica; Iorio, Mariangela; Cacciari, Claudia; Casini, Anna Rosa; Chiapponi, Chiara; Sancesario, Giuseppe; Fratangeli, Claudia; Orfei, Maria Donata; Caltagirone, Carlo; Piras, Fabrizio

    2016-01-01

    Homotaurine supplementation may have a positive effect on early Alzheimer's disease. Here, we investigated its potential neuroprotective effect on the hippocampus structure and episodic memory performances in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Neuropsychological, clinical, and neuroimaging assessment in 11 treated and 22 untreated patients were performed at baseline and after 1 year. Magnetic resonance data were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry to explore significant differences (Family Wise Error corrected) between the two groups over time. Patients treated with homotaurine showed decreased volume loss in the left and right hippocampal tail, left and right fusiform gyrus, and right inferior temporal cortex which was associated with improved short-term episodic memory performance as measured by the recency effect of the Rey 15-word list learning test immediate recall. Thus, homotaurine supplementation in individuals with aMCI has a positive effect on hippocampus atrophy and episodic memory loss. Future studies should further clarify the mechanisms of its effects on brain morphometry.

  13. Episodic Memory for Dynamic Social Interaction Across Phase of Illness in Schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Junghee; Nuechterlein, Keith H; Knowlton, Barbara J; Bearden, Carrie E; Cannon, Tyrone D; Fiske, Alan P; Ghermezi, Livon; Hayata, Jacqueline N; Hellemann, Gerhard S; Horan, William P; Kee, Kimmy; Kern, Robert S; Subotnik, Kenneth L; Sugar, Catherine A; Ventura, Joseph; Yee, Cindy M; Green, Michael F

    2017-07-06

    Although a number of studies examined recollection and familiarity memory in schizophrenia, most of studies have focused on nonsocial episodic memory. Little is known about how schizophrenia patients remember social information in everyday life and whether social episodic memory changes over the course of illness. This study aims to examine episodic memory for dynamic social interaction with multimodal social stimuli in schizophrenia across phase of illness. Within each phase of illness, probands and demographically matched controls participated: 51 probands at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis and 36 controls, 80 first-episode schizophrenia patients and 49 controls, and 50 chronic schizophrenia patients and 39 controls. The participants completed the Social Remember-Know Paradigm that assessed overall social episodic memory, social recollection and familiarity memory, and social context memory, in addition to social cognitive measures and measures on community functioning. Probands showed impairment for recollection but not in familiarity memory and this pattern was similar across phase of illness. In contrast, impaired social context memory was observed in the first-episode and chronic schizophrenia samples, but not in CHR samples. Social context memory was associated with community functioning only in the chronic sample. These findings suggest that an impaired recollection could be a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia whereas impaired social context memory could be a disease-related marker. Further, a pattern of impaired recollection with intact familiarity memory for social stimuli suggests that schizophrenia patients may have a different pattern of impaired episodic memory for social vs nonsocial stimuli. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Semantic and episodic memory in children with temporal lobe epilepsy: do they relate to literacy skills?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lah, Suncica; Smith, Mary Lou

    2014-01-01

    Children with temporal lobe epilepsy are at risk for deficits in new learning (episodic memory) and literacy skills. Semantic memory deficits and double dissociations between episodic and semantic memory have recently been found in this patient population. In the current study we investigate whether impairments of these 2 distinct memory systems relate to literacy skills. 57 children with unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy completed tests of verbal memory (episodic and semantic) and literacy skills (reading and spelling accuracy, and reading comprehension). For the entire group, semantic memory explained over 30% of variance in each of the literacy domains. Episodic memory explained a significant, but rather small proportion (memory impairments (intact semantic/impaired episodic, intact episodic/impaired semantic) were compared, significant reductions in literacy skills were evident only in children with semantic memory impairments, but not in children with episodic memory impairments relative to the norms and to children with temporal lobe epilepsy who had intact memory. Our study provides the first evidence for differential relations between episodic and semantic memory impairments and literacy skills in children with temporal lobe epilepsy. As such, it highlights the urgent need to consider semantic memory deficits in management of children with temporal lobe epilepsy and undertake further research into the nature of reading difficulties of children with semantic memory impairments.

  15. Episodic and working memory deficits in alcoholic Korsakoff patients: the continuity theory revisited.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitel, Anne Lise; Beaunieux, Hélène; Witkowski, Thomas; Vabret, François; de la Sayette, Vincent; Viader, Fausto; Desgranges, Béatrice; Eustache, Francis

    2008-07-01

    The exact nature of episodic and working memory impairments in alcoholic Korsakoff patients (KS) remains unclear, as does the specificity of these neuropsychological deficits compared with those of non-Korsakoff alcoholics (AL). The goals of the present study were therefore to (1) specify the nature of episodic and working memory impairments in KS, (2) determine the specificity of the KS neuropsychological profile compared with the AL profile, and (3) observe the distribution of individual performances within the 2 patient groups. We investigated episodic memory (encoding and retrieval abilities, contextual memory and state of consciousness associated with memories), the slave systems of working memory (phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad and episodic buffer) and executive functions (inhibition, flexibility, updating and integration abilities) in 14 strictly selected KS, 40 AL and 55 control subjects (CS). Compared with CS, KS displayed impairments of episodic memory encoding and retrieval, contextual memory, recollection, the slave systems of working memory and executive functions. Although episodic memory was more severely impaired in KS than in AL, the single specificity of the KS profile was a disproportionately large encoding deficit. Apart from organizational and updating abilities, the slave systems of working memory and inhibition, flexibility and integration abilities were impaired to the same extent in both alcoholic groups. However, some KS were unable to complete the most difficult executive tasks. There was only a partial overlap of individual performances by KS and AL for episodic memory and a total mixture of the 2 groups for working memory. Korsakoff's syndrome encompasses impairments of the different episodic and working memory components. AL and KS displayed similar profiles of episodic and working memory deficits, in accordance with neuroimaging investigations showing similar patterns of brain damage in both alcoholic groups.

  16. Subjective memory complaint only relates to verbal episodic memory performance in mild cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gifford, Katherine A; Liu, Dandan; Damon, Stephen M; Chapman, William G; Romano Iii, Raymond R; Samuels, Lauren R; Lu, Zengqi; Jefferson, Angela L

    2015-01-01

    A cognitive concern from the patient, informant, or clinician is required for the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI); however, the cognitive and neuroanatomical correlates of complaint are poorly understood. We assessed how self-complaint relates to cognitive and neuroimaging measures in older adults with MCI. MCI participants were drawn from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and dichotomized into two groups based on the presence of self-reported memory complaint (no complaint n = 191, 77 ± 7 years; complaint n = 206, 73 ± 8 years). Cognitive outcomes included episodic memory, executive functioning, information processing speed, and language. Imaging outcomes included regional lobar volumes (frontal, parietal, temporal, cingulate) and specific medial temporal lobe structures (hippocampal volume, entorhinal cortex thickness, parahippocampal gyrus thickness). Linear regressions, adjusting for age, gender, race, education, Mini-Mental State Examination score, mood, and apolipoprotein E4 status, found that cognitive complaint related to immediate (β = -1.07, p memory performances assessed on a serial list learning task (β = -1.06, p = 0.001) but no other cognitive measures or neuroimaging markers. Self-reported memory concern was unrelated to structural neuroimaging markers of atrophy and measures of information processing speed, executive functioning, or language. In contrast, subjective memory complaint related to objective verbal episodic learning performance. Future research is warranted to better understand the relation between cognitive complaint and surrogate markers of abnormal brain aging, including Alzheimer's disease, across the cognitive aging spectrum.

  17. Executive function, episodic memory, and Medicare expenditures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bender, Alex C; Austin, Andrea M; Grodstein, Francine; Bynum, Julie P W

    2017-07-01

    We examined the relationship between health care expenditures and cognition, focusing on differences across cognitive systems defined by global cognition, executive function, or episodic memory. We used linear regression models to compare annual health expenditures by cognitive status in 8125 Nurses' Health Study participants who completed a cognitive battery and were enrolled in Medicare parts A and B. Adjusting for demographics and comorbidity, executive impairment was associated with higher total annual expenditures of $1488 per person (P episodic memory impairment was found. Expenditures exhibited a linear relationship with executive function, but not episodic memory ($584 higher for every 1 standard deviation decrement in executive function; P < .01). Impairment in executive function is specifically and linearly associated with higher health care expenditures. Focusing on management strategies that address early losses in executive function may be effective in reducing costly services. Copyright © 2017 the Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Effect of episodic and working memory impairments on semantic and cognitive procedural learning at alcohol treatment entry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitel, Anne Lise; Witkowski, Thomas; Vabret, François; Guillery-Girard, Bérengère; Desgranges, Béatrice; Eustache, Francis; Beaunieux, Hélène

    2007-02-01

    Chronic alcoholism is known to impair the functioning of episodic and working memory, which may consequently reduce the ability to learn complex novel information. Nevertheless, semantic and cognitive procedural learning have not been properly explored at alcohol treatment entry, despite its potential clinical relevance. The goal of the present study was therefore to determine whether alcoholic patients, immediately after the weaning phase, are cognitively able to acquire complex new knowledge, given their episodic and working memory deficits. Twenty alcoholic inpatients with episodic memory and working memory deficits at alcohol treatment entry and a control group of 20 healthy subjects underwent a protocol of semantic acquisition and cognitive procedural learning. The semantic learning task consisted of the acquisition of 10 novel concepts, while subjects were administered the Tower of Toronto task to measure cognitive procedural learning. Analyses showed that although alcoholic subjects were able to acquire the category and features of the semantic concepts, albeit slowly, they presented impaired label learning. In the control group, executive functions and episodic memory predicted semantic learning in the first and second halves of the protocol, respectively. In addition to the cognitive processes involved in the learning strategies invoked by controls, alcoholic subjects seem to attempt to compensate for their impaired cognitive functions, invoking capacities of short-term passive storage. Regarding cognitive procedural learning, although the patients eventually achieved the same results as the controls, they failed to automate the procedure. Contrary to the control group, the alcoholic groups' learning performance was predicted by controlled cognitive functions throughout the protocol. At alcohol treatment entry, alcoholic patients with neuropsychological deficits have difficulty acquiring novel semantic and cognitive procedural knowledge. Compared with

  19. Subjective memory complaint only relates to verbal episodic memory performance in mild cognitive impairment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gifford, Katherine A.; Liu, Dandan; Damon, Stephen M.; Chapman, William G.; Romano, Raymond R.; Samuels, Lauren R.; Lu, Zengqi; Jefferson, Angela L.

    2015-01-01

    Background A cognitive concern from the patient, informant, or clinician is required for the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI); however, the cognitive and neuroanatomical correlates of complaint are poorly understood. Objective We assessed how self-complaint relates to cognitive and neuroimaging measures in older adults with MCI. Method MCI participants were drawn from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and dichotomized into two groups based on the presence of self-reported memory complaint (no complaint n=191, 77±7 years; complaint n=206, 73±8 years). Cognitive outcomes included episodic memory, executive functioning, information processing speed, and language. Imaging outcomes included regional lobar volumes (frontal, parietal, temporal, cingulate) and specific medial temporal lobe structures (hippocampal volume, entorhinal cortex thickness, parahippocampal gyrus thickness). Results Linear regressions, adjusting for age, gender, race, education, Mini-Mental State Examination score, mood, and apolipoprotein E-4 status, found that cognitive complaint related to immediate (β=−1.07, pmemory performances assessed on a serial list learning task (β=−1.06, p=0.001) but no other cognitive measures or neuroimaging markers. Conclusions Self-reported memory concern was unrelated to structural neuroimaging markers of atrophy and measures of information processing speed, executive functioning, or language. In contrast, subjective memory complaint related to objective verbal episodic learning performance. Future research is warranted to better understand the relation between cognitive complaint and surrogate markers of abnormal brain aging, including Alzheimer’s disease, across the cognitive aging spectrum. PMID:25281602

  20. Impaired visual, working, and verbal memory in first-episode, drug-naive patients with major depressive disorder in a Chinese population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ce; Jiang, Wen-Hui; Wang, Wei; Ma, Xian-Cang; Li, Ye; Wu, Jin; Hashimoto, Kenji; Gao, Cheng-Ge

    2018-01-01

    Cognitive impairment has been observed in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, it remains unclear whether the deficits in specific cognitive domains are present in first-episode, drug-naïve patients or medicated patients. In the present study, using the CogState battery (CSB) Chinese language version, we evaluated the visual, working, and verbal memory in first-episode drug-naive patients and medicated patients with MDD in a Chinese population. We measured the cognitive function in first-episode drug-naïve patients (n = 36), medicated MDD patients (n = 71), and age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects (n = 59) in a Chinese population. The CSB composite scores in both first-episode drug-naive patients and medicated patients were significantly poorer than those in the healthy control subjects. The CSB sub-scores, including visual, working, and verbal memory were also significantly poorer in both patient groups than those in the healthy control subjects. In contrast, processing speed, attention/vigilance, executive function, spatial working memory, and social cognition were no different from healthy controls, whereas the executive function was significantly better in the medicated patients than in the healthy control subjects and first-episode drug-naïve patients. These findings suggest an impairment in the visual, working, and verbal memory in first-episode, drug-naive MDD patients in a Chinese population.

  1. CE verbal episodic memory impairment in schizophrenia: a comparison with frontal lobe lesion patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, Bruce K; Patrick, Regan E; Stuss, Donald T; Gillingham, Susan; Zipursky, Robert B

    2013-01-01

    Schizophrenia (SCZ)-related verbal memory impairment is hypothesized to be mediated, in part, by frontal lobe (FTL) dysfunction. However, little research has contrasted the performance of SCZ patients with that of patients exhibiting circumscribed frontal lesions. The current study compared verbal episodic memory in patients with SCZ and focal FTL lesions (left frontal, LF; right frontal, RF; and bi-frontal, BF) on a four-trial list learning task consisting of three lists of varying semantic organizational structure. Each dependent variable was examined at two levels: scores collapsed across all four trials and learning scores (i.e., trial 4-trial 1). Performance deficits were observed in each patient group across most dependent measures at both levels. Regarding patient group differences, SCZ patients outperformed LF/BF patients (i.e., either learning scores or scores collapsed across trial) on free recall, primacy, primary memory, secondary memory, and subjective organization, whereas they only outperformed RF patients on the semantically blocked list on recency and primary memory. Collectively, these results indicate that the pattern of memory performance is largely similar between patients with SCZ and those with RF lesions. These data support tentative arguments that verbal episodic memory deficits in SCZ may be mediated by frontal dysfunction in the right hemisphere.

  2. The relationship between working memory and episodic memory disorders in transient global amnesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinette, Peggy; Guillery-Girard, Bérengère; Noël, Audrey; de la Sayette, Vincent; Viader, Fausto; Desgranges, Béatrice; Eustache, Francis

    2006-01-01

    In a previous study, we investigated the relationship between the disorders of both episodic memory and working memory in the acute phase of transient global amnesia (TGA). Since executive functions were spared, another dysfunction may be responsible for the binding and maintenance of multimodal informations and contribute to the encoding disorders observed in some patients [Quinette, P., Guillery, B., Desgranges, B., de la Sayette, V., Viader, F., & Eustache, F. (2003). Working memory and executive functions in transient global amnesia. Brain, 126, 1917-1934.]. The aim of this present study was to assess the functions of binding and maintenance of multimodal information during TGA and explore their involvement in episodic memory disorders. We therefore conducted a more thorough investigation of working memory in 16 new patients during the acute phase of TGA using two tasks designed to assess the binding process and both dimensions of the maintenance, namely the active storage and the memory load ability. We also investigated the nature of the episodic memory impairment in distinguishing between the performance of patients with preferential encoding deficits and those of patients with preferential storage disorders on the episodic memory task. This distinction was closely related to the severity of amnesia, i.e. an encoding disorder was observed rather in the early phase of TGA. The results showed that while the functions of binding and maintenance of multimodal information were intact in patients with storage disorders, they were impaired in the case of encoding deficits. These results are interpreted in the recent framework of episodic buffer proposed by Baddeley [Baddeley, A. D. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4, 417-423] that represents an interface between working memory and episodic memory.

  3. Evidence for a differential contribution of early perceptual and late cognitive processes during encoding to episodic memory impairment in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Amity E; Fitzgerald, Paul B; Johnston, Patrick J; Nathan, Pradeep J; Kulkarni, Jayashri; Croft, Rodney J

    2017-08-01

    Schizophrenia is characterised by significant episodic memory impairment that is thought to be related to problems with encoding, however the neuro-functional mechanisms underlying these deficits are not well understood. The present study used a subsequent recognition memory paradigm and event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate temporal aspects of episodic memory encoding deficits in schizophrenia. Electroencephalographic data was recorded in 24 patients and 19 healthy controls whilst participants categorised single words as pleasant/unpleasant. ERPs were generated to subsequently recognised versus unrecognised words on the basis of a forced-choice recognition memory task. Subsequent memory effects were examined with the late positive component (LPP). Group differences in N1, P2, N400 and LPP were examined for words correctly recognised. Patients performed more poorly than controls on the recognition task. During encoding patients had significantly reduced N400 and LPP amplitudes than controls. LPP amplitude correlated with task performance however amplitudes did not differ between patients and controls as a function of subsequent memory. No significant differences in N1 or P2 amplitude or latency were observed. The present results indicate that early sensory processes are intact and dysfunctional higher order cognitive processes during encoding are contributing to episodic memory impairments in schizophrenia.

  4. The chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel selectively impairs learning while sparing source memory and spatial memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Alexandra E; Slivicki, Richard A; Hohmann, Andrea G; Crystal, Jonathon D

    2017-03-01

    Chemotherapeutic agents are widely used to treat patients with systemic cancer. The efficacy of these therapies is undermined by their adverse side-effect profiles such as cognitive deficits that have a negative impact on the quality of life of cancer survivors. Cognitive side effects occur across a variety of domains, including memory, executive function, and processing speed. Such impairments are exacerbated under cognitive challenges and a subgroup of patients experience long-term impairments. Episodic memory in rats can be examined using a source memory task. In the current study, rats received paclitaxel, a taxane-derived chemotherapeutic agent, and learning and memory functioning was examined using the source memory task. Treatment with paclitaxel did not impair spatial and episodic memory, and paclitaxel treated rats were not more susceptible to cognitive challenges. Under conditions in which memory was not impaired, paclitaxel treatment impaired learning of new rules, documenting a decreased sensitivity to changes in experimental contingencies. These findings provide new information on the nature of cancer chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairments, particularly regarding the incongruent vulnerability of episodic memory and new learning following treatment with paclitaxel. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Functional connectivity pattern during rest within the episodic memory network in association with episodic memory performance in bipolar disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oertel-Knöchel, Viola; Reinke, Britta; Matura, Silke; Prvulovic, David; Linden, David E J; van de Ven, Vincent

    2015-02-28

    In this study, we sought to examine the intrinsic functional organization of the episodic memory network during rest in bipolar disorder (BD). The previous work suggests that deficits in intrinsic functional connectivity may account for impaired memory performance. We hypothesized that regions involved in episodic memory processing would reveal aberrant functional connectivity in patients with bipolar disorder. We examined 21 patients with BD and 21 healthy matched controls who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a resting condition. We did a seed-based functional connectivity analysis (SBA), using the regions of the episodic memory network that showed a significantly different activation pattern during task-related fMRI as seeds. The functional connectivity scores (FC) were further correlated with episodic memory task performance. Our results revealed decreased FC scores within frontal areas and between frontal and temporal/hippocampal/limbic regions in BD patients in comparison with controls. We observed higher FC in BD patients compared with controls between frontal and limbic regions. The decrease in fronto-frontal functional connectivity in BD patients showed a significant positive association with episodic memory performance. The association between task-independent dysfunctional frontal-limbic FC and episodic memory performance may be relevant for current pathophysiological models of the disease. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Rats Remember Items in Context Using Episodic Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panoz-Brown, Danielle; Corbin, Hannah E; Dalecki, Stefan J; Gentry, Meredith; Brotheridge, Sydney; Sluka, Christina M; Wu, Jie-En; Crystal, Jonathon D

    2016-10-24

    Vivid episodic memories in people have been characterized as the replay of unique events in sequential order [1-3]. Animal models of episodic memory have successfully documented episodic memory of a single event (e.g., [4-8]). However, a fundamental feature of episodic memory in people is that it involves multiple events, and notably, episodic memory impairments in human diseases are not limited to a single event. Critically, it is not known whether animals remember many unique events using episodic memory. Here, we show that rats remember many unique events and the contexts in which the events occurred using episodic memory. We used an olfactory memory assessment in which new (but not old) odors were rewarded using 32 items. Rats were presented with 16 odors in one context and the same odors in a second context. To attain high accuracy, the rats needed to remember item in context because each odor was rewarded as a new item in each context. The demands on item-in-context memory were varied by assessing memory with 2, 3, 5, or 15 unpredictable transitions between contexts, and item-in-context memory survived a 45 min retention interval challenge. When the memory of item in context was put in conflict with non-episodic familiarity cues, rats relied on item in context using episodic memory. Our findings suggest that rats remember multiple unique events and the contexts in which these events occurred using episodic memory and support the view that rats may be used to model fundamental aspects of human cognition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. One declarative memory system or two? The relationship between episodic and semantic memory in children with temporal lobe epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Mary Lou; Lah, Suncica

    2011-09-01

    This study explored verbal semantic and episodic memory in children with unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy to determine whether they had impairments in both or only 1 aspect of memory, and to examine relations between performance in the 2 domains. Sixty-six children and adolescents (37 with seizures of left temporal lobe onset, 29 with right-sided onset) were given 4 tasks assessing different aspects of semantic memory (picture naming, fluency, knowledge of facts, knowledge of word meanings) and 2 episodic memory tasks (story recall, word list recall). High rates of impairments were observed across tasks, and no differences were found related to the laterality of the seizures. Individual patient analyses showed that there was a double dissociation between the 2 aspects of memory in that some children were impaired on episodic but not semantic memory, whereas others showed intact episodic but impaired semantic memory. This double dissociation suggests that these 2 memory systems may develop independently in the context of temporal lobe pathology, perhaps related to differential effects of dysfunction in the lateral and mesial temporal lobe structures. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

  8. Episodic and semantic memory in children with mesial temporal sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rzezak, Patricia; Guimarães, Catarina; Fuentes, Daniel; Guerreiro, Marilisa M; Valente, Kette Dualibi Ramos

    2011-07-01

    The aim of this study was to analyze semantic and episodic memory deficits in children with mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) and their correlation with clinical epilepsy variables. For this purpose, 19 consecutive children and adolescents with MTS (8 to 16 years old) were evaluated and their performance on five episodic memory tests (short- and long-term memory and learning) and four semantic memory tests was compared with that of 28 healthy volunteers. Patients performed worse on tests of immediate and delayed verbal episodic memory, visual episodic memory, verbal and visual learning, mental scanning for semantic clues, object naming, word definition, and repetition of sentences. Clinical variables such as early age at seizure onset, severity of epilepsy, and polytherapy impaired distinct types of memory. These data confirm that children with MTS have episodic memory deficits and add new information on semantic memory. The data also demonstrate that clinical variables contribute differently to episodic and semantic memory performance. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Positive schizotypy and negative schizotypy are associated with differential patterns of episodic memory impairment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lili Sahakyan

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Cognitive impairment is a hallmark of schizophrenia; however, studies have not comprehensively examined such impairments in non-clinically ascertained schizotypic young adults. The present study employed a series of measures to assess episodic memory in high positive schizotypy, high negative schizotypy, and comparison groups (each group n = 25. Consistent with diminished cognitive functioning seen in negative symptom schizophrenia, the negative schizotypy group exhibited deficits on free recall, recognition, and source memory tasks. The positive schizotypy group did not demonstrate deficits on the above mentioned tasks. However, in contrast to the other groups, the positive schizotypy group showed an unexpected set-size effect on the cued-recall task. Set-size effect, which refers to the finding that words that have smaller networks of associates tend to have a memory advantage, is usually found in associative-cuing, but not cued-recall, tasks. The finding for the positive schizotypy group is consistent with heightened spreading activation and reduced executive control suggested to underlie psychotic symptoms. The findings support a multidimensional model of schizotypy and schizophrenia, and suggest that positive and negative schizotypy involve differential patterns of cognitive impairment.

  10. Episodic and semantic memory impairments in (very early Alzheimer’s disease: The diagnostic accuracy of paired-associate learning formats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pauline E.J. Spaan

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Paired-associate learning (PAL paradigms measure memory processes sensitive to the medial temporal lobe, which shows atrophy in early Alzheimer’s disease (AD. PAL tests have not yet been standard clinical procedure, neither are semantic memory tests. In early AD, impairments are more subtle. A literature review indicates that standard neuropsychological tests may not measure these impairments accurately. Therefore, I constructed new episodic and semantic memory tests. I investigated the diagnostic accuracy of these tests in 37 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI; of whom 21 had converted to AD at 1.3-year-follow-up, 43 early AD patients, and 80 non-demented controls. Main questions: (1 which tests best differentiate aMCI and AD from normal aging: most sensitively, most specifically?; (2 do PAL paradigms and/or semantic memory tests (fluency; naming contribute to this differentiation? A free recall (non-PAL test of unrelated words was most sensitive to aMCI and AD (91%, whereas a PAL-recognition-test (of semantically related word pairs of moderate association strength, including strongly related foils was most specific (96%. Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that differentiation was improved by a subordinate semantic fluency test. I conclude that a combination of episodic and semantic memory components best predicts AD. Future research should focus on comparing semantic and visuospatial PAL tests.

  11. Episodic memory and executive functioning in currently depressed patients compared to healthy controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauls, Franz; Petermann, Franz; Lepach, Anja Christina

    2015-01-01

    At present, little is still known about the link between depression, memory and executive functioning. This study examined whether there are memory-related impairments in depressed patients and whether the size of such deficits depends on the age group and on specific types of cognitive measures. Memory performances of 215 clinically depressed patients were compared to the data of a matched control sample. Regression analyses were performed to determine the extent to which executive dysfunctions contributed to episodic memory impairments. When compared with healthy controls, significantly lower episodic memory and executive functioning performances were found for depressed patients of all age groups. Effect sizes appeared to vary across different memory and executive functioning measures. The extent to which executive dysfunctions could explain episodic memory impairments varied depending on the type of measure examined. These findings emphasise the need to consider memory-related functioning of depressed patients in the context of therapeutic treatments.

  12. Plastic modulation of episodic memory networks in the aging brain with cognitive decline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Feng; Yuan, Yonggui; Yu, Hui; Zhang, Zhijun

    2016-07-15

    Social-cognitive processing has been posited to underlie general functions such as episodic memory. Episodic memory impairment is a recognized hallmark of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) who is at a high risk for dementia. Three canonical networks, self-referential processing, executive control processing and salience processing, have distinct roles in episodic memory retrieval processing. It remains unclear whether and how these sub-networks of the episodic memory retrieval system would be affected in aMCI. This task-state fMRI study constructed systems-level episodic memory retrieval sub-networks in 28 aMCI and 23 controls using two computational approaches: a multiple region-of-interest based approach and a voxel-level functional connectivity-based approach, respectively. These approaches produced the remarkably similar findings that the self-referential processing network made critical contributions to episodic memory retrieval in aMCI. More conspicuous alterations in self-referential processing of the episodic memory retrieval network were identified in aMCI. In order to complete a given episodic memory retrieval task, increases in cooperation between the self-referential processing network and other sub-networks were mobilized in aMCI. Self-referential processing mediate the cooperation of the episodic memory retrieval sub-networks as it may help to achieve neural plasticity and may contribute to the prevention and treatment of dementia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Episodic Memories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conway, Martin A.

    2009-01-01

    An account of episodic memories is developed that focuses on the types of knowledge they represent, their properties, and the functions they might serve. It is proposed that episodic memories consist of "episodic elements," summary records of experience often in the form of visual images, associated to a "conceptual frame" that provides a…

  14. Perspectives on Episodic-like and Episodic Memory

    OpenAIRE

    Bettina M Pause; Armin eZlomuzica; Kiyoka eKinugawa; Jean eMariani; Reinhard ePietrowsky; Ekrem eDere

    2013-01-01

    Episodic memory refers to the conscious recollection of a personal experience that contains information on what has happened and also where and when it happened. Recollection from episodic memory also implies a kind of first-person subjectivity that has been termed autonoetic consciousness. Episodic memory is extremely sensitive to cerebral aging and neurodegenerative diseases. In Alzheimer’s disease deficits in episodic memory function are among the first cognitive symptoms observed. Further...

  15. The effect of hippocampal function, volume and connectivity on posterior cingulate cortex functioning during episodic memory fMRI in mild cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papma, Janne M; Smits, Marion; de Groot, Marius; Mattace Raso, Francesco U; van der Lugt, Aad; Vrooman, Henri A; Niessen, Wiro J; Koudstaal, Peter J; van Swieten, John C; van der Veen, Frederik M; Prins, Niels D

    2017-09-01

    Diminished function of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is a typical finding in early Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is hypothesized that in early stage AD, PCC functioning relates to or reflects hippocampal dysfunction or atrophy. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between hippocampus function, volume and structural connectivity, and PCC activation during an episodic memory task-related fMRI study in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI patients (n = 27) underwent episodic memory task-related fMRI, 3D-T1w MRI, 2D T2-FLAIR MRI and diffusion tensor imaging. Stepwise linear regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between PCC activation and hippocampal activation, hippocampal volume and diffusion measures within the cingulum along the hippocampus. We found a significant relationship between PCC and hippocampus activation during successful episodic memory encoding and correct recognition in MCI patients. We found no relationship between the PCC and structural hippocampal predictors. Our results indicate a relationship between PCC and hippocampus activation during episodic memory engagement in MCI. This may suggest that during episodic memory, functional network deterioration is the most important predictor of PCC functioning in MCI. • PCC functioning during episodic memory relates to hippocampal functioning in MCI. • PCC functioning during episodic memory does not relate to hippocampal structure in MCI. • Functional network changes are an important predictor of PCC functioning in MCI.

  16. Episodic memory in aspects of large-scale brain networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Woorim; Chung, Chun Kee; Kim, June Sic

    2015-01-01

    Understanding human episodic memory in aspects of large-scale brain networks has become one of the central themes in neuroscience over the last decade. Traditionally, episodic memory was regarded as mostly relying on medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures. However, recent studies have suggested involvement of more widely distributed cortical network and the importance of its interactive roles in the memory process. Both direct and indirect neuro-modulations of the memory network have been tried in experimental treatments of memory disorders. In this review, we focus on the functional organization of the MTL and other neocortical areas in episodic memory. Task-related neuroimaging studies together with lesion studies suggested that specific sub-regions of the MTL are responsible for specific components of memory. However, recent studies have emphasized that connectivity within MTL structures and even their network dynamics with other cortical areas are essential in the memory process. Resting-state functional network studies also have revealed that memory function is subserved by not only the MTL system but also a distributed network, particularly the default-mode network (DMN). Furthermore, researchers have begun to investigate memory networks throughout the entire brain not restricted to the specific resting-state network (RSN). Altered patterns of functional connectivity (FC) among distributed brain regions were observed in patients with memory impairments. Recently, studies have shown that brain stimulation may impact memory through modulating functional networks, carrying future implications of a novel interventional therapy for memory impairment. PMID:26321939

  17. Episodic memory in aspects of large-scale brain networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Woorim eJeong

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Understanding human episodic memory in aspects of large-scale brain networks has become one of the central themes in neuroscience over the last decade. Traditionally, episodic memory was regarded as mostly relying on medial temporal lobe (MTL structures. However, recent studies have suggested involvement of more widely distributed cortical network and the importance of its interactive roles in the memory process. Both direct and indirect neuro-modulations of the memory network have been tried in experimental treatments of memory disorders. In this review, we focus on the functional organization of the MTL and other neocortical areas in episodic memory. Task-related neuroimaging studies together with lesion studies suggested that specific sub-regions of the MTL are responsible for specific components of memory. However, recent studies have emphasized that connectivity within MTL structures and even their network dynamics with other cortical areas are essential in the memory process. Resting-state functional network studies also have revealed that memory function is subserved by not only the MTL system but also a distributed network, particularly the default-mode network. Furthermore, researchers have begun to investigate memory networks throughout the entire brain not restricted to the specific resting-state network. Altered patterns of functional connectivity among distributed brain regions were observed in patients with memory impairments. Recently, studies have shown that brain stimulation may impact memory through modulating functional networks, carrying future implications of a novel interventional therapy for memory impairment.

  18. Episodic memory, perceptual memory, and their interaction: foundations for a theory of posttraumatic stress disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewin, Chris R

    2014-01-01

    A number of autobiographical memory theories and clinical theories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) make claims that are different from standard views of memory and have been the subject of controversy. These claims include the existence of a long-term perceptual memory system supporting conscious experience separate to episodic memory; greater involvement of perceptual memory in the response to emotion-laden and personally meaningful events; increased perceptual memory intrusions accompanied by impaired episodic memory for the traumatic event among PTSD patients; and a lack of association, or inverse association, between indices of voluntary recall and involuntary images relating to the same traumatic materials. In this article I review current research on perceptual memory, which supports the presence of long-term representations that are selective or incomplete reflections of sensory input. The functional independence of perceptual and episodic memory is illustrated by research on verbal overshadowing but is most clearly exemplified by the strong evidence in favor of enhanced perceptual memory and impaired episodic memory in PTSD. Theoretical predictions concerning the relation between perceptual priming and the development of intrusive images, the effect of verbal versus visuospatial secondary tasks on intrusive trauma images, and the independence of voluntary and involuntary memory for the same materials have garnered widespread support. Reasons for the continuing controversy over traumatic memory are discussed, and some implications of the review for general theories of recall and recognition, clinical theories of PTSD, and "special mechanism" views of memory are set out. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

  19. Episodic memory for natural and transformed food.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aiello, Marilena; Vignando, Miriam; Foroni, Francesco; Pergola, Giulio; Rossi, Paola; Silveri, Maria Caterina; Rumiati, Raffaella I

    2018-05-10

    It has been proposed that the conceptual knowledge of food and its putative subdivision into natural (i.e., fruit/vegetables) and transformed (i.e., food that underwent thermic or non-thermic processing) may follow the living/non-living distinction. In the present study, we investigated whether the advantage for living things compared to non-living things observed in episodic memory (the so-called animacy effect) extends to natural foods and transformed foods respectively. We pursued this issue in two experiments. In Experiment 1, we measured episodic memory for natural and transformed foods in young participants. In Experiment 2, we enrolled dementia-free centenarians, patients with Alzheimer's disease (DAT), Progressive primary aphasia (PPA), and healthy controls whose episodic memory was also tested for living/non-living things. Results showed that young participants had better recognition memory for transformed foods compared to natural foods. This difference disappeared in centenarians and patients. However, centenarians and PPA exhibited enhanced levels of false alarms (FA) with natural food, and DAT patients with both natural and transformed food. As far as the living/non-living distinction is concerned, the episodic memory for the living category appears more resilient to the decline compared to the non-living category in patients, particularly those with PPA. In conclusion, our study shows that transformed food is better remembered than natural food, suggesting that it is more salient and possibly relevant from an evolutionary perspective. The natural/transformed distinction appears susceptible to erosion only in the presence of a high degree of episodic memory impairment. These results offer novel insight on episodic memory of food, and also extend the current knowledge on the animacy effect in episodic memory. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Children's episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghetti, Simona; Lee, Joshua

    2011-07-01

    Episodic memory develops during childhood and adolescence. This trajectory depends on several underlying processes. In this article, we first discuss the development of the basic binding processes (e.g., the processes by which elements are bound together to form a memory episode) and control processes (e.g., reasoning and metamemory processes) involved in episodic remembering. Then, we discuss the role of these processes in false-memory formation. In the subsequent sections, we examine the neural substrates of the development of episodic memory. Finally, we discuss atypical development of episodic memory. As we proceed through the article, we suggest potential avenues for future research. WIREs Cogni Sci 2011 2 365-373 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.114 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. Episodic and Semantic Memory Influences on Picture Naming in Alzheimer's Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Small, Jeff A.; Sandhu, Nirmaljeet

    2008-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between semantic and episodic memory as they support lexical access by healthy younger and older adults and individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). In particular, we were interested in examining the pattern of semantic and episodic memory declines in AD (i.e., word-finding difficulty and impaired recent…

  2. Autobiographical and episodic memory deficits in mild traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wammes, Jeffrey D; Good, Tyler J; Fernandes, Myra A

    2017-02-01

    Those who have suffered a concussion, otherwise known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), often complain of lingering memory problems. However, there is little evidence in the behavioral literature reliably demonstrating memory deficits. Thus, in the present study, cognitive profiles including measures of general executive functioning and processing speed, as well as episodic and semantic memory were collected in younger and older adult participants with or without a remote (>1year prior to testing) mTBI. We first investigated whether there were observable episodic and autobiographical memory impairments associated with mTBI within an otherwise healthy young group. Next, because previous work had demonstrated some overlap in patterns of behavioral impairment in normally aging adults and younger adults with a history of mTBI (e.g. Ozen, Fernandes, Clark, & Roy, 2015), we sought to determine whether these groups displayed similar cognitive profiles. Lastly, we conducted an exploratory analysis to test whether having suffered an mTBI might exacerbate age-related cognitive decline. Results showed the expected age-related decline in episodic memory performance, coupled with a relative preservation of semantic memory in older adults. Importantly, this pattern was also present in younger adults with a history of remote mTBI. No differences were observed across older adult groups based on mTBI status. Logistic regression analyses, using each measure in our battery as a predictor, successfully classified mTBI status in younger participants with a high degree of specificity (79.5%). These results indicate that those who have had an mTBI demonstrate a distinct cognitive signature, characterized by impairment in episodic and autobiographical memory, coupled with a relative preservation of semantic memory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. The effect of hippocampal function, volume and connectivity on posterior cingulate cortex functioning during episodic memory fMRI in mild cognitive impairment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papma, Janne M.; Koudstaal, Peter J.; Swieten, John C. van; Smits, Marion; Lugt, Aad van der; Groot, Marius de; Vrooman, Henri A.; Mattace Raso, Francesco U.; Niessen, Wiro J.; Veen, Frederik M. van der; Prins, Niels D.

    2017-01-01

    Diminished function of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is a typical finding in early Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is hypothesized that in early stage AD, PCC functioning relates to or reflects hippocampal dysfunction or atrophy. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between hippocampus function, volume and structural connectivity, and PCC activation during an episodic memory task-related fMRI study in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI patients (n = 27) underwent episodic memory task-related fMRI, 3D-T1w MRI, 2D T2-FLAIR MRI and diffusion tensor imaging. Stepwise linear regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between PCC activation and hippocampal activation, hippocampal volume and diffusion measures within the cingulum along the hippocampus. We found a significant relationship between PCC and hippocampus activation during successful episodic memory encoding and correct recognition in MCI patients. We found no relationship between the PCC and structural hippocampal predictors. Our results indicate a relationship between PCC and hippocampus activation during episodic memory engagement in MCI. This may suggest that during episodic memory, functional network deterioration is the most important predictor of PCC functioning in MCI. (orig.)

  4. The effect of hippocampal function, volume and connectivity on posterior cingulate cortex functioning during episodic memory fMRI in mild cognitive impairment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Papma, Janne M.; Koudstaal, Peter J.; Swieten, John C. van [Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of Neurology, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Smits, Marion; Lugt, Aad van der [Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of Radiology, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Groot, Marius de; Vrooman, Henri A. [Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of Radiology, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of Medical Informatics, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Mattace Raso, Francesco U. [Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of Geriatrics, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Niessen, Wiro J. [Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of Radiology, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Erasmus MC - University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of Medical Informatics, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft (Netherlands); Veen, Frederik M. van der [Erasmus University Rotterdam, Institute of Psychology, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Prins, Niels D. [VU University Medical Center, Alzheimer Center, Department of Neurology, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2017-09-15

    Diminished function of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is a typical finding in early Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is hypothesized that in early stage AD, PCC functioning relates to or reflects hippocampal dysfunction or atrophy. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between hippocampus function, volume and structural connectivity, and PCC activation during an episodic memory task-related fMRI study in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI patients (n = 27) underwent episodic memory task-related fMRI, 3D-T1w MRI, 2D T2-FLAIR MRI and diffusion tensor imaging. Stepwise linear regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between PCC activation and hippocampal activation, hippocampal volume and diffusion measures within the cingulum along the hippocampus. We found a significant relationship between PCC and hippocampus activation during successful episodic memory encoding and correct recognition in MCI patients. We found no relationship between the PCC and structural hippocampal predictors. Our results indicate a relationship between PCC and hippocampus activation during episodic memory engagement in MCI. This may suggest that during episodic memory, functional network deterioration is the most important predictor of PCC functioning in MCI. (orig.)

  5. Older adults get episodic memory boosting from noninvasive stimulation of prefrontal cortex during learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandrini, Marco; Manenti, Rosa; Brambilla, Michela; Cobelli, Chiara; Cohen, Leonardo G; Cotelli, Maria

    2016-03-01

    Episodic memory displays the largest degree of age-related decline, a process that is accelerated in pathological conditions such as amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies have shown that the left lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) contributes to the encoding of episodic memories along the life span. The aim of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to test the hypothesis that anodal trascranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left lateral PFC during the learning phase would enhance delayed recall of verbal episodic memories in elderly individuals. Older adults learned a list of words while receiving anodal or placebo (sham) tDCS. Memory recall was tested 48 hours and 1 month later. The results showed that anodal tDCS strengthened episodic memories, an effect indicated by enhanced delayed recall (48 hours) compared to placebo stimulation (Cohen's d effect size = 1.01). The observation that PFC-tDCS during learning can boost verbal episodic memory in the elderly opens up the possibility to design-specific neurorehabilitation protocols targeted to conditions that affect episodic memory such as mild cognitive impairment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Recollection of episodic memory within the medial temporal lobe: behavioural dissociations from other types of memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Easton, Alexander; Eacott, Madeline J

    2010-12-31

    In recent years there has been significant debate about whether there is a single medial temporal lobe memory system or dissociable systems for episodic and other types of declarative memory. In addition there has been a similar debate over the dissociability of recollection and familiarity based processes in recognition memory. Here we present evidence from recent work using episodic memory tasks in animals that allows us to explore these issues in more depth. We review studies that demonstrate triple dissociations within the medial temporal lobe, with only the hippocampal system being necessary for episodic memory. Similarly we review behavioural evidence for a dissociation in a task of episodic memory in rats where animals with lesions of the fornix are only impaired at recollection of the episodic memory, not recognition within the same trial. This work, then, supports recent models of dissociable neural systems within the medial temporal lobe but also raises questions for future investigation about the interactions of these medial temporal lobe memory systems with other structures. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Entorhinal Tau Pathology, Episodic Memory Decline, and Neurodegeneration in Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maass, Anne; Lockhart, Samuel N; Harrison, Theresa M; Bell, Rachel K; Mellinger, Taylor; Swinnerton, Kaitlin; Baker, Suzanne L; Rabinovici, Gil D; Jagust, William J

    2018-01-17

    The medial temporal lobe (MTL) is an early site of tau accumulation and MTL dysfunction may underlie episodic-memory decline in aging and dementia. Postmortem data indicate that tau pathology in the transentorhinal cortex is common by age 60, whereas spread to neocortical regions and worsening of cognition is associated with β-amyloid (Aβ). We used [ 18 F]AV-1451 and [ 11 C]PiB positron emission tomography, structural MRI, and neuropsychological assessment to investigate how in vivo tau accumulation in temporal lobe regions, Aβ, and MTL atrophy contribute to episodic memory in cognitively normal older adults ( n = 83; age, 77 ± 6 years; 58% female). Stepwise regressions identified tau in MTL regions known to be affected in old age as the best predictor of episodic-memory performance independent of Aβ status. There was no interactive effect of MTL tau with Aβ on memory. Higher MTL tau was related to higher age in the subjects without evidence of Aβ. Among temporal lobe subregions, episodic memory was most strongly related to tau-tracer uptake in the parahippocampal gyrus, particularly the posterior entorhinal cortex, which in our parcellation includes the transentorhinal cortex. In subjects with longitudinal MRI and cognitive data ( n = 57), entorhinal atrophy mirrored patterns of tau pathology and their relationship with memory decline. Our data are consistent with neuropathological studies and further suggest that entorhinal tau pathology underlies memory decline in old age even without Aβ. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Tau tangles and β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques are key lesions in Alzheimer's disease (AD) but both pathologies also occur in cognitively normal older people. Neuropathological data indicate that tau tangles in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) underlie episodic-memory impairments in AD dementia. However, it remains unclear whether MTL tau pathology also accounts for memory impairments often seen in elderly people and how Aβ affects this relationship

  8. Deficits in episodic memory and mental time travel in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zlomuzica, Armin; Woud, Marcella L; Machulska, Alla; Kleimt, Katharina; Dietrich, Lisa; Wolf, Oliver T; Assion, Hans-Joerg; Huston, Joseph P; De Souza Silva, Maria A; Dere, Ekrem; Margraf, Jürgen

    2018-04-20

    Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by impairments in mnestic functions, especially in the domain of episodic memory. These alterations might affect different aspects of episodic memory functioning. Here we tested PTSD patients and healthy controls (matched for age, sex and education) in a newly developed virtual reality episodic memory test (VR-EMT), a test for mental time travel, episodic future thinking, and prospective memory (M3xT). In a cross-validation experiment, their performance was further evaluated in the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test (RBMT). PTSD patients demonstrated impairments in episodic memory formation and mental time travel and showed difficulties in utilizing information from episodic memory to solve problems. Diminished attention and concentration in PTSD did not account for performance deficits in these tasks but higher levels of negative arousal were found in PTSD patients. Furthermore, performance in the VR-EMT and RBMT in PTSD patients correlated negatively with self-reported measures of stress and depression. Our results suggest that deficits in episodic memory formation and mental time travel in PTSD lead to difficulties in utilizing the content of episodic memories for solving problems in the present or to plan future behavior. Clinical implications of these findings and suggestions for cognitive-behavioral treatment of PTSD are discussed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. The evolution of episodic memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Timothy A.; Fortin, Norbert J.

    2013-01-01

    One prominent view holds that episodic memory emerged recently in humans and lacks a “(neo)Darwinian evolution” [Tulving E (2002) Annu Rev Psychol 53:1–25]. Here, we review evidence supporting the alternative perspective that episodic memory has a long evolutionary history. We show that fundamental features of episodic memory capacity are present in mammals and birds and that the major brain regions responsible for episodic memory in humans have anatomical and functional homologs in other species. We propose that episodic memory capacity depends on a fundamental neural circuit that is similar across mammalian and avian species, suggesting that protoepisodic memory systems exist across amniotes and, possibly, all vertebrates. The implication is that episodic memory in diverse species may primarily be due to a shared underlying neural ancestry, rather than the result of evolutionary convergence. We also discuss potential advantages that episodic memory may offer, as well as species-specific divergences that have developed on top of the fundamental episodic memory architecture. We conclude by identifying possible time points for the emergence of episodic memory in evolution, to help guide further research in this area. PMID:23754432

  10. Simulating episodic memory deficits in semantic dementia with the TraceLink model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meeter, M.; Murre, J.M.J.

    2004-01-01

    Although semantic dementia is primarily characterised by deficits in semantic memory, episodic memory is also impaired. Patients show poor recall of old autobiographical and semantic memories, with better retrieval of recent experiences; they can form new memories, and normal performance on

  11. An electroconvulsive therapy procedure impairs reconsolidation of episodic memories in humans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kroes, Marijn C. W.; Tendolkar, Indira; van Wingen, Guido A.; van Waarde, Jeroen A.; Strange, Bryan A.; Fernández, Guillén

    2014-01-01

    Despite accumulating evidence for a reconsolidation process in animals, support in humans, especially for episodic memory, is limited. Using a within-subjects manipulation, we found that a single application of electroconvulsive therapy following memory reactivation in patients with unipolar

  12. Functional brain imaging of episodic memory decline in ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyberg, L

    2017-01-01

    The episodic long-term memory system supports remembering of events. It is considered to be the most age-sensitive system, with an average onset of decline around 60 years of age. However, there is marked interindividual variability, such that some individuals show faster than average change and others show no or very little change. This variability may be related to the risk of developing dementia, with elevated risk for individuals with accelerated episodic memory decline. Brain imaging with functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signalling or positron emission tomography (PET) has been used to reveal the brain bases of declining episodic memory in ageing. Several studies have demonstrated a link between age-related episodic memory decline and the hippocampus during active mnemonic processing, which is further supported by studies of hippocampal functional connectivity in the resting state. The hippocampus interacts with anterior and posterior neocortical regions to support episodic memory, and alterations in hippocampus-neocortex connectivity have been shown to contribute to impaired episodic memory. Multimodal MRI studies and more recently hybrid MRI/PET studies allow consideration of various factors that can influence the association between the hippocampal BOLD signal and memory performance. These include neurovascular factors, grey and white matter structural alterations, dopaminergic neurotransmission, amyloid-Β and glucose metabolism. Knowledge about the brain bases of episodic memory decline can guide interventions to strengthen memory in older adults, particularly in those with an elevated risk of developing dementia, with promising results for combinations of cognitive and physical stimulation. © 2016 The Association for the Publication of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

  13. Subjective Experience of Episodic Memory and Metacognition: A Neurodevelopmental Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souchay, Céline; Guillery-Girard, Bérengère; Pauly-Takacs, Katalin; Wojcik, Dominika Zofia; Eustache, Francis

    2013-01-01

    Episodic retrieval is characterized by the subjective experience of remembering. This experience enables the co-ordination of memory retrieval processes and can be acted on metacognitively. In successful retrieval, the feeling of remembering may be accompanied by recall of important contextual information. On the other hand, when people fail (or struggle) to retrieve information, other feelings, thoughts, and information may come to mind. In this review, we examine the subjective and metacognitive basis of episodic memory function from a neurodevelopmental perspective, looking at recollection paradigms (such as source memory, and the report of recollective experience) and metacognitive paradigms such as the feeling of knowing). We start by considering healthy development, and provide a brief review of the development of episodic memory, with a particular focus on the ability of children to report first-person experiences of remembering. We then consider neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) such as amnesia acquired in infancy, autism, Williams syndrome, Down syndrome, or 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. This review shows that different episodic processes develop at different rates, and that across a broad set of different NDDs there are various types of episodic memory impairment, each with possibly a different character. This literature is in agreement with the idea that episodic memory is a multifaceted process. PMID:24399944

  14. Working memory binding and episodic memory formation in aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's dementia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geldorp, B. van; Heringa, S.M.; Berg, E. van den; Olde Rikkert, M.G.M.; Biessels, G.J.; Kessels, R.P.C.

    2015-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: Recent studies indicate that in both normal and pathological aging working memory (WM) performance deteriorates, especially when associations have to be maintained. However, most studies typically do not assess the relationship between WM and episodic memory formation. In the present

  15. Considering the role of semantic memory in episodic future thinking: evidence from semantic dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irish, Muireann; Addis, Donna Rose; Hodges, John R; Piguet, Olivier

    2012-07-01

    Semantic dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative condition characterized by the profound and amodal loss of semantic memory in the context of relatively preserved episodic memory. In contrast, patients with Alzheimer's disease typically display impairments in episodic memory, but with semantic deficits of a much lesser magnitude than in semantic dementia. Our understanding of episodic memory retrieval in these cohorts has greatly increased over the last decade, however, we know relatively little regarding the ability of these patients to imagine and describe possible future events, and whether episodic future thinking is mediated by divergent neural substrates contingent on dementia subtype. Here, we explored episodic future thinking in patients with semantic dementia (n=11) and Alzheimer's disease (n=11), in comparison with healthy control participants (n=10). Participants completed a battery of tests designed to probe episodic and semantic thinking across past and future conditions, as well as standardized tests of episodic and semantic memory. Further, all participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Despite their relatively intact episodic retrieval for recent past events, the semantic dementia cohort showed significant impairments for episodic future thinking. In contrast, the group with Alzheimer's disease showed parallel deficits across past and future episodic conditions. Voxel-based morphometry analyses confirmed that atrophy in the left inferior temporal gyrus and bilateral temporal poles, regions strongly implicated in semantic memory, correlated significantly with deficits in episodic future thinking in semantic dementia. Conversely, episodic future thinking performance in Alzheimer's disease correlated with atrophy in regions associated with episodic memory, namely the posterior cingulate, parahippocampal gyrus and frontal pole. These distinct neuroanatomical substrates contingent on dementia group were further qualified by correlational

  16. Using virtual reality to characterize episodic memory profiles in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: influence of active and passive encoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plancher, G; Tirard, A; Gyselinck, V; Nicolas, S; Piolino, P

    2012-04-01

    Most neuropsychological assessments of episodic memory bear little similarity to the events that patients actually experience as memories in daily life. The first aim of this study was to use a virtual environment to characterize episodic memory profiles in an ecological fashion, which includes memory for central and perceptual details, spatiotemporal contextual elements, and binding. This study included subjects from three different populations: healthy older adults, patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and patients with early to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). Second, we sought to determine whether environmental factors that can affect encoding (active vs. passive exploration) influence memory performance in pathological aging. Third, we benchmarked the results of our virtual reality episodic memory test against a classical memory test and a subjective daily memory complaint scale. Here, the participants were successively immersed in two virtual environments; the first, as the driver of a virtual car (active exploration) and the second, as the passenger of that car (passive exploration). Subjects were instructed to encode all elements of the environment as well as the associated spatiotemporal contexts. Following each immersion, we assessed the patient's recall and recognition of central information (i.e., the elements of the environment), contextual information (i.e., temporal, egocentric and allocentric spatial information) and lastly, the quality of binding. We found that the AD patients' performances were inferior to that of the aMCI and even more to that of the healthy aged groups, in line with the progression of hippocampal atrophy reported in the literature. Spatial allocentric memory assessments were found to be particularly useful for distinguishing aMCI patients from healthy older adults. Active exploration yielded enhanced recall of central and allocentric spatial information, as well as binding in all groups. This led a

  17. Do age-related increases in tip-of-the-tongue experiences signify episodic memory impairments?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salthouse, Timothy A; Mandell, Arielle R

    2013-12-01

    Tip-of-the-tongue experiences (TOTs), in which a name is known but cannot be immediately retrieved from memory, can be a cause of concern if these experiences are viewed as a sign of memory decline. The current study was conducted to investigate the relation between age and TOT frequency, and the influence of episodic memory, which is the type of memory most often assessed to detect memory problems, on that relation. In a sample of adults, increased age was found to be associated with more TOTs across different types of materials, and additional analyses suggested that these relations between age and TOT frequency were not attributable to the use of different response criteria or to different amounts of knowledge. Because statistical control of a measure of episodic memory had little effect on the relation between age and TOT frequency, age-related increases in TOTs and age-related decreases in episodic memory appear to be at least partially independent phenomena.

  18. Visual associations cued recall A Paradigm for Measuring Episodic Memory Decline in Alzheimer's Disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meyer, S.R.A.; Spaan, P.E.J.; Boelaarts, L.; Ponds, R.W.H.M.; Schmand, B.; de Jonghe, J.F.M.

    2016-01-01

    Repeated measurements of episodic memory are needed for monitoring amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). Most episodic memory tests may pose a challenge to patients, even when they are in the milder stages of the disease. This cross-sectional study compared

  19. Recovering and Preventing Loss of Detailed Memory: Differential Rates of Forgetting for Detail Types in Episodic Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sekeres, Melanie J.; Bonasia, Kyra; St-Laurent, Marie; Pishdadian, Sara; Winocur, Gordon; Grady, Cheryl; Moscovitch, Morris

    2016-01-01

    Episodic memories undergo qualitative changes with time, but little is known about how different aspects of memory are affected. Different types of information in a memory, such as perceptual detail, and central themes, may be lost at different rates. In patients with medial temporal lobe damage, memory for perceptual details is severely impaired,…

  20. The Composition of Episodic Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Underwood, Benton J.; And Others

    This study examined the interrelationships among a number of episodic memory tasks and among various attributes of memory. A sample of 200 college students was tested for ten sessions; 28 different measures of episodic memory were obtained. In addition, five measures of semantic memory were available. Results indicated that episodic and semantic…

  1. Episodic memory in nonhuman animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Templer, Victoria L; Hampton, Robert R

    2013-09-09

    Episodic memories differ from other types of memory because they represent aspects of the past not present in other memories, such as the time, place, or social context in which the memories were formed. Focus on phenomenal experience in human memory, such as the sense of 'having been there', has resulted in conceptualizations of episodic memory that are difficult or impossible to apply to nonhuman species. It is therefore a significant challenge for investigators to agree on objective behavioral criteria that can be applied in nonhuman animals and still capture features of memory thought to be critical in humans. Some investigators have attempted to use neurobiological parallels to bridge this gap; however, defining memory types on the basis of the brain structures involved rather than on identified cognitive mechanisms risks missing crucial functional aspects of episodic memory, which are ultimately behavioral. The most productive way forward is likely a combination of neurobiology and sophisticated cognitive testing that identifies the mental representations present in episodic memory. Investigators that have refined their approach from asking the naïve question "do nonhuman animals have episodic memory" to instead asking "what aspects of episodic memory are shared by humans and nonhumans" are making progress. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. A Role for the Left Angular Gyrus in Episodic Simulation and Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thakral, Preston P; Madore, Kevin P; Schacter, Daniel L

    2017-08-23

    Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies indicate that episodic simulation (i.e., imagining specific future experiences) and episodic memory (i.e., remembering specific past experiences) are associated with enhanced activity in a common set of neural regions referred to as the core network. This network comprises the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, and left angular gyrus, among other regions. Because fMRI data are correlational, it is unknown whether activity increases in core network regions are critical for episodic simulation and episodic memory. In the current study, we used MRI-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess whether temporary disruption of the left angular gyrus would impair both episodic simulation and memory (16 participants, 10 females). Relative to TMS to a control site (vertex), disruption of the left angular gyrus significantly reduced the number of internal (i.e., episodic) details produced during the simulation and memory tasks, with a concomitant increase in external detail production (i.e., semantic, repetitive, or off-topic information), reflected by a significant detail by TMS site interaction. Difficulty in the simulation and memory tasks also increased after TMS to the left angular gyrus relative to the vertex. In contrast, performance in a nonepisodic control task did not differ statistically as a function of TMS site (i.e., number of free associates produced or difficulty in performing the free associate task). Together, these results are the first to demonstrate that the left angular gyrus is critical for both episodic simulation and episodic memory. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Humans have the ability to imagine future episodes (i.e., episodic simulation) and remember episodes from the past (i.e., episodic memory). A wealth of neuroimaging studies have revealed that these abilities are associated with enhanced activity in a core network of neural regions, including the hippocampus, medial prefrontal

  3. The contributions of handedness and working memory to episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahu, Aparna; Christman, Stephen D; Propper, Ruth E

    2016-11-01

    Past studies have independently shown associations of working memory and degree of handedness with episodic memory retrieval. The current study takes a step ahead by examining whether handedness and working memory independently predict episodic memory. In agreement with past studies, there was an inconsistent-handed advantage for episodic memory; however, this advantage was absent for working memory tasks. Furthermore, regression analyses showed handedness, and complex working memory predicted episodic memory performance at different times. Results are discussed in light of theories of episodic memory and hemispheric interaction.

  4. Auditory cortical function during verbal episodic memory encoding in Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhanjal, Novraj S; Warren, Jane E; Patel, Maneesh C; Wise, Richard J S

    2013-02-01

    Episodic memory encoding of a verbal message depends upon initial registration, which requires sustained auditory attention followed by deep semantic processing of the message. Motivated by previous data demonstrating modulation of auditory cortical activity during sustained attention to auditory stimuli, we investigated the response of the human auditory cortex during encoding of sentences to episodic memory. Subsequently, we investigated this response in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and probable Alzheimer's disease (pAD). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, 31 healthy participants were studied. The response in 18 MCI and 18 pAD patients was then determined, and compared to 18 matched healthy controls. Subjects heard factual sentences, and subsequent retrieval performance indicated successful registration and episodic encoding. The healthy subjects demonstrated that suppression of auditory cortical responses was related to greater success in encoding heard sentences; and that this was also associated with greater activity in the semantic system. In contrast, there was reduced auditory cortical suppression in patients with MCI, and absence of suppression in pAD. Administration of a central cholinesterase inhibitor (ChI) partially restored the suppression in patients with pAD, and this was associated with an improvement in verbal memory. Verbal episodic memory impairment in AD is associated with altered auditory cortical function, reversible with a ChI. Although these results may indicate the direct influence of pathology in auditory cortex, they are also likely to indicate a partially reversible impairment of feedback from neocortical systems responsible for sustained attention and semantic processing. Copyright © 2012 American Neurological Association.

  5. Episodic memory and the medial temporal lobe: not all it seems. Evidence from the temporal variants of frontotemporal dementia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pleizier, C.M.; van der Vlies, A.E.; Koedam, E.L.G.E.; Koene, T.; Barkhof, F.; van der Flier, W.M.; Scheltens, P.; Pijnenburg, Y.A.L.

    2012-01-01

    Background: Disproportionate medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) is an early finding in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Episodic memory impairment in AD is associated with the degree of MTA. Episodic memory impairment and MTA are also found in semantic dementia (SD) and in right temporal lobe atrophy

  6. Visual associations cued recall A Paradigm for Measuring Episodic Memory Decline in Alzheimer's Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Sascha R A; Spaan, Pauline E J; Boelaarts, Leo; Ponds, Rudolf W H M; Schmand, Ben; de Jonghe, Jos F M

    2016-09-01

    Repeated measurements of episodic memory are needed for monitoring amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). Most episodic memory tests may pose a challenge to patients, even when they are in the milder stages of the disease. This cross-sectional study compared floor effects of the Visual Association Test (VAT) and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) in healthy elderly controls and in patients with aMCI or AD (N = 125). A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to examine whether linear or quadratic trends best fitted the data of cognitive test performance across global cognitive impairment. Results showed that VAT total scores decreased linearly across the range of global cognitive impairment, whereas RAVLT total scores showed a quadratic trend, with total scores levelling off for 90% of aMCI patients and 94% of AD patients. We conclude that the VAT shows few if any floor effects in patients with aMCI and mild AD and is therefore a potentially promising cognitive test for monitoring episodic memory impairment.

  7. Positive emotion can protect against source memory impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacKenzie, Graham; Powell, Tim F; Donaldson, David I

    2015-01-01

    Despite widespread belief that memory is enhanced by emotion, evidence also suggests that emotion can impair memory. Here we test predictions inspired by object-based binding theory, which states that memory enhancement or impairment depends on the nature of the information to be retrieved. We investigated emotional memory in the context of source retrieval, using images of scenes that were negative, neutral or positive in valence. At study each scene was paired with a colour and during retrieval participants reported the source colour for recognised scenes. Critically, we isolated effects of valence by equating stimulus arousal across conditions. In Experiment 1 colour borders surrounded scenes at study: memory impairment was found for both negative and positive scenes. Experiment 2 used colours superimposed over scenes at study: valence affected source retrieval, with memory impairment for negative scenes only. These findings challenge current theories of emotional memory by showing that emotion can impair memory for both intrinsic and extrinsic source information, even when arousal is equated between emotional and neutral stimuli, and by dissociating the effects of positive and negative emotion on episodic memory retrieval.

  8. The Episodic Nature of Episodic-Like Memories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Easton, Alexander; Webster, Lisa A. D.; Eacott, Madeline J.

    2012-01-01

    Studying episodic memory in nonhuman animals has proved difficult because definitions in humans require conscious recollection. Here, we assessed humans' experience of episodic-like recognition memory tasks that have been used with animals. It was found that tasks using contextual information to discriminate events could only be accurately…

  9. Memory evaluation in mild cognitive impairment using recall and recognition tests

    OpenAIRE

    Bennett, IJ; Golob, EJ; Parker, ES; Starr, A

    2006-01-01

    Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a selective episodic memory deficit that often indicates early Alzheimer's disease. Episodic memory function in MCI is typically defined by deficits in free recall, but can also be tested using recognition procedures. To assess both recall and recognition in MCI, MCI (n = 21) and older comparison (n = 30) groups completed the USC-Repeatable Episodic Memory Test. Subjects memorized two verbally presented 15-item lists. One list was used for three fre...

  10. Working memory binding and episodic memory formation in aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s dementia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geldorp, B. van; Heringa, S.M.; Berg, E. van den; Olde Rikkert, M.G.M.; Biessels, G.J.; Kessels, R.P.C.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: Recent studies indicate that in both normal and pathological aging working memory (WM) performance deteriorates, especially when associations have to be maintained. However, most studies typically do not assess the relationship between WM and episodic memory formation. In the present

  11. Hippocampal damage and memory impairment in congenital cyanotic heart disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz-López, Mónica; Hoskote, Aparna; Chadwick, Martin J; Dzieciol, Anna M; Gadian, David G; Chong, Kling; Banks, Tina; de Haan, Michelle; Baldeweg, Torsten; Mishkin, Mortimer; Vargha-Khadem, Faraneh

    2017-04-01

    Neonatal hypoxia can lead to hippocampal atrophy, which can lead, in turn, to memory impairment. To test the generalizability of this causal sequence, we examined a cohort of 41 children aged 8-16, who, having received the arterial switch operation to correct for transposition of the great arteries, had sustained significant neonatal cyanosis but were otherwise neurodevelopmentally normal. As predicted, the cohort had significant bilateral reduction of hippocampal volumes relative to the volumes of 64 normal controls. They also had significant, yet selective, impairment of episodic memory as measured by standard tests of memory, despite relatively normal levels of intelligence, academic attainment, and verbal fluency. Across the cohort, degree of memory impairment was correlated with degree of hippocampal atrophy suggesting that even as early as neonatal life no other structure can fully compensate for hippocampal injury and its special role in serving episodic long term memory. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 The Authors. Hippocampus Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Cholinergic Enhancement of Brain Activation in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI during Episodic Memory Encoding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shannon L Risacher

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To determine the physiological impact of treatment with donepezil (Aricept on neural circuitry supporting episodic memory encoding in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI using functional MRI (fMRI. Methods: 18 patients with MCI and 20 age-matched healthy controls (HC were scanned twice while performing an event-related verbal episodic encoding task. MCI participants were scanned before treatment and after approximately 3 months on donepezil; HC were untreated but rescanned at the same interval. Voxel-level analyses assessed treatment effects in activation profile relative to retest changes in non-treated HC. Changes in task-related connectivity in medial temporal circuitry were also evaluated, as were associations between brain activation pattern, task-related functional connectivity, task performance, and clinical measures of cognition.Results: At baseline, the MCI group showed reduced activation during encoding relative to HC in the right medial temporal lobe (MTL; hippocampal/parahippocampal and additional regions, as well as attenuated task-related deactivation, relative to rest, in a medial parietal lobe cluster. After treatment, the MCI group showed normalized MTL activation and improved parietal deactivation. These changes were associated with cognitive performance. After treatment, the MCI group also demonstrated increased task-related functional connectivity from the right MTL cluster seed region to a network of other sites including the basal nucleus/caudate and bilateral frontal lobes. Increased functional connectivity was associated with improved task performance.Conclusions: Pharmacologic enhancement of cholinergic function in amnestic MCI is associated with changes in brain activation pattern and functional connectivity during episodic memory processing which are in turn related to increased cognitive performance. fMRI is a promising biomarker for assessing treatment related changes in brain function.

  13. Episodic and Semantic Memory Contribute to Familiar and Novel Episodic Future Thinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Tong; Yue, Tong; Huang, Xi Ting

    2016-01-01

    Increasing evidence indicates that episodic future thinking (EFT) relies on both episodic and semantic memory; however, event familiarity may importantly affect the extent to which episodic and semantic memory contribute to EFT. To test this possibility, two behavioral experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, we directly compared the proportion of episodic and semantic memory used in an EFT task. The results indicated that more episodic memory was used when imagining familiar future events compared with novel future events. Conversely, significantly more semantic memory was used when imagining novel events compared with familiar events. Experiment 2 aimed to verify the results of Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, we found that familiarity moderated the effect of priming the episodic memory system on EFT; particularly, it increased the time required to construct a standard familiar episodic future event, but did not significantly affect novel episodic event reaction time. Collectively, these findings support the hypothesis that event familiarity importantly moderates episodic and semantic memory's contribution to EFT.

  14. Working memory impairment in multiple sclerosis relapsing-remitting patients with episodic memory deficits Prejuízo de memória operacional em pacientes com esclerose múltipla recorrente-remitente com déficits de memória episódica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simone Freitas Fuso

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Episodic memory is impaired in multiple sclerosis (MS patients, possibly because of deficits in working memory (WM functioning. If so, WM alterations should necessarily be found in patients with episodic memory deficits, but this has not yet been demonstrated. In this study we aimed at determining whether episodic memory deficits in relapsing-remitting MS are found in conjunction with impaired WM. We evaluated 32 MS patients and 32 matched healthy controls. Nineteen of the 32 patients had episodic memory impairment, and as a group only these individuals showed deficits in WM capacity, which may lead to difficulty in encoding, and/or retrieving information from episodic memory.Pacientes com esclerose múltipla (EM apresentam prejuízo de memória episódica possivelmente em decorrência de um déficit no funcionamento da memória operacional (MO. Se assim fosse, alterações de MO seriam necessariamente encontradas em pacientes com déficit de memória episódica, mas isto ainda não foi demonstrado. Neste estudo tivemos como objetivo determinar se déficits de memória episódica em pacientes com EM recorrente-remitente são encontrados em associação com prejuízo de MO. Avaliamos 32 pacientes com EM pareados com 32 voluntários saudáveis. Dezenove dos 32 pacientes apresentaram prejuízo de memória episódica, e como grupo, somente estes indivíduos apresentaram déficit na capacidade de MO, o que deve resultar na dificuldade de codificar, e /ou recuperar informações da memória episódica.

  15. Episodic and Semantic Memory Contribute to Familiar and Novel Episodic Future Thinking

    OpenAIRE

    Tong Wang; Tong Yue; Xi ting Huang

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Increasing evidence indicates that episodic future thinking (EFT) relies on both episodic and semantic memory; however, event familiarity may importantly affect the extent to which episodic and semantic memory contribute to EFT. To test this possibility, two behavioral experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, we directly compared the proportion of episodic and semantic memory used in an EFT task. The results indicated that more episodic memory was used when imagining familiar fut...

  16. Episodic memory deficits slow down the dynamics of cognitive procedural learning in normal ageing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaunieux, Hélène; Hubert, Valérie; Pitel, Anne Lise; Desgranges, Béatrice; Eustache, Francis

    2009-01-01

    Cognitive procedural learning is characterized by three phases, each involving distinct processes. Considering the implication of the episodic memory in the first cognitive stage, the impairment of this memory system might be responsible for a slowing down of the cognitive procedural learning dynamics in the course of aging. Performances of massed cognitive procedural learning were evaluated in older and younger participants using the Tower of Toronto task. Nonverbal intelligence and psychomotor abilities were used to analyze procedural dynamics, while episodic memory and working memory were assessed to measure their respective contributions to learning strategies. This experiment showed that older participants did not spontaneously invoke episodic memory and presented a slowdown in the cognitive procedural learning associated with a late involvement of working memory. These findings suggest that the slowdown in the cognitive procedural learning may be linked with the implementation of different learning strategies less involving episodic memory in older subjects. PMID:18654928

  17. Preservation of episodic memory in semantic dementia: The importance of regions beyond the medial temporal lobes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irish, Muireann; Bunk, Steffie; Tu, Sicong; Kamminga, Jody; Hodges, John R; Hornberger, Michael; Piguet, Olivier

    2016-01-29

    Episodic memory impairment represents one of the hallmark clinical features of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) attributable to the degeneration of medial temporal and parietal regions of the brain. In contrast, a somewhat paradoxical profile of relatively intact episodic memory, particularly for non-verbal material, is observed in semantic dementia (SD), despite marked atrophy of the hippocampus. This retrospective study investigated the neural substrates of episodic memory retrieval in 20 patients with a diagnosis of SD and 21 disease-matched cases of AD and compared their performance to that of 35 age- and education-matched healthy older Controls. Participants completed the Rey Complex Figure and the memory subscale of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised as indices of visual and verbal episodic recall, respectively. Relative to Controls, AD patients showed compromised memory performance on both visual and verbal memory tasks. In contrast, memory deficits in SD were modality-specific occurring exclusively on the verbal task. Controlling for semantic processing ameliorated these deficits in SD, while memory impairments persisted in AD. Voxel-based morphometry analyses revealed significant overlap in the neural correlates of verbal episodic memory in AD and SD with predominantly anteromedial regions, including the bilateral hippocampus, strongly implicated. Controlling for semantic processing negated this effect in SD, however, a distributed network of frontal, medial temporal, and parietal regions was implicated in AD. Our study corroborates the view that episodic memory deficits in SD arise very largely as a consequence of the conceptual loading of traditional tasks. We propose that the functional integrity of frontal and parietal regions enables new learning to occur in SD in the face of significant hippocampal and anteromedial temporal lobe pathology, underscoring the inherent complexity of the episodic memory circuitry. Copyright © 2015

  18. The medial prefrontal cortex-lateral entorhinal cortex circuit is essential for episodic-like memory and associative object-recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chao, Owen Y; Huston, Joseph P; Li, Jay-Shake; Wang, An-Li; de Souza Silva, Maria A

    2016-05-01

    The prefrontal cortex directly projects to the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC), an important substrate for engaging item-associated information and relaying the information to the hippocampus. Here we ask to what extent the communication between the prefrontal cortex and LEC is critically involved in the processing of episodic-like memory. We applied a disconnection procedure to test whether the interaction between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and LEC is essential for the expression of recognition memory. It was found that male rats that received unilateral NMDA lesions of the mPFC and LEC in the same hemisphere, exhibited intact episodic-like (what-where-when) and object-recognition memories. When these lesions were placed in the opposite hemispheres (disconnection), episodic-like and associative memories for object identity, location and context were impaired. However, the disconnection did not impair the components of episodic memory, namely memory for novel object (what), object place (where) and temporal order (when), per se. Thus, the present findings suggest that the mPFC and LEC are a critical part of a neural circuit that underlies episodic-like and associative object-recognition memory. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Physical Performance Is Associated with Working Memory in Older People with Mild to Severe Cognitive Impairment

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    K. M. Volkers

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Physical performances and cognition are positively related in cognitively healthy people. The aim of this study was to examine whether physical performances are related to specific cognitive functioning in older people with mild to severe cognitive impairment. Methods. This cross-sectional study included 134 people with a mild to severe cognitive impairment (mean age 82 years. Multiple linear regression was performed, after controlling for covariates and the level of global cognition, with the performances on mobility, strength, aerobic fitness, and balance as predictors and working memory and episodic memory as dependent variables. Results. The full models explain 49–57% of the variance in working memory and 40–43% of episodic memory. Strength, aerobic fitness, and balance are significantly associated with working memory, explaining 3–7% of its variance, irrespective of the severity of the cognitive impairment. Physical performance is not related to episodic memory in older people with mild to severe cognitive impairment. Conclusions. Physical performance is associated with working memory in older people with cognitive impairment. Future studies should investigate whether physical exercise for increased physical performance can improve cognitive functioning. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NTR1482.

  20. Using semantic memory to boost 'episodic' recall in a case of developmental amnesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandt, Karen R; Gardiner, John M; Vargha-Khadem, Faraneh; Baddeley, Alan D; Mishkin, Mortimer

    2006-07-17

    We report two experiments that investigated factors that might boost 'episodic' recall for Jon, a developmental amnesic whose episodic memory is gravely impaired but whose semantic memory seems relatively normal. Experiment 1 showed that Jon's recall improved following a semantic study task compared with a non-semantic study task, as well as following four repeated study trials compared with only one. Experiment 2 additionally revealed that Jon's recall improved after acting compared with reading action phrases at study, but only if the phrases were well integrated semantically. The results provide some support for the hypothesis that Jon's 'episodic' recall depends on the extent to which he is able to retrieve events using semantic memory.

  1. Mental images in episodic memory

    OpenAIRE

    Han, KyungHun

    2009-01-01

    Episodic memory, i.e. memorization of information within a spatiotemporal environment, is affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD) but its loss may also occur in the normal aging process. The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate episodic memory in patients with AD by examining their cognitive skills in episodic memory through the introspection technique. A new method was used, wherein we assessed mental images of the subject's own past recalled in the mind like projected pictures and ...

  2. Aberrant prefrontal beta oscillations predict episodic memory encoding deficits in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meconi, Federica; Anderl-Straub, Sarah; Raum, Heidelore; Landgrebe, Michael; Langguth, Berthold; Bäuml, Karl-Heinz T; Hanslmayr, Simon

    Verbal episodic memory is one of the core cognitive functions affected in patients with schizophrenia (SZ). Although this verbal memory impairment in SZ is a well-known finding, our understanding about its underlying neurophysiological mechanisms is rather scarce. Here we address this issue by recording brain oscillations during a memory task in a sample of healthy controls and patients with SZ. Brain oscillations represent spectral fingerprints of specific neurocognitive operations and are therefore a promising tool to identify neurocognitive mechanisms that are affected by SZ. Healthy controls showed a prominent suppression of left prefrontal beta oscillatory activity during successful memory formation, which replicates several previous oscillatory memory studies. In contrast, patients failed to exhibit such a left prefrontal beta power suppression. Utilizing a new topographical pattern similarity approach, we further demonstrate that the degree of similarity between a patient's beta power decrease to that of the controls reliably predicted memory performance. This relationship between beta power decreases and memory was such that the patients' memory performance improved as they showed a more similar topographical beta desynchronization pattern compared to that of healthy controls. Together, these findings support left prefrontal beta desynchronization as the spectral fingerprint of verbal episodic memory formation, likely indicating deep semantic processing of verbal material. These findings also demonstrate that left prefrontal beta power suppression (or lack thereof) during memory encoding are a reliable biomarker for the observed encoding impairments in SZ in verbal memory.

  3. Aberrant prefrontal beta oscillations predict episodic memory encoding deficits in schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federica Meconi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Verbal episodic memory is one of the core cognitive functions affected in patients with schizophrenia (SZ. Although this verbal memory impairment in SZ is a well-known finding, our understanding about its underlying neurophysiological mechanisms is rather scarce. Here we address this issue by recording brain oscillations during a memory task in a sample of healthy controls and patients with SZ. Brain oscillations represent spectral fingerprints of specific neurocognitive operations and are therefore a promising tool to identify neurocognitive mechanisms that are affected by SZ. Healthy controls showed a prominent suppression of left prefrontal beta oscillatory activity during successful memory formation, which replicates several previous oscillatory memory studies. In contrast, patients failed to exhibit such a left prefrontal beta power suppression. Utilizing a new topographical pattern similarity approach, we further demonstrate that the degree of similarity between a patient's beta power decrease to that of the controls reliably predicted memory performance. This relationship between beta power decreases and memory was such that the patients' memory performance improved as they showed a more similar topographical beta desynchronization pattern compared to that of healthy controls. Together, these findings support left prefrontal beta desynchronization as the spectral fingerprint of verbal episodic memory formation, likely indicating deep semantic processing of verbal material. These findings also demonstrate that left prefrontal beta power suppression (or lack thereof during memory encoding are a reliable biomarker for the observed encoding impairments in SZ in verbal memory.

  4. A single bout of resistance exercise can enhance episodic memory performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinberg, Lisa; Hasni, Anita; Shinohara, Minoru; Duarte, Audrey

    2014-11-01

    Acute aerobic exercise can be beneficial to episodic memory. This benefit may occur because exercise produces a similar physiological response as physical stressors. When administered during consolidation, acute stress, both physical and psychological, consistently enhances episodic memory, particularly memory for emotional materials. Here we investigated whether a single bout of resistance exercise performed during consolidation can produce episodic memory benefits 48 h later. We used a one-leg knee extension/flexion task for the resistance exercise. To assess the physiological response to the exercise, we measured salivary alpha amylase (a biomarker of central norepinephrine), heart rate, and blood pressure. To test emotional episodic memory, we used a remember-know recognition memory paradigm with equal numbers of positive, negative, and neutral IAPS images as stimuli. The group that performed the exercise, the active group, had higher overall recognition accuracy than the group that did not exercise, the passive group. We found a robust effect of valence across groups, with better performance on emotional items as compared to neutral items and no difference between positive and negative items. This effect changed based on the physiological response to the exercise. Within the active group, participants with a high physiological response to the exercise were impaired for neutral items as compared to participants with a low physiological response to the exercise. Our results demonstrate that a single bout of resistance exercise performed during consolidation can enhance episodic memory and that the effect of valence on memory depends on the physiological response to the exercise. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Extent and neural basis of semantic memory impairment in mild cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbeau, Emmanuel J; Didic, Mira; Joubert, Sven; Guedj, Eric; Koric, Lejla; Felician, Olivier; Ranjeva, Jean-Philippe; Cozzone, Patrick; Ceccaldi, Mathieu

    2012-01-01

    An increasing number of studies indicate that semantic memory is impaired in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the extent and the neural basis of this impairment remain unknown. The aim of the present study was: 1) to evaluate whether all or only a subset of semantic domains are impaired in MCI patients; and 2) to assess the neural substrate of the semantic impairment in MCI patients using voxel-based analysis of MR grey matter density and SPECT perfusion. 29 predominantly amnestic MCI patients and 29 matched control subjects participated in this study. All subjects underwent a full neuropsychological assessment, along with a battery of five tests evaluating different domains of semantic memory. A semantic memory composite Z-score was established on the basis of this battery and was correlated with MRI grey matter density and SPECT perfusion measures. MCI patients were found to have significantly impaired performance across all semantic tasks, in addition to their anterograde memory deficit. Moreover, no temporal gradient was found for famous faces or famous public events and knowledge for the most remote decades was also impaired. Neuroimaging analyses revealed correlations between semantic knowledge and perirhinal/entorhinal areas as well as the anterior hippocampus. Therefore, the deficits in the realm of semantic memory in patients with MCI is more widespread than previously thought and related to dysfunction of brain areas beyond the limbic-diencephalic system involved in episodic memory. The severity of the semantic impairment may indicate a decline of semantic memory that began many years before the patients first consulted.

  6. Deeper processing is beneficial during episodic memory encoding for adults with Williams syndrome.

    OpenAIRE

    Greer, J.; Hamilton, C.; Riby, D. M.; Riby, L. M.

    2014-01-01

    Previous research exploring declarative memory in Williams syndrome (WS) has revealed impairment in the processing of episodic information accompanied by a relative strength in semantic ability. The aim of the current study was to extend this literature by examining how relatively spared semantic memory may support episodic remembering. Using a level of processing paradigm, older adults with WS (aged 35–61 years) were compared to typical adults of the same chronological age and typically deve...

  7. Deeper processing is beneficial during episodic memory encoding for adults with Williams syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greer, Joanna; Hamiliton, Colin; Riby, Deborah M; Riby, Leigh M

    2014-07-01

    Previous research exploring declarative memory in Williams syndrome (WS) has revealed impairment in the processing of episodic information accompanied by a relative strength in semantic ability. The aim of the current study was to extend this literature by examining how relatively spared semantic memory may support episodic remembering. Using a level of processing paradigm, older adults with WS (aged 35-61 years) were compared to typical adults of the same chronological age and typically developing children matched for verbal ability. In the study phase, pictures were encoded using either a deep (decide if a picture belongs to a particular category) or shallow (perceptual based processing) memory strategy. Behavioural indices (reaction time and accuracy) at retrieval were suggestive of an overall difficulty in episodic memory for WS adults. Interestingly, however, semantic support was evident with a greater recall of items encoded with deep compared to shallow processing, indicative of an ability to employ semantic encoding strategies to maximise the strength of the memory trace created. Unlike individuals with autism who find semantic elaboration strategies problematic, the pattern of findings reported here suggests in those domains that are relatively impaired in WS, support can be recruited from relatively spared cognitive processes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Episodic Memories in Anxiety Disorders: Clinical Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zlomuzica, Armin; Dere, Dorothea; Machulska, Alla; Adolph, Dirk; Dere, Ekrem; Margraf, Jürgen

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this review is to summarize research on the emerging role of episodic memories in the context of anxiety disorders (AD). The available literature on explicit, autobiographical, and episodic memory function in AD including neuroimaging studies is critically discussed. We describe the methodological diversity of episodic memory research in AD and discuss the need for novel tests to measure episodic memory in a clinical setting. We argue that alterations in episodic memory functions might contribute to the etiology of AD. We further explain why future research on the interplay between episodic memory function and emotional disorders as well as its neuroanatomical foundations offers the promise to increase the effectiveness of modern psychological treatments. We conclude that one major task is to develop methods and training programs that might help patients suffering from AD to better understand, interpret, and possibly actively use their episodic memories in a way that would support therapeutic interventions and counteract the occurrence of symptoms. PMID:24795583

  9. Episodic memories in anxiety disorders: Clinical implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Armin eZlomuzica

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this review is to summarize research on the emerging role of episodic memories in the context of anxiety disorders (AD. The available literature on explicit-, autobiographical- and episodic memory function in AD including neuroimaging studies is critically discussed. We describe the methodological diversity of episodic memory research in AD and discuss the need for novel tests to measure episodic memory in a clinical setting. We argue that alterations in episodic memory functions might contribute to the etiology of AD. We further explain why future research on the interplay between episodic memory function and emotional disorders as well as its neuroanatomical foundations offers the promise to increase the effectiveness of modern psychological treatments. We conclude that one major task is to develop methods and training programs that might help patients suffering from AD to better understand, interpret and possibly actively use their episodic memories in a way that would support therapeutic interventions and counteract the occurrence of symptoms.

  10. How do episodic and semantic memory contribute to episodic foresight in young children?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin-Ordas, Gema; Atance, Cristina M; Caza, Julian S

    2014-01-01

    Humans are able to transcend the present and mentally travel to another time, place, or perspective. Mentally projecting ourselves backwards (i.e., episodic memory) or forwards (i.e., episodic foresight) in time are crucial characteristics of the human memory system. Indeed, over the past few years, episodic memory has been argued to be involved both in our capacity to retrieve our personal past experiences and in our ability to imagine and foresee future scenarios. However, recent theory and findings suggest that semantic memory also plays a significant role in imagining future scenarios. We draw on Tulving's definition of episodic and semantic memory to provide a critical analysis of their role in episodic foresight tasks described in the developmental literature. We conclude by suggesting future directions of research that could further our understanding of how both episodic memory and semantic memory are intimately connected to episodic foresight.

  11. HOW DO EPISODIC AND SEMANTIC MEMORY CONTRIBUTE TO EPISODIC FORESIGHT IN YOUNG CHILDREN?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gema eMartin Ordas

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Humans are able to transcend the present and mentally travel to another time, place, or perspective. Mentally projecting ourselves backwards (i.e., episodic memory or forwards (i.e., episodic foresight in time are crucial characteristics of the human memory system. Indeed, over the past few years, episodic memory has been argued to be involved both in our capacity to retrieve our personal past experiences and in our ability to imagine and foresee future scenarios. However, recent theory and findings suggest that semantic memory also plays a significant role in imagining future scenarios. We draw on Tulving’s definition of episodic and semantic memory to provide a critical analysis of their role in episodic foresight tasks described in the developmental literature. We conclude by suggesting future directions of research that could further our understanding of how both episodic memory and semantic memory are intimately connected to episodic foresight.

  12. How do episodic and semantic memory contribute to episodic foresight in young children?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin-Ordas, Gema; Atance, Cristina M.; Caza, Julian S.

    2014-01-01

    Humans are able to transcend the present and mentally travel to another time, place, or perspective. Mentally projecting ourselves backwards (i.e., episodic memory) or forwards (i.e., episodic foresight) in time are crucial characteristics of the human memory system. Indeed, over the past few years, episodic memory has been argued to be involved both in our capacity to retrieve our personal past experiences and in our ability to imagine and foresee future scenarios. However, recent theory and findings suggest that semantic memory also plays a significant role in imagining future scenarios. We draw on Tulving’s definition of episodic and semantic memory to provide a critical analysis of their role in episodic foresight tasks described in the developmental literature. We conclude by suggesting future directions of research that could further our understanding of how both episodic memory and semantic memory are intimately connected to episodic foresight. PMID:25071690

  13. The neuropsychology of emerging psychosis and the role of working memory in episodic memory encoding

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    Pflueger MO

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Marlon O Pflueger,1 Pasquale Calabrese,2 Erich Studerus,3 Ronan Zimmermann,4 Ute Gschwandtner,4 Stefan Borgwardt,5 Jacqueline Aston,3 Rolf-Dieter Stieglitz,6 Anita Riecher-Rössler3 1Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Basel Psychiatric Clinics, Basel, Switzerland; 2Division of Molecular and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 3Center for Gender Research and Early Detection, University of Basel Psychiatric Hospital, Basel, Switzerland; 4Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 5Department of Psychiatry (UPK, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 6Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland Background: Episodic memory encoding and working memory (WM deficits are among the first cognitive signs and symptoms in the course of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. However, it is not clear whether the deficit pattern is generalized or specific in nature. We hypothesized that encoding deficits at an early stage of the disease might be due to the more fundamental WM deficits. Methods: We examined episodic memory encoding and WM by administering the California Verbal Learning Test, a 2-back task, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in 90 first-episode psychosis (FE patients and 116 individuals with an at-risk mental state for psychosis (ARMS compared to 57 healthy subjects. Results: Learning progress, but not span of apprehension, was diminished to a similar extent in both the ARMS and the FE. We showed that this was due to WM impairment by applying a structural equation approach. Conclusion: Thus, we conclude that verbal memory encoding deficits are secondary to primary WM impairment in emerging psychosis. Keywords: at-risk mental state, first-episode psychosis, cognition, serial position effect, recency, semantic cluster ratio, 2-back task, rate of learning

  14. A SEMantic and EPisodic Memory Test (SEMEP) Developed within the Embodied Cognition Framework: Application to Normal Aging, Alzheimer's Disease and Semantic Dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallet, Guillaume T; Hudon, Carol; Bier, Nathalie; Macoir, Joël; Versace, Rémy; Simard, Martine

    2017-01-01

    Embodiment has highlighted the importance of sensory-motor components in cognition. Perception and memory are thus very tightly bound together, and episodic and semantic memories should rely on the same grounded memory traces. Reduced perception should then directly reduce the ability to encode and retrieve an episodic memory, as in normal aging. Multimodal integration deficits, as in Alzheimer's disease, should lead to more severe episodic memory impairment. The present study introduces a new memory test developed to take into account these assumptions. The SEMEP (SEMantic-Episodic) memory test proposes to assess conjointly semantic and episodic knowledge across multiple tasks: semantic matching, naming, free recall, and recognition. The performance of young adults is compared to healthy elderly adults (HE), patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and patients with semantic dementia (SD). The results show specific patterns of performance between the groups. HE commit memory errors only for presented but not to be remembered items. AD patients present the worst episodic memory performance associated with intrusion errors (recall or recognition of items never presented). They were the only group to not benefit from a visual isolation (addition of a yellow background), a method known to increase the distinctiveness of the memory traces. Finally, SD patients suffer from the most severe semantic impairment. To conclude, confusion errors are common across all the elderly groups, whereas AD was the only group to exhibit regular intrusion errors and SD patients to show severe semantic impairment.

  15. A SEMantic and EPisodic Memory Test (SEMEP Developed within the Embodied Cognition Framework: Application to Normal Aging, Alzheimer's Disease and Semantic Dementia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillaume T. Vallet

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Embodiment has highlighted the importance of sensory-motor components in cognition. Perception and memory are thus very tightly bound together, and episodic and semantic memories should rely on the same grounded memory traces. Reduced perception should then directly reduce the ability to encode and retrieve an episodic memory, as in normal aging. Multimodal integration deficits, as in Alzheimer's disease, should lead to more severe episodic memory impairment. The present study introduces a new memory test developed to take into account these assumptions. The SEMEP (SEMantic-Episodic memory test proposes to assess conjointly semantic and episodic knowledge across multiple tasks: semantic matching, naming, free recall, and recognition. The performance of young adults is compared to healthy elderly adults (HE, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD, and patients with semantic dementia (SD. The results show specific patterns of performance between the groups. HE commit memory errors only for presented but not to be remembered items. AD patients present the worst episodic memory performance associated with intrusion errors (recall or recognition of items never presented. They were the only group to not benefit from a visual isolation (addition of a yellow background, a method known to increase the distinctiveness of the memory traces. Finally, SD patients suffer from the most severe semantic impairment. To conclude, confusion errors are common across all the elderly groups, whereas AD was the only group to exhibit regular intrusion errors and SD patients to show severe semantic impairment.

  16. Temporal Clustering and Sequencing in Short-Term Memory and Episodic Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrell, Simon

    2012-01-01

    A model of short-term memory and episodic memory is presented, with the core assumptions that (a) people parse their continuous experience into episodic clusters and (b) items are clustered together in memory as episodes by binding information within an episode to a common temporal context. Along with the additional assumption that information…

  17. Episodic Memory: A Comparative Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin-Ordas, Gema; Call, Josep

    2013-01-01

    Historically, episodic memory has been described as autonoetic, personally relevant, complex, context-rich, and allowing mental time travel. In contrast, semantic memory, which is theorized to be free of context and personal relevance, is noetic and consists of general knowledge of facts about the world. The field of comparative psychology has adopted this distinction in order to study episodic memory in non-human animals. Our aim in this article is not only to reflect on the concept of episodic memory and the experimental approaches used in comparative psychology to study this phenomenon, but also to provide a critical analysis of these paradigms. We conclude the article by providing new avenues for future research. PMID:23781179

  18. Separate elements of episodic memory subserved by distinct hippocampal-prefrontal connections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, Gareth R I; Banks, Paul J; Scott, Hannah; Ralph, G Scott; Mitrophanous, Kyriacos A; Wong, Liang-Fong; Bashir, Zafar I; Uney, James B; Warburton, E Clea

    2017-02-01

    Episodic memory formation depends on information about a stimulus being integrated within a precise spatial and temporal context, a process dependent on the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Investigations of putative functional interactions between these regions are complicated by multiple direct and indirect hippocampal-prefrontal connections. Here application of a pharmacogenetic deactivation technique enabled us to investigate the mnemonic contributions of two direct hippocampal-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) pathways, one arising in the dorsal CA1 (dCA1) and the other in the intermediate CA1 (iCA1). While deactivation of either pathway impaired episodic memory, the resulting pattern of mnemonic deficits was different: deactivation of the dCA1→mPFC pathway selectively disrupted temporal order judgments while iCA1→mPFC pathway deactivation disrupted spatial memory. These findings reveal a previously unsuspected division of function among CA1 neurons that project directly to the mPFC. Such subnetworks may enable the distinctiveness of contextual information to be maintained in an episodic memory circuit.

  19. Amnesia and future thinking: Exploring the role of memory in the quantity and quality of episodic future thoughts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Scott N; Morrison, Catriona M; Barak, Ohr; Pauly-Takacs, Katalin; Conway, Martin A

    2016-06-01

    To examine the impact of memory accessibility on episodic future thinking. Single-case study of neurological patient HCM and an age-matched comparison group of neurologically Healthy Controls. We administered a full battery of tests assessing general intelligence, memory, and executive functioning. To assess autobiographical memory, the Autobiographical Memory Interview (Kopelman, Wilson, & Baddeley, 1990. The Autobiographical Memory Interview. Bury St. Edmunds, UK: Thames Valley Test Company) was administered. The Past Episodic and Future Episodic sections of Dalla Barba's Confabulation Battery (Dalla Barba, 1993, Cogn. Neuropsychol., 1, 1) and a specifically tailored Mental Time Travel Questionnaire were administered to assess future thinking in HCM and age-matched controls. HCM presented with a deficit in forming new memories (anterograde amnesia) and recalling events from before the onset of neurological impairment (retrograde amnesia). HCM's autobiographical memory impairments are characterized by a paucity of memories from Recent Life. In comparison with controls, two features of his future thoughts are apparent: Reduced episodic future thinking and outdated content of his episodic future thoughts. This article suggests neuropsychologists should look beyond popular conceptualizations of the past-future relation in amnesia via focussing on reduced future thinking. Investigating both the quantity and quality of future thoughts produced by amnesic patients may lead to developments in understanding the complex nature of future thinking disorders resulting from memory impairments. We highlight the clinical importance of examining the content of future thoughts in amnesic patients, rather than only its quantitative reduction. We propose an explanation of how quantitative and qualitative aspects of future thinking could be affected by amnesia. This could provide a useful approach to understand clinical cases of impaired prospection. Systematic group investigations

  20. Recall from Semantic and Episodic Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillund, Gary; Perlmutter, Marion

    Although research in episodic recall memory, comparing younger and older adults, favors the younger adults, findings in semantic memory research are less consistent. To examine age differences in semantic and episodic memory recall, 72 young adults (mean age, 20.8) and 72 older adults (mean age 71) completed three memory tests under varied…

  1. Memory evaluation in mild cognitive impairment using recall and recognition tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Ilana J; Golob, Edward J; Parker, Elizabeth S; Starr, Arnold

    2006-11-01

    Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a selective episodic memory deficit that often indicates early Alzheimer's disease. Episodic memory function in MCI is typically defined by deficits in free recall, but can also be tested using recognition procedures. To assess both recall and recognition in MCI, MCI (n = 21) and older comparison (n = 30) groups completed the USC-Repeatable Episodic Memory Test. Subjects memorized two verbally presented 15-item lists. One list was used for three free recall trials, immediately followed by yes/no recognition. The second list was used for three-alternative forced-choice recognition. Relative to the comparison group, MCI had significantly fewer hits and more false alarms in yes/no recognition, and were less accurate in forced-choice recognition. Signal detection analysis showed that group differences were not due to response bias. Discriminant function analysis showed that yes/no recognition was a better predictor of group membership than free recall or forced-choice measures. MCI subjects recalled fewer items than comparison subjects, with no group differences in repetitions, intrusions, serial position effects, or measures of recall strategy (subjective organization, recall consistency). Performance deficits on free recall and recognition in MCI suggest a combination of both tests may be useful for defining episodic memory impairment associated with MCI and early Alzheimer's disease.

  2. Mistakes as Stepping Stones: Effects of Errors on Episodic Memory among Younger and Older Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cyr, Andrée-Ann; Anderson, Nicole D.

    2015-01-01

    The memorial costs and benefits of trial-and-error learning have clear pedagogical implications for students, and increasing evidence shows that generating errors during episodic learning can improve memory among younger adults. Conversely, the aging literature has found that errors impair memory among healthy older adults and has advocated for…

  3. Roles of hippocampal subfields in verbal and visual episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zammit, Andrea R; Ezzati, Ali; Zimmerman, Molly E; Lipton, Richard B; Lipton, Michael L; Katz, Mindy J

    2017-01-15

    Selective hippocampal (HC) subfield atrophy has been reported in older adults with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. The goal of this study was to investigate the associations between the volume of hippocampal subfields and visual and verbal episodic memory in cognitively normal older adults. This study was conducted on a subset of 133 participants from the Einstein Aging Study (EAS), a community-based study of non-demented older adults systematically recruited from the Bronx, N.Y. All participants completed comprehensive EAS neuropsychological assessment. Visual episodic memory was assessed using the Complex Figure Delayed Recall subtest from the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Verbal episodic memory was assessed using Delayed Recall from the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT). All participants underwent 3T MRI brain scanning with subsequent automatic measurement of the hemispheric hippocampal subfield volumes (CA1, CA2-CA3, CA4-dente gyrus, presubiculum, and subiculum). We used linear regressions to model the association between hippocampal subfield volumes and visual and verbal episodic memory tests while adjusting for age, sex, education, and total intracranial volume. Participants had a mean age of 78.9 (SD=5.1) and 60.2% were female. Total hippocampal volume was associated with Complex Figure Delayed Recall (β=0.31, p=0.001) and FCSRT Delayed Recall (β=0.27, p=0.007); subiculum volume was associated with Complex Figure Delayed Recall (β=0.27, p=0.002) and FCSRT Delayed Recall (β=0.24, p=0.010); CA1 was associated with Complex Figure Delayed Recall (β=0.26, pepisodic memory. Our results suggest that hippocampal subfields have sensitive roles in the process of visual and verbal episodic memory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Metamemory in children with autism: exploring "feeling-of-knowing" in episodic and semantic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wojcik, Dominika Z; Moulin, Chris J A; Souchay, Celine

    2013-01-01

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder primarily affecting social function and communication. Recently, there has been an interest in whether people with ASD also show memory deficits. Studies in ASD have revealed subtle impairments on tasks requiring participants to learn new information (episodic memory), but intact performance on general knowledge tasks (semantic memory). The novelty of this study was to explore metamemory (i.e., awareness of memory performance) and to examine whether children with ASD suffer from a generalized metamemory deficit common to all forms of memory, or would only present deficits on episodic metamemory tasks. To assess metamemory functioning we administered 2 feeling-of-knowing (FOK) tasks, 1 for episodic and 1 for semantic materials. In these tasks, participants are asked to predict the likelihood of subsequently recognizing currently unrecalled information. It was found that children with autism made inaccurate FOK predictions, but only for episodic materials. A specific deficit in meta-cognition emerges for only one set of materials. We argue that this deficit can be conceived of as reflecting a deficit in recollection, stemming from an inability to cast the self in the past and retrieve information about the study episode.

  5. Episodic-like memory in the rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babb, Stephanie J; Crystal, Jonathon D

    2006-07-11

    A fundamental question in comparative cognition is whether animals remember unique, personal past experiences. It has long been argued that memories for specific events (referred to as episodic memory) are unique to humans. Recently, considerable evidence has accumulated to show that food-storing birds possess critical behavioral elements of episodic memory, referred to as episodic-like memory in acknowledgment of the fact that behavioral criteria do not assess subjective experiences. Here we show that rats have a detailed representation of remembered events and meet behavioral criteria for episodic-like memory. We provided rats with access to locations baited with distinctive (e.g., grape and raspberry) or nondistinctive (regular chow) flavors. Locations with a distinctive flavor replenished after a long but not a short delay, and locations with the nondistinctive flavor never replenished. One distinctive flavor was devalued after encoding its location by prefeeding that flavor (satiation) or by pairing it with lithium chloride (acquired taste aversion), while the other distinctive flavor was not devalued. The rats selectively decreased revisits to the devalued distinctive flavor but not to the nondevalued distinctive flavor. The present studies demonstrate that rats selectively encode the content of episodic-like memories.

  6. Do Age-Related Increases in Tip-of-the-Tongue Experiences Signify Episodic Memory Impairments?

    OpenAIRE

    Salthouse, Timothy A.; Mandell, Arielle R.

    2013-01-01

    Tip-of-the-tongue experiences (TOTs), in which a name is known but cannot be immediately retrieved from memory, can be a cause of concern if these experiences are viewed as a sign of memory decline. The current study was conducted to investigate the relation between age and TOT frequency, and the influence of episodic memory, which is the type of memory most often assessed to detect memory problems, on that relation. In a sample of adults, increased age was found to be associated with more TO...

  7. Elements of episodic-like memory in animal models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crystal, Jonathon D

    2009-03-01

    Representations of unique events from one's past constitute the content of episodic memories. A number of studies with non-human animals have revealed that animals remember specific episodes from their past (referred to as episodic-like memory). The development of animal models of memory holds enormous potential for gaining insight into the biological bases of human memory. Specifically, given the extensive knowledge of the rodent brain, the development of rodent models of episodic memory would open new opportunities to explore the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, neurophysiological, and molecular mechanisms of memory. Development of such animal models holds enormous potential for studying functional changes in episodic memory in animal models of Alzheimer's disease, amnesia, and other human memory pathologies. This article reviews several approaches that have been used to assess episodic-like memory in animals. The approaches reviewed include the discrimination of what, where, and when in a radial arm maze, dissociation of recollection and familiarity, object recognition, binding, unexpected questions, and anticipation of a reproductive state. The diversity of approaches may promote the development of converging lines of evidence on the difficult problem of assessing episodic-like memory in animals.

  8. Obesity and episodic memory function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loprinzi, Paul D; Frith, Emily

    2018-04-17

    Obesity-related lifestyle factors, such as physical activity behavior and dietary intake, have been shown to be associated with episodic memory function. From animal work, there is considerable biological plausibility linking obesity with worse memory function. There are no published systematic reviews evaluating the effects of obesity on episodic memory function among humans, and examining whether physical activity and diet influences this obesity-memory link. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the totality of research examining whether obesity is associated with episodic memory function, and whether physical activity and dietary behavior confounds this relationship. A review approach was employed, using PubMed, PsychInfo, and Sports Discus databases. Fourteen studies met our criteria. Among these 14 reviewed studies, eight were cross-sectional, four were prospective, and two employed a randomized controlled experimental design. Twelve of the 14 studies did not take into consideration dietary behavior in their analysis, and similarly, nine of the 14 studies did not take into consideration participant physical activity behavior. Among the 14 studies, ten found an inverse association of weight status on memory function, but for one of these studies, this association was attenuated after controlling for physical activity. Among the 14 evaluated studies, four did not find a direct effect of weight status on memory. Among the four null studies, one, however, found an indirect effect of BMI on episodic memory and another found a moderation effect of BMI and age on memory function. It appears that obesity may be associated with worse memory function, with the underlying mechanisms discussed herein. At this point, it is uncertain whether adiposity, itself, is influencing memory changes, or rather, whether adiposity-related lifestyle behaviors (e.g., physical inactivity and diet) are driving the obesity-memory relationship.

  9. [Episodic autobiographical memory in depression: a review].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemogne, C; Piolino, P; Jouvent, R; Allilaire, J-F; Fossati, P

    2006-10-01

    -specific knowledge is directly triggered. In line with this model, episodic autobiographical memory impairment in state depression may arise from the working self rather than from autobiographical knowledge. The mood-congruent effect may be explained by the current (depressed) self. The high occurrence of intrusive memories may be explained by lack of executive control during direct retrieval. Overgenerality may rely on the interaction of both executive dysfunction and current (depressed) self, within the working-self, during generative retrieval. Our review suggests that further evidence is needed to address the relationship between executive functioning, self and autobiographical memory in depression.

  10. Distinct neuroanatomical bases of episodic and semantic memory performance in Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirni, Daniela I; Kivisaari, Sasa L; Monsch, Andreas U; Taylor, Kirsten I

    2013-04-01

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) neurofibrillary pathology begins in the medial perirhinal cortex (mPRC) before spreading to the entorhinal cortex (ERC) and hippocampus (HP) in anterior medial temporal lobe (aMTL). While the role of the ERC/HP complex in episodic memory formation is well-established, recent research suggests that the PRC is required to form semantic memories of individual objects. We aimed to test whether commonly used clinical measures of episodic and semantic memory are distinctly associated with ERC/HP and mPRC integrity, respectively, in healthy mature individuals and very early AD patients. One hundred thirty normal controls, 32 amnestic mild cognitive impairment patients, some of whom are in the earliest (i.e., preclinical) stages of AD, and ten early-stage AD patients received neuropsychological testing and high-resolution anatomic and diffusion MRI. Voxel-based regression analyses tested for regions where episodic memory (delayed recall scores on the California Verbal Learning and Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Tests) and semantic memory (Boston Naming Test, category fluency) performance correlated with gray matter (GM) regions of interest and whole-brain fractional anisotropy (FA) voxel values. When controlling for the opposing memory performance, poorer episodic memory performance was associated with reduced bilateral ERC/HP GM volume and related white matter integrity, but not with mPRC GM volume. Poor semantic memory performance was associated with both reduced left mPRC and ERC/HP GM volume, as well as reduced FA values in white matter tracts leading to the PRC. These results indicate a partial division of labor within the aMTL and suggest that mPRC damage in very early AD may be detectable with common clinical tests of semantic memory if episodic memory performance is controlled. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Increased glucose levels are associated with episodic memory in nondiabetic women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rolandsson, Olov; Backeström, Anna; Eriksson, Sture; Hallmans, Göran; Nilsson, Lars-Göran

    2008-02-01

    Patients with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of a reduction in cognitive function. We investigated the hypothesis that plasma glucose is associated with a reduction in episodic and/or semantic memory already in nondiabetic subjects. We linked two large population-based datasets in Sweden: the Betula study, in which a random sample from the population aged 35-85 years was investigated for cognitive function, including episodic and semantic memory; and the Västerbotten Intervention Program, a health survey with subjects aged 40, 50, and 60 years, that includes measuring of fasting and 2-h plasma glucose, along with other risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We identified 411 (179 men and 232 women, mean age 50.6 +/- 8.0 years) nondiabetic subjects, free from dementia, who had participated in the two surveys within 6 months. Women had better episodic (score 7.37 +/- 1.42) and semantic memory (score 16.05 +/- 2.76) than men (score 6.59 +/- 1.29 and 15.15 +/- 2.92, respectively, P glucose (fPG) and 2-h plasma glucose (2hPG) were significantly negatively associated with episodic memory (fPG: B -0.198, SE 0.068, beta -0.209, P = 0.004; and 2hPG: B -0.061, SE 0.031, beta -0.148, P = 0.048, respectively) in women but not in men. The association was not found in relation to semantic memory. We conclude that an increase in plasma glucose is associated with impairment in episodic memory in women. This could be explained by a negative effect on the hippocampus caused by raised plasma glucose levels.

  12. Episodic-like memory in zebrafish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, Trevor J; Myggland, Allison; Duperreault, Erika; May, Zacnicte; Gallup, Joshua; Powell, Russell A; Schalomon, Melike; Digweed, Shannon M

    2016-11-01

    Episodic-like memory tests often aid in determining an animal's ability to recall the what, where, and which (context) of an event. To date, this type of memory has been demonstrated in humans, wild chacma baboons, corvids (Scrub jays), humming birds, mice, rats, Yucatan minipigs, and cuttlefish. The potential for this type of memory in zebrafish remains unexplored even though they are quickly becoming an essential model organism for the study of a variety of human cognitive and mental disorders. Here we explore the episodic-like capabilities of zebrafish (Danio rerio) in a previously established mammalian memory paradigm. We demonstrate that when zebrafish were presented with a familiar object in a familiar context but a novel location within that context, they spend more time in the novel quadrant. Thus, zebrafish display episodic-like memory as they remember what object they saw, where they saw it (quadrant location), and on which occasion (yellow or blue walls) it was presented.

  13. Medial temporal lobe damage causes deficits in episodic memory and episodic future thinking not attributable to deficits in narrative construction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Race, Elizabeth; Keane, Margaret M; Verfaellie, Mieke

    2011-07-13

    The medial temporal lobe (MTL) makes critical contributions to episodic memory, but its contributions to episodic future thinking remain a matter of debate. By one view, imagining future events relies on MTL mechanisms that also support memory for past events. Alternatively, it has recently been suggested that future thinking is independent of MTL-mediated processes and can be supported by regions outside the MTL. The current study investigated the nature and necessity of MTL involvement in imagining the future and tested the novel hypothesis that the MTL contributes to future thinking by supporting online binding processes related to narrative construction. Human amnesic patients with well characterized MTL damage and healthy controls constructed narratives about (1) future events, (2) past events, and (3) visually presented pictures. While all three tasks place similar demands on narrative construction, only the past and future conditions require memory/future thinking to mentally generate relevant narrative information. Patients produced impoverished descriptions of both past and future events but were unimpaired at producing detailed picture narratives. In addition, future-thinking performance positively correlated with episodic memory performance but did not correlate with picture narrative performance. Finally, future-thinking impairments were present when MTL lesions were restricted to the hippocampus and did not depend on the presence of neural damage outside the MTL. These results indicate that the ability to generate and maintain a detailed narrative is preserved in amnesia and suggest that a common MTL mechanism supports both episodic memory and episodic future thinking.

  14. Integrative Review of the Relationship Between Sleep Disturbances and Episodic Memory in Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, An-Yun; Pressler, Susan J; Giordani, Bruno J; Pozehl, Bunny J; Berger, Ann M

    2018-07-01

    Impaired episodic memory in older adults has been linked to many factors. One of these factors is sleep disturbances, which are reported by more than 50% of older adults. The relationship between episodic memory and sleep disturbances remains unclear, however, because of the multiple types of measures of sleep and episodic memory used in previous studies. The purpose of this integrative literature review was to integrate and compare findings on this relationship in adults aged 65 years. An electronic search was conducted in PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsychINFO, and Medline for material published from the inception of the databases to December 2016. The literature search produced 13 data-based, peer-reviewed, and primary research articles that met eligibility criteria. The synthesized results from these articles provide evidence that older adults with 6-8 hr of self-reported total sleep time had better episodic memory than older adults with ≤5 hr or ≥9 hr of total sleep time. Shorter length and lower percentage of slow-wave sleep were associated with reduced episodic memory in older adults, but the results were controversial. Selection of different measurements and inconsistent variables across studies increased the difficulty of synthesizing and comparing the results. The diversity of covariates controlled in the included articles raise questions regarding which covariates should be controlled in such studies of sleep and episodic memory in older adults. The numerous study limitations were thus major barriers to understanding the relationship between sleep disturbances and episodic memory.

  15. Auditory Memory Decay as Reflected by a New Mismatch Negativity Score Is Associated with Episodic Memory in Older Adults at Risk of Dementia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daria Laptinskaya

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The auditory mismatch negativity (MMN is an event-related potential (ERP peaking about 100–250 ms after the onset of a deviant tone in a sequence of identical (standard tones. Depending on the interstimulus interval (ISI between standard and deviant tones, the MMN is suitable to investigate the pre-attentive auditory discrimination ability (short ISIs, ≤ 2 s as well as the pre-attentive auditory memory trace (long ISIs, >2 s. However, current results regarding the MMN as an index for mild cognitive impairment (MCI and dementia are mixed, especially after short ISIs: while the majority of studies report positive associations between the MMN and cognition, others fail to find such relationships. To elucidate these so far inconsistent results, we investigated the validity of the MMN as an index for cognitive impairment exploring the associations between different MMN indices and cognitive performance, more specifically with episodic memory performance which is among the most affected cognitive domains in the course of Alzheimer’s dementia (AD, at baseline and at a 5-year-follow-up. We assessed the amplitude of the MMN for short ISI (stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA = 0.05 s and for long ISI (3 s in a neuropsychologically well-characterized cohort of older adults at risk of dementia (subjective memory impairment, amnestic and non-amnestic MCI; n = 57. Furthermore, we created a novel difference score (ΔMMN, defined as the difference between MMNs to short and to long ISI, as a measure to assess the decay of the auditory memory trace, higher values indicating less decay. ΔMMN and MMN amplitude after long ISI, but not the MMN amplitude after short ISI, was associated with episodic memory at baseline (β = 0.38, p = 0.003; β = −0.27, p = 0.047, respectively. ΔMMN, but not the MMN for long ISIs, was positively associated with episodic memory performance at the 5-year-follow-up (β = 0.57, p = 0.013. The results suggest that the MMN after long

  16. Auditory Memory Decay as Reflected by a New Mismatch Negativity Score Is Associated with Episodic Memory in Older Adults at Risk of Dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laptinskaya, Daria; Thurm, Franka; Küster, Olivia C; Fissler, Patrick; Schlee, Winfried; Kolassa, Stephan; von Arnim, Christine A F; Kolassa, Iris-Tatjana

    2018-01-01

    The auditory mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event-related potential (ERP) peaking about 100-250 ms after the onset of a deviant tone in a sequence of identical (standard) tones. Depending on the interstimulus interval (ISI) between standard and deviant tones, the MMN is suitable to investigate the pre-attentive auditory discrimination ability (short ISIs, ≤ 2 s) as well as the pre-attentive auditory memory trace (long ISIs, >2 s). However, current results regarding the MMN as an index for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia are mixed, especially after short ISIs: while the majority of studies report positive associations between the MMN and cognition, others fail to find such relationships. To elucidate these so far inconsistent results, we investigated the validity of the MMN as an index for cognitive impairment exploring the associations between different MMN indices and cognitive performance, more specifically with episodic memory performance which is among the most affected cognitive domains in the course of Alzheimer's dementia (AD), at baseline and at a 5-year-follow-up. We assessed the amplitude of the MMN for short ISI (stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA = 0.05 s) and for long ISI (3 s) in a neuropsychologically well-characterized cohort of older adults at risk of dementia (subjective memory impairment, amnestic and non-amnestic MCI; n = 57). Furthermore, we created a novel difference score (ΔMMN), defined as the difference between MMNs to short and to long ISI, as a measure to assess the decay of the auditory memory trace, higher values indicating less decay. ΔMMN and MMN amplitude after long ISI, but not the MMN amplitude after short ISI, was associated with episodic memory at baseline ( β = 0.38, p = 0.003; β = -0.27, p = 0.047, respectively). ΔMMN, but not the MMN for long ISIs, was positively associated with episodic memory performance at the 5-year-follow-up ( β = 0.57, p = 0.013). The results suggest that the MMN after long ISI might be

  17. Memories of significant episodes in child psychotherapy: an autobiographical memory approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersson, Gerhard; Boalt Boethius, Siv; Svirsky, Liv; Carlberg, Gunnar

    2006-06-01

    In this study, child psychotherapists (N=31) were asked to retrieve emotionally valenced therapy episodes by using an autobiographical memory approach, with cue words to elicit specific therapy episodes (e.g. irritated, ashamed, loving, and elated). One group of teachers for the disabled (N=10) and one group of music therapists (N=9) were also tested and served as comparison groups. Results showed that all participants were able to retrieve memories of episodes. When asked to rate each memory, negative memories were returned to less often, and overall positive memories were rated as more easy to recall and more vivid. Memories derived from positive cue words were also judged to have a more positive compared with negative importance for outcome. Surprisingly, memories derived from the cue word irritated were seen as having more positive than negative importance for outcome. Finally, we checked memory specificity for each memory derived. A high degree of specificity was found overall (72-88%). In conclusion, cue words might be a useful way to generate specific memories of therapy episodes in future research.

  18. Neural Correlates of Verbal Episodic Memory and Lexical Retrieval in Logopenic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Win, Khaing T; Pluta, John; Yushkevich, Paul; Irwin, David J; McMillan, Corey T; Rascovsky, Katya; Wolk, David; Grossman, Murray

    2017-01-01

    Objective: Logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) is commonly associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. But lvPPA patients display different cognitive and anatomical profile from the common clinical AD patients, whose verbal episodic memory is primarily affected. Reports of verbal episodic memory difficulty in lvPPA are inconsistent, and we hypothesized that their lexical retrieval impairment contributes to verbal episodic memory performance and is associated with left middle temporal gyrus atrophy. Methods: We evaluated patients with lvPPA ( n = 12) displaying prominent word-finding and repetition difficulties, and a demographically-matched cohort of clinical Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 26), and healthy seniors ( n = 16). We assessed lexical retrieval with confrontation naming and verbal episodic memory with delayed free recall. Whole-brain regressions related naming and delayed free recall to gray matter atrophy. Medial temporal lobe (MTL) subfields were examined using high in-plane resolution imaging. Results: lvPPA patients had naming and delayed free recall impairments, but intact recognition memory. In lvPPA, delayed free recall was related to naming; both were associated with left middle temporal gyrus atrophy but not MTL atrophy. Despite cerebrospinal fluid evidence consistent with AD pathology, examination of MTL subfields revealed no atrophy in lvPPA. While AD patients displayed impaired delayed free recall, this deficit did not correlate with naming. Regression analyses related delayed free recall deficits in clinical AD patients to MTL subfield atrophy, and naming to left middle temporal gyrus atrophy. Conclusion: Unlike amnestic AD patients, MTL subfields were not affected in lvPPA patients. Verbal episodic memory deficit observed in lvPPA was unlikely to be due to a hippocampal-mediated mechanism but appeared to be due to poor lexical retrieval. Relative sparing of MTL volume and intact recognition memory are consistent with

  19. Episodic Memory in Alzheimer Disease, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Dementia With Lewy Bodies/Parkinson Disease Dementia: Disentangling Retrieval From Consolidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Economou, Alexandra; Routsis, Christopher; Papageorgiou, Sokratis G

    2016-01-01

    Differences in episodic memory performance in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)/Parkinson disease with dementia (PDD) are inconsistent and task dependent. The inconsistencies may be attributed to the different tasks drawing on different memory processes. Few studies have examined episodic memory impairment in the above groups using memory tests that facilitate encoding, to distinguish memory deficits due to impairment of specific processes. We examined the memory performance of 106 AD patients, 51 FTD patients, 26 DLB/PDD patients, and 37 controls using the Five-Words Test, a 5-item memory test that facilitates encoding. The patient groups did not differ in modified Mini Mental State Examination scores. AD patients scored lowest on the Five-Words Test overall, and showed the greatest reduction from immediate total recall to delayed free recall relative to the other 2 groups, consistent with a predominantly consolidation deficit. DLB/PDD patients showed the largest improvement from delayed free to delayed total recall relative to the other 2 groups, consistent with a predominantly retrieval deficit. Deficits in both consolidation and retrieval underlie the memory impairment of the patients, to different extents, and contribute to the theoretical understanding of the nature of the memory impairment of the patient groups.

  20. Experimental Effects of Acute Exercise on Iconic Memory, Short-Term Episodic, and Long-Term Episodic Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yanes, Danielle; Loprinzi, Paul D

    2018-06-11

    The present experiment evaluated the effects of acute exercise on iconic memory and short- and long-term episodic memory. A two-arm, parallel-group randomized experiment was employed ( n = 20 per group; M age = 21 year). The experimental group engaged in an acute bout of moderate-intensity treadmill exercise for 15 min, while the control group engaged in a seated, time-matched computer task. Afterwards, the participants engaged in a paragraph-level episodic memory task (20 min delay and 24 h delay recall) as well as an iconic memory task, which involved 10 trials (at various speeds from 100 ms to 800 ms) of recalling letters from a 3 × 3 array matrix. For iconic memory, there was a significant main effect for time (F = 42.9, p memory scores at both the baseline (19.22 vs. 17.20) and follow-up (18.15 vs. 15.77), but these results were not statistically significant. These findings provide some suggestive evidence hinting towards an iconic memory and episodic benefit from acute exercise engagement.

  1. Cognitive impairment and medial temporal lobe structure in young adults with a depressive episode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donix, Markus; Haussmann, Robert; Helling, Franziska; Zweiniger, Anne; Lange, Jan; Werner, Annett; Donix, Katharina L; Brandt, Moritz D; Linn, Jennifer; Bauer, Michael; Buthut, Maria

    2018-09-01

    Cognitive deficits are common in patients with a depressive episode although the predictors for their development and severity remain elusive. We investigated whether subjective and objective cognitive impairment in young depressed adults would be associated with cortical thinning in medial temporal subregions. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging, cortical unfolding data analysis, and comprehensive assessments of subjective and objective cognitive abilities were performed on 27 young patients with a depressive episode (mean age: 29.0 ± 5.8 years) and 23 older participants without a history of a depressive disorder but amnestic mild cognitive impairment (68.5 ± 6.6 years) or normal cognition (65.2 ± 8.7 years). Thickness reductions in parahippocampal, perirhinal and fusiform cortices were associated with subjective memory deficits only among young patients with a depressive episode and a measurable cognitive impairment. Long-term longitudinal data would be desirable to determine the trajectories of cognitive impairment associated with depression in patients with or without cortical structure changes. The presence of clinically significant cognitive deficits in young people with a depressive episode may identify a patient population with extrahippocampal cortical thinning. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Autobiographical memory and episodic future thinking after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Katrine Willemoes; Berntsen, Dorthe

    2014-01-01

    Converging evidence suggests that autobiographical memory and episodic future thinking share a common neurocognitive basis. Although previous research has shown that traumatic brain injury (TBI) can impair the ability to remember the personal past, episodic future thinking has not previously been...... asked to report a series of events that had happened to them in the past and a series of events that might happen to them in the future. Transcriptions were scored according to a reliable system for categorizing internal (episodic) and external (semantic) information. For each event described......, participants also completed two modified Autobiographical Memory Questionnaire items to assess self-reported phenomenal qualities associated with remembering and imagining. In addition, TBI patients underwent neuropsychological assessment. Results revealed that TBI patients recalled/imagined proportionally...

  3. Part-set cueing impairment & facilitation in semantic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, Matthew R; Parihar, Sushmeena A

    2018-01-19

    The present study explored the influence of part-set cues in semantic memory using tests of "free" recall, reconstruction of order, and serial recall. Nine distinct categories of information were used (e.g., Zodiac signs, Harry Potter books, Star Wars films, planets). The results showed part-set cueing impairment for all three "free" recall sets, whereas part-set cueing facilitation was evident for five of the six ordered sets. Generally, the present results parallel those often observed across episodic tasks, which could indicate that similar mechanisms contribute to part-set cueing effects in both episodic and semantic memory. A novel anchoring explanation of part-set cueing facilitation in order and spatial tasks is provided.

  4. Experimental Effects of Acute Exercise on Iconic Memory, Short-Term Episodic, and Long-Term Episodic Memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle Yanes

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The present experiment evaluated the effects of acute exercise on iconic memory and short- and long-term episodic memory. A two-arm, parallel-group randomized experiment was employed (n = 20 per group; Mage = 21 year. The experimental group engaged in an acute bout of moderate-intensity treadmill exercise for 15 min, while the control group engaged in a seated, time-matched computer task. Afterwards, the participants engaged in a paragraph-level episodic memory task (20 min delay and 24 h delay recall as well as an iconic memory task, which involved 10 trials (at various speeds from 100 ms to 800 ms of recalling letters from a 3 × 3 array matrix. For iconic memory, there was a significant main effect for time (F = 42.9, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.53 and a trend towards a group × time interaction (F = 2.90, p = 0.09, η2p = 0.07, but no main effect for group (F = 0.82, p = 0.37, η2p = 0.02. The experimental group had higher episodic memory scores at both the baseline (19.22 vs. 17.20 and follow-up (18.15 vs. 15.77, but these results were not statistically significant. These findings provide some suggestive evidence hinting towards an iconic memory and episodic benefit from acute exercise engagement.

  5. Higher body mass index is associated with episodic memory deficits in young adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheke, Lucy G; Simons, Jon S; Clayton, Nicola S

    2016-11-01

    Obesity has become an international health crisis. There is accumulating evidence that excess bodyweight is associated with changes to the structure and function of the brain and with a number of cognitive deficits. In particular, research suggests that obesity is associated with hippocampal and frontal lobe dysfunction, which would be predicted to impact memory. However, evidence for such memory impairment is currently limited. We hypothesised that higher body mass index (BMI) would be associated with reduced performance on a test of episodic memory that assesses not only content, but also context and feature integration. A total of 50 participants aged 18-35 years, with BMIs ranging from 18 to 51, were tested on a novel what-where-when style episodic memory test: the "Treasure-Hunt Task". This test requires recollection of object, location, and temporal order information within the same paradigm, as well as testing the ability to integrate these features into a single event recollection. Higher BMI was associated with significantly lower performance on the what-where-when (WWW) memory task and all individual elements: object identification, location memory, and temporal order memory. After controlling for age, sex, and years in education, the effect of BMI on the individual what, where, and when tasks remained, while the WWW dropped below significance. This finding of episodic memory deficits in obesity is of concern given the emerging evidence for a role for episodic cognition in appetite regulation.

  6. Episodic memory retrieval in adolescents with and without developmental language disorder (DLD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Joanna C

    2018-03-01

    Two reasons may explain the discrepant findings regarding declarative memory in developmental language disorder (DLD) in the literature. First, standardized tests are one of the primary tools used to assess declarative memory in previous studies. It is possible they are not sensitive enough to subtle memory impairment. Second, the system underlying declarative memory is complex, and thus results may vary depending on the types of encoding and retrieval processes measured (e.g., item specific or relational) and/or task demands (e.g., recall or recognition during memory retrieval). To adopt an experimental paradigm to examine episodic memory functioning in adolescents with and without DLD, with the focus on memory recognition of item-specific and relational information. Two groups of adolescents, one with DLD (n = 23; mean age = 16.73 years) and the other without (n = 23; mean age = 16.75 years), participated in the study. The Relational and Item-Specific Encoding (RISE) paradigm was used to assess the effect of different encoding processes on episodic memory retrieval in DLD. The advantage of using the RISE task is that both item-specific and relational encoding/retrieval can be examined within the same learning paradigm. Adolescents with DLD and those with typical language development showed comparable engagement during the encoding phase. The DLD group showed significantly poorer item recognition than the comparison group. Associative recognition was not significantly different between the two groups; however, there was a non-significant trend for to be poorer in the DLD group than in the comparison group, suggesting a possible impairment in associative recognition in individuals with DLD, but to a lesser magnitude. These results indicate that adolescents with DLD have difficulty with episodic memory retrieval when stimuli are encoded and retrieved without support from contextual information. Associative recognition is relatively less affected than item

  7. Medial Temporal Lobe Damage Causes Deficits in Episodic Memory and Episodic Future Thinking Not Attributable to Deficits in Narrative Construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Race, Elizabeth; Keane, Margaret M.; Verfaellie, Mieke

    2015-01-01

    The medial temporal lobe (MTL) makes critical contributions to episodic memory, but its contributions to episodic future thinking remain a matter of debate. By one view, imagining future events relies on MTL mechanisms that also support memory for past events. Alternatively, it has recently been suggested that future thinking is independent of MTL-mediated processes and can be supported by regions outside the MTL. The current study investigated the nature and necessity of MTL involvement in imagining the future and tested the novel hypothesis that the MTL contributes to future thinking by supporting online binding processes related to narrative construction. Human amnesic patients with well-characterized MTL damage and healthy controls constructed narratives about (a) future events, (b) past events, and (c) visually-presented pictures. While all three tasks place similar demands on narrative construction, only the past and future conditions require memory/future thinking to mentally generate relevant narrative information. Patients produced impoverished descriptions of both past and future events but were unimpaired at producing detailed picture narratives. In addition, future-thinking performance positively correlated with episodic memory performance but did not correlate with picture narrative performance. Finally, future-thinking impairments were present when MTL lesions were restricted to the hippocampus and did not depend on the presence of neural damage outside the MTL. These results indicate that the ability to generate and maintain a detailed narrative is preserved in amnesia and suggest that a common MTL mechanism supports both episodic memory and episodic future thinking. PMID:21753003

  8. Hippocampal functional connectivity and episodic memory in early childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riggins, Tracy; Geng, Fengji; Blankenship, Sarah L; Redcay, Elizabeth

    2016-06-01

    Episodic memory relies on a distributed network of brain regions, with the hippocampus playing a critical and irreplaceable role. Few studies have examined how changes in this network contribute to episodic memory development early in life. The present addressed this gap by examining relations between hippocampal functional connectivity and episodic memory in 4- and 6-year-old children (n=40). Results revealed similar hippocampal functional connectivity between age groups, which included lateral temporal regions, precuneus, and multiple parietal and prefrontal regions, and functional specialization along the longitudinal axis. Despite these similarities, developmental differences were also observed. Specifically, 3 (of 4) regions within the hippocampal memory network were positively associated with episodic memory in 6-year-old children, but negatively associated with episodic memory in 4-year-old children. In contrast, all 3 regions outside the hippocampal memory network were negatively associated with episodic memory in older children, but positively associated with episodic memory in younger children. These interactions are interpreted within an interactive specialization framework and suggest the hippocampus becomes functionally integrated with cortical regions that are part of the hippocampal memory network in adults and functionally segregated from regions unrelated to memory in adults, both of which are associated with age-related improvements in episodic memory ability. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  9. Cellular dynamical mechanisms for encoding the time and place of events along spatiotemporal trajectories in episodic memory

    OpenAIRE

    Hasselmo, Michael E.; Giocomo, Lisa M.; Yoshida, Motoharu

    2009-01-01

    Understanding the mechanisms of episodic memory requires linking behavioural data and lesion effects to data on the dynamics of cellular membrane potentials and population interactions within these brain regions. Linking behavior to specific membrane channels and neurochemicals has implications for therapeutic applications. Lesions of the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex and subcortical nuclei impair episodic memory function in humans and animals, and unit recording data from these regions in b...

  10. The Generalized Quantum Episodic Memory Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trueblood, Jennifer S; Hemmer, Pernille

    2017-11-01

    Recent evidence suggests that experienced events are often mapped to too many episodic states, including those that are logically or experimentally incompatible with one another. For example, episodic over-distribution patterns show that the probability of accepting an item under different mutually exclusive conditions violates the disjunction rule. A related example, called subadditivity, occurs when the probability of accepting an item under mutually exclusive and exhaustive instruction conditions sums to a number >1. Both the over-distribution effect and subadditivity have been widely observed in item and source-memory paradigms. These phenomena are difficult to explain using standard memory frameworks, such as signal-detection theory. A dual-trace model called the over-distribution (OD) model (Brainerd & Reyna, 2008) can explain the episodic over-distribution effect, but not subadditivity. Our goal is to develop a model that can explain both effects. In this paper, we propose the Generalized Quantum Episodic Memory (GQEM) model, which extends the Quantum Episodic Memory (QEM) model developed by Brainerd, Wang, and Reyna (2013). We test GQEM by comparing it to the OD model using data from a novel item-memory experiment and a previously published source-memory experiment (Kellen, Singmann, & Klauer, 2014) examining the over-distribution effect. Using the best-fit parameters from the over-distribution experiments, we conclude by showing that the GQEM model can also account for subadditivity. Overall these results add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that quantum probability theory is a valuable tool in modeling recognition memory. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  11. Low-frequency oscillations in default mode subnetworks are associated with episodic memory impairments in Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veldsman, Michele; Egorova, Natalia; Singh, Baljeet; Mungas, Dan; DeCarli, Charles; Brodtmann, Amy

    2017-11-01

    Disruptions to functional connectivity in subsystems of the default mode network are evident in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Functional connectivity estimates correlations in the time course of low-frequency activity. Much less is known about other potential perturbations to this activity, such as changes in the amplitude of oscillations and how this relates to cognition. We examined the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in 44 AD patients and 128 cognitively normal participants and related this to episodic memory, the core deficit in AD. We show higher amplitudes of low-frequency oscillations in AD patients. Rather than being compensatory, this appears to be maladaptive, with greater amplitude in the ventral default mode subnetwork associated with poorer episodic memory. Perturbations to default mode subnetworks in AD are evident in the amplitude of low-frequency oscillations in the resting brain. These disruptions are associated with episodic memory demonstrating their behavioral and clinical relevance in AD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Episodic and semantic memory functioning in very old age: Explanations from executive functioning and processing speed theories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pauline E.J. Spaan

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Structural equation modeling was used to investigate whether age-related episodic and semantic memory impairments are better explained by decline in processing speed or executive functioning (or both, rather than directly in terms of memory components. The models tested were based on an extensive review of the literature on cognitive decline in normal aging, up to very old age. A computerized test battery, measuring episodic memory (free and cued recall; recognition, semantic memory (fluency; naming accuracy and latencies, processing speed and executive functioning, was administered to 234 elderly persons ranging from young-old to very old age (55–96 years. To avoid large variance in response times due to physical instead of cognitive limitations, no motor responses were required from participants. Age-related decline in episodic and semantic memory performance was found to be the consequence of declines in processing speed and executive functioning. Processing speed mainly mediated decline of semantic memory, whereas executive functioning mainly mediated episodic memory decline. The most parsimonious model showed that both processing speed and executive functioning attributed to memory decline but independent from one another. The results suggest that at very old age, the impact of executive dysfunctions on episodic memory performance exceeds the influence of cognitive slowing.

  13. Study of metamemory in patients with chronic alcoholism using a feeling-of-knowing episodic memory task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Berre, Anne-Pascale; Pinon, Karine; Vabret, François; Pitel, Anne-Lise; Allain, Philippe; Eustache, Francis; Beaunieux, Hélène

    2010-11-01

    Alcoholism affects various cognitive processes, including components of memory. Metamemory, though of particular interest for patient treatment, has not yet been extensively investigated.  A feeling-of-knowing (FOK) measure of metamemory was administered to 28 alcoholic patients and 28 healthy controls during an episodic memory task including the learning of 20 pairs of items, followed by a 20-minute delayed recall and a recognition task. Prior to recognition, participants rated their ability to recognize each nonrecalled word among 4 items. This episodic FOK measure served to compare predictions of future recognition performance and actual recognition performance. Furthermore, a subjective measure of metamemory, the Metamemory In Adulthood (MIA) questionnaire, was completed by patients and controls. This assessment of alcoholic patients' metamemory profile was accompanied by an evaluation of episodic memory and executive functioning. FOK results revealed deficits in accuracy, with the alcoholic patients providing overestimations. There were also links between FOK inaccuracy, executive decline, and episodic memory impairment in patients. MIA results showed that although alcoholics did display memory difficulties, they did not differ from controls on questions about memory capacity. Chronic alcoholism affects both episodic memory and metamemory for novel information. Patients were relatively unaware of their memory deficits and believed that their memory was as good as that of the healthy controls. The monitoring measure (FOK) and the subjective measure of metamemory (MIA) showed that patients with chronic alcoholism overestimated their memory capacities. Episodic memory deficit and executive dysfunction would explain metamemory decline in this clinical population. Copyright © 2010 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

  14. Elements of episodic-like memory in animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clayton, N S; Griffiths, D P; Emery, N J; Dickinson, A

    2001-09-29

    A number of psychologists have suggested that episodic memory is a uniquely human phenomenon and, until recently, there was little evidence that animals could recall a unique past experience and respond appropriately. Experiments on food-caching memory in scrub jays question this assumption. On the basis of a single caching episode, scrub jays can remember when and where they cached a variety of foods that differ in the rate at which they degrade, in a way that is inexplicable by relative familiarity. They can update their memory of the contents of a cache depending on whether or not they have emptied the cache site, and can also remember where another bird has hidden caches, suggesting that they encode rich representations of the caching event. They make temporal generalizations about when perishable items should degrade and also remember the relative time since caching when the same food is cached in distinct sites at different times. These results show that jays form integrated memories for the location, content and time of caching. This memory capability fulfils Tulving's behavioural criteria for episodic memory and is thus termed 'episodic-like'. We suggest that several features of episodic memory may not be unique to humans.

  15. Stroke and Episodic Memory Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Chun; Alexander, Michael P.

    2009-01-01

    Memory impairments are common after stroke, and the anatomical basis for impairments may be quite variable. To determine the range of stroke-related memory impairment, we identified all case reports and group studies through the Medline database and the Science Citation Index. There is no hypothesis about memory that is unique to stroke, but there…

  16. Contribution of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors to attention and episodic spatial memory during senescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guidi, Michael; Rani, Asha; Karic, Semir; Severance, Barrett; Kumar, Ashok; Foster, Thomas C

    2015-11-01

    A decrease in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) function is associated with age-related cognitive impairments. However, NMDAR antagonists are prescribed for cognitive decline associated with age-related neurodegenerative disease, raising questions as to the role of NMDAR activity in cognitive function during aging. The current studies examined effects of NMDAR blockade on cognitive task that are sensitive to aging. Young and middle-age rats were trained on the five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) and challenged with MK-801 (0.025, 0.05, and 0.1mg/kg or vehicle). Attention deficits were apparent in middle-age and performance of young and middle-age rats was enhanced for low doses of MK-801 (0.025 and 0.05). The beneficial effects on attention were reversed by the highest dose of MK-801. Older animals exhibited a delay-dependent impairment of episodic spatial memory examined on a delayed-matching to place water maze task. Similarly, a low dose of MK-801 (0.05mg/kg) impaired performance with increasing delay and aged animals were more susceptible to disruption by NMDAR blockade. Despite MK-801 impairment of episodic spatial memory, MK-801 had minimal effects on spatial reference memory. Our results confirm that NMDARs contribute to rapidly acquired and flexible spatial memory and support the idea that a decline in NMDAR function contributes to the age-related impairments in cognition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Episodic and Semantic Aspects of Memory for Prose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dooling, D. James

    This report describes research on Bartlett's theory of constructive memory. In experiment one, schematic retention is related to Tulving's distinction between episodic and semantic memory. With the passage of time, memory for prose reflects decreasing output from episodic memory and increasing output from semantic memory. In experiment two,…

  18. Similar profile of cognitive impairment and recovery for Aboriginal Australians in treatment for episodic or chronic alcohol use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dingwall, Kylie M; Maruff, Paul; Cairney, Sheree

    2011-08-01

    The cognitive impairment and recovery associated with chronic alcohol abuse and subsequent abstinence is well understood. However, the recovery profile following heavy episodic or 'binge' use, which is common among some Australian Aboriginal users, has not been investigated thoroughly and no empirical studies have examined chronic use in this population. The aim of this study was to identify and compare cognitive impairment and recovery associated with chronic and episodic alcohol use among Aboriginal Australians. Longitudinal case-control design. Residential alcohol treatment programmes in northern Australia. Forty chronic alcohol users, 24 episodic users and 41 healthy controls [mean age = 34.24; standard deviation (SD) = 9.73]. Cognitive assessments of visual motor, attention, memory, learning and executive functions at baseline (start of treatment), then 4 weeks and 8 weeks later. Reassessment of 31% of participants an average of 11 months later (SD = 4.4) comparing those who remained abstinent (n = 5), those who relapsed (n = 11) and healthy controls (n = 19). At baseline, chronic and episodic alcohol users showed impaired visual motor, learning, memory and executive functions. With the exception of visual motor impairment, all deficits had improved to normal levels within 4 weeks. Visual motor deficits had normalized within 11 months. Performances did not differ at any time between chronic and episodic alcohol groups. In Aboriginal Australians, episodic drinking is associated with similar patterns of impairment and recovery as chronic alcohol use. Most cognitive deficits appear to recover within the first month of abstinence, while persisting visual motor problems recover within 1 year. © 2011 The Authors, Addiction © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  19. Episodic future thinking and episodic counterfactual thinking: intersections between memory and decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schacter, Daniel L; Benoit, Roland G; De Brigard, Felipe; Szpunar, Karl K

    2015-01-01

    This article considers two recent lines of research concerned with the construction of imagined or simulated events that can provide insight into the relationship between memory and decision making. One line of research concerns episodic future thinking, which involves simulating episodes that might occur in one's personal future, and the other concerns episodic counterfactual thinking, which involves simulating episodes that could have happened in one's personal past. We first review neuroimaging studies that have examined the neural underpinnings of episodic future thinking and episodic counterfactual thinking. We argue that these studies have revealed that the two forms of episodic simulation engage a common core network including medial parietal, prefrontal, and temporal regions that also supports episodic memory. We also note that neuroimaging studies have documented neural differences between episodic future thinking and episodic counterfactual thinking, including differences in hippocampal responses. We next consider behavioral studies that have delineated both similarities and differences between the two kinds of episodic simulation. The evidence indicates that episodic future and counterfactual thinking are characterized by similarly reduced levels of specific detail compared with episodic memory, but that the effects of repeatedly imagining a possible experience have sharply contrasting effects on the perceived plausibility of those events during episodic future thinking versus episodic counterfactual thinking. Finally, we conclude by discussing the functional consequences of future and counterfactual simulations for decisions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. On the Development of Episodic Memory: Two Basic Questions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahl, Jonna Jelsbak; Sonne, Trine; Kingo, Osman Skjold

    2013-01-01

    In this focused review we present and discuss two basic questions related to the early development of episodic memory in children: (1) “What is an episode?”, and (2) “How do preverbal children recall a specific episode of a recurring event?” First, a brief introduction to episodic memory...... is outlined. We argue in favor of employing a definition of episodic memory allowing us to investigate the development of episodic memory by purely behavioral measures. Second, research related to each of the two questions are presented and discussed, at first separately, and subsequently together. We argue...... and attempt to demonstrate, that pursuing answers to both questions is of crucial importance – both conceptually and methodologically - if we are ever to understand the early development of episodic memory. ...

  1. Intrusions in Episodic Memory: Reconsolidation or Interference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klingmüller, Angela; Caplan, Jeremy B.; Sommer, Tobias

    2017-01-01

    It would be profoundly important if reconsolidation research in animals and other memory domains generalized to human episodic memory. A 3-d-list-discrimination procedure, based on free recall of objects, with a contextual reminder cue (the testing room), has been thought to demonstrate reconsolidation of human episodic memory (as noted in a…

  2. How do episodic and semantic memory contribute to episodic foresight in young children?

    OpenAIRE

    Martin-Ordas, Gema; Atance, Cristina M.; Caza, Julian S.

    2014-01-01

    Humans are able to transcend the present and mentally travel to another time, place, or perspective. Mentally projecting ourselves backwards (i.e., episodic memory) or forwards (i.e., episodic foresight) in time are crucial characteristics of the human memory system. Indeed, over the past few years, episodic memory has been argued to be involved both in our capacity to retrieve our personal past experiences and in our ability to imagine and foresee future scenarios. However, recent theory and...

  3. Changes in Tryptophan Catabolite (TRYCAT) Pathway Patterning Are Associated with Mild Impairments in Declarative Memory in Schizophrenia and Deficits in Semantic and Episodic Memory Coupled with Increased False-Memory Creation in Deficit Schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanchanatawan, Buranee; Hemrungrojn, Solaphat; Thika, Supaksorn; Sirivichayakul, Sunee; Ruxrungtham, Kiat; Carvalho, André F; Geffard, Michel; Anderson, George; Maes, Michael

    2018-06-01

    Evidence indicates that schizophrenia and in particular negative symptoms and deficit schizophrenia are accompanied by neurocognitive impairments and changes in the patterning of the tryptophan catabolite (TRYCAT) pathway. This cross-sectional study was carried out to examine the associations between cognitive functions (as measured with Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD)) and TRYCAT pathway patterning in patients with (n = 40) and without (n = 40) deficit schizophrenia and normal controls (n = 40). Cognitive measures were assessed with the Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), Boston Naming Test (BNT), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Word List Memory (WLM), Constructional Praxis, Word List Recall (WLRecall), and Word List Recognition (WLRecognition), while TRYCAT measurements assessed the IgA/IgM responses to noxious TRYCATs, namely quinolinic acid (QA), 3-OH-kynurenine (3HK), picolinic acid (PA), and xanthurenic (XA) acid, and more protective (PRO) TRYCATs, including kynurenic acid (KA) and anthranilic acid (AA). IgA NOX/PRO, IgM KA/3HK, and IgA/IgM NOX/PRO ratios were computed. Schizophrenia was accompanied by lower VFT and WLM, while BNT (dysnomia) and MMSE are significantly lower in multiple- than first-episode schizophrenia. Deficit schizophrenia is strongly associated with worse outcomes on VFT, MMSE, WLM, WLRecall, WLRecognition, and delayed recall savings and increased false memories. Around 40-50% of the variance in negative symptoms' scores was explained by VFT, WLM, WLRecall, and MMSE. Increases in IgA NOX/PRO, IgM KA/3HK, and/or IgA/IgM NOX/PRO ratios were associated with impairments in VFT, BNT, MMSE, WLM, WLRecall, WLRecognition, and false-memory creation. In conclusion, nondeficit schizophrenia is accompanied by mild memory impairments, while disease progression is accompanied by broader cognitive impairments. Deficit schizophrenia and negative symptoms are strongly associated with deficits in working memory, delayed

  4. Enhanced effects of cortisol administration on episodic and working memory in aging veterans with PTSD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yehuda, Rachel; Harvey, Philip D; Buchsbaum, Monte; Tischler, Lisa; Schmeidler, James

    2007-12-01

    Though both glucocorticoid alterations and memory impairments have been noted in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it is not clear if these phenomena are causally linked. As there is emerging evidence that these domains become further altered in PTSD with increasing age, it is of interest to examine these relationships in an older cohort. Aging (mean age, 62.7+/-8.9; range, 52-81) combat veterans with (n=13) and without (n=17) PTSD received an intravenous bolus of 17.5 mg hydrocortisone (cortisol), a naturally occurring glucocorticoid, or placebo in a randomized, double-blind manner, on two mornings approximately 1-2 weeks apart. Neuropsychological testing to evaluate episodic and working memory performance was performed 75 min later. Cortisol enhanced episodic memory performance in both groups of subjects, but enhanced elements of working memory performance only in the PTSD+ group. The preferential effect of cortisol administration on working memory in PTSD may be related to the superimposition of PTSD and age, as cortisol had impairing effects on this task in a previously studied, younger cohort. The findings suggest that there may be opportunities for developing therapeutic strategies using glucocorticoids in the treatment of aging combat veterans.

  5. Concealed semantic and episodic autobiographical memory electrified.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganis, Giorgio; Schendan, Haline E

    2012-01-01

    Electrophysiology-based concealed information tests (CIT) try to determine whether somebody possesses concealed information about a crime-related item (probe) by comparing event-related potentials (ERPs) between this item and comparison items (irrelevants). Although the broader field is sometimes referred to as "memory detection," little attention has been paid to the precise type of underlying memory involved. This study begins addressing this issue by examining the key distinction between semantic and episodic memory in the autobiographical domain within a CIT paradigm. This study also addresses the issue of whether multiple repetitions of the items over the course of the session habituate the brain responses. Participants were tested in a 3-stimulus CIT with semantic autobiographical probes (their own date of birth) and episodic autobiographical probes (a secret date learned just before the study). Results dissociated these two memory conditions on several ERP components. Semantic probes elicited a smaller frontal N2 than episodic probes, consistent with the idea that the frontal N2 decreases with greater pre-existing knowledge about the item. Likewise, semantic probes elicited a smaller central N400 than episodic probes. Semantic probes also elicited a larger P3b than episodic probes because of their richer meaning. In contrast, episodic probes elicited a larger late positive complex (LPC) than semantic probes, because of the recent episodic memory associated with them. All these ERPs showed a difference between probes and irrelevants in both memory conditions, except for the N400, which showed a difference only in the semantic condition. Finally, although repetition affected the ERPs, it did not reduce the difference between probes and irrelevants. These findings show that the type of memory associated with a probe has both theoretical and practical importance for CIT research.

  6. Concealed semantic and episodic autobiographical memory electrified

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giorgio eGanis

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Electrophysiology-based concealed information tests (CIT try to determine whether somebody possesses concealed information about a probe item by comparing event-related potentials (ERPs between this item and comparison items (irrelevants. Although the broader field is sometimes referred to as memory detection, little attention has been paid to the precise type of underlying memory involved. This study begins addressing this issue by examining the key distinction between semantic and episodic memory in the autobiographical domain within a CIT paradigm. This study also addressed the issue of whether multiple repetitions of the items over the course of the session habituate the brain responses. Participants were tested in a 3-stimulus CIT with semantic autobiographical probes (their own date of birth and episodic autobiographical probes (a secret date learned just before the study. Results dissociated these two memory conditions on several ERP components. Semantic probes elicited a smaller frontal N2 than episodic probes, consistent with the idea that the frontal N2 decreases with greater pre-existing semantic knowledge about the item. Likewise, semantic probes elicited a smaller central N400 than episodic probes. Semantic probes also elicited a larger P3b than episodic probes because of their richer meaning. In contrast, episodic probes elicited a larger late positive component (LPC than semantic probes, because of the recent episodic memory associated with them. All these ERPs showed a difference between probes and irrelevants in both memory conditions, except for the N400, which showed a difference only in the semantic condition. Finally, although repetition affected the ERPs, it did not reduce the difference between probes and irrelevants. Thus, the type of memory associated with a probe has both theoretical and practical importance for CIT research.

  7. Concealed semantic and episodic autobiographical memory electrified

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganis, Giorgio; Schendan, Haline E.

    2013-01-01

    Electrophysiology-based concealed information tests (CIT) try to determine whether somebody possesses concealed information about a crime-related item (probe) by comparing event-related potentials (ERPs) between this item and comparison items (irrelevants). Although the broader field is sometimes referred to as “memory detection,” little attention has been paid to the precise type of underlying memory involved. This study begins addressing this issue by examining the key distinction between semantic and episodic memory in the autobiographical domain within a CIT paradigm. This study also addresses the issue of whether multiple repetitions of the items over the course of the session habituate the brain responses. Participants were tested in a 3-stimulus CIT with semantic autobiographical probes (their own date of birth) and episodic autobiographical probes (a secret date learned just before the study). Results dissociated these two memory conditions on several ERP components. Semantic probes elicited a smaller frontal N2 than episodic probes, consistent with the idea that the frontal N2 decreases with greater pre-existing knowledge about the item. Likewise, semantic probes elicited a smaller central N400 than episodic probes. Semantic probes also elicited a larger P3b than episodic probes because of their richer meaning. In contrast, episodic probes elicited a larger late positive complex (LPC) than semantic probes, because of the recent episodic memory associated with them. All these ERPs showed a difference between probes and irrelevants in both memory conditions, except for the N400, which showed a difference only in the semantic condition. Finally, although repetition affected the ERPs, it did not reduce the difference between probes and irrelevants. These findings show that the type of memory associated with a probe has both theoretical and practical importance for CIT research. PMID:23355816

  8. Comparative Cognition: Action Imitation Using Episodic Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crystal, Jonathon D

    2016-12-05

    Humans encounter a myriad of actions or events and later recall some of these events using episodic memory. New research suggests that dogs can imitate recently encountered actions using episodic memory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. The Role of Episodic and Semantic Memory in Episodic Foresight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin-Ordas, Gema; Atance, Cristina M.; Louw, Alyssa

    2012-01-01

    In this paper we describe a special form of future thinking, termed "episodic foresight" and its relation with episodic and semantic memory. We outline the methodologies that have largely been developed in the last five years to assess this capacity in young children and non-human animals. Drawing on Tulving's definition of episodic and semantic…

  10. Gender differences in episodic memory and visual working memory including the effects of age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauls, Franz; Petermann, Franz; Lepach, Anja Christina

    2013-01-01

    Analysing the relationship between gender and memory, and examining the effects of age on the overall memory-related functioning, are the ongoing goals of psychological research. The present study examined gender and age group differences in episodic memory with respect to the type of task. In addition, these subgroup differences were also analysed in visual working memory. A sample of 366 women and 330 men, aged between 16 and 69 years of age, participated in the current study. Results indicate that women outperformed men on auditory memory tasks, whereas male adolescents and older male adults showed higher level performances on visual episodic and visual working memory measures. However, the size of gender-linked effects varied somewhat across age groups. Furthermore, results partly support a declining performance on episodic memory and visual working memory measures with increasing age. Although age-related losses in episodic memory could not be explained by a decreasing verbal and visuospatial ability with age, women's advantage in auditory episodic memory could be explained by their advantage in verbal ability. Men's higher level visual episodic memory performance was found to result from their advantage in visuospatial ability. Finally, possible methodological, biological, and cognitive explanations for the current findings are discussed.

  11. Episodic and Semantic Autobiographical Memory and Everyday Memory during Late Childhood and Early Adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willoughby, Karen A; Desrocher, Mary; Levine, Brian; Rovet, Joanne F

    2012-01-01

    Few studies have examined both episodic and semantic autobiographical memory (AM) performance during late childhood and early adolescence. Using the newly developed Children's Autobiographical Interview (CAI), the present study examined the effects of age and sex on episodic and semantic AM and everyday memory in 182 children and adolescents. Results indicated that episodic and semantic AM both improved between 8 and 16 years of age; however, age-related changes were larger for episodic AM than for semantic AM. In addition, females were found to recall more episodic AM details, but not more semantic AM details, than males. Importantly, this sex difference in episodic AM recall was attenuated under conditions of high retrieval support (i.e., the use of probing questions). The ability to clearly visualize past events at the time of recollection was related to children's episodic AM recall performance, particularly the retrieval of perceptual details. Finally, similar age and sex effects were found between episodic AM and everyday memory ability (e.g., memory for everyday activities). More specifically, older participants and females exhibited better episodic AM and everyday memory performance than younger participants and males. Overall, the present study provides important new insight into both episodic and semantic AM performance, as well as the relation between episodic AM and everyday memory, during late childhood and adolescence.

  12. Episodic and Semantic Autobiographical Memory and Everyday Memory during Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willoughby, Karen A.; Desrocher, Mary; Levine, Brian; Rovet, Joanne F.

    2012-01-01

    Few studies have examined both episodic and semantic autobiographical memory (AM) performance during late childhood and early adolescence. Using the newly developed Children’s Autobiographical Interview (CAI), the present study examined the effects of age and sex on episodic and semantic AM and everyday memory in 182 children and adolescents. Results indicated that episodic and semantic AM both improved between 8 and 16 years of age; however, age-related changes were larger for episodic AM than for semantic AM. In addition, females were found to recall more episodic AM details, but not more semantic AM details, than males. Importantly, this sex difference in episodic AM recall was attenuated under conditions of high retrieval support (i.e., the use of probing questions). The ability to clearly visualize past events at the time of recollection was related to children’s episodic AM recall performance, particularly the retrieval of perceptual details. Finally, similar age and sex effects were found between episodic AM and everyday memory ability (e.g., memory for everyday activities). More specifically, older participants and females exhibited better episodic AM and everyday memory performance than younger participants and males. Overall, the present study provides important new insight into both episodic and semantic AM performance, as well as the relation between episodic AM and everyday memory, during late childhood and adolescence. PMID:22403560

  13. The effects of acute stress on episodic memory: A meta-analysis and integrative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, Grant S; Sazma, Matthew A; McCullough, Andrew M; Yonelinas, Andrew P

    2017-06-01

    A growing body of research has indicated that acute stress can critically impact memory. However, there are a number of inconsistencies in the literature, and important questions remain regarding the conditions under which stress effects emerge as well as basic questions about how stress impacts different phases of memory. In this meta-analysis, we examined 113 independent studies in humans with 6,216 participants that explored effects of stress on encoding, postencoding, retrieval, or postreactivation phases of episodic memory. The results indicated that when stress occurred prior to or during encoding it impaired memory, unless both the delay between the stressor and encoding was very short and the study materials were directly related to the stressor, in which case stress improved encoding. In contrast, postencoding stress improved memory unless the stressor occurred in a different physical context than the study materials. When stress occurred just prior to or during retrieval, memory was impaired, and these effects were larger for emotionally valenced materials than neutral materials. Although stress consistently increased cortisol, the magnitude of the cortisol response was not related to the effects of stress on memory. Nonetheless, the effects of stress on memory were generally reduced in magnitude for women taking hormonal contraceptives. These analyses indicate that stress disrupts some episodic memory processes while enhancing others, and that the effects of stress are modulated by a number of critical factors. These results provide important constraints on current theories of stress and memory, and point to new questions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. White matter structural connectivity and episodic memory in early childhood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chi T. Ngo

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Episodic memory undergoes dramatic improvement in early childhood; the reason for this is poorly understood. In adults, episodic memory relies on a distributed neural network. Key brain regions that supporting these processes include the hippocampus, portions of the parietal cortex, and portions of prefrontal cortex, each of which shows different developmental profiles. Here we asked whether developmental differences in the axonal pathways connecting these regions may account for the robust gains in episodic memory in young children. Using diffusion weighted imaging, we examined whether white matter connectivity between brain regions implicated in episodic memory differed with age, and were associated with memory performance differences in 4- and 6-year-old children. Results revealed that white matter connecting the hippocampus to the inferior parietal lobule significantly predicted children’s performance on episodic memory tasks. In contrast, variation in the white matter connecting the hippocampus to the medial prefrontal cortex did not relate to memory performance. These findings suggest that structural connectivity between the hippocampus and lateral parietal regions is relevant to the development of episodic memory. Keywords: White matter, Memory development, Episodic memory, Diffusion weighted imaging

  15. Interdependence of episodic and semantic memory: evidence from neuropsychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenberg, Daniel L; Verfaellie, Mieke

    2010-09-01

    Tulving's (1972) theory of memory draws a distinction between general knowledge (semantic memory) and memory for events (episodic memory). Neuropsychological studies have generally examined each type of memory in isolation, but theorists have long argued that these two forms of memory are interdependent. Here we review several lines of neuropsychological research that have explored the interdependence of episodic and semantic memory. The studies show that these forms of memory can affect each other both at encoding and at retrieval. We suggest that theories of memory should be revised to account for all of the interdependencies between episodic and semantic memory; they should also incorporate forms of memory that do not fit neatly into either category.

  16. Cellular dynamical mechanisms for encoding the time and place of events along spatiotemporal trajectories in episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasselmo, Michael E; Giocomo, Lisa M; Brandon, Mark P; Yoshida, Motoharu

    2010-12-31

    Understanding the mechanisms of episodic memory requires linking behavioral data and lesion effects to data on the dynamics of cellular membrane potentials and population interactions within brain regions. Linking behavior to specific membrane channels and neurochemicals has implications for therapeutic applications. Lesions of the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex and subcortical nuclei impair episodic memory function in humans and animals, and unit recording data from these regions in behaving animals indicate episodic memory processes. Intracellular recording in these regions demonstrates specific cellular properties including resonance, membrane potential oscillations and bistable persistent spiking that could underlie the encoding and retrieval of episodic trajectories. A model presented here shows how intrinsic dynamical properties of neurons could mediate the encoding of episodic memories as complex spatiotemporal trajectories. The dynamics of neurons allow encoding and retrieval of unique episodic trajectories in multiple continuous dimensions including temporal intervals, personal location, the spatial coordinates and sensory features of perceived objects and generated actions, and associations between these elements. The model also addresses how cellular dynamics could underlie unit firing data suggesting mechanisms for coding continuous dimensions of space, time, sensation and action. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. The Interaction between Semantic Representation and Episodic Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Jing; Rüther, Naima; Bellebaum, Christian; Wiskott, Laurenz; Cheng, Sen

    2018-02-01

    The experimental evidence on the interrelation between episodic memory and semantic memory is inconclusive. Are they independent systems, different aspects of a single system, or separate but strongly interacting systems? Here, we propose a computational role for the interaction between the semantic and episodic systems that might help resolve this debate. We hypothesize that episodic memories are represented as sequences of activation patterns. These patterns are the output of a semantic representational network that compresses the high-dimensional sensory input. We show quantitatively that the accuracy of episodic memory crucially depends on the quality of the semantic representation. We compare two types of semantic representations: appropriate representations, which means that the representation is used to store input sequences that are of the same type as those that it was trained on, and inappropriate representations, which means that stored inputs differ from the training data. Retrieval accuracy is higher for appropriate representations because the encoded sequences are less divergent than those encoded with inappropriate representations. Consistent with our model prediction, we found that human subjects remember some aspects of episodes significantly more accurately if they had previously been familiarized with the objects occurring in the episode, as compared to episodes involving unfamiliar objects. We thus conclude that the interaction with the semantic system plays an important role for episodic memory.

  18. Postencephalitic amnesia with long term-working memory impairment: A case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz Baldivia

    Full Text Available Abstract Herpes simplex virus encephalitis (HSVE is an inflammation of the brain parenchyma caused by virus, leading to focal necrosis in medial temporal lobes, hippocampal complex and basal forebrain. Cognitively, HSVE is associated to many dysfunctions which vary according to the extent of the lesion. Episodic memory impairment is the most common sequelae following HSVE episodes, although others can occur. The aim of this case report was to describe the cognitive profile of a 42 year-old man who had extensive bilateral damage to the medial temporal lobe, insular bilateral and orbitofrontal cortices due to HSVE. Severe anterograde and retrograde amnesia, naming deficits, perseverative behaviors and confabulations were observed on neuropsychological assessment. We discussed the concept of long term-working memory based on this evaluation. These cognitive impairments corroborated HSVE previous findings in the literature.

  19. Similar verbal memory impairments in schizophrenia and healthy aging. Implications for understanding of neural mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silver, Henry; Bilker, Warren B

    2015-03-30

    Memory is impaired in schizophrenia patients but it is not clear whether this is specific to the illness and whether different types of memory (verbal and nonverbal) or memories in different cognitive domains (executive, object recognition) are similarly affected. To study relationships between memory impairments and schizophrenia we compared memory functions in 77 schizophrenia patients, 58 elderly healthy individuals and 41 young healthy individuals. Tests included verbal associative and logical memory and memory in executive and object recognition domains. We compared relationships of memory functions to each other and to other cognitive functions including psychomotor speed and verbal and spatial working memory. Compared to the young healthy group, schizophrenia patients and elderly healthy individuals showed similar severe impairment in logical memory and in the ability to learn new associations (NAL), and similar but less severe impairment in spatial working memory and executive and object memory. Verbal working memory was significantly more impaired in schizophrenia patients than in the healthy elderly. Verbal episodic memory impairment in schizophrenia may share common mechanisms with similar impairment in healthy aging. Impairment in verbal working memory in contrast may reflect mechanisms specific to schizophrenia. Study of verbal explicit memory impairment tapped by the NAL index may advance understanding of abnormal hippocampus dependent mechanisms common to schizophrenia and aging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Verbal episodic memory in young hypothyroid patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vatsal Priyadarshi Pandey

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: Hypothyroidism affects cognitive functions especially memory. However, most of the previous studies have generally evaluated older hypothyroid patients and sample size of these studies varied in terms of age range. Aims: To see whether hypothyroidism affects memory in young patients. Settings and Design: The sample consisted of 11 hypothyroid patients with an age of 18–49 and 8 healthy controls matched on age and education. Subjects and Methods: Verbal episodic memory was assessed using Hindi adaptation of Rey-Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Statistical Analysis Used: An independent t-test was used to see the difference between mean performance of the patient group and healthy control on memory measures. Results: Results indicated nonsignificant difference between verbal episodic memory of patient group and healthy controls. Conclusions: On the basis of these findings, it was concluded that hypothyroidism may not affect younger patients in terms of episodic verbal memory the same way as it does in the older patients.

  1. Histopathologic subtype of hippocampal sclerosis and episodic memory performance before and after temporal lobectomy for epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saghafi, Shahram; Ferguson, Lisa; Hogue, Olivia; Gales, Jordan M; Prayson, Richard; Busch, Robyn M

    2018-04-01

    The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) proposed a classification system for hippocampal sclerosis (HS) based on location and extent of hippocampal neuron loss. The literature debates the usefulness of this classification system when studying memory in people with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and determining memory outcome after temporal lobe resection (TLR). This study further explores the relationship between HS ILAE subtypes and episodic memory performance in patients with TLE and examines memory outcomes after TLR. This retrospective study identified 213 patients with TLE who underwent TLR and had histopathological evidence of HS (HS ILAE type 1a = 92; type 1b = 103; type 2 = 18). Patients completed the Wechsler Memory Scale-3rd Edition prior to surgery, and 78% of patients had postoperative scores available. Linear regressions examined differences in preoperative memory scores as a function of pathology classification, controlling for potential confounders. Fisher's exact tests were used to compare pathology subtypes on the magnitude of preoperative memory impairment and the proportion of patients who experienced clinically meaningful postoperative memory decline. Individuals with HS ILAE type 2 demonstrated better preoperative verbal memory performance than patients with HS ILAE type 1; however, individual data revealed verbal and visual episodic memory impairments in many patients with HS ILAE type 2. The base rate of postoperative memory decline was similar among all 3 pathology groups. This is the largest reported overall sample and the largest subset of patients with HS ILAE type 2. Group data suggest that patients with HS ILAE type 2 perform better on preoperative memory measures, but individually there were no differences in the magnitude of memory impairment. Following surgery, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in the proportion of patients who declined. Future research should focus on quantitative measurements

  2. Using Virtual Reality to Characterize Episodic Memory Profiles in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: Influence of Active and Passive Encoding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plancher, G.; Tirard, A.; Gyselinck, V.; Nicolas, S.; Piolino, P.

    2012-01-01

    Most neuropsychological assessments of episodic memory bear little similarity to the events that patients actually experience as memories in daily life. The first aim of this study was to use a virtual environment to characterize episodic memory profiles in an ecological fashion, which includes memory for central and perceptual details,…

  3. Functional neuroimaging of semantic and episodic musical memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Platel, Hervé

    2005-12-01

    The distinction between episodic and semantic memory has become very popular since it was first proposed by Tulving in 1972. So far, very few neuropsychological, psychophysical, and imaging studies have related to the mnemonic aspects of music, notably on the long-term memory features, and practically nothing is known about the functional anatomy of long-term memory for music. Numerous functional imaging studies have shown that retrieval from semantic and episodic memory is subserved by distinct neural networks. For instance, the HERA model (hemispheric encoding/retrieval asymmetry) ascribes to the left prefrontal cortex a preferential role in the encoding process of episodic material and the recall of semantic information, while the right prefrontal cortex would preferentially operate in the recall of episodic information. However, these results were essentially obtained with verbal and visuo-spatial material. We have done a study to determine the neural substrates underlying the semantic and episodic components of music using familiar and nonfamiliar melodic tunes. Two distinct patterns of activations were found: bilateral activation of the middle and superior frontal areas and precuneus for episodic memory, and activation of the medial and orbital frontal cortex bilaterally, left angular gyrus, and the anterior part of the left middle and superior temporal gyri for semantic memory. We discuss these findings in light of the available neuropsychological data obtained in brain-damaged subjects and functional neuroimaging studies.

  4. Everyday memory impairment in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy caused by hippocampal sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rzezak, Patrícia; Lima, Ellen Marise; Gargaro, Ana Carolina; Coimbra, Erica; de Vincentiis, Silvia; Velasco, Tonicarlo Rodrigues; Leite, João Pereira; Busatto, Geraldo F; Valente, Kette D

    2017-04-01

    Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy caused by hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) have episodic memory impairment. Memory has rarely been evaluated using an ecologic measure, even though performance on these tests is more related to patients' memory complaints. We aimed to measure everyday memory of patients with TLE-HS to age- and gender-matched controls. We evaluated 31 patients with TLE-HS and 34 healthy controls, without epilepsy and psychiatric disorders, using the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test (RBMT), Visual Reproduction (WMS-III) and Logical Memory (WMS-III). We evaluated the impact of clinical variables such as the age of onset, epilepsy duration, AED use, history of status epilepticus, and seizure frequency on everyday memory. Statistical analyses were performed using MANCOVA with years of education as a confounding factor. Patients showed worse performance than controls on traditional memory tests and in the overall score of RBMT. Patients had more difficulties to recall names, a hidden belonging, to deliver a message, object recognition, to remember a story full of details, a previously presented short route, and in time and space orientation. Clinical epilepsy variables were not associated with RBMT performance. Memory span and working memory were correlated with worse performance on RBMT. Patients with TLE-HS demonstrated deficits in everyday memory functions. A standard neuropsychological battery, designed to assess episodic memory, would not evaluate these impairments. Impairment in recalling names, routes, stories, messages, and space/time disorientation can adversely impact social adaptation, and we must consider these ecologic measures with greater attention in the neuropsychological evaluation of patients with memory complaints. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Longitudinal patterns of semantic and episodic memory in frontotemporal lobar degeneration and Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Sharon X; Libon, David J; Wang, Xingmei; Massimo, Lauren; Moore, Peachie; Vesely, Luisa; Khan, Alea; Chatterjee, Anjan; Coslett, H Branch; Hurtig, Howard I; Liang, Tsao-Wei; Grossman, Murray

    2010-03-01

    The longitudinal assessment of episodic and semantic memory was obtained from 236 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 128) and with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD, n = 108), including patients with a social comportment/dysexecutive (SOC/EXEC) disorder, progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA), semantic dementia (SemD), and corticobasal syndrome (CBS). At the initial assessment, AD patients obtained a lower score on the delayed free recall test than other patients. Longitudinal analyses for delayed free recall found converging performance, with all patients reaching the same level of impairment as AD patients. On the initial evaluation for delayed recognition, AD patients also obtained lower scores than other groups. Longitudinal analyses for delayed recognition test performance found that AD patients consistently produced lower scores than other groups and no convergence between AD and other dementia groups was seen. For semantic memory, there were no initial between-group differences. However, longitudinal analyses for semantic memory revealed group differences over illness duration, with worse performance for SemD versus AD, PNFA, SOC/EXEC, and CBS patients. These data suggest the presence of specific longitudinal patterns of impairment for episodic and semantic memory in AD and FTLD patients suggesting that all forms of dementia do not necessarily converge into a single phenotype.

  6. Autobiographical thinking interferes with episodic memory consolidation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Craig

    Full Text Available New episodic memories are retained better if learning is followed by a few minutes of wakeful rest than by the encoding of novel external information. Novel encoding is said to interfere with the consolidation of recently acquired episodic memories. Here we report four experiments in which we examined whether autobiographical thinking, i.e. an 'internal' memory activity, also interferes with episodic memory consolidation. Participants were presented with three wordlists consisting of common nouns; one list was followed by wakeful rest, one by novel picture encoding and one by autobiographical retrieval/future imagination, cued by concrete sounds. Both novel encoding and autobiographical retrieval/future imagination lowered wordlist retention significantly. Follow-up experiments demonstrated that the interference by our cued autobiographical retrieval/future imagination delay condition could not be accounted for by the sound cues alone or by executive retrieval processes. Moreover, our results demonstrated evidence of a temporal gradient of interference across experiments. Thus, we propose that rich autobiographical retrieval/future imagination hampers the consolidation of recently acquired episodic memories and that such interference is particularly likely in the presence of external concrete cues.

  7. Interdependence of episodic and semantic memory: Evidence from neuropsychology

    OpenAIRE

    GREENBERG, DANIEL L.; VERFAELLIE, MIEKE

    2010-01-01

    Tulving's (1972) theory of memory draws a distinction between general knowledge (semantic memory) and memory for events (episodic memory). Neuropsychological studies have generally examined each type of memory in isolation, but theorists have long argued that these two forms of memory are interdependent. Here we review several lines of neuropsychological research that have explored the interdependence of episodic and semantic memory. The studies show that these forms of memory can affect each...

  8. Dynamic switching between semantic and episodic memory systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kompus, Kristiina; Olsson, Carl-Johan; Larsson, Anne; Nyberg, Lars

    2009-09-01

    It has been suggested that episodic and semantic long-term memory systems interact during retrieval. Here we examined the flexibility of memory retrieval in an associative task taxing memories of different strength, assumed to differentially engage episodic and semantic memory. Healthy volunteers were pre-trained on a set of 36 face-name pairs over a 6-week period. Another set of 36 items was shown only once during the same time period. About 3 months after the training period all items were presented in a randomly intermixed order in an event-related fMRI study of face-name memory. Once presented items differentially activated anterior cingulate cortex and a right prefrontal region that previously have been associated with episodic retrieval mode. High-familiar items were associated with stronger activation of posterior cortices and a left frontal region. These findings fit a model of memory retrieval by which early processes determine, on a trial-by-trial basis, if the task can be solved by the default semantic system. If not, there is a dynamic shift to cognitive control processes that guide retrieval from episodic memory.

  9. Memory sources of dreams: the incorporation of autobiographical rather than episodic experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malinowski, Josie E; Horton, Caroline L

    2014-08-01

    The present study aimed to explore autobiographical memories (long-lasting memories about the self) and episodic memories (memories about discrete episodes or events) within dream content. We adapted earlier episodic memory study paradigms and reinvestigated the incorporation of episodic memory sources into dreams, operationalizing episodic memory as featuring autonoetic consciousness, which is the feeling of truly re-experiencing or reliving a past event. Participants (n = 32) recorded daily diaries and dream diaries, and reported on wake-dream relations for 2 weeks. Using a new scale, dreams were rated for their episodic richness, which categorized memory sources of dreams as being truly episodic (featuring autonoetic consciousness), autobiographical (containing segregated features of experiences that pertained to waking life) or otherwise. Only one dream (0.5%) was found to contain an episodic memory. However, the majority of dreams (>80%) were found to contain low to moderate incorporations of autobiographical memory features. These findings demonstrate the inactivity of intact episodic memories, and emphasize the activity of autobiographical memory and processing within dreams. Taken together, this suggests that memories for personal experiences are experienced fragmentarily and selectively during dreaming, perhaps in order to assimilate these memories into the autobiographical memory schema. © 2014 European Sleep Research Society.

  10. Interaction between the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampal CA1 area is essential for episodic-like memory in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chao, Owen Y; Nikolaus, Susanne; Lira Brandão, Marcus; Huston, Joseph P; de Souza Silva, Maria A

    2017-05-01

    The interplay between medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus, particularly the hippocampal CA3 area, is critical for episodic memory. To what extent the mPFC also interacts with the hippocampus CA1 subregion still requires elucidation. To investigate this issue, male rats received unilateral N-methyl- D -aspartate lesions of the mPFC together with unilateral lesions of the hippocampal CA1 area, either in the same (control) or in the opposite hemispheres (disconnection). They underwent an episodic-like memory test, combining what-where-when information, and separate tests for novel object preference (what), object place preference (where) and temporal order memory (when). Compared to controls, the disconnected mPFC-CA1 rats exhibited disrupted episodic-like memory with an impaired integration of the what-where-when elements. Both groups showed intact memories for what and when, while only the control group showed intact memory for where. These findings suggest that the functional interaction of the mPFC-CA1 circuit is crucial for the processing of episodic memory and, in particular, for the integration of the spatial memory component. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Episodic Memory, Semantic Memory, and Fluency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaefer, Carl F.

    1980-01-01

    Suggests that creating a second-language semantic network can be conceived as developing a plan for retrieving second-language word forms. Characteristics of linguistic performance which will promote fluency are discussed in light of the distinction between episodic and semantic memory. (AMH)

  12. Imagining the personal past: Episodic counterfactuals compared to episodic memories and episodic future projections

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Özbek, Müge; Bohn, Annette; Berntsen, Dorthe

    2017-01-01

    Episodic counterfactuals are imagined events that could have happened, but did not happen, in a person’s past. Such imagined past events are important aspects of mental life, affecting emotions, decisions, and behaviors. However, studies examining their phenomenological characteristics and content...... are few. Here we introduced a new method to systematically compare self-generated episodic counterfactuals to self-generated episodic memories and future projections with regard to their phenomenological characteristics (e.g., imagery, emotional valence, rehearsal) and content (e.g., reference to cultural...... distance. The findings show that imagined events are phenomenologically different from memories of experienced events, consistent with reality monitoring theory, and that imagined future events are different from both actual and imagined past events, consistent with some theories of motivation....

  13. Episodic memory and the witness trump card.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Jeremy; Craver, Carl

    2018-01-01

    We accept Mahr & Csibra's (M&C's) causal claim that episodic memory provides humans with the means for evaluating the veracity of reports about non-occurrent events. We reject their evolutionary argument that this is the proper function of episodic memory. We explore three intriguing implications of the causal claim, for cognitive neuropsychology, comparative psychology, and philosophy.

  14. The effects of meaningful irrelevant speech and road traffic noise on teachers' attention, episodic and semantic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enmarker, Ingela

    2004-11-01

    The aim of the present experiment was to examine the effects of meaningful irrelevant speech and road traffic noise on attention, episodic and semantic memory, and also to examine whether the noise effects were age-dependent. A total of 96 male and female teachers in the age range of 35-45 and 55-65 years were randomly assigned to a silent or the two noise conditions. Noise effects found in episodic memory were limited to a meaningful text, where cued recall contrary to expectations was equally impaired by the two types of noise. However, meaningful irrelevant speech also deteriorated recognition of the text, whereas road traffic noise caused no decrement. Retrieval from two word fluency tests in semantic memory showed strong effects of noise exposure, one affected by meaningful irrelevant speech and the other by road traffic noise. The results implied that both acoustic variation and the semantic interference could be of importance for noise impairments. The expected age-dependent noise effects did not show up.

  15. White matter structural connectivity and episodic memory in early childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngo, Chi T; Alm, Kylie H; Metoki, Athanasia; Hampton, William; Riggins, Tracy; Newcombe, Nora S; Olson, Ingrid R

    2017-12-01

    Episodic memory undergoes dramatic improvement in early childhood; the reason for this is poorly understood. In adults, episodic memory relies on a distributed neural network. Key brain regions that supporting these processes include the hippocampus, portions of the parietal cortex, and portions of prefrontal cortex, each of which shows different developmental profiles. Here we asked whether developmental differences in the axonal pathways connecting these regions may account for the robust gains in episodic memory in young children. Using diffusion weighted imaging, we examined whether white matter connectivity between brain regions implicated in episodic memory differed with age, and were associated with memory performance differences in 4- and 6-year-old children. Results revealed that white matter connecting the hippocampus to the inferior parietal lobule significantly predicted children's performance on episodic memory tasks. In contrast, variation in the white matter connecting the hippocampus to the medial prefrontal cortex did not relate to memory performance. These findings suggest that structural connectivity between the hippocampus and lateral parietal regions is relevant to the development of episodic memory. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  16. Memory of occasional events in rats: individual episodic memory profiles, flexibility, and neural substrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veyrac, Alexandra; Allerborn, Marina; Gros, Alexandra; Michon, Frederic; Raguet, Louise; Kenney, Jana; Godinot, Florette; Thevenet, Marc; Garcia, Samuel; Messaoudi, Belkacem; Laroche, Serge; Ravel, Nadine

    2015-05-13

    In search for the mechanisms underlying complex forms of human memory, such as episodic recollection, a primary challenge is to develop adequate animal models amenable to neurobiological investigation. Here, we proposed a novel framework and paradigm that provides means to quantitatively evaluate the ability of rats to form and recollect a combined knowledge of what happened, where it happened, and when or in which context it happened (referred to as episodic-like memory) after a few specific episodes in situations as close as possible to a paradigm we recently developed to study episodic memory in humans. In this task, rats have to remember two odor-drink associations (what happened) encountered in distinct locations (where it happened) within two different multisensory enriched environments (in which context/occasion it happened), each characterized by a particular combination of odors and places. By analyzing licking behavior on each drinking port, we characterized quantitatively individual recollection profiles and showed that rats are able to incidentally form and recollect an accurate, long-term integrated episodic-like memory that can last ≥ 24 d after limited exposure to the episodes. Placing rats in a contextually challenging recollection situation at recall reveals the ability for flexible use of episodic memory as described in humans. We further report that reversible inactivation of the dorsal hippocampus during recall disrupts the animal's capacity to recollect the complete episodic memory. Cellular imaging of c-Fos and Zif268 brain activation reveals that episodic memory recollection recruits a specific, distributed network of hippocampal-prefrontal cortex structures that correlates with the accuracy of the integrated recollection performance. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/337575-12$15.00/0.

  17. Neural changes underlying the development of episodic memory during middle childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghetti, Simona; Bunge, Silvia A

    2012-10-01

    Episodic memory is central to the human experience. In typically developing children, episodic memory improves rapidly during middle childhood. While the developmental cognitive neuroscience of episodic memory remains largely uncharted, recent research has begun to provide important insights. It has long been assumed that hippocampus-dependent binding mechanisms are in place by early childhood, and that improvements in episodic memory observed during middle childhood result from the protracted development of the prefrontal cortex. We revisit the notion that binding mechanisms are age-invariant, and propose that changes in the hippocampus and its projections to cortical regions also contribute to the development of episodic memory. We further review the role of developmental changes in lateral prefrontal and parietal cortices in this development. Finally, we discuss changes in white matter tracts connecting brain regions that are critical for episodic memory. Overall, we argue that changes in episodic memory emerge from the concerted effort of a network of relevant brain structures. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Neural Changes Underlying the Development of Episodic Memory During Middle Childhood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghetti, Simona; Bunge, Silvia A.

    2012-01-01

    Episodic memory is central to the human experience. In typically developing children, episodic memory improves rapidly during middle childhood. While the developmental cognitive neuroscience of episodic memory remains largely uncharted, recent research has begun to provide important insights. It has long been assumed that hippocampus-dependent binding mechanisms are in place by early childhood, and that improvements in episodic memory observed during middle childhood result from the protracted development of the prefrontal cortex. We revisit the notion that binding mechanisms are age-invariant, and propose that changes in the hippocampus and its projections to cortical regions also contribute to the development of episodic memory. We further review the role of developmental changes in lateral prefrontal and parietal cortices in this development. Finally, we discuss changes in white matter tracts connecting brain regions that are critical for episodic memory. Overall, we argue that changes in episodic memory emerge from the concerted effort of a network of relevant brain structures. PMID:22770728

  19. Physical Activity Is Positively Associated with Episodic Memory in Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, Scott M; Alosco, Michael L; Hayes, Jasmeet P; Cadden, Margaret; Peterson, Kristina M; Allsup, Kelly; Forman, Daniel E; Sperling, Reisa A; Verfaellie, Mieke

    2015-11-01

    Aging is associated with performance reductions in executive function and episodic memory, although there is substantial individual variability in cognition among older adults. One factor that may be positively associated with cognition in aging is physical activity. To date, few studies have objectively assessed physical activity in young and older adults, and examined whether physical activity is differentially associated with cognition in aging. Young (n=29, age 18-31 years) and older adults (n=31, ages 55-82 years) completed standardized neuropsychological testing to assess executive function and episodic memory capacities. An experimental face-name relational memory task was administered to augment assessment of episodic memory. Physical activity (total step count and step rate) was objectively assessed using an accelerometer, and hierarchical regressions were used to evaluate relationships between cognition and physical activity. Older adults performed more poorly on tasks of executive function and episodic memory. Physical activity was positively associated with a composite measure of visual episodic memory and face-name memory accuracy in older adults. Physical activity associations with cognition were independent of sedentary behavior, which was negatively correlated with memory performance. Physical activity was not associated with cognitive performance in younger adults. Physical activity is positively associated with episodic memory performance in aging. The relationship appears to be strongest for face-name relational memory and visual episodic memory, likely attributable to the fact that these tasks make strong demands on the hippocampus. The results suggest that physical activity relates to cognition in older, but not younger adults.

  20. Neocortical connectivity during episodic memory formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Summerfield, Christopher; Greene, Matthew; Wager, Tor; Egner, Tobias; Hirsch, Joy; Mangels, Jennifer

    2006-05-01

    During the formation of new episodic memories, a rich array of perceptual information is bound together for long-term storage. However, the brain mechanisms by which sensory representations (such as colors, objects, or individuals) are selected for episodic encoding are currently unknown. We describe a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment in which participants encoded the association between two classes of visual stimuli that elicit selective responses in the extrastriate visual cortex (faces and houses). Using connectivity analyses, we show that correlation in the hemodynamic signal between face- and place-sensitive voxels and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is a reliable predictor of successful face-house binding. These data support the view that during episodic encoding, "top-down" control signals originating in the prefrontal cortex help determine which perceptual information is fated to be bound into the new episodic memory trace.

  1. Neocortical connectivity during episodic memory formation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher Summerfield

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available During the formation of new episodic memories, a rich array of perceptual information is bound together for long-term storage. However, the brain mechanisms by which sensory representations (such as colors, objects, or individuals are selected for episodic encoding are currently unknown. We describe a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment in which participants encoded the association between two classes of visual stimuli that elicit selective responses in the extrastriate visual cortex (faces and houses. Using connectivity analyses, we show that correlation in the hemodynamic signal between face- and place-sensitive voxels and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is a reliable predictor of successful face-house binding. These data support the view that during episodic encoding, "top-down" control signals originating in the prefrontal cortex help determine which perceptual information is fated to be bound into the new episodic memory trace.

  2. Personal semantic and episodic autobiographical memories in Korsakoff syndrome: A comparison of interview methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rensen, Yvonne C M; Kessels, Roy P C; Migo, Ellen M; Wester, Arie J; Eling, Paul A T M; Kopelman, Michael D

    2017-08-01

    The temporal gradient in patients with Korsakoff's syndrome has been of particular interest in the literature, as many studies have found evidence for a steep temporal gradient, but others have observed more uniform remote memory impairment across all past time periods. Inconsistencies might be the result of the nature of remote memory impairment under study (i.e., nonpersonal or autobiographical memory) and of methodological differences in the examination of remote memory loss. The aim of this study was to examine whether differences between autobiographical memory interview (AMI) and autobiographical interview (AI) procedures influence the presence of a temporal gradient in semantic and episodic autobiographical memory in Korsakoff patients. The procedure used in the present study combined the AMI and AI into one study session. We compared the performance of 20 patients with Korsakoff's syndrome and 27 healthy controls. First, participants were asked to recall knowledge from different life periods. Second, participants were asked to recall memories from five life periods. Thirdly, participants were asked to rate their subjective experience of each event recalled on a 5-point scale. Finally, we analyzed the findings in terms of all the memories recalled versus the first memory from each life-period only. Both the AMI and the AI showed a temporally graded retrograde amnesia in the Korsakoff patients for personal semantic and episodic autobiographical memories. The pattern of amnesia in Korsakoff patients was not affected by examining only one event per life-period. Subjective ratings of recalled memories were largely comparable between the groups. The findings were generally consistent across the AMI and AI. Varying the number of events did not affect the pattern of the gradient. Hence, the temporal gradient in Korsakoff patients is not an artefact of either the AMI or the AI method.

  3. Episodic Memory and Episodic Future Thinking Impairments in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Underlying Difficulty With Scene Construction or Self-Projection?

    OpenAIRE

    Lind, Sophie E.; Williams, David M.; Bowler, Dermot M.; Peel, Anna

    2013-01-01

    Objective: There appears to be a common network of brain regions that underlie the ability to recall\\ud past personal experiences (episodic memory) and the ability to imagine possible future personal\\ud experiences (episodic future thinking). At the cognitive level, these abilities are thought to rely on\\ud “scene construction” (the ability to bind together multimodal elements of a scene in mind—\\ud dependent on hippocampal functioning) and temporal “self-projection” (the ability to mentally\\...

  4. Music-related reward responses predict episodic memory performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreri, Laura; Rodriguez-Fornells, Antoni

    2017-12-01

    Music represents a special type of reward involving the recruitment of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. According to recent theories on episodic memory formation, as dopamine strengthens the synaptic potentiation produced by learning, stimuli triggering dopamine release could result in long-term memory improvements. Here, we behaviourally test whether music-related reward responses could modulate episodic memory performance. Thirty participants rated (in terms of arousal, familiarity, emotional valence, and reward) and encoded unfamiliar classical music excerpts. Twenty-four hours later, their episodic memory was tested (old/new recognition and remember/know paradigm). Results revealed an influence of music-related reward responses on memory: excerpts rated as more rewarding were significantly better recognized and remembered. Furthermore, inter-individual differences in the ability to experience musical reward, measured through the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire, positively predicted memory performance. Taken together, these findings shed new light on the relationship between music, reward and memory, showing for the first time that music-driven reward responses are directly implicated in higher cognitive functions and can account for individual differences in memory performance.

  5. Effects of BDNF polymorphism and physical activity on episodic memory in the elderly: a cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canivet, Anne; Albinet, Cédric T; André, Nathalie; Pylouster, Jean; Rodríguez-Ballesteros, Montserrat; Kitzis, Alain; Audiffren, Michel

    2015-01-01

    The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration is highest in the hippocampus compared with that in other brain structures and affects episodic memory, a cognitive function that is impaired in older adults. According to the neurotrophic hypothesis, BDNF released during physical activity enhances brain plasticity and consequently brain health. However, even if the physical activity level is involved in the secretion of neurotrophin, this protein is also under the control of a specific gene. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of the interaction between physical activity and BDNF Val66Met (rs6265), a genetic polymorphism, on episodic memory. Two hundred and five volunteers aged 55 and older with a Mini Mental State Examination score ≥ 24 participated in this study. Four groups of participants were established according to their physical activity level and polymorphism BDNF profile (Active Val homozygous, Inactive Val homozygous, Active Met carriers, Inactive Met carriers). Episodic memory was evaluated based on the delayed recall of the Logical Memory test of the MEM III battery. As expected, the physical activity level interacted with BDNF polymorphism to affect episodic memory performance (p physical activity and BDNF Val66Met polymorphism that affects episodic memory in the elderly and confirms that physical activity contributes to the neurotrophic mechanism implicated in cognitive health. The interaction shows that only participants with Val/Val polymorphism benefited from physical activity.

  6. Imaging episodic memory: implications for cognitive theories and phenomena.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyberg, L

    1999-01-01

    Functional neuroimaging studies are beginning to identify neuroanatomical correlates of various cognitive functions. This paper presents results relevant to several theories and phenomena of episodic memory, including component processes of episodic retrieval, encoding specificity, inhibition, item versus source memory, encoding-retrieval overlap, and the picture-superiority effect. Overall, by revealing specific activation patterns, the results provide support for existing theoretical views and they add some unique information which may be important to consider in future attempts to develop cognitive theories of episodic memory.

  7. Negative emotional content disrupts the coherence of episodic memories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bisby, James A; Horner, Aidan J; Bush, Daniel; Burgess, Neil

    2018-02-01

    Events are thought to be stored in episodic memory as coherent representations, in which the constituent elements are bound together so that a cue can trigger reexperience of all elements via pattern completion. Negative emotional content can strongly influence memory, but opposing theories predict strengthening or weakening of memory coherence. Across a series of experiments, participants imagined a number of person-location-object events with half of the events including a negative element (e.g., an injured person), and memory was tested across all within event associations. We show that the presence of a negative element reduces memory for associations between event elements, including between neutral elements encoded after a negative element. The presence of a negative element reduces the coherence with which a multimodal event is remembered. Our results, supported by a computational model, suggest that coherent retrieval from neutral events is supported by pattern completion, but that negative content weakens associative encoding which impairs this process. Our findings have important implications for understanding the way traumatic events are encoded and support therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring associations between negative content and its surrounding context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. Spatial working memory in aging and mild cognitive impairment: effects of task load and contextual cueing.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kessels, R.P.C.; Meulenbroek, O.V.; Fernandez, G.S.E.; Olde Rikkert, M.G.M.

    2010-01-01

    Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is characterized by episodic memory deficits, while aspects of working memory may also be implicated, but studies into this latter domain are scarce and results are inconclusive. Using a computerized search paradigm, this study compares 25 young adults, 25 typically

  9. Spatial Working Memory in Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Effects of Task Load and Contextual Cueing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kessels, R.P.C.; Meulenbroek, O.V.; Fernandez, G.S.E.; Olde Rikkert, M.G.M.

    2010-01-01

    Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is characterized by episodic memory deficits, while aspects of working memory may also be implicated, but studies into this latter domain are scarce and results are inconclusive. Using a computerized search paradigm, this study compares 25 young adults, 25 typically

  10. Why do we remember? The communicative function of episodic memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahr, Johannes B.; Csibra, Gergely

    2017-01-01

    Short Abstract We propose a novel account of episodic memory function based on a conceptual and empirical analysis of its role in belief formation. We provide a critique of the view that episodic memory serves future-directed imagination, and argue that the central features of this capacity can instead be explained by the role it plays in human communication. On this view, episodic memory allows us to communicatively support our interpretations of the past by gauging when we can assert epistemic authority. This capacity is ineliminable in justification of, and negotiations about, social commitments established by past interactions. Long Abstract Episodic memory has been analyzed in a number of different ways in both philosophy and psychology, and most controversy has centered on its self-referential, ‘autonoetic’ character. Here, we offer a comprehensive characterization of episodic memory in representational terms, and propose a novel functional account on this basis. We argue that episodic memory should be understood as a distinctive epistemic attitude taken towards an event simulation. On this view, episodic memory has a metarepresentational format and should not be equated with beliefs about the past. Instead, empirical findings suggest that the contents of human episodic memory are often constructed in the service of the explicit justification of such beliefs. Existing accounts of episodic memory function that have focused on explaining its constructive character through its role in ‘future-oriented mental time travel’ neither do justice to its capacity to ground veridical beliefs about the past nor to its representational format. We provide an account of the metarepresentational structure of episodic memory in terms of its role in communicative interaction. The generative nature of recollection allows us to represent and communicate the reasons for why we hold certain beliefs about the past. In this process, autonoesis corresponds to the capacity to

  11. Episodic memory for human-like agents and human-like agents for episodic memory

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Brom, C.; Lukavský, Jiří; Kadlec, R.

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 2, č. 2 (2010), s. 227-244 ISSN 1793-8473 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70250504 Keywords : episodic memory * virtual agent * modelling Subject RIV: AN - Psychology http://www.worldscinet.com/ijmc/02/0202/S1793843010000461.html

  12. Hippocampal Volume Reduction in Humans Predicts Impaired Allocentric Spatial Memory in Virtual-Reality Navigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guderian, Sebastian; Dzieciol, Anna M; Gadian, David G; Jentschke, Sebastian; Doeller, Christian F; Burgess, Neil; Mishkin, Mortimer; Vargha-Khadem, Faraneh

    2015-10-21

    The extent to which navigational spatial memory depends on hippocampal integrity in humans is not well documented. We investigated allocentric spatial recall using a virtual environment in a group of patients with severe hippocampal damage (SHD), a group of patients with "moderate" hippocampal damage (MHD), and a normal control group. Through four learning blocks with feedback, participants learned the target locations of four different objects in a circular arena. Distal cues were present throughout the experiment to provide orientation. A circular boundary as well as an intra-arena landmark provided spatial reference frames. During a subsequent test phase, recall of all four objects was tested with only the boundary or the landmark being present. Patients with SHD were impaired in both phases of this task. Across groups, performance on both types of spatial recall was highly correlated with memory quotient (MQ), but not with intelligence quotient (IQ), age, or sex. However, both measures of spatial recall separated experimental groups beyond what would be expected based on MQ, a widely used measure of general memory function. Boundary-based and landmark-based spatial recall were both strongly related to bilateral hippocampal volumes, but not to volumes of the thalamus, putamen, pallidum, nucleus accumbens, or caudate nucleus. The results show that boundary-based and landmark-based allocentric spatial recall are similarly impaired in patients with SHD, that both types of recall are impaired beyond that predicted by MQ, and that recall deficits are best explained by a reduction in bilateral hippocampal volumes. In humans, bilateral hippocampal atrophy can lead to profound impairments in episodic memory. Across species, perhaps the most well-established contribution of the hippocampus to memory is not to episodic memory generally but to allocentric spatial memory. However, the extent to which navigational spatial memory depends on hippocampal integrity in humans is

  13. Volume of hippocampal subfields and episodic memory in childhood and adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Joshua K; Ekstrom, Arne D; Ghetti, Simona

    2014-07-01

    Episodic memory critically depends on the hippocampus to bind the features of an experience into memory. Episodic memory develops in childhood and adolescence, and hippocampal changes during this period may contribute to this development. Little is known, however, about how the hippocampus contributes to episodic memory development. The hippocampus is comprised of several cytoarchitectural subfields with functional significance for episodic memory. However, hippocampal subfields have not been assessed in vivo during child development, nor has their relation with episodic memory been assessed during this period. In the present study, high-resolution T2-weighted images of the hippocampus were acquired in 39 children and adolescents aged 8 to 14 years (M=11.30, SD=2.38), and hippocampal subfields were segmented using a protocol previously validated in adult populations. We first validated the method in children and adolescents and examined age-related differences in hippocampal subfields and correlations between subfield volumes and episodic memory. Significant age-related increases in the subfield volume were observed into early adolescence in the right CA3/DG and CA1. The right CA3/DG subfield volumes were positively correlated with accurate episodic memory for item-color relations, and the right CA3/DG and subiculum were negatively correlated with item false alarm rates. Subfield development appears to follow a protracted developmental trajectory, and likely plays a pivotal role in episodic memory development. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Remembering in Contradictory Minds: Disjunction Fallacies in Episodic Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brainerd, C. J.; Reyna, V. F.; Aydin, C.

    2010-01-01

    Disjunction fallacies have been extensively studied in probability judgment. They should also occur in episodic memory, if remembering a cue's episodic state depends on how its state is described on a memory test (e.g., being described as a target vs. as a distractor). If memory is description-dependent, cues will be remembered as occupying…

  15. Long-term episodic memory decline is associated with olfactory deficits only in carriers of ApoE-є4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olofsson, Jonas K; Josefsson, Maria; Ekström, Ingrid; Wilson, Donald; Nyberg, Lars; Nordin, Steven; Nordin Adolfsson, Annelie; Adolfsson, Rolf; Nilsson, Lars-Göran; Larsson, Maria

    2016-05-01

    The ɛ4 allele of the Apolipoprotein E gene is a genetic risk factor for late-onset dementia of the Alzheimers' type (DAT), which is characterized by loss of both episodic memory and olfactory functions. Little is known about the possible role of ɛ4 in the association between ongoing episodic memory decline and olfactory deficits in the general population, but such information is relevant in determining the relevance of olfaction as a marker of DAT risk. The present study was based on a large, population-based sample (n=1087, aged 45-90 years, of which 324 were ɛ4-carriers). Episodic memory change rates were established using data collected every 5 years for a 10-20 year interval leading up to an olfactory assessment using the Scandinavian Odor Identification Test at the last wave of data collection. Participants were classified according to whether or not their episodic memory ability declined more rapidly than the age-typical norm (by >1SD). Our main result is that only in ɛ4-carriers was episodic memory decline associated with odor identification impairment. In individuals without ɛ4, odor identification was unrelated to episodic memory decline status. Follow-up analyses indicated that this moderation by ɛ4 was due to the olfactory nature of the identification test, and that the effect was not caused by 63 individuals with dementia. Our results suggest that the ɛ4 determines the functional association between ongoing episodic memory decline and olfaction. These findings are consistent with the notion that ɛ4-carriers with DAT, compared to non-carriers, display a cortical atrophy pattern that is more focused on mediotemporal lobe regions supporting olfactory and episodic memory functions. Olfactory and memory assessments might provide complementary information on mediotemporal atrophy prior to clinical dementia onset, but the ɛ4 should be considered when using olfactory assessment as an early-stage indicator. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Aortic stiffness and hypotension episodes are associated with impaired cognitive function in older subjects with subjective complaints of memory loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scuteri, Angelo; Tesauro, Manfredi; Guglini, Letizia; Lauro, Davide; Fini, Massimo; Di Daniele, Nicola

    2013-11-20

    Though CV risk factors and markers of arterial aging are recognized risky for cognition, no study has simultaneously investigated the impact of multiple cardiac, arterial (large and small vessels), and hemodynamic parameters on cognitive function in older subjects. Two hundred eighty older subjects with subjective complaints of memory loss and no previous stroke (mean age 78.3 ± 6.3 years) were studied. Global cognitive function was evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Cognitive impairment was defined as a MMSE cognitive function-controlling for age, sex, education, depression, traditional CV risk factors, and medications. LV mass was no longer associated with cognition in multiple regression. Older subjects with stiffer arteries or episodes of hypotension presented a 4-fold and an 11-fold, respectively, greater odds for progression from normal cognitive function to cognitive impairment. A synergistic effect between PWV, WML, and hypotension was observed: the occurrence of any two of PWV, WML, or hypotension was accompanied by lower MMSE; in the presence of all three factors, a further significant decline in cognitive function was observed. Systemic hemodynamic parameters (higher PWV and hypotension) together with cerebral microvascular damage (WML) are significantly associated with poorer cognitive function and may identify older subjects with subjective complaints of memory loss at higher risk of cognitive decline. © 2013.

  17. Sleep benefits in parallel implicit and explicit measures of episodic memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Frederik D.; Wang, Jing-Yi; Born, Jan; Inostroza, Marion

    2014-01-01

    Research in rats using preferences during exploration as a measure of memory has indicated that sleep is important for the consolidation of episodic-like memory, i.e., memory for an event bound into specific spatio-temporal context. How these findings relate to human episodic memory is unclear. We used spontaneous preferences during visual exploration and verbal recall as, respectively, implicit and explicit measures of memory, to study effects of sleep on episodic memory consolidation in humans. During encoding before 10-h retention intervals that covered nighttime sleep or daytime wakefulness, two groups of young adults were presented with two episodes that were 1-h apart. Each episode entailed a spatial configuration of four different faces in a 3 × 3 grid of locations. After the retention interval, implicit spatio-temporal recall performance was assessed by eye-tracking visual exploration of another configuration of four faces of which two were from the first and second episode, respectively; of the two faces one was presented at the same location as during encoding and the other at another location. Afterward explicit verbal recall was assessed. Measures of implicit and explicit episodic memory retention were positively correlated (r = 0.57, P memory recall was associated with increased fast spindles during nonrapid eye movement (NonREM) sleep (r = 0.62, P memory benefits from sleep. PMID:24634354

  18. Why do we remember? The communicative function of episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahr, Johannes; Csibra, Gergely

    2017-01-19

    Episodic memory has been analyzed in a number of different ways in both philosophy and psychology, and most controversy has centered on its self-referential, 'autonoetic' character. Here, we offer a comprehensive characterization of episodic memory in representational terms, and propose a novel functional account on this basis. We argue that episodic memory should be understood as a distinctive epistemic attitude taken towards an event simulation. On this view, episodic memory has a metarepresentational format and should not be equated with beliefs about the past. Instead, empirical findings suggest that the contents of human episodic memory are often constructed in the service of the explicit justification of such beliefs. Existing accounts of episodic memory function that have focused on explaining its constructive character through its role in 'future-oriented mental time travel' neither do justice to its capacity to ground veridical beliefs about the past nor to its representational format. We provide an account of the metarepresentational structure of episodic memory in terms of its role in communicative interaction. The generative nature of recollection allows us to represent and communicate the reasons for why we hold certain beliefs about the past. In this process, autonoesis corresponds to the capacity to determine when and how to assert epistemic authority in making claims about the past. A domain where such claims are indispensable are human social engagements. Such engagements commonly require the justification of entitlements and obligations, which is often possible only by explicit reference to specific past events.

  19. Longitudinal association between hippocampus atrophy and episodic-memory decline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorbach, Tetiana; Pudas, Sara; Lundquist, Anders; Orädd, Greger; Josefsson, Maria; Salami, Alireza; de Luna, Xavier; Nyberg, Lars

    2017-03-01

    There is marked variability in both onset and rate of episodic-memory decline in aging. Structural magnetic resonance imaging studies have revealed that the extent of age-related brain changes varies markedly across individuals. Past studies of whether regional atrophy accounts for episodic-memory decline in aging have yielded inconclusive findings. Here we related 15-year changes in episodic memory to 4-year changes in cortical and subcortical gray matter volume and in white-matter connectivity and lesions. In addition, changes in word fluency, fluid IQ (Block Design), and processing speed were estimated and related to structural brain changes. Significant negative change over time was observed for all cognitive and brain measures. A robust brain-cognition change-change association was observed for episodic-memory decline and atrophy in the hippocampus. This association was significant for older (65-80 years) but not middle-aged (55-60 years) participants and not sensitive to the assumption of ignorable attrition. Thus, these longitudinal findings highlight medial-temporal lobe system integrity as particularly crucial for maintaining episodic-memory functioning in older age. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Episodic Memory Dysfunction in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia: A Clinical And FDG-PET Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Matarrubia, Marta; Matías-Guiu, Jordi A; Cabrera-Martín, María Nieves; Moreno-Ramos, Teresa; Valles-Salgado, María; Carreras, José Luis; Matías-Guiu, Jorge

    2017-01-01

    Episodic memory disturbance is still considered as an exclusion criterion for behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), but growing evidence suggests that memory can be impaired. Our main purposes were to assess episodic memory in a group of bvFTD patients comparatively with Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, and analyze the relationship between episodic memory and brain metabolism measured using positron emission tomography imaging with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET). Twenty-six bvFTD, 29 AD, and 24 healthy controls were included. Episodic memory was assessed by the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT), which controls for effective encoding and measures memory consolidation processing. All participants underwent FDG-PET brain scans to provide data for voxel-based brain mapping analysis. Half of bvFTD patients had a deficit of total, free delayed, and total free delayed recall as severe as AD patients (amnestic-FTD). The other half had FCSRT scores similar to controls (non-amnestic-FTD). Imaging analyses revealed that amnestic-FTD showed bilateral lower metabolism than non-amnestic-FTD in anterior parahippocampal and inferior temporal gyri. Additionally, FCSRT total and total delayed scores were inversely correlated with parahippocampal metabolism in both bvFTD and AD. Besides, bvFTD showed an inverse association among FCSRT and inferior temporal metabolism. Our findings support that bvFTD could present a genuine amnesia affecting storage and consolidation abilities, which involves structures implicated in the Papez circuit, as occurs in AD, and also inferior temporal regions. These results contribute to understanding the mechanisms underpinning memory dysfunction in bvFTD, and may be relevant to further revisions of the current diagnostic criteria.

  1. Episodic Memory and Beyond: The Hippocampus and Neocortex in Transformation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moscovitch, Morris; Cabeza, Roberto; Winocur, Gordon; Nadel, Lynn

    2016-01-01

    The last decade has seen dramatic technological and conceptual changes in research on episodic memory and the brain. New technologies, and increased use of more naturalistic observations, have enabled investigators to delve deeply into the structures that mediate episodic memory, particularly the hippocampus, and to track functional and structural interactions among brain regions that support it. Conceptually, episodic memory is increasingly being viewed as subject to lifelong transformations that are reflected in the neural substrates that mediate it. In keeping with this dynamic perspective, research on episodic memory (and the hippocampus) has infiltrated domains, from perception to language and from empathy to problem solving, that were once considered outside its boundaries. Using the component process model as a framework, and focusing on the hippocampus, its subfields, and specialization along its longitudinal axis, along with its interaction with other brain regions, we consider these new developments and their implications for the organization of episodic memory and its contribution to functions in other domains.

  2. Sleep, Torpor and Memory Impairment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palchykova, S.; Tobler, I.

    It is now well known that daily torpor induces a sleep deficit. Djungarian hamsters emerging from this hypometabolic state spend most of the time in sleep. This sleep is characterized by high initial values of EEG slow-wave activity (SWA) that monotonically decline during recovery sleep. These features resemble the changes seen in numerous species during recovery after prolonged wakefulness or sleep deprivation (SD). When hamsters are totally or partially sleep deprived immediately after emerging from torpor, an additional increase in SWA can be induced. It has been therefore postulated, that these slow- waves are homeostatically regulated, as predicted by the two-process model of sleep regulation, and that during daily torpor a sleep deficit is accumulated as it is during prolonged waking. The predominance of SWA in the frontal EEG observed both after SD and daily torpor provides further evidence for the similarity of these conditions. It has been shown in several animal and human studies that sleep can enhance memory consolidation, and that SD leads to memory impairment. Preliminary data obtained in the Djungarian hamster showed that both SD and daily torpor result in object recognition deficits. Thus, animals subjected to SD immediately after learning, or if they underwent an episode of daily torpor between learning and retention, displayed impaired recognition memory for complex object scenes. The investigation of daily torpor can reveal mechanisms that could have important implications for hypometabolic state induction in other mammalian species, including humans.

  3. Prefrontal activity and impaired memory encoding strategies in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guimond, Synthia; Hawco, Colin; Lepage, Martin

    2017-08-01

    Schizophrenia patients have significant memory difficulties that have far-reaching implications in their daily life. These impairments are partly attributed to an inability to self-initiate effective memory encoding strategies, but its core neurobiological correlates remain unknown. The current study addresses this critical gap in our knowledge of episodic memory impairments in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia patients (n = 35) and healthy controls (n = 23) underwent a Semantic Encoding Memory Task (SEMT) during an fMRI scan. Brain activity was examined for conditions where participants were a) prompted to use semantic encoding strategies, or b) not prompted but required to self-initiate such strategies. When prompted to use semantic encoding strategies, schizophrenia patients exhibited similar recognition performance and brain activity as healthy controls. However, when required to self-initiate these strategies, patients had significant reduced recognition performance and brain activity in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, as well as in the left temporal gyrus, left superior parietal lobule, and cerebellum. When patients were divided based on performance on the SEMT, the subgroup with more severe deficits in self-initiation also showed greater reduction in left dorsolateral prefrontal activity. These results suggest that impaired self-initiation of elaborative encoding strategies is a driving feature of memory deficits in schizophrenia. We also identified the neural correlates of impaired self-initiation of semantic encoding strategies, in which a failure to activate the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex plays a key role. These findings provide important new targets in the development of novel treatments aiming to improve memory and ultimately patients' outcome. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. Effects of Saccadic Bilateral Eye Movements on Episodic & Semantic Autobiographical Memory Fluency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew eParker

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Performing a sequence of fast saccadic horizontal eye movements has been shown to facilitate performance on a range of cognitive tasks, including the retrieval of episodic memories. One explanation for these effects is based on the hypothesis that saccadic eye movements increase hemispheric interaction, and that such interactions are important for particular types of memory. The aim of the current research was to assess the effect of horizontal saccadic eye movements on the retrieval of both episodic autobiographical memory (event/incident based memory and semantic autobiographical memory (fact based memory over recent and more distant time periods. It was found that saccadic eye movements facilitated the retrieval of episodic autobiographical memories (over all time periods but not semantic autobiographical memories. In addition, eye movements did not enhance the retrieval of non-autobiographical semantic memory. This finding illustrates a dissociation between the episodic and semantic characteristics of personal memory and is considered within the context of hemispheric contributions to episodic memory performance.

  5. Rescue of cAMP response element-binding protein signaling reversed spatial memory retention impairments induced by subanesthetic dose of propofol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hao; Zhang, Shao-Bo; Zhang, Qing-Qing; Liu, Meng; He, Xing-Ying; Zou, Zui; Sun, Hai-Jing; You, Zhen-Dong; Shi, Xue-Yin

    2013-07-01

    The intravenous anesthetic propofol caused episodic memory impairments in human. We hypothesized propofol caused episodic-like spatial memory retention but not acquisition impairments in rats and rescuing cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) signaling using selective type IV phosphodiesterase (PDEIV) inhibitor rolipram reversed these effects. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into four groups: control; propofol (25 mg/kg, intraperitoneal); rolipram; and rolipram + propofol (pretreatment of rolipram 25 min before propofol, 0.3 mg/kg, intraperitoneal). Sedation and motor coordination were evaluated 5, 15, and 25 min after propofol injection. Invisible Morris water maze (MWM) acquisition and probe test (memory retention) were performed 5 min and 24 h after propofol injection. Visible MWM training was simultaneously performed to resist nonspatial effects. Hippocampal CREB signaling was detected 5 min, 50 min, and 24 h after propofol administration. Rolipram did not change propofol-induced anesthetic/sedative states or impair motor skills. No difference was found on the latency to the platform during the visible MWM. Propofol impaired spatial memory retention but not acquisition. Rolipram reversed propofol-induced spatial memory impairments and suppression on cAMP levels, CaMKIIα and CREB phosphorylation, brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and Arc protein expression. Propofol caused spatial memory retention impairments but not acquisition inability possibly by inhibiting CREB signaling. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Episodic and Semantic Autobiographical Memory and Everyday Memory during Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

    OpenAIRE

    Willoughby, Karen A.; Desrocher, Mary; Levine, Brian; Rovet, Joanne F.

    2012-01-01

    Few studies have examined both episodic and semantic autobiographical memory (AM) performance during late childhood and early adolescence. Using the newly developed Children’s Autobiographical Interview (CAI), the present study examined the effects of age and sex on episodic and semantic AM and everyday memory in 182 children and adolescents. Results indicated that episodic and semantic AM both improved between 8 and 16 years of age; however, age-related changes were larger for episodic AM th...

  7. Episodic memories and their relevance for psychoactive drug use and addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Christian P

    2013-01-01

    The majority of adult people in western societies regularly consume psychoactive drugs. While this consumption is integrated in everyday life activities and controlled in most consumers, it may escalate and result in drug addiction. Non-addicted drug use requires the systematic establishment of highly organized behaviors, such as drug-seeking and -taking. While a significant role for classical and instrumental learning processes is well established in drug use and abuse, declarative drug memories have largely been neglected in research. Episodic memories are an important part of the declarative memories. Here a role of episodic drug memories in the establishment of non-addicted drug use and its transition to addiction is suggested. In relation to psychoactive drug consumption, episodic drug memories are formed when a person prepares for consumption, when the drug is consumed and, most important, when acute effects, withdrawal, craving, and relapse are experienced. Episodic drug memories are one-trial memories with emotional components that can be much stronger than "normal" episodic memories. Their establishment coincides with drug-induced neuronal activation and plasticity. These memories may be highly extinction resistant and influence psychoactive drug consumption, in particular during initial establishment and at the transition to "drug instrumentalization." In that, understanding how addictive drugs interact with episodic memory circuits in the brain may provide crucial information for how drug use and addiction are established.

  8. Episodic memories and their relevance for psychoactive drug use and addiction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian P. Müller

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The majority of adult people in western societies regularly consume psychoactive drugs. While this consumption is integrated in everyday life activities and controlled in most consumers, it may escalate and result in drug addiction. Non-addicted drug use requires the systematic establishment of highly organized behaviours, such as drug seeking and -taking. While a significant role for classical and instrumental learning processes is well established in drug use and abuse, declarative drug memories have largely been neglected in research. Episodic memories are an important part of the declarative memories. Here a role of episodic drug memories in the establishment of non-addicted drug use and its transition to addiction is suggested. In relation to psychoactive drug consumption, episodic drug memories are formed when a person prepares for consumption, when the drug is consumed and, most important, when acute effects, withdrawal, craving, and relapse are experienced. Episodic drug memories are one-trial memories with emotional components that can be much stronger than ‘normal’ episodic memories. Their establishment coincides with drug-induced neuronal activation and plasticity. These memories may be highly extinction resistant and influence psychoactive drug consumption, in particular during initial establishment and at the transition to ‘drug instrumentalization’. In that, understanding how addictive drugs interact with episodic memory circuits in the brain may provide crucial information for how drug use and addiction are established.

  9. Episodic memory and future thinking during early childhood: Linking the past and future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuevas, Kimberly; Rajan, Vinaya; Morasch, Katherine C; Bell, Martha Ann

    2015-07-01

    Despite extensive examination of episodic memory and future thinking development, little is known about the concurrent emergence of these capacities during early childhood. In Experiment 1, 3-year-olds participated in an episodic memory hiding task ("what, when, where" [WWW] components) with an episodic future thinking component. In Experiment 2, a group of 4-year-olds (including children from Experiment 1) participated in the same task (different objects and locations), providing the first longitudinal investigation of episodic memory and future thinking. Although children exhibited age-related improvements in recall, recognition, and binding of the WWW episodic memory components, there were no age-related changes in episodic future thinking. At both ages, WWW episodic memory performance was higher than future thinking performance, and episodic future thinking and WWW memory components were unrelated. These findings suggest that the WWW components of episodic memory are potentially less fragile than the future components when assessed in a cognitively demanding task. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. The influence of action on episodic memory: a virtual reality study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plancher, Gaën; Barra, Julien; Orriols, Eric; Piolino, Pascale

    2013-01-01

    A range of empirical findings suggest that active learning is important for memory. However, few studies have focused on the mechanisms underlying this enactment effect in episodic memory using complex environments. Research using virtual reality has yielded inconsistent results. We postulated that the effect of action depends on the degree of interaction with the environment and freedom in the planning of an itinerary. To test these hypotheses, we disentangled the interaction and planning components of action to investigate whether each enhances factual and spatial memory. Seventy-two participants (36 male and 36 female) explored a virtual town in one of three experimental conditions: (a) a passive condition where participants were immersed as passenger of the car (no interaction, no planning); (b) a planning-only condition (the subject chose the itinerary but did not drive the car); (c) an interaction-only condition (the subject drove the car but the itinerary was fixed). We found that itinerary choice and motor control both enhanced spatial memory, while factual memory was impaired by online motor control. The role of action in memory is discussed.

  11. Constructive episodic simulation, flexible recombination, and memory errors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schacter, Daniel L; Carpenter, Alexis C; Devitt, Aleea; Roberts, Reece P; Addis, Donna Rose

    2018-01-01

    According to Mahr & Csibra (M&C), the view that the constructive nature of episodic memory is related to its role in simulating future events has difficulty explaining why memory is often accurate. We hold this view, but disagree with their conclusion. Here we consider ideas and evidence regarding flexible recombination processes in episodic retrieval that accommodate both accuracy and distortion.

  12. Episodic memories predict adaptive value-based decision-making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murty, Vishnu; FeldmanHall, Oriel; Hunter, Lindsay E.; Phelps, Elizabeth A; Davachi, Lila

    2016-01-01

    Prior research illustrates that memory can guide value-based decision-making. For example, previous work has implicated both working memory and procedural memory (i.e., reinforcement learning) in guiding choice. However, other types of memories, such as episodic memory, may also influence decision-making. Here we test the role for episodic memory—specifically item versus associative memory—in supporting value-based choice. Participants completed a task where they first learned the value associated with trial unique lotteries. After a short delay, they completed a decision-making task where they could choose to re-engage with previously encountered lotteries, or new never before seen lotteries. Finally, participants completed a surprise memory test for the lotteries and their associated values. Results indicate that participants chose to re-engage more often with lotteries that resulted in high versus low rewards. Critically, participants not only formed detailed, associative memories for the reward values coupled with individual lotteries, but also exhibited adaptive decision-making only when they had intact associative memory. We further found that the relationship between adaptive choice and associative memory generalized to more complex, ecologically valid choice behavior, such as social decision-making. However, individuals more strongly encode experiences of social violations—such as being treated unfairly, suggesting a bias for how individuals form associative memories within social contexts. Together, these findings provide an important integration of episodic memory and decision-making literatures to better understand key mechanisms supporting adaptive behavior. PMID:26999046

  13. Personal semantics: at the crossroads of semantic and episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renoult, Louis; Davidson, Patrick S R; Palombo, Daniela J; Moscovitch, Morris; Levine, Brian

    2012-11-01

    Declarative memory is usually described as consisting of two systems: semantic and episodic memory. Between these two poles, however, may lie a third entity: personal semantics (PS). PS concerns knowledge of one's past. Although typically assumed to be an aspect of semantic memory, it is essentially absent from existing models of knowledge. Furthermore, like episodic memory (EM), PS is idiosyncratically personal (i.e., not culturally-shared). We show that, depending on how it is operationalized, the neural correlates of PS can look more similar to semantic memory, more similar to EM, or dissimilar to both. We consider three different perspectives to better integrate PS into existing models of declarative memory and suggest experimental strategies for disentangling PS from semantic and episodic memory. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Preschool children's proto-episodic memory assessed by deferred imitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, Patrick; Russell, Charlotte; Russell, James

    2015-01-01

    In two experiments, both employing deferred imitation, we studied the developmental origins of episodic memory in two- to three-year-old children by adopting a "minimalist" view of episodic memory based on its What-When-Where ("WWW": spatiotemporal plus semantic) content. We argued that the temporal element within spatiotemporal should be the order/simultaneity of the event elements, but that it is not clear whether the spatial content should be egocentric or allocentric. We also argued that episodic recollection should be configural (tending towards all-or-nothing recall of the WWW elements). Our first deferred imitation experiment, using a two-dimensional (2D) display, produced superior-to-chance performance after 2.5 years but no evidence of configural memory. Moreover, performance did not differ from that on a What-What-What control task. Our second deferred imitation study required the children to reproduce actions on an object in a room, thereby affording layout-based spatial cues. In this case, not only was there superior-to-chance performance after 2.5 years but memory was also configural at both ages. We discuss the importance of allocentric spatial cues in episodic recall in early proto-episodic memory and reflect on the possible role of hippocampal development in this process.

  15. Hippocampal activation during retrieval of spatial context from episodic and semantic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoscheidt, Siobhan M; Nadel, Lynn; Payne, Jessica; Ryan, Lee

    2010-10-15

    The hippocampus, a region implicated in the processing of spatial information and episodic memory, is central to the debate concerning the relationship between episodic and semantic memory. Studies of medial temporal lobe amnesic patients provide evidence that the hippocampus is critical for the retrieval of episodic but not semantic memory. On the other hand, recent neuroimaging studies of intact individuals report hippocampal activation during retrieval of both autobiographical memories and semantic information that includes historical facts, famous faces, and categorical information, suggesting that episodic and semantic memory may engage the hippocampus during memory retrieval in similar ways. Few studies have matched episodic and semantic tasks for the degree to which they include spatial content, even though spatial content may be what drives hippocampal activation during semantic retrieval. To examine this issue, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in which retrieval of spatial and nonspatial information was compared during an episodic and semantic recognition task. Results show that the hippocampus (1) participates preferentially in the retrieval of episodic memories; (2) is also engaged by retrieval of semantic memories, particularly those that include spatial information. These data suggest that sharp dissociations between episodic and semantic memory may be overly simplistic and that the hippocampus plays a role in the retrieval of spatial content whether drawn from a memory of one's own life experiences or real-world semantic knowledge. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  16. Elements of episodic-like memory in animals.

    OpenAIRE

    Clayton, N S; Griffiths, D P; Emery, N J; Dickinson, A

    2001-01-01

    A number of psychologists have suggested that episodic memory is a uniquely human phenomenon and, until recently, there was little evidence that animals could recall a unique past experience and respond appropriately. Experiments on food-caching memory in scrub jays question this assumption. On the basis of a single caching episode, scrub jays can remember when and where they cached a variety of foods that differ in the rate at which they degrade, in a way that is inexplicable by relative fam...

  17. The loss of episodic memories in retrograde amnesia: single-case and group studies.

    OpenAIRE

    Kopelman, M D; Kapur, N

    2001-01-01

    Retrograde amnesia in neurological disorders is a perplexing and fascinating research topic. The severity of retrograde amnesia is not well correlated with that of anterograde amnesia, and there can be disproportionate impairments of either. Within retrograde amnesia, there are various dissociations which have been claimed-for example, between the more autobiographical (episodic) and more semantic components of memory. However, the associations of different types of retrograde amnesia are als...

  18. Low-dose tryptophan depletion in recovered depressed women induces impairments in autobiographical memory specificity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haddad, Anneke D M; Williams, J Mark G; McTavish, Sarah F B; Harmer, Catherine J

    2009-12-01

    Depressed patients perform poorly on tests of autobiographical memory specificity (AMS); this may have negative consequences for other important cognitive abilities, delays recovery from mood episodes, and, in recovered patients, may mediate vulnerability to future episodes. Although the cognitive mechanisms underlying AMS deficits are beginning to be understood, the neurobiological mechanisms remain unclear. Serotonin is implicated in both depression and long-term memory; therefore, temporary lowering of brain serotonin function via acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) offers a means of studying the role of serotonin in autobiographical memory specificity. In this study, 24 previously depressed women underwent low-dose ATD or sham depletion and completed tests of initial and delayed memory, recollection- and familiarity-based recognition, and AMS. ATD did not differentially affect state mood. Compared with sham depletion, ATD impaired immediate recall on the Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Although ATD did not differentially impair recollection- and familiarity-based recognition, it did slow recognition of positive words. ATD also reduced autobiographical memory specificity in response to negative cue words. The results confirm previous findings that low-dose ATD can reinstate depression-congruent biases in cognition without causing depressive mood in vulnerable populations. The ATD-induced reduction in memory specificity suggests that serotonergic dysfunction may mediate depressive deficits in autobiographical memory; the interaction of cognitive and neurobiological vulnerability mechanisms is discussed.

  19. Destination memory impairment in older people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gopie, Nigel; Craik, Fergus I M; Hasher, Lynn

    2010-12-01

    Older adults are assumed to have poor destination memory-knowing to whom they tell particular information-and anecdotes about them repeating stories to the same people are cited as informal evidence for this claim. Experiment 1 assessed young and older adults' destination memory by having participants tell facts (e.g., "A dime has 118 ridges around its edge") to pictures of famous people (e.g., Oprah Winfrey). Surprise recognition memory tests, which also assessed confidence, revealed that older adults, compared to young adults, were disproportionately impaired on destination memory relative to spared memory for the individual components (i.e., facts, faces) of the episode. Older adults also were more confident that they had not told a fact to a particular person when they actually had (i.e., a miss); this presumably causes them to repeat information more often than young adults. When the direction of information transfer was reversed in Experiment 2, such that the famous people shared information with the participants (i.e., a source memory experiment), age-related memory differences disappeared. In contrast to the destination memory experiment, older adults in the source memory experiment were more confident than young adults that someone had shared a fact with them when a different person actually had shared the fact (i.e., a false alarm). Overall, accuracy and confidence jointly influence age-related changes to destination memory, a fundamental component of successful communication. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Sleep-dependent consolidation patterns reveal insights into episodic memory structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oyanedel, Carlos N; Sawangjit, Anuck; Born, Jan; Inostroza, Marion

    2018-05-18

    Episodic memory formation is considered a genuinely hippocampal function. Its study in rodents has relied on two different task paradigms, i.e. the so called "what-where-when" (WW-When) task and "what-where-which" (WW-Which) task. The WW-When task aims to assess the memory for an episode as an event bound into its context defined by spatial and distinct temporal information, the WW-Which task lacks the temporal component and introduces, instead, an "occasion setter" marking the broader contextual configuration in which the event occurred. Whether both tasks measure episodic memory in an equivalent manner in terms of recollection has been controversially discussed. Here, we compared in two groups of rats the consolidating effects of sleep on episodic-like memory between both task paradigms. Sampling and test phases were separated by a 90-min morning retention interval which did or did not allow for spontaneous sleep. Results show that sleep is crucial for the consolidation of the memory on both tasks. However, consolidating effects of sleep were stronger for the WW-Which than WW-When task. Comparing performance during the post-sleep test phase revealed that WW-When memory only gradually emerged during the 3-min test period whereas WW-Which memory was readily expressed already from the first minute onward. Separate analysis of the temporal and spatial components of WW-When performance showed that the delayed episodic memory on this task originated from the temporal component which also did not emerge until the third minute of the test phase, whereas the spatial component already showed up in the first minute. In conclusion, sleep differentially affects consolidation on the two episodic-like memory tasks, with the delayed expression of WW-When memory after sleep resulting from preferential coverage of temporal aspects by this task. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  1. Development in the Organization of Episodic Memories in Middle Childhood and Adolescence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan eChen

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The basic elements of autobiographical or episodic memory are established in early childhood, although the exact age at which memories gain episodic status is still under contention. The self-memory system proposed that adults use lifetime periods to group episodic memories together into life story chapters. Two studies examined at what point in development children or adolescents begin to take advantage of lifetime-period chapters to organize their episodic memories. The results of Study 1 with 8- to 12-year-olds revealed that the ability to provide life story chapters began to emerge as early as 8 years of age. In Study 2 with adolescents aged 12 to 21, this ability continued to develop into late adolescence among New Zealand European and New Zealand Chinese adolescents; however, cultural differences also existed in the specificity of memories. New Zealand Chinese adolescents narrated fewer life story chapters containing specific memories than New Zealand European adolescents. These findings support and extend current theories of episodic memory by specifying that pre-adolescents are starting to organize their episodic memories into lifetime periods, but this achievement is not fully realized until later in adolescence.

  2. Embodied memory: unconscious smiling modulates emotional evaluation of episodic memories

    KAUST Repository

    Arminjon, Mathieu

    2015-05-26

    Since Damasio introduced the somatic markers hypothesis in Damasio (1994), it has spread through the psychological community, where it is now commonly acknowledged that somatic states are a factor in producing the qualitative dimension of our experiences. Present actions are emotionally guided by those somatic states that were previously activated in similar experiences. In this model, somatic markers serve as a kind of embodied memory. Here, we test whether the manipulation of somatic markers can modulate the emotional evaluation of negative memories. Because facial feedback has been shown to be a powerful means of modifying emotional judgements, we used it to manipulate somatic markers. Participants first read a sad story in order to induce a negative emotional memory and then were asked to rate their emotions and memory about the text. Twenty-four hours later, the same participants were asked to assume a predetermined facial feedback (smiling) while reactivating their memory of the sad story. The participants were once again asked to fill in emotional and memory questionnaires about the text. Our results showed that participants who had smiled during memory reactivation later rated the text less negatively than control participants. However, the contraction of the zygomaticus muscles during memory reactivation did not have any impact on episodic memory scores. This suggests that manipulating somatic states modified emotional memory without affecting episodic memory. Thus, modulating memories through bodily states might pave the way to studying memory as an embodied function and help shape new kinds of psychotherapeutic interventions.

  3. Interference impacts working memory in mild cognitive impairment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Aurtenetxe

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Mild cognitive impairment (MCI is considered a transitional stage between healthy aging and dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s disease (AD. The most common cognitive impairment of MCI includes episodic memory loss and difficulties in working memory (WM. Interference can deplete WM, and an optimal WM performance requires an effective control of attentional resources between the memoranda and the incoming stimuli. Difficulties in handling interference lead to forgetting. However, the interplay between interference and WM in MCI is not well understood and needs further investigation. The current study investigated the effect of interference during a WM task in 20 MCIs and 20 healthy elder volunteers. Participants performed a delayed match-to-sample paradigm which consisted in two interference conditions, distraction and interruption, and one control condition without any interference. Results evidenced a disproportionate impact of interference on the WM performance of MCIs, mainly in the presence of interruption. These findings demonstrate that interference, and more precisely interruption, is an important proxy for memory-related deficits in MCI. Thus the current findings reveal novel evidence regarding the causes of WM forgetting in MCI patients, associated with difficulties in the mechanisms of attentional control.

  4. Age-related decline in verbal learning is moderated by demographic factors, working memory capacity, and presence of amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Constantinidou, Fofi; Zaganas, Ioannis; Papastefanakis, Emmanouil; Kasselimis, Dimitrios; Nidos, Andreas; Simos, Panagiotis G

    2014-09-01

    Age-related memory changes are highly varied and heterogeneous. The study examined the rate of decline in verbal episodic memory as a function of education level, auditory attention span and verbal working memory capacity, and diagnosis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI). Data were available on a community sample of 653 adults aged 17-86 years and 70 patients with a-MCI recruited from eight broad geographic areas in Greece and Cyprus. Measures of auditory attention span and working memory capacity (digits forward and backward) and verbal episodic memory (Auditory Verbal Learning Test [AVLT]) were used. Moderated mediation regressions on data from the community sample did not reveal significant effects of education level on the rate of age-related decline in AVLT indices. The presence of a-MCI was a significant moderator of the direct effect of Age on both immediate and delayed episodic memory indices. The rate of age-related decline in verbal episodic memory is normally mediated by working memory capacity. Moreover, in persons who display poor episodic memory capacity (a-MCI group), age-related memory decline is expected to advance more rapidly for those who also display relatively poor verbal working memory capacity.

  5. Episodic memory in detoxified alcoholics: contribution of grey matter microstructure alteration.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Chanraud

    Full Text Available Even though uncomplicated alcoholics may likely have episodic memory deficits, discrepancies exist regarding to the integrity of brain regions that underlie this function in healthy subjects. Possible relationships between episodic memory and 1 brain microstructure assessed by magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI, 2 brain volumes assessed by voxel-based morphometry (VBM were investigated in uncomplicated, detoxified alcoholics.Diffusion and morphometric analyses were performed in 24 alcohol dependent men without neurological or somatic complications and in 24 healthy men. The mean apparent coefficient of diffusion (ADC and grey matter volumes were measured in the whole brain. Episodic memory performance was assessed using a French version of the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT. Correlation analyses between verbal episodic memory, brain microstructure, and brain volumes were carried out using SPM2 software.In those with alcohol dependence, higher ADC was detected mainly in frontal, temporal and parahippocampal regions, and in the cerebellum. In alcoholics, regions with higher ADC typically also had lower grey matter volume. Low verbal episodic memory performance in alcoholism was associated with higher mean ADC in parahippocampal areas, in frontal cortex and in the left temporal cortex; no correlation was found between regional volumes and episodic memory scores. Regression analyses for the control group were not significant.These findings support the hypothesis that regional microstructural but no macrostructural alteration of the brain might be responsible, at least in part, for episodic memory deficits in alcohol dependence.

  6. Sleep Benefits in Parallel Implicit and Explicit Measures of Episodic Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Frederik D.; Wang, Jing-Yi; Born, Jan; Inostroza, Marion

    2014-01-01

    Research in rats using preferences during exploration as a measure of memory has indicated that sleep is important for the consolidation of episodic-like memory, i.e., memory for an event bound into specific spatio-temporal context. How these findings relate to human episodic memory is unclear. We used spontaneous preferences during visual…

  7. Imagining other people’s experiences in a person with impaired episodic memory: the role of personal familiarity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer S. Rabin

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Difficulties remembering one’s own experiences via episodic memory may affect the ability to imagine other people’s experiences during theory of mind (ToM. Previous work shows that the same set of brain regions recruited during tests of episodic memory and future imagining are also engaged during standard laboratory tests of ToM. However, hippocampal amnesic patients who show deficits in past and future thinking, show intact performance on ToM tests, which involve unknown people or fictional characters. Here we present data from a developmental amnesic person (H.C. and a group of demographically matched controls, who were tested on a naturalistic test of ToM that involved imagining other people’s experiences in response to photos of personally familiar others (‘pToM’ condition and unfamiliar others (‘ToM’ condition. We also included a condition that involved recollecting past experiences in response to personal photos (‘EM’ condition. Narratives were scored using an adapted autobiographical interview scoring procedure. Due to the visually rich stimuli, internal details were further classified as either descriptive (i.e., details that describe the visual content depicted in the photo or elaborative (i.e., details that go beyond what is visually depicted in the photo. Relative to controls, H.C. generated significantly fewer elaborative details in response to the pToM and EM photos and an equivalent number of elaborative details in response to the ToM photos. These data converge with previous neuroimaging results showing that the brain regions underlying pToM and episodic memory overlap to a greater extent than those supporting ToM. Taken together, these results suggest that detailed episodic representations supported by the hippocampus may be pivotal for imagining the experiences of personally familiar, but not unfamiliar, others.

  8. Functional neuroimaging studies of episodic memory. Functional dissociation in the medial temporal lobe structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsukiura, Takashi

    2008-01-01

    Previous functional neuroimaging studies have demonstrated the critical role of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) regions in the encoding and retrieval of episodic memory. It has also been shown that an emotional factor in human memory enhances episodic encoding and retrieval. However, there is little evidence regarding the specific contribution of each MTL region to the relational, contextual, and emotional processes of episodic memory. The goal of this review article is to identify differential activation patterns of the processes between MTL regions. Results from functional neuroimaging studies of episodic memory show that the hippocampus is involved in encoding the relation between memory items, whereas the entorhinal and perirhinal cortices (anterior parahippocampal gyrus) contribute to the encoding of a single item. Additionally, the parahippocampal cortex (posterior parahippocampal gyrus) is selectively activated during the processing of contextual information of episodic memory. A similar pattern of functional dissociation is found in episodic memory retrieval. Functional neuroimaging has also shown that emotional information of episodic memory enhances amygdala-MTL correlations and that this enhancement is observed during both the encoding and retrieval of emotional memories. These findings from pervious neuroimaging studies suggest that different MTL regions could organize memory for personally experienced episodes via the 'relation' and 'context' factors of episodic memory, and that the emotional factor of episodes could modulate the functional organization in the MTL regions. (author)

  9. Effects of saccadic bilateral eye movements on episodic and semantic autobiographical memory fluency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Andrew; Parkin, Adam; Dagnall, Neil

    2013-01-01

    Performing a sequence of fast saccadic horizontal eye movements has been shown to facilitate performance on a range of cognitive tasks, including the retrieval of episodic memories. One explanation for these effects is based on the hypothesis that saccadic eye movements increase hemispheric interaction, and that such interactions are important for particular types of memory. The aim of the current research was to assess the effect of horizontal saccadic eye movements on the retrieval of both episodic autobiographical memory (event/incident based memory) and semantic autobiographical memory (fact based memory) over recent and more distant time periods. It was found that saccadic eye movements facilitated the retrieval of episodic autobiographical memories (over all time periods) but not semantic autobiographical memories. In addition, eye movements did not enhance the retrieval of non-autobiographical semantic memory. This finding illustrates a dissociation between the episodic and semantic characteristics of personal memory and is considered within the context of hemispheric contributions to episodic memory performance.

  10. Episodic Memory and Episodic Foresight in 3- and 5-Year-Old Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayne, Harlene; Gross, Julien; McNamee, Stephanie; Fitzgibbon, Olivia; Tustin, Karen

    2011-01-01

    In the present study, we examined the development of episodic memory and episodic foresight. Three- and 5-year-olds were interviewed individually using a personalised timeline that included photographs of them at different points in their life. After constructing the timeline with the experimenter, each child was asked to discuss a number of…

  11. Development in the organization of episodic memories in middle childhood and adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yan; McAnally, Helena Margaret; Reese, Elaine

    2013-01-01

    The basic elements of autobiographical or episodic memory are established in early childhood, although the exact age at which memories gain episodic status is still under contention. The self-memory system proposed that adults use "lifetime periods" to group episodic memories together into chapters of the life story - an evolving and internalized account of significant life events that are self-defining. Two studies examined at what point in development children or adolescents begin to take advantage of lifetime-period chapters to organize their episodic memories. The results of Study 1 with 8- to 12-year-olds revealed that the ability to provide life story chapters began to emerge as early as 8 years of age. In Study 2 with adolescents aged 12-21, this ability continued to develop into late adolescence among New Zealand European (NZE) and New Zealand Chinese (NZC) adolescents; however, cultural differences also existed in the specificity of memories. NZC adolescents narrated fewer life story chapters containing specific memories than NZE adolescents. These findings support and extend current theories of episodic memory by specifying that pre-adolescents are starting to organize their episodic memories into lifetime periods, but this achievement is not fully realized until later in adolescence.

  12. Retrograde episodic memory and emotion: a perspective from patients with dissociative amnesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinhold, Nadine; Markowitsch, Hans J

    2009-09-01

    With his recent definition of episodic memory Tulving [Tulving, E. (2005). Episodic memory and autonoesis: Uniquely human? In H. Terrace & J. Metcalfe (Eds.), The missing link in cognition: Evolution of self-knowing consciousness (pp. 3-56). New York: Oxford University Press] claims that this memory system is uniquely human and thereby distinguishes human beings from other, even highly developed, mammals. First we will define the term episodic memory as it is currently used in neuropsychological research by specifying the three underlying concepts of subjective time, autonoëtic consciousness, and the self. By doing so, we will strongly focus on retrograde episodic memory and its relation to emotion and self-referential processing. We support this relation with a discussion of autobiographical memory functions in psychiatric disorders such as dissociative amnesia. To illustrate the connection of emotion and retrograde episodic memory we shortly present neuropsychological data of two cases of dissociative amnesia. Both cases serve to point to the protective mechanism of a block of self-endangering memories from the episodic memory system, often described as the mnestic block syndrome. On the basis of these cases and supportive results from further cases we will conclude by pointing out similarities and differences of patients with organic and dissociative (psychogenic) amnesia.

  13. Olfactory memory in the old and very old: relations to episodic and semantic memory and APOE genotype.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsson, Maria; Hedner, Margareta; Papenberg, Goran; Seubert, Janina; Bäckman, Lars; Laukka, Erika J

    2016-02-01

    The neuroanatomical organization that underlies olfactory memory is different from that of other memory types. The present work examines olfactory memory in an elderly population-based sample (Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen) aged 60-100 years (n = 2280). We used structural equation modeling to investigate whether olfactory memory in old age is best conceptualized as a distinct category, differentiated from episodic and semantic memory. Further, potential olfactory dedifferentiation and genetic associations (APOE) to olfactory function in late senescence were investigated. Results are in support of a 3-factor solution where olfactory memory, as indexed by episodic odor recognition and odor identification, is modeled separately from episodic and semantic memory for visual and verbal information. Increasing age was associated with poorer olfactory memory performance, and observed age-related deficits were further exacerbated for carriers of the APOE ε4 allele; these effects tended to be larger for olfactory memory compared to episodic and semantic memory pertaining to other sensory systems (vision, auditory). Finally, stronger correlations between olfactory and episodic memory, indicating dedifferentiation, were observed in the older age groups. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Temporal compression in episodic memory for real-life events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeunehomme, Olivier; Folville, Adrien; Stawarczyk, David; Van der Linden, Martial; D'Argembeau, Arnaud

    2018-07-01

    Remembering an event typically takes less time than experiencing it, suggesting that episodic memory represents past experience in a temporally compressed way. Little is known, however, about how the continuous flow of real-life events is summarised in memory. Here we investigated the nature and determinants of temporal compression by directly comparing memory contents with the objective timing of events as measured by a wearable camera. We found that episodic memories consist of a succession of moments of prior experience that represent events with varying compression rates, such that the density of retrieved information is modulated by goal processing and perceptual changes. Furthermore, the results showed that temporal compression rates remain relatively stable over one week and increase after a one-month delay, particularly for goal-related events. These data shed new light on temporal compression in episodic memory and suggest that compression rates are adaptively modulated to maintain current goal-relevant information.

  15. III. NIH TOOLBOX COGNITION BATTERY (CB): MEASURING EPISODIC MEMORY

    OpenAIRE

    Bauer, Patricia J.; Dikmen, Sureyya S.; Heaton, Robert K.; Mungas, Dan; Slotkin, Jerry; Beaumont, Jennifer L.

    2013-01-01

    One of the most significant domains of cognition is episodic memory, which allows for rapid acquisition and long-term storage of new information. For purposes of the NIH Toolbox, we devised a new test of episodic memory. The nonverbal NIH Toolbox Picture Sequence Memory Test (TPSMT) requires participants to reproduce the order of an arbitrarily ordered sequence of pictures presented on a computer. To adjust for ability, sequence length varies from 6 to 15 pictures. Multiple trials are adminis...

  16. Working Memory Modulation of Frontoparietal Network Connectivity in First-Episode Schizophrenia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jesper Duemose; Madsen, Kristoffer Hougaard; Wang, Zheng

    2017-01-01

    Working memory (WM) impairment is regarded as a core aspect of schizophrenia. However, the neural mechanisms behind this cognitive deficit remain unclear. The connectivity of a frontoparietal network is known to be important for subserving WM. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the curr......Working memory (WM) impairment is regarded as a core aspect of schizophrenia. However, the neural mechanisms behind this cognitive deficit remain unclear. The connectivity of a frontoparietal network is known to be important for subserving WM. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging......, the current study investigated whether WM-dependent modulation of effective connectivity in this network is affected in a group of first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients compared with similarly performing healthy participants during a verbal n-back task. Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) of the coupling...... between regions (left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), left inferior parietal lobe (IPL), and primary visual area) identified in a psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis was performed to characterize effective connectivity during the n-back task. The PPI analysis revealed that the connectivity...

  17. Memory for sequences of events impaired in typical aging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Timothy A.; Morris, Andrea M.; Stark, Shauna M.; Fortin, Norbert J.

    2015-01-01

    Typical aging is associated with diminished episodic memory performance. To improve our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying this age-related memory deficit, we previously developed an integrated, cross-species approach to link converging evidence from human and animal research. This novel approach focuses on the ability to remember sequences of events, an important feature of episodic memory. Unlike existing paradigms, this task is nonspatial, nonverbal, and can be used to isolate different cognitive processes that may be differentially affected in aging. Here, we used this task to make a comprehensive comparison of sequence memory performance between younger (18–22 yr) and older adults (62–86 yr). Specifically, participants viewed repeated sequences of six colored, fractal images and indicated whether each item was presented “in sequence” or “out of sequence.” Several out of sequence probe trials were used to provide a detailed assessment of sequence memory, including: (i) repeating an item from earlier in the sequence (“Repeats”; e.g., ABADEF), (ii) skipping ahead in the sequence (“Skips”; e.g., ABDDEF), and (iii) inserting an item from a different sequence into the same ordinal position (“Ordinal Transfers”; e.g., AB3DEF). We found that older adults performed as well as younger controls when tested on well-known and predictable sequences, but were severely impaired when tested using novel sequences. Importantly, overall sequence memory performance in older adults steadily declined with age, a decline not detected with other measures (RAVLT or BPS-O). We further characterized this deficit by showing that performance of older adults was severely impaired on specific probe trials that required detailed knowledge of the sequence (Skips and Ordinal Transfers), and was associated with a shift in their underlying mnemonic representation of the sequences. Collectively, these findings provide unambiguous evidence that the

  18. [Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Processing of Temporal Information in Episodic Memory and Its Disturbance].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwata, Saeko; Tsukiura, Takashi

    2017-11-01

    Episodic memory is defined as memory for personally experienced events, and includes memory content and contextual information of time and space. Previous neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies have demonstrated three possible roles of the temporal context in episodic memory. First, temporal information contributes to the arrangement of temporal order for sequential events in episodic memory, and this process is involved in the lateral prefrontal cortex. The second possible role of temporal information in episodic memory is the segregation between memories of multiple events, which are segregated by cues of different time information. The role of segregation is associated with the orbitofrontal regions including the orbitofrontal cortex and basal forebrain region. Third, temporal information in episodic memory plays an important role in the integration of multiple components into a coherent episodic memory, in which episodic components in the different modalities are combined by temporal information as an index. The role of integration is mediated by the medial temporal lobe including the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus. Thus, temporal information in episodic memory could be represented in multiple stages, which are involved in a network of the lateral prefrontal, orbitofrontal, and medial temporal lobe regions.

  19. Emerging Directions in Emotional Episodic Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolcos, Florin; Katsumi, Yuta; Weymar, Mathias; Moore, Matthew; Tsukiura, Takashi; Dolcos, Sanda

    2017-01-01

    Building upon the existing literature on emotional memory, the present review examines emerging evidence from brain imaging investigations regarding four research directions: (1) Social Emotional Memory, (2) The Role of Emotion Regulation in the Impact of Emotion on Memory, (3) The Impact of Emotion on Associative or Relational Memory, and (4) The Role of Individual Differences in Emotional Memory. Across these four domains, available evidence demonstrates that emotion- and memory-related medial temporal lobe brain regions (amygdala and hippocampus, respectively), together with prefrontal cortical regions, play a pivotal role during both encoding and retrieval of emotional episodic memories. This evidence sheds light on the neural mechanisms of emotional memories in healthy functioning, and has important implications for understanding clinical conditions that are associated with negative affective biases in encoding and retrieving emotional memories. PMID:29255432

  20. Cognitive dissonance resolution depends on episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chammat, Mariam; Karoui, Imen El; Allali, Sébastien; Hagège, Joshua; Lehongre, Katia; Hasboun, Dominique; Baulac, Michel; Epelbaum, Stéphane; Michon, Agnès; Dubois, Bruno; Navarro, Vincent; Salti, Moti; Naccache, Lionel

    2017-01-23

    The notion that past choices affect preferences is one of the most influential concepts of social psychology since its first report in the 50 s, and its theorization within the cognitive dissonance framework. In the free-choice paradigm (FCP) after choosing between two similarly rated items, subjects reevaluate chosen items as more attractive and rejected items as less attractive. However the relations prevailing between episodic memory and choice-induced preference change (CIPC) remain highly debated: is this phenomenon dependent or independent from memory of past choices? We solve this theoretical debate by demonstrating that CIPC occurs exclusively for items which were correctly remembered as chosen or rejected during the choice stage. We used a combination of fMRI and intra-cranial electrophysiological recordings to reveal a modulation of left hippocampus activity, a hub of episodic memory retrieval, immediately before the occurrence of CIPC during item reevaluation. Finally, we show that contrarily to a previous influential report flawed by a statistical artifact, this phenomenon is absent in amnesic patients for forgotten items. These results demonstrate the dependence of cognitive dissonance on conscious episodic memory. This link between current preferences and previous choices suggests a homeostatic function of this regulative process, aiming at preserving subjective coherence.

  1. Impaired memory is more closely associated with brain beta-amyloid than leukoaraiosis in hypertensive patients with cognitive symptoms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric E Smith

    Full Text Available Hypertension is the strongest modifiable risk factor for subcortical ischemic changes and is also a risk factor for Alzheimer's dementia. We used neuroimaging to investigate the pathological basis of early cognitive symptoms in patients with hypertension.In this cross-sectional cohort study 67 patients age >60 years with hypertension and Clinical Dementia Rating scale score of 0.5 without dementia, and without history of symptomatic stroke, underwent MRI for measurement of subcortical vascular changes and positron emission tomography (PET scan with Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB-PET to detect beta-amyloid deposition. These imaging measures were related to neuropsychological tests of memory, executive function and processing speed.Mean age was 75.0 (standard deviation, SD, 7.3. Mean neuropsychological Z scores were: episodic memory -0.63 (SD 1.23, executive function -0.40 (SD 1.10, processing speed -0.24 (SD 0.88; 22 of the 67 subjects met criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI and the remaining 45 subjects had subjective cognitive concerns only. In multivariable models adjusting for age and years of education, each 0.1 unit increase in mean cortical PiB-PET binding was associated with 0.14 lower mean Z score for episodic memory (95% CI -0.28 to -0.01. This means that for every 0.1 unit increase in mean cortical PiB-PET, episodic memory was 0.14 standard deviations lower. White matter hyperintensity volume, silent brain infarcts and microbleeds were not associated with neuropsychological test scores.Episodic memory was prominently affected in hypertensive participants with MCI or subjective cognitive concerns, and was associated with PiB-PET binding. This suggests a prominent role for Alzheimer pathology in cognitive impairment even in hypertensive participants at elevated risk for vascular cognitive impairment.

  2. Using imagination to understand the neural basis of episodic memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassabis, Demis; Kumaran, Dharshan; Maguire, Eleanor A.

    2008-01-01

    Functional MRI (fMRI) studies investigating the neural basis of episodic memory recall, and the related task of thinking about plausible personal future events, have revealed a consistent network of associated brain regions. Surprisingly little, however, is understood about the contributions individual brain areas make to the overall recollective experience. In order to examine this, we employed a novel fMRI paradigm where subjects had to imagine fictitious experiences. In contrast to future thinking, this results in experiences that are not explicitly temporal in nature or as reliant on self-processing. By using previously imagined fictitious experiences as a comparison for episodic memories, we identified the neural basis of a key process engaged in common, namely scene construction, involving the generation, maintenance and visualisation of complex spatial contexts. This was associated with activations in a distributed network, including hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and retrosplenial cortex. Importantly, we disambiguated these common effects from episodic memory-specific responses in anterior medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus. These latter regions may support self-schema and familiarity processes, and contribute to the brain's ability to distinguish real from imaginary memories. We conclude that scene construction constitutes a common process underlying episodic memory and imagination of fictitious experiences, and suggest it may partially account for the similar brain networks implicated in navigation, episodic future thinking, and the default mode. We suggest that further brain regions are co-opted into this core network in a task-specific manner to support functions such as episodic memory that may have additional requirements. PMID:18160644

  3. Associative working memory and subsequent episodic memory in Alzheimer's disease.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geldorp, B. van; Konings, E.P.; Tilborg, I.A. Van; Kessels, R.P.C.

    2012-01-01

    Recent studies indicate deficits in associative working memory in patients with medial-temporal lobe amnesia. However, it is unclear whether these deficits reflect working memory processing or are due to hippocampally mediated long-term memory impairment. We investigated associative working memory

  4. Associative working memory and subsequent episodic memory in Alzheimer's disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geldorp, B. van; Konings, E.P.C.; Tilborg, I.A.D.A. van; Kessels, R.P.C.

    2012-01-01

    Recent studies indicate deficits in associative working memory in patients with medial-temporal lobe amnesia. However, it is unclear whether these deficits reflect working memory processing or are due to hippocampally mediated long-term memory impairment. We investigated associative working memory

  5. The spectro-contextual encoding and retrieval theory of episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watrous, Andrew J; Ekstrom, Arne D

    2014-01-01

    The spectral fingerprint hypothesis, which posits that different frequencies of oscillations underlie different cognitive operations, provides one account for how interactions between brain regions support perceptual and attentive processes (Siegel etal., 2012). Here, we explore and extend this idea to the domain of human episodic memory encoding and retrieval. Incorporating findings from the synaptic to cognitive levels of organization, we argue that spectrally precise cross-frequency coupling and phase-synchronization promote the formation of hippocampal-neocortical cell assemblies that form the basis for episodic memory. We suggest that both cell assembly firing patterns as well as the global pattern of brain oscillatory activity within hippocampal-neocortical networks represents the contents of a particular memory. Drawing upon the ideas of context reinstatement and multiple trace theory, we argue that memory retrieval is driven by internal and/or external factors which recreate these frequency-specific oscillatory patterns which occur during episodic encoding. These ideas are synthesized into a novel model of episodic memory (the spectro-contextual encoding and retrieval theory, or "SCERT") that provides several testable predictions for future research.

  6. Looking for episodic memory in animals and young children: prospects for a new minimalism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clayton, Nicola S; Russell, James

    2009-09-01

    Because animals and young children cannot be interrogated about their experiences it is difficult to conduct research into their episodic memories. The approach to this issue adopted by Clayton and Dickinson [Clayton, N. S., & Dickinson, A. (1998). Episodic-like memory during cache recovery by scrub jays. Nature, 395, 272-274] was to take a conceptually minimalist definition of episodic memory, in terms of integrating information about what was done where and when [Tulving, E. (1972). Episodic and semantic memory. In E. Tulving, & W. Donaldson (Eds.), Organisation of memory (pp. 381-403). New York: Academic Press], and to refer to such memories as 'episodic-like'. Some claim, however, that because animals supposedly lack the conceptual abilities necessary for episodic recall one should properly call these memories 'semantic'. We address this debate with a novel approach to episodic memory, which is minimalist insofar as it focuses on the non-conceptual content of a re-experienced situation. It rests on Kantian assumptions about the necessary 'perspectival' features of any objective experience or re-experience. We show how adopting this perspectival approach can render an episodic interpretation of the animal data more plausible and can also reveal patterns in the mosaic of developmental evidence for episodic memory in humans.

  7. Egocentric-updating during navigation facilitates episodic memory retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez, Alice; Rousset, Stéphane; Baciu, Monica

    2009-11-01

    Influential models suggest that spatial processing is essential for episodic memory [O'Keefe, J., & Nadel, L. (1978). The hippocampus as a cognitive map. London: Oxford University Press]. However, although several types of spatial relations exist, such as allocentric (i.e. object-to-object relations), egocentric (i.e. static object-to-self relations) or egocentric updated on navigation information (i.e. self-to-environment relations in a dynamic way), usually only allocentric representations are described as potentially subserving episodic memory [Nadel, L., & Moscovitch, M. (1998). Hippocampal contributions to cortical plasticity. Neuropharmacology, 37(4-5), 431-439]. This study proposes to confront the allocentric representation hypothesis with an egocentric updated with self-motion representation hypothesis. In the present study, we explored retrieval performance in relation to these two types of spatial processing levels during learning. Episodic remembering has been assessed through Remember responses in a recall and in a recognition task, combined with a "Remember-Know-Guess" paradigm [Gardiner, J. M. (2001). Episodic memory and autonoetic consciousness: A first-person approach. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 356(1413), 1351-1361] to assess the autonoetic level of responses. Our results show that retrieval performance was significantly higher when encoding was performed in the egocentric-updated condition. Although egocentric updated with self-motion and allocentric representations are not mutually exclusive, these results suggest that egocentric updating processing facilitates remember responses more than allocentric processing. The results are discussed according to Burgess and colleagues' model of episodic memory [Burgess, N., Becker, S., King, J. A., & O'Keefe, J. (2001). Memory for events and their spatial context: models and experiments. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B

  8. Does reactivation trigger episodic memory change? A meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scully, Iiona D; Napper, Lucy E; Hupbach, Almut

    2017-07-01

    According to the reconsolidation hypothesis, long-term memories return to a plastic state upon their reactivation, leaving them vulnerable to interference effects and requiring re-storage processes or else these memories might be permanently lost. The present study used a meta-analytic approach to critically evaluate the evidence for reactivation-induced changes in human episodic memory. Results indicated that reactivation makes episodic memories susceptible to physiological and behavioral interference. When applied shortly after reactivation, interference manipulations altered the amount of information that could be retrieved from the original learning event. This effect was more pronounced for remote memories and memories of narrative structure. Additionally, new learning following reactivation reliably increased the number of intrusions from new information into the original memory. These findings support a dynamic view of long-term memory by showing that memories can be changed long after they were acquired. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Neural Correlates of Opposing Effects of Emotional Distraction on Working Memory and Episodic Memory: An Event Related fMRI Investigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florin eDolcos

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available A fundamental question in the emotional memory literature is why emotion enhances memory in some conditions but disrupts memory in other conditions. For example, separate studies have shown that emotional stimuli tend to be better remembered in long-term episodic memory (EM, whereas emotional distracters tend to impair working memory (WM maintenance. The first goal of this study was to directly compare the neural correlates of EM enhancement (EME and WM impairing (WMI effects, and the second goal was to explore individual differences in these mechanisms. During event-related fMRI, participants maintained faces in WM while being distracted by emotional or neutral pictures presented during the delay period. EM for the distracting pictures was tested after scanning and was used to identify successful encoding activity for the picture distracters. The first goal yielded two findings: (1 Emotional pictures that disrupted face WM but enhanced subsequent EM were associated with increased amygdala and hippocampal activity (ventral system coupled with reduced dorsolateral PFC activity (dorsal system; (2 Trials in which emotion enhanced EM without disrupting WM were associated with increased ventrolateral PFC activity. The ventral-dorsal switch can explain EME and WMI, while the ventrolateral PFC effect suggests a coping mechanism. The second goal yielded two additional findings: (3 Participants who were more susceptible to WMI showed greater amygdala increases and PFC reductions; (4 Amygdala activity increased and dlPFC activity decreased with measures of impulsivity. Taken together, the results clarify the mechanisms linking the enhancing and impairing effects of emotion on memory.

  10. Mindfulness Enhances Episodic Memory Performance: Evidence from a Multimethod Investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Kirk Warren; Goodman, Robert J; Ryan, Richard M; Anālayo, Bhikkhu

    2016-01-01

    Training in mindfulness, classically described as a receptive attentiveness to present events and experiences, has been shown to improve attention and working memory. Both are key to long-term memory formation, and the present three-study series used multiple methods to examine whether mindfulness would enhance episodic memory, a key form of long-term memory. In Study 1 (N = 143), a self-reported state of mindful attention predicted better recognition performance in the Remember-Know (R-K) paradigm. In Study 2 (N = 93), very brief training in a focused attention form of mindfulness also produced better recognition memory performance on the R-K task relative to a randomized, well-matched active control condition. Study 3 (N = 57) extended these findings by showing that relative to randomized active and inactive control conditions the effect of very brief mindfulness training generalized to free-recall memory performance. This study also found evidence for mediation of the mindfulness training-episodic memory relation by intrinsic motivation. These findings indicate that mindful attention can beneficially impact motivation and episodic memory, with potential implications for educational and occupational performance.

  11. Glucose metabolism, gray matter structure, and memory decline in subjective memory impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheef, Lukas; Spottke, Annika; Daerr, Moritz; Joe, Alexius; Striepens, Nadine; Kölsch, Heike; Popp, Julius; Daamen, Marcel; Gorris, Dominik; Heneka, Michael T; Boecker, Henning; Biersack, Hans J; Maier, Wolfgang; Schild, Hans H; Wagner, Michael; Jessen, Frank

    2012-09-25

    To identify biological evidence for Alzheimer disease (AD) in individuals with subjective memory impairment (SMI) and unimpaired cognitive performance and to investigate the longitudinal cognitive course in these subjects. [¹⁸F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose PET (FDG-PET) and structural MRI were acquired in 31 subjects with SMI and 56 controls. Cognitive follow-up testing was performed (average follow-up time: 35 months). Differences in baseline brain imaging data and in memory decline were assessed between both groups. Associations of memory decline with brain imaging data were tested. The SMI group showed hypometabolism in the right precuneus and hypermetabolism in the right medial temporal lobe. Gray matter volume was reduced in the right hippocampus in the SMI group. At follow-up, subjects with SMI showed a poorer performance than controls on measures of episodic memory. Longitudinal memory decline in the SMI group was associated with reduced glucose metabolism in the right precuneus at baseline. The cross-sectional difference in 2 independent neuroimaging modalities indicates early AD pathology in SMI. The poorer memory performance at follow-up and the association of reduced longitudinal memory performance with hypometabolism in the precuneus at baseline support the concept of SMI as the earliest manifestation of AD.

  12. CPEB3 is associated with human episodic memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Vogler

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding (CPEB proteins are crucial for synaptic plasticity and memory in model organisms. A highly conserved, mammalian-specific short intronic sequence within CPEB3 has been identified as a ribozyme with self-cleavage properties. In humans the ribozyme sequence is polymorphic and harbors a single nucleotide polymorphism which influences cleavage activity of the ribozyme. Here we show that this variation is related to performance in an episodic memory task and that the effect of the variation depends on the emotional valence of the presented material. Our data support a role for human CPEB3 in human episodic memory.

  13. Development in the Organization of Episodic Memories in Middle Childhood and Adolescence

    OpenAIRE

    Yan eChen; Helena Margaret McAnally; Elaine eReese

    2013-01-01

    The basic elements of autobiographical or episodic memory are established in early childhood, although the exact age at which memories gain episodic status is still under contention. The self-memory system proposed that adults use “lifetime periods” to group episodic memories together into chapters of the life story – an evolving and internalized account of significant life events that are self-defining. Two studies examined at what point in development children or adolescents begin to take a...

  14. Episodic autobiographical memory is associated with variation in the size of hippocampal subregions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palombo, Daniela J; Bacopulos, Agnes; Amaral, Robert S C; Olsen, Rosanna K; Todd, Rebecca M; Anderson, Adam K; Levine, Brian

    2018-02-01

    Striking individual differences exist in the human capacity to recollect past events, yet, little is known about the neural correlates of such individual differences. Studies investigating hippocampal volume in relation to individual differences in laboratory measures of episodic memory in young adults suggest that whole hippocampal volume is unrelated (or even negatively associated) with episodic memory. However, anatomical and functional specialization across hippocampal subregions suggests that individual differences in episodic memory may be linked to particular hippocampal subregions, as opposed to whole hippocampal volume. Given that the DG/CA 2/3 circuitry is thought to be especially critical for supporting episodic memory in humans, we predicted that the volume of this region would be associated with individual variability in episodic memory. This prediction was supported using high-resolution MRI of the hippocampal subfields and measures of real-world (autobiographical) episodic memory. In addition to the association with DG/CA 2/3 , we further observed a relationship between episodic autobiographical memory and subiculum volume, whereas no association was observed with CA 1 or with whole hippocampal volume. These findings provide insight into the possible neural substrates that mediate individual differences in real-world episodic remembering in humans. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Priming in Episodic and Semantic Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKoon, Gail; Ratcliff, Roger

    1979-01-01

    Four experiments examined priming between newly learned paired associates through two procedures, lexical decision and item recognition. Results argue against a functional separation of the semantic and episodic memory systems. (Author/AM)

  16. Episodic and Semantic Autobiographical Memory in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crane, Laura; Goddard, Lorna

    2008-01-01

    Episodic and semantic autobiographical memories were examined in a group of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and a control group matched for age, gender and IQ. Results demonstrated a personal episodic memory deficit in the ASD group in the absence of a personal semantic memory deficit, suggesting a deficit dissociation between these…

  17. Neural Dynamics Associated with Semantic and Episodic Memory for Faces: Evidence from Multiple Frequency Bands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zion-Golumbic, Elana; Kutas, Marta; Bentin, Shlomo

    2010-01-01

    Prior semantic knowledge facilitates episodic recognition memory for faces. To examine the neural manifestation of the interplay between semantic and episodic memory, we investigated neuroelectric dynamics during the creation (study) and the retrieval (test) of episodic memories for famous and nonfamous faces. Episodic memory effects were evident…

  18. Working memory deficits in boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): An examination of orthographic coding and episodic buffer processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alderson, R Matt; Kasper, Lisa J; Patros, Connor H G; Hudec, Kristen L; Tarle, Stephanie J; Lea, Sarah E

    2015-01-01

    The episodic buffer component of working memory was examined in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and typically developing peers (TD). Thirty-two children (ADHD = 16, TD = 16) completed three versions of a phonological working memory task that varied with regard to stimulus presentation modality (auditory, visual, or dual auditory and visual), as well as a visuospatial task. Children with ADHD experienced the largest magnitude working memory deficits when phonological stimuli were presented via a unimodal, auditory format. Their performance improved during visual and dual modality conditions but remained significantly below the performance of children in the TD group. In contrast, the TD group did not exhibit performance differences between the auditory- and visual-phonological conditions but recalled significantly more stimuli during the dual-phonological condition. Furthermore, relative to TD children, children with ADHD recalled disproportionately fewer phonological stimuli as set sizes increased, regardless of presentation modality. Finally, an examination of working memory components indicated that the largest magnitude between-group difference was associated with the central executive. Collectively, these findings suggest that ADHD-related working memory deficits reflect a combination of impaired central executive and phonological storage/rehearsal processes, as well as an impaired ability to benefit from bound multimodal information processed by the episodic buffer.

  19. Adaptive scaling of reward in episodic memory: a replication study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Alice; Ludwig, Casimir; Farrell, Simon

    2017-11-01

    Reward is thought to enhance episodic memory formation via dopaminergic consolidation. Bunzeck, Dayan, Dolan, and Duzel [(2010). A common mechanism for adaptive scaling of reward and novelty. Human Brain Mapping, 31, 1380-1394] provided functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioural evidence that reward and episodic memory systems are sensitive to the contextual value of a reward-whether it is relatively higher or lower-as opposed to absolute value or prediction error. We carried out a direct replication of their behavioural study and did not replicate their finding that memory performance associated with reward follows this pattern of adaptive scaling. An effect of reward outcome was in the opposite direction to that in the original study, with lower reward outcomes leading to better memory than higher outcomes. There was a marginal effect of reward context, suggesting that expected value affected memory performance. We discuss the robustness of the reward memory relationship to variations in reward context, and whether other reward-related factors have a more reliable influence on episodic memory.

  20. A potential spatial working memory training task to improve both episodic memory and fluid intelligence.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah R Rudebeck

    Full Text Available One current challenge in cognitive training is to create a training regime that benefits multiple cognitive domains, including episodic memory, without relying on a large battery of tasks, which can be time-consuming and difficult to learn. By giving careful consideration to the neural correlates underlying episodic and working memory, we devised a computerized working memory training task in which neurologically healthy participants were required to monitor and detect repetitions in two streams of spatial information (spatial location and scene identity presented simultaneously (i.e. a dual n-back paradigm. Participants' episodic memory abilities were assessed before and after training using two object and scene recognition memory tasks incorporating memory confidence judgments. Furthermore, to determine the generalizability of the effects of training, we also assessed fluid intelligence using a matrix reasoning task. By examining the difference between pre- and post-training performance (i.e. gain scores, we found that the trainers, compared to non-trainers, exhibited a significant improvement in fluid intelligence after 20 days. Interestingly, pre-training fluid intelligence performance, but not training task improvement, was a significant predictor of post-training fluid intelligence improvement, with lower pre-training fluid intelligence associated with greater post-training gain. Crucially, trainers who improved the most on the training task also showed an improvement in recognition memory as captured by d-prime scores and estimates of recollection and familiarity memory. Training task improvement was a significant predictor of gains in recognition and familiarity memory performance, with greater training improvement leading to more marked gains. In contrast, lower pre-training recollection memory scores, and not training task improvement, led to greater recollection memory performance after training. Our findings demonstrate that practice

  1. Are There Multiple Kinds of Episodic Memory? An fMRI Investigation Comparing Autobiographical and Recognition Memory Tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hung-Yu; Gilmore, Adrian W; Nelson, Steven M; McDermott, Kathleen B

    2017-03-08

    What brain regions underlie retrieval from episodic memory? The bulk of research addressing this question with fMRI has relied upon recognition memory for materials encoded within the laboratory. Another, less dominant tradition has used autobiographical methods, whereby people recall events from their lifetime, often after being cued with words or pictures. The current study addresses how the neural substrates of successful memory retrieval differed as a function of the targeted memory when the experimental parameters were held constant in the two conditions (except for instructions). Human participants studied a set of scenes and then took two types of memory test while undergoing fMRI scanning. In one condition (the picture memory test), participants reported for each scene (32 studied, 64 nonstudied) whether it was recollected from the prior study episode. In a second condition (the life memory test), participants reported for each scene (32 studied, 64 nonstudied) whether it reminded them of a specific event from their preexperimental lifetime. An examination of successful retrieval (yes responses) for recently studied scenes for the two test types revealed pronounced differences; that is, autobiographical retrieval instantiated with the life memory test preferentially activated the default mode network, whereas hits in the picture memory test preferentially engaged the parietal memory network as well as portions of the frontoparietal control network. When experimental cueing parameters are held constant, the neural underpinnings of successful memory retrieval differ when remembering life events and recently learned events. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Episodic memory is often discussed as a solitary construct. However, experimental traditions examining episodic memory use very different approaches, and these are rarely compared to one another. When the neural correlates associated with each approach have been directly contrasted, results have varied considerably

  2. A Mathematical Model for the Hippocampus: Towards the Understanding of Episodic Memory and Imagination

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    Tsuda, I.; Yamaguti, Y.; Kuroda, S.; Fukushima, Y.; Tsukada, M.

    How does the brain encode episode? Based on the fact that the hippocampus is responsible for the formation of episodic memory, we have proposed a mathematical model for the hippocampus. Because episodic memory includes a time series of events, an underlying dynamics for the formation of episodic memory is considered to employ an association of memories. David Marr correctly pointed out in his theory of archecortex for a simple memory that the hippocampal CA3 is responsible for the formation of associative memories. However, a conventional mathematical model of associative memory simply guarantees a single association of memory unless a rule for an order of successive association of memories is given. The recent clinical studies in Maguire's group for the patients with the hippocampal lesion show that the patients cannot make a new story, because of the lack of ability of imagining new things. Both episodic memory and imagining things include various common characteristics: imagery, the sense of now, retrieval of semantic information, and narrative structures. Taking into account these findings, we propose a mathematical model of the hippocampus in order to understand the common mechanism of episodic memory and imagination.

  3. Mindfulness Enhances Episodic Memory Performance: Evidence from a Multimethod Investigation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirk Warren Brown

    Full Text Available Training in mindfulness, classically described as a receptive attentiveness to present events and experiences, has been shown to improve attention and working memory. Both are key to long-term memory formation, and the present three-study series used multiple methods to examine whether mindfulness would enhance episodic memory, a key form of long-term memory. In Study 1 (N = 143, a self-reported state of mindful attention predicted better recognition performance in the Remember-Know (R-K paradigm. In Study 2 (N = 93, very brief training in a focused attention form of mindfulness also produced better recognition memory performance on the R-K task relative to a randomized, well-matched active control condition. Study 3 (N = 57 extended these findings by showing that relative to randomized active and inactive control conditions the effect of very brief mindfulness training generalized to free-recall memory performance. This study also found evidence for mediation of the mindfulness training-episodic memory relation by intrinsic motivation. These findings indicate that mindful attention can beneficially impact motivation and episodic memory, with potential implications for educational and occupational performance.

  4. Persistent non-verbal memory impairment in remitted major depression - caused by encoding deficits?

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    Behnken, Andreas; Schöning, Sonja; Gerss, Joachim; Konrad, Carsten; de Jong-Meyer, Renate; Zwanzger, Peter; Arolt, Volker

    2010-04-01

    While neuropsychological impairments are well described in acute phases of major depressive disorders (MDD), little is known about the neuropsychological profile in remission. There is evidence for episodic memory impairments in both acute depressed and remitted patients with MDD. Learning and memory depend on individuals' ability to organize information during learning. This study investigates non-verbal memory functions in remitted MDD and whether nonverbal memory performance is mediated by organizational strategies whilst learning. 30 well-characterized fully remitted individuals with unipolar MDD and 30 healthy controls matching in age, sex and education were investigated. Non-verbal learning and memory were measured by the Rey-Osterrieth-Complex-Figure-Test (RCFT). The RCFT provides measures of planning, organizational skills, perceptual and non-verbal memory functions. For assessing the mediating effects of organizational strategies, we used the Savage Organizational Score. Compared to healthy controls, participants with remitted MDD showed more deficits in their non-verbal memory function. Moreover, participants with remitted MDD demonstrated difficulties in organizing non-verbal information appropriately during learning. In contrast, no impairments regarding visual-spatial functions in remitted MDD were observed. Except for one patient, all the others were taking psychopharmacological medication. The neuropsychological function was solely investigated in the remitted phase of MDD. Individuals with MDD in remission showed persistent non-verbal memory impairments, modulated by a deficient use of organizational strategies during encoding. Therefore, our results strongly argue for additional therapeutic interventions in order to improve these remaining deficits in cognitive function. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Benefits and Costs of Context Reinstatement in Episodic Memory: An ERP Study.

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    Bramão, Inês; Johansson, Mikael

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated context-dependent episodic memory retrieval. An influential idea in the memory literature is that performance benefits when the retrieval context overlaps with the original encoding context. However, such memory facilitation may not be driven by the encoding-retrieval overlap per se but by the presence of diagnostic features in the reinstated context that discriminate the target episode from competing episodes. To test this prediction, the encoding-retrieval overlap and the diagnostic value of the context were manipulated in a novel associative recognition memory task. Participants were asked to memorize word pairs presented together with diagnostic (unique) and nondiagnostic (shared) background scenes. At test, participants recognized the word pairs in the presence and absence of the previously encoded contexts. Behavioral data show facilitated memory performance in the presence of the original context but, importantly, only when the context was diagnostic of the target episode. The electrophysiological data reveal an early anterior ERP encoding-retrieval overlap effect that tracks the cost associated with having nondiagnostic contexts present at retrieval, that is, shared by multiple previous episodes, and a later posterior encoding-retrieval overlap effect that reflects facilitated access to the target episode during retrieval in diagnostic contexts. Taken together, our results underscore the importance of the diagnostic value of the context and suggest that context-dependent episodic memory effects are multiple determined.

  6. Examination of the bidirectional influences of leisure activity and memory in old people: a dissociative effect on episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mousavi-Nasab, S-M-Hossein; Kormi-Nouri, Reza; Nilsson, Lars-Göran

    2014-08-01

    The present study examined the relationships between different types of social and cognitive activities and different types of episodic and semantic memory. A total of 794 adult men and women from five age cohorts (aged 65-85 at baseline), participating in the longitudinal Betula project on ageing, memory, and health, were included in the study. The participants were studied over 10 years (1995-2005) in three waves. Recognition and recall were used as episodic memory tasks, and knowledge and verbal fluency as semantic memory tasks. The results, after controlling for age, gender, education, and some diseases, including heart disease and hypertension, as covariates, showed unidirectional effects of social activity on episodic memory on all test occasions (β = .10). Also, episodic memory predicted change in cognitive activity for all test waves (β = .21-.22). Findings suggest that social activity can be seen as protective factor against memory decline. It also seems that episodic memory performance is a predictor of cognitive activity in old people. However, the opposite direction does not hold true. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

  7. The relationship between level of processing and hippocampal-cortical functional connectivity during episodic memory formation in humans.

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    Schott, Björn H; Wüstenberg, Torsten; Wimber, Maria; Fenker, Daniela B; Zierhut, Kathrin C; Seidenbecher, Constanze I; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Walter, Henrik; Düzel, Emrah; Richardson-Klavehn, Alan

    2013-02-01

    New episodic memory traces represent a record of the ongoing neocortical processing engaged during memory formation (encoding). Thus, during encoding, deep (semantic) processing typically establishes more distinctive and retrievable memory traces than does shallow (perceptual) processing, as assessed by later episodic memory tests. By contrast, the hippocampus appears to play a processing-independent role in encoding, because hippocampal lesions impair encoding regardless of level of processing. Here, we clarified the neural relationship between processing and encoding by examining hippocampal-cortical connectivity during deep and shallow encoding. Participants studied words during functional magnetic resonance imaging and freely recalled these words after distraction. Deep study processing led to better recall than shallow study processing. For both levels of processing, successful encoding elicited activations of bilateral hippocampus and left prefrontal cortex, and increased functional connectivity between left hippocampus and bilateral medial prefrontal, cingulate and extrastriate cortices. Successful encoding during deep processing was additionally associated with increased functional connectivity between left hippocampus and bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and right temporoparietal junction. In the shallow encoding condition, on the other hand, pronounced functional connectivity increases were observed between the right hippocampus and the frontoparietal attention network activated during shallow study processing. Our results further specify how the hippocampus coordinates recording of ongoing neocortical activity into long-term memory, and begin to provide a neural explanation for the typical advantage of deep over shallow study processing for later episodic memory. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. A Reduction in Delay Discounting by Using Episodic Future Imagination and the Association with Episodic Memory Capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Xiaochen; Kleinschmidt, Helena; Martin, Jason A; Han, Ying; Thelen, Manuela; Meiberth, Dix; Jessen, Frank; Weber, Bernd

    2016-01-01

    Delay discounting (DD) refers to the phenomenon that individuals discount future consequences. Previous studies showed that future imagination reduces DD, which was mediated by functional connectivity between medial prefrontal valuation areas and a key region for episodic memory (hippocampus). Future imagination involves an initial period of construction and a later period of elaboration, with the more elaborative latter period recruiting more cortical regions. This study examined whether elaborative future imagination modulated DD, and if so, what are the underlying neural substrates. It was assumed that cortical areas contribute to the modulation effect during the later period of imagination. Since future imagination is supported by episodic memory capacity, we additionally hypothesize that the neural network underlying the modulation effect is related to individual episodic memory capacity. Twenty-two subjects received an extensive interview on personal future events, followed by an fMRI DD experiment with and without the need to perform elaborative future imagination simultaneously. Subjects' episodic memory capacity was also assessed. Behavioral results replicate previous findings of a reduced discount rate in the DD plus imagination condition compared to the DD only condition. The behavioral effect positively correlated with: (i) subjective value signal changes in midline brain structures during the initial imagination period; and (ii) signal changes in left prefrontoparietal areas during the later imagination period. Generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analyses reveal positive correlations between the behavioral effect and functional connectivity among the following areas: right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and left hippocampus; left inferior parietal cortex (IPC) and left hippocampus; and left IPC and bilateral occipital cortices. These changes in functional connectivity are also associated with episodic memory capacity. A hierarchical

  9. Aging memories: differential decay of episodic memory components.

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    Talamini, Lucia M; Gorree, Eva

    2012-05-17

    Some memories about events can persist for decades, even a lifetime. However, recent memories incorporate rich sensory information, including knowledge on the spatial and temporal ordering of event features, while old memories typically lack this "filmic" quality. We suggest that this apparent change in the nature of memories may reflect a preferential loss of hippocampus-dependent, configurational information over more cortically based memory components, including memory for individual objects. The current study systematically tests this hypothesis, using a new paradigm that allows the contemporaneous assessment of memory for objects, object pairings, and object-position conjunctions. Retention of each memory component was tested, at multiple intervals, up to 3 mo following encoding. The three memory subtasks adopted the same retrieval paradigm and were matched for initial difficulty. Results show differential decay of the tested episodic memory components, whereby memory for configurational aspects of a scene (objects' co-occurrence and object position) decays faster than memory for featured objects. Interestingly, memory requiring a visually detailed object representation decays at a similar rate as global object recognition, arguing against interpretations based on task difficulty and against the notion that (visual) detail is forgotten preferentially. These findings show that memories undergo qualitative changes as they age. More specifically, event memories become less configurational over time, preferentially losing some of the higher order associations that are dependent on the hippocampus for initial fast encoding. Implications for theories of long-term memory are discussed.

  10. Memory Impairment in Children with Language Impairment

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    Baird, Gillian; Dworzynski, Katharina; Slonims, Vicky; Simonoff, Emily

    2010-01-01

    Aim: The aim of this study was to assess whether any memory impairment co-occurring with language impairment is global, affecting both verbal and visual domains, or domain specific. Method: Visual and verbal memory, learning, and processing speed were assessed in children aged 6 years to 16 years 11 months (mean 9y 9m, SD 2y 6mo) with current,…

  11. Cognitive Processes Supporting Episodic Memory Formation in Childhood: The Role of Source Memory, Binding, and Executive Functioning

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    Raj, Vinaya; Bell, Martha Ann

    2010-01-01

    Episodic memories contain various forms of contextual detail (e.g., perceptual, emotional, cognitive details) that need to become integrated. Each of these contextual features can be used to attribute a memory episode to its source, or origin of information. Memory for source information is one critical component in the formation of episodic…

  12. Episodic Memory Development: Theory of Mind Is Part of Re-Experiencing Experienced Events

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    Perner, Josef; Kloo, Daniela; Gornik, Edith

    2007-01-01

    Two experiments with 3 1/2- to 6 1/2-year-old children showed that theory-of-mind development is associated with the growth of episodic memory. Episodic memory was assessed by manipulating informational conditions such that they permit or prevent the formation of episodic memories in terms of re-experiencing the recalled event. Only experienced…

  13. Survivors of cardiac arrest with good neurological outcome show considerable impairments of memory functioning.

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    Sulzgruber, Patrick; Kliegel, Andreas; Wandaller, Cosima; Uray, Thomas; Losert, Heidrun; Laggner, Anton N; Sterz, Fritz; Kliegel, Matthias

    2015-03-01

    Deficits in cognitive function are a well-known dysfunction in survivors of cardiac arrest. However, data concerning memory function in this neurological vulnerable patient collective remain scarce and inconclusive. Therefore, we aimed to assess multiple aspects of retrospective and prospective memory performance in patients after cardiac arrest. We prospectively enrolled 33 survivors of cardiac arrest, with cerebral performance categories (CPC) 1 and 2 and a control-group (n=33) matched in sex, age and educational-level. To assess retrospective and prospective memory performance we administrated 4 weeks after cardiac arrest the "Rey Adult Learning Test" (RAVLT), the "Digit-Span-Backwards Test", the "Logic-Memory Test" and the "Red-Pencil Test". Results indicate an impairment in immediate and delayed free recall, but not in recognition. However, the overall impairment in immediate recall was qualified by analyzing RAVLT performance, showing that patients were only impaired in trials 4 and 5 of the learning sequence. Moreover, working and prospective memory as well as prose recall were worse in cardiac arrest survivors. Cranial computed tomography was available in 61% of all patients (n=20) but there was no specific neurological damage detectable that could be linked to this cognitive impairment. Episodic long-term memory functioning appears to be particularly impaired after cardiac arrest. In contrast, short-term memory storage, even tested via free-call, seems not to be affected. Based on cranial computed tomography we suggest that global brain ischemia rather than focal brain lesions appear to underlie these effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Vection Modulates Emotional Valence of Autobiographical Episodic Memories

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    Seno, Takeharu; Kawabe, Takahiro; Ito, Hiroyuki; Sunaga, Shoji

    2013-01-01

    We examined whether illusory self-motion perception ("vection") induced by viewing upward and downward grating motion stimuli can alter the emotional valence of recollected autobiographical episodic memories. We found that participants recollected positive episodes more often while perceiving upward vection. However, when we tested a small moving…

  15. Emotion causes targeted forgetting of established memories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bryan A. Strange

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Reconsolidation postulates that reactivation of a memory trace renders it susceptible to disruption by treatments similar to those that impair initial memory consolidation. Despite evidence that implicit, or non-declarative, human memories can be disrupted at retrieval, a convincing demonstration of selective impairment in retrieval of target episodic memories following reactivation is lacking. In human subjects, we demonstrate that if reactivation of a verbal memory, through successful retrieval, is immediately followed by an emotionally aversive stimulus, a significant impairment is evident in its later recall. This effect is time-dependent and persists for at least six days. Thus, in line with a reconsolidation hypothesis, established human episodic memories can be selectively impaired following their retrieval.

  16. Emotion causes targeted forgetting of established memories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strange, Bryan A; Kroes, Marijn C W; Fan, Judith E; Dolan, Raymond J

    2010-01-01

    Reconsolidation postulates that reactivation of a memory trace renders it susceptible to disruption by treatments similar to those that impair initial memory consolidation. Despite evidence that implicit, or non-declarative, human memories can be disrupted at retrieval, a convincing demonstration of selective impairment in retrieval of target episodic memories following reactivation is lacking. In human subjects, we demonstrate that if reactivation of a verbal memory, through successful retrieval, is immediately followed by an emotionally aversive stimulus, a significant impairment is evident in its later recall. This effect is time-dependent and persists for at least 6 days. Thus, in line with a reconsolidation hypothesis, established human episodic memories can be selectively impaired following their retrieval.

  17. Effect of semantic coherence on episodic memory processes in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battal Merlet, Lâle; Morel, Shasha; Blanchet, Alain; Lockman, Hazlin; Kostova, Milena

    2014-12-30

    Schizophrenia is associated with severe episodic retrieval impairment. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility that schizophrenia patients could improve their familiarity and/or recollection processes by manipulating the semantic coherence of to-be-learned stimuli and using deep encoding. Twelve schizophrenia patients and 12 healthy controls of comparable age, gender, and educational level undertook an associative recognition memory task. The stimuli consisted of pairs of words that were either related or unrelated to a given semantic category. The process dissociation procedure was used to calculate the estimates of familiarity and recollection processes. Both groups showed enhanced memory performances for semantically related words. However, in healthy controls, semantic relatedness led to enhanced recollection, while in schizophrenia patients, it induced enhanced familiarity. The familiarity estimates for related words were comparable in both groups, indicating that familiarity could be used as a compensatory mechanism in schizophrenia patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Episodic and Semantic Memory: Implications for the Role of Emotion in Advertising.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorson, Esther

    In an examination of the way people store and retrieve information from advertising, this paper draws a distinction between "semantic" memory, which stores general knowledge about the world, and "episodic" memory, which stores information about specific events. It then argues that episodic memory plays a more significant role…

  19. The effects of glucose ingestion and glucose regulation on memory performance in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riby, L M; Marriott, A; Bullock, R; Hancock, J; Smallwood, J; McLaughlin, J

    2009-04-01

    Previous research investigating the impact of glucose ingestion and/or improvements in glucose regulation has found selective cognitive facilitation on episodic memory tasks in successful ageing and dementia. The present study aimed to extend this research to mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In a repeated-measures design, 24 older adults with and 24 older adults without MCI performed a battery of memory and attention tasks after 25 g of glucose or a sweetness matched placebo. In addition, to assess the impact of individual differences in glucose regulation, blood glucose measurements were taken throughout the testing session. Consistent with previous research, cognitive facilitation was observed for episodic memory tasks only in both successful ageing and MCI. Older adults with MCI had a similar glucose regulatory response as controls but their fasting levels were elevated. Notably, higher levels of blood glucose were associated with impaired memory performance in both the glucose and placebo conditions. Importantly, both blood glucose and memory performance indices were significant predictors of MCI status. The utility of glucose supplementation and the use of glucose regulation as a biological marker are discussed in relation to these data.

  20. Stereotype Threat Effects on Older Adults' Episodic and Working Memory: A Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, Bonnie; Gallant, Sara N; Li, Lingqian; Patel, Khushi; Wong, Brenda I

    2017-08-01

    Prior research has shown that exposure to negative age-based stereotype threat (ST) can undermine older adults' memory performance. The objective of the current meta-analysis was to examine the reliability and magnitude of ST effects on older adults' episodic and working memory performance-two forms of memory that typically show the greatest age-related declines. In addition, we examined potential moderators of age-based ST including type of ST manipulation, type and timing of memory task, participant age and education level. A total of 23 samples for episodic memory and 15 samples for working memory were derived from 19 published and 4 unpublished articles and analyzed in two separate meta-analyses. Analyses revealed a reliable effect of ST on both older adults' episodic (d = 0.373) and working memory performance (d = 0.253). Interestingly, the age-based ST effect was only significant when blatant ST manipulations were used with episodic memory tasks or when subtle ST manipulations were used with working memory tasks. Moreover, within episodic memory, the ST effect only reached significance for recall but not cued-recall or recognition performance, and for immediate but not delayed tests of memory. Neither age nor level of education moderated the association between ST and older adults' memory performance. These results highlight the vulnerability of both older adults' episodic and working memory performance to age-based ST. When measuring older adults' memory performance in a research context, we must therefore be wary of exposing participants to common stereotypes about aging and memory. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. Altered hippocampal replay is associated with memory impairment in mice heterozygous for the Scn2a gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Middleton, Steven J; Kneller, Emily M; Chen, Shuo; Ogiwara, Ikuo; Montal, Mauricio; Yamakawa, Kazuhiro; McHugh, Thomas J

    2018-06-04

    An accumulating body of experimental evidence has implicated hippocampal replay occurring within sharp wave ripples (SPW-Rs) as crucial for learning and memory in healthy subjects. This raises speculation that neurological disorders impairing memory disrupt either SPW-Rs or their underlying neuronal activity. We report that mice heterozygous for the gene Scn2a, a site of frequent de novo mutations in humans with intellectual disability, displayed impaired spatial memory. While we observed no changes during encoding, to either single place cells or cell assemblies, we identified abnormalities restricted to SPW-R episodes that manifest as decreased cell assembly reactivation strengths and truncated hippocampal replay sequences. Our results suggest that alterations to hippocampal replay content may underlie disease-associated memory deficits.

  2. The construction of semantic memory: grammar based representations learned from relational episodic information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco P Battaglia

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available After acquisition, memories underlie a process of consolidation, making them more resistant to interference and brain injury. Memory consolidation involves systems-level interactions, most importantly between the hippocampus and associated structures, which takes part in the initial encoding of memory, and the neocortex, which supports long-term storage. This dichotomy parallels the contrast between episodic memory (tied to the hippocampal formation, collecting an autobiographical stream of experiences, and semantic memory, a repertoire of facts and statistical regularities about the world, involving the neocortex at large. Experimental evidence points to a gradual transformation of memories, following encoding, from an episodic to a semantic character. This may require an exchange of information between different memory modules during inactive periods. We propose a theory for such interactions and for the formation of semantic memory, in which episodic memory is encoded as relational data. Semantic memory is modeled as a modified stochastic grammar, which learns to parse episodic configurations expressed as an association matrix. The grammar produces tree-like representations of episodes, describing the relationships between its main constituents at multiple levels of categorization, based on its current knowledge of world regularities. These regularities are learned by the grammar from episodic memory information, through an expectation-maximization procedure, analogous to the inside-outside algorithm for stochastic context-free grammars. We propose that a Monte-Carlo sampling version of this algorithm can be mapped on the dynamics of ``sleep replay'' of previously acquired information in the hippocampus and neocortex. We propose that the model can reproduce several properties of semantic memory such as decontextualization, top-down processing, and creation of schemata.

  3. The Construction of Semantic Memory: Grammar-Based Representations Learned from Relational Episodic Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battaglia, Francesco P.; Pennartz, Cyriel M. A.

    2011-01-01

    After acquisition, memories underlie a process of consolidation, making them more resistant to interference and brain injury. Memory consolidation involves systems-level interactions, most importantly between the hippocampus and associated structures, which takes part in the initial encoding of memory, and the neocortex, which supports long-term storage. This dichotomy parallels the contrast between episodic memory (tied to the hippocampal formation), collecting an autobiographical stream of experiences, and semantic memory, a repertoire of facts and statistical regularities about the world, involving the neocortex at large. Experimental evidence points to a gradual transformation of memories, following encoding, from an episodic to a semantic character. This may require an exchange of information between different memory modules during inactive periods. We propose a theory for such interactions and for the formation of semantic memory, in which episodic memory is encoded as relational data. Semantic memory is modeled as a modified stochastic grammar, which learns to parse episodic configurations expressed as an association matrix. The grammar produces tree-like representations of episodes, describing the relationships between its main constituents at multiple levels of categorization, based on its current knowledge of world regularities. These regularities are learned by the grammar from episodic memory information, through an expectation-maximization procedure, analogous to the inside–outside algorithm for stochastic context-free grammars. We propose that a Monte-Carlo sampling version of this algorithm can be mapped on the dynamics of “sleep replay” of previously acquired information in the hippocampus and neocortex. We propose that the model can reproduce several properties of semantic memory such as decontextualization, top-down processing, and creation of schemata. PMID:21887143

  4. Human Episodic Memory Retrieval Is Accompanied by a Neural Contiguity Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Folkerts, Sarah; Rutishauser, Ueli; Howard, Marc W

    2018-04-25

    Cognitive psychologists have long hypothesized that experiences are encoded in a temporal context that changes gradually over time. When an episodic memory is retrieved, the state of context is recovered-a jump back in time. We recorded from single units in the medial temporal lobe of epilepsy patients performing an item recognition task. The population vector changed gradually over minutes during presentation of the list. When a probe from the list was remembered with high confidence, the population vector reinstated the temporal context of the original presentation of that probe during study, a neural contiguity effect that provides a possible mechanism for behavioral contiguity effects. This pattern was only observed for well remembered probes; old probes that were not well remembered showed an anti-contiguity effect. These results constitute the first direct evidence that recovery of an episodic memory in humans is associated with retrieval of a gradually changing state of temporal context, a neural "jump back in time" that parallels the act of remembering. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Episodic memory is the ability to relive a specific experience from one's life. For decades, researchers have hypothesized that, unlike other forms of memory that can be described as simple associations between stimuli, episodic memory depends on the recovery of a neural representation of spatiotemporal context. During study of a sequence of stimuli, the brain state of epilepsy patients changed slowly over at least a minute. When the participant remembered a particular event from the list, this gradually changing state was recovered. This provides direct confirmation of the prediction from computational models of episodic memory. The resolution of this point means that the study of episodic memory can focus on the mechanisms by which this representation of spatiotemporal context is maintained and sometimes recovered. Copyright © 2018 the authors 0270-6474/18/384200-12$15.00/0.

  5. Developmental Differences in Relations between Episodic Memory and Hippocampal Subregion Volume during Early Childhood

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    Riggins, Tracy; Blankenship, Sarah L.; Mulligan, Elizabeth; Rice, Katherine; Redcay, Elizabeth

    2015-01-01

    Episodic memory shows striking improvement during early childhood. However, neural contributions to these behavioral changes are not well understood. This study examined associations between episodic memory and volume of subregions (head, body, and tail) of the hippocampus--a structure known to support episodic memory in school-aged children and…

  6. Aging accelerates memory extinction and impairs memory restoration in Drosophila.

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    Chen, Nannan; Guo, Aike; Li, Yan

    2015-05-15

    Age-related memory impairment (AMI) is a phenomenon observed from invertebrates to human. Memory extinction is proposed to be an active inhibitory modification of memory, however, whether extinction is affected in aging animals remains to be elucidated. Employing a modified paradigm for studying memory extinction in fruit flies, we found that only the stable, but not the labile memory component was suppressed by extinction, thus effectively resulting in higher memory loss in aging flies. Strikingly, young flies were able to fully restore the stable memory component 3 h post extinction, while aging flies failed to do so. In conclusion, our findings reveal that both accelerated extinction and impaired restoration contribute to memory impairment in aging animals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. The contribution of the human posterior parietal cortex to episodic memory

    OpenAIRE

    Sestieri, Carlo; Shulman, Gordon L.; Corbetta, Maurizio

    2017-01-01

    The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is traditionally associated with attention, perceptual decision making and sensorimotor transformations, but more recent human neuroimaging studies support an additional role in episodic memory retrieval. In this Opinion article, we present a functional–anatomical model of the involvement of the PPC in memory retrieval. Parietal regions involved in perceptual attention and episodic memory are largely segregated and often show a push–pull relationship, poten...

  8. Overlap in the functional neural systems involved in semantic and episodic memory retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajah, M N; McIntosh, A R

    2005-03-01

    Neuroimaging and neuropsychological data suggest that episodic and semantic memory may be mediated by distinct neural systems. However, an alternative perspective is that episodic and semantic memory represent different modes of processing within a single declarative memory system. To examine whether the multiple or the unitary system view better represents the data we conducted a network analysis using multivariate partial least squares (PLS ) activation analysis followed by covariance structural equation modeling (SEM) of positron emission tomography data obtained while healthy adults performed episodic and semantic verbal retrieval tasks. It is argued that if performance of episodic and semantic retrieval tasks are mediated by different memory systems, then there should differences in both regional activations and interregional correlations related to each type of retrieval task, respectively. The PLS results identified brain regions that were differentially active during episodic retrieval versus semantic retrieval. Regions that showed maximal differences in regional activity between episodic retrieval tasks were used to construct separate functional models for episodic and semantic retrieval. Omnibus tests of these functional models failed to find a significant difference across tasks for both functional models. The pattern of path coefficients for the episodic retrieval model were not different across tasks, nor were the path coefficients for the semantic retrieval model. The SEM results suggest that the same memory network/system was engaged across tasks, given the similarities in path coefficients. Therefore, activation differences between episodic and semantic retrieval may ref lect variation along a continuum of processing during task performance within the context of a single memory system.

  9. Free and cued recall memory in Parkinson's disease associated with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alberto Costa

    Full Text Available The hypothesis has been advanced that memory disorders in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD are related to either retrieval or consolidation failure. However, the characteristics of the memory impairments of PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment have not been clarified. This study was aimed at investigating whether memory deficits in PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (PDaMCI are due to failure of retrieval or consolidation processes. Sixteen individuals with PDaMCI, 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment without PD (aMCINPD, and 20 healthy controls were recruited. Participants were administered the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test. An index of cueing was computed for each subject to capture the advantage in retrieval of cued compared to free recall. Individuals with PDaMCI performed worse than healthy controls on the free recall (p0.10 task, and they performed better than aMCINPD subjects on both recall measures (p0.10 but it was significantly higher than that of the aMCINPD sample (p<0.01. Moreover, PD patients' performance on free recall trials was significantly predicted by scores on a test investigating executive functions (i.e., the Modified Card Sorting Test; p = 0.042. Findings of the study document that, in subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment associated to PD, episodic memory impairment is related to retrieval rather than to consolidation failure. The same data suggest that, in these individuals, memory deficits might be due to altered frontal-related executive functioning.

  10. Free and Cued Recall Memory in Parkinson’s Disease Associated with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Alberto; Monaco, Marco; Zabberoni, Silvia; Peppe, Antonella; Perri, Roberta; Fadda, Lucia; Iannarelli, Francesca; Caltagirone, Carlo; Carlesimo, Giovanni A.

    2014-01-01

    The hypothesis has been advanced that memory disorders in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are related to either retrieval or consolidation failure. However, the characteristics of the memory impairments of PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment have not been clarified. This study was aimed at investigating whether memory deficits in PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (PDaMCI) are due to failure of retrieval or consolidation processes. Sixteen individuals with PDaMCI, 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment without PD (aMCINPD), and 20 healthy controls were recruited. Participants were administered the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test. An index of cueing was computed for each subject to capture the advantage in retrieval of cued compared to free recall. Individuals with PDaMCI performed worse than healthy controls on the free recall (pcued recall (p>0.10) task, and they performed better than aMCINPD subjects on both recall measures (p0.10) but it was significantly higher than that of the aMCINPD sample (precall trials was significantly predicted by scores on a test investigating executive functions (i.e., the Modified Card Sorting Test; p = 0.042). Findings of the study document that, in subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment associated to PD, episodic memory impairment is related to retrieval rather than to consolidation failure. The same data suggest that, in these individuals, memory deficits might be due to altered frontal-related executive functioning. PMID:24465977

  11. The effects of age, glucose ingestion and gluco-regulatory control on episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riby, Leigh Martin; Meikle, Andrew; Glover, Cheryl

    2004-09-01

    Previous research has been inconclusive regarding the impact of glucose ingestion and gluco-regulatory control on cognitive performance in healthy older adults. The aim of this research was to determine whether glucose specifically enhanced episodic memory in an older population. In addition, the link between individual differences in glucose regulation and the magnitude of the enhancement effect was examined. A within subjects, counterbalanced, crossover design was used with 20 participants (60-80 year olds), each serving as his/her control. Episodic memory was tested by presenting unrelated paired associates followed by immediate and delayed cued recall, and delayed recognition, under single and dual task conditions. In addition, a battery of cognitive tests was administered, including tests of semantic memory, working memory and speed of processing. Glucose ingestion was found to largely facilitate performance of episodic memory. Furthermore, subsidiary analyses found that gluco-regulatory efficiency predicted episodic memory performance in both control and glucose conditions. A boost in performance after glucose ingestion was particularly seen in the episodic memory domain. Notably, strong evidence was provided for the utility of gluco-regulatory control measures as indicators of cognitive decline in the elderly.

  12. Neonatal hypoxia, hippocampal atrophy, and memory impairment: evidence of a causal sequence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Janine M; Gadian, David G; Jentschke, Sebastian; Goldman, Allan; Munoz, Monica; Pitts, Georgia; Banks, Tina; Chong, W Kling; Hoskote, Aparna; Deanfield, John; Baldeweg, Torsten; de Haan, Michelle; Mishkin, Mortimer; Vargha-Khadem, Faraneh

    2015-06-01

    Neonates treated for acute respiratory failure experience episodes of hypoxia. The hippocampus, a structure essential for memory, is particularly vulnerable to such insults. Hence, some neonates undergoing treatment for acute respiratory failure might sustain bilateral hippocampal pathology early in life and memory problems later in childhood. We investigated this possibility in a cohort of 40 children who had been treated neonatally for acute respiratory failure but were free of overt neurological impairment. The cohort had mean hippocampal volumes (HVs) significantly below normal control values, memory scores significantly below the standard population means, and memory quotients significantly below those predicted by their full scale IQs. Brain white matter volume also fell below the volume of the controls, but brain gray matter volumes and scores on nonmnemonic neuropsychological tests were within the normal range. Stepwise linear regression models revealed that the cohort's HVs were predictive of degree of memory impairment, and gestational age at treatment was predictive of HVs: the younger the age, the greater the atrophy. We conclude that many neonates treated for acute respiratory failure sustain significant hippocampal atrophy as a result of the associated hypoxia and, consequently, show deficient memory later in life. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press.

  13. Brain structural, functional, and cognitive correlates of recent versus remote autobiographical memories in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clémence Tomadesso

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Deficits in autobiographical memory appear earlier for recent than for remote life periods over the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD. The present study aims to further our understanding of this graded effect by investigating the cognitive and neural substrates of recent versus remote autobiographical memories in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI thanks to an autobiographical fluency task. 20 aMCI patients and 25 Healthy elderly Controls (HC underwent neuropsychological tests assessing remote (20-to-30 years old and recent (the ten last years autobiographical memory as well as episodic and semantic memory, executive function and global cognition. All patients also had a structural MRI and an FDG-PET scan. Correlations were assessed between each autobiographical memory score and the other tests as well as grey matter volume and metabolism. Within the aMCI, performances for the remote period correlated with personal semantic memory and episodic memory retrieval whereas performances for the recent period only correlated with episodic memory retrieval. Neuroimaging analyses revealed significant correlations between performances for the remote period and temporal pole and temporo-parietal cortex volumes and anterior cingulate gyrus metabolism, while performances for the recent period correlated with hippocampal volume and posterior cingulate, medial prefrontal and hippocampus metabolism. The brain regions related with the retrieval of events from the recent period showed greater atrophy/hypometabolism in aMCI patients compared to HC than those involved in remote memories. Recall of recent memories essentially relies on episodic memory processes and brain network while remote memories also involve other processes such as semantic memory. This is consistent with the semanticization of memories with time and may explain the better resistance of remote memory in AD.

  14. Brain structural, functional, and cognitive correlates of recent versus remote autobiographical memories in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomadesso, Clémence; Perrotin, Audrey; Mutlu, Justine; Mézenge, Florence; Landeau, Brigitte; Egret, Stéphanie; de la Sayette, Vincent; Jonin, Pierre-Yves; Eustache, Francis; Desgranges, Béatrice; Chételat, Gaël

    2015-01-01

    Deficits in autobiographical memory appear earlier for recent than for remote life periods over the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study aims to further our understanding of this graded effect by investigating the cognitive and neural substrates of recent versus remote autobiographical memories in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) thanks to an autobiographical fluency task. 20 aMCI patients and 25 Healthy elderly Controls (HC) underwent neuropsychological tests assessing remote (20-to-30 years old) and recent (the ten last years) autobiographical memory as well as episodic and semantic memory, executive function and global cognition. All patients also had a structural MRI and an FDG-PET scan. Correlations were assessed between each autobiographical memory score and the other tests as well as grey matter volume and metabolism. Within the aMCI, performances for the remote period correlated with personal semantic memory and episodic memory retrieval whereas performances for the recent period only correlated with episodic memory retrieval. Neuroimaging analyses revealed significant correlations between performances for the remote period and temporal pole and temporo-parietal cortex volumes and anterior cingulate gyrus metabolism, while performances for the recent period correlated with hippocampal volume and posterior cingulate, medial prefrontal and hippocampus metabolism. The brain regions related with the retrieval of events from the recent period showed greater atrophy/hypometabolism in aMCI patients compared to HC than those involved in remote memories. Recall of recent memories essentially relies on episodic memory processes and brain network while remote memories also involve other processes such as semantic memory. This is consistent with the semanticization of memories with time and may explain the better resistance of remote memory in AD.

  15. The development of episodic memory: items, contexts, and relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yim, Hyungwook; Dennis, Simon J; Sloutsky, Vladimir M

    2013-11-01

    Episodic memory involves the formation of relational structures that bind information about the stimuli people experience to the contexts in which they experience them. The ability to form and retain such structures may be at the core of the development of episodic memory. In the first experiment reported here, 4- and 7-year-olds were presented with paired-associate learning tasks requiring memory structures of different complexity. A multinomial-processing tree model was applied to estimate the use of different structures in the two age groups. The use of two-way list-context-to-target structures and three-way structures was found to increase between the ages of 4 and 7. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the ability to form increasingly complex relational memory structures develops between the ages of 4 and 7 years and that this development extends well into adulthood. These results have important implications for theories of memory development.

  16. The role of the thalamus and hippocampus in episodic memory performance in patients with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koenig, Katherine A; Rao, Stephen M; Lowe, Mark J; Lin, Jian; Sakaie, Ken E; Stone, Lael; Bermel, Robert A; Trapp, Bruce D; Phillips, Micheal D

    2018-03-01

    Episodic memory loss is one of the most common cognitive symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), but the pathophysiology of this symptom remains unclear. Both the hippocampus and thalamus have been implicated in episodic memory and show regional atrophy in patients with MS. In this work, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a verbal episodic memory task, lesion load, and volumetric measures of the hippocampus and thalamus to assess the relative contributions to verbal and visual-spatial episodic memory. Functional activation, lesion load, and volumetric measures from 32 patients with MS and 16 healthy controls were used in a predictive analysis of episodic memory function. After adjusting for disease duration, immediate recall performance on a visual-spatial episodic memory task was significantly predicted by hippocampal volume ( p memory measures, functional activation of the thalamus during encoding was more predictive than that of volume measures ( p episodic memory loss in patients with MS.

  17. Episodic Memory Retrieval Functionally Relies on Very Rapid Reactivation of Sensory Information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldhauser, Gerd T; Braun, Verena; Hanslmayr, Simon

    2016-01-06

    Episodic memory retrieval is assumed to rely on the rapid reactivation of sensory information that was present during encoding, a process termed "ecphory." We investigated the functional relevance of this scarcely understood process in two experiments in human participants. We presented stimuli to the left or right of fixation at encoding, followed by an episodic memory test with centrally presented retrieval cues. This allowed us to track the reactivation of lateralized sensory memory traces during retrieval. Successful episodic retrieval led to a very early (∼100-200 ms) reactivation of lateralized alpha/beta (10-25 Hz) electroencephalographic (EEG) power decreases in the visual cortex contralateral to the visual field at encoding. Applying rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation to interfere with early retrieval processing in the visual cortex led to decreased episodic memory performance specifically for items encoded in the visual field contralateral to the site of stimulation. These results demonstrate, for the first time, that episodic memory functionally relies on very rapid reactivation of sensory information. Remembering personal experiences requires a "mental time travel" to revisit sensory information perceived in the past. This process is typically described as a controlled, relatively slow process. However, by using electroencephalography to measure neural activity with a high time resolution, we show that such episodic retrieval entails a very rapid reactivation of sensory brain areas. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation to alter brain function during retrieval revealed that this early sensory reactivation is causally relevant for conscious remembering. These results give first neural evidence for a functional, preconscious component of episodic remembering. This provides new insight into the nature of human memory and may help in the understanding of psychiatric conditions that involve the automatic intrusion of unwanted memories. Copyright

  18. Reduced prefrontal activation in pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder during verbal episodic memory encoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batistuzzo, Marcelo Camargo; Balardin, Joana Bisol; Martin, Maria da Graça Morais; Hoexter, Marcelo Queiroz; Bernardes, Elisa Teixeira; Borcato, Sonia; Souza, Marina de Marco E; Querido, Cicero Nardini; Morais, Rosa Magaly; de Alvarenga, Pedro Gomes; Lopes, Antonio Carlos; Shavitt, Roseli Gedanke; Savage, Cary R; Amaro, Edson; Miguel, Euripedes C; Polanczyk, Guilherme V; Miotto, Eliane C

    2015-10-01

    Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) often present with deficits in episodic memory, and there is evidence that these difficulties may be secondary to executive dysfunction, that is, impaired selection and/or application of memory-encoding strategies (mediation hypothesis). Semantic clustering is an effective strategy to enhance encoding of verbal episodic memory (VEM) when word lists are semantically related. Self-initiated mobilization of this strategy has been associated with increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex, a key region in the pathophysiology of OCD. We therefore studied children and adolescents with OCD during uncued semantic clustering strategy application in a VEM functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-encoding paradigm. A total of 25 pediatric patients with OCD (aged 8.1-17.5 years) and 25 healthy controls (HC, aged 8.1-16.9) matched for age, gender, handedness, and IQ were evaluated using a block design VEM paradigm that manipulated semantically related and unrelated words. The semantic clustering strategy score (SCS) predicted VEM performance in HC (p semantic clustering in OCD. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Autobiographical Memory and Episodic Future Thinking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Katrine; Berntsen, Dorthe

    Recalling the past and imagining the future is thought to employ very similar cognitive mechanisms. The strategic retrieval of specific past autobiographical events has been shown to depend on executive processes, and to be affected by cue imageability. The cognitive mechanisms underlying...... that autobiographical memory and episodic future thinking were affected similarly by cue imageability, suggesting that retrieval strategy can be manipulated in similar ways for both temporal directions. Furthermore, executive control processes (as measured by verbal fluency) was correlated with fluency and number...... of details in both memories and future thoughts, indicating the involvement of some common component processes in autobiographical memory and future thinking....

  20. Direct Electrical Stimulation of the Human Entorhinal Region and Hippocampus Impairs Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Joshua; Miller, Jonathan; Lee, Sang Ah; Coffey, Tom; Watrous, Andrew J; Sperling, Michael R; Sharan, Ashwini; Worrell, Gregory; Berry, Brent; Lega, Bradley; Jobst, Barbara C; Davis, Kathryn; Gross, Robert E; Sheth, Sameer A; Ezzyat, Youssef; Das, Sandhitsu R; Stein, Joel; Gorniak, Richard; Kahana, Michael J; Rizzuto, Daniel S

    2016-12-07

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has shown promise for treating a range of brain disorders and neurological conditions. One recent study showed that DBS in the entorhinal region improved the accuracy of human spatial memory. Based on this line of work, we performed a series of experiments to more fully characterize the effects of DBS in the medial temporal lobe on human memory. Neurosurgical patients with implanted electrodes performed spatial and verbal-episodic memory tasks. During the encoding periods of both tasks, subjects received electrical stimulation at 50 Hz. In contrast to earlier work, electrical stimulation impaired memory performance significantly in both spatial and verbal tasks. Stimulation in both the entorhinal region and hippocampus caused decreased memory performance. These findings indicate that the entorhinal region and hippocampus are causally involved in human memory and suggest that refined methods are needed to use DBS in these regions to improve memory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Behavioural and magnetoencephalographic evidence for the interaction between semantic and episodic memory in healthy elderly subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    La Corte, Valentina; Dalla Barba, Gianfranco; Lemaréchal, Jean-Didier; Garnero, Line; George, Nathalie

    2012-10-01

    The relationship between episodic and semantic memory systems has long been debated. Some authors argue that episodic memory is contingent on semantic memory (Tulving 1984), while others postulate that both systems are independent since they can be selectively damaged (Squire 1987). The interaction between these memory systems is particularly important in the elderly, since the dissociation of episodic and semantic memory defects characterize different aging-related pathologies. Here, we investigated the interaction between semantic knowledge and episodic memory processes associated with faces in elderly subjects using an experimental paradigm where the semantic encoding of famous and unknown faces was compared to their episodic recognition. Results showed that the level of semantic awareness of items affected the recognition of those items in the episodic memory task. Event-related magnetic fields confirmed this interaction between episodic and semantic memory: ERFs related to the old/new effect during the episodic task were markedly different for famous and unknown faces. The old/new effect for famous faces involved sustained activities maximal over right temporal sensors, showing a spatio-temporal pattern partly similar to that found for famous versus unknown faces during the semantic task. By contrast, an old/new effect for unknown faces was observed on left parieto-occipital sensors. These findings suggest that the episodic memory for famous faces activated the retrieval of stored semantic information, whereas it was based on items' perceptual features for unknown faces. Overall, our results show that semantic information interfered markedly with episodic memory processes and suggested that the neural substrates of these two memory systems overlap.

  2. The effects of road traffic and aircraft noise exposure on children′s episodic memory: The RANCH Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark Matheson

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies have found that chronic exposure to aircraft noise has a negative effect on children′s performance on tests of episodic memory. The present study extended the design of earlier studies in three ways: firstly, by examining the effects of two noise sources, aircraft and road traffic, secondly, by examining exposure-effect relationships, and thirdly, by carrying out parallel field studies in three European countries, allowing cross-country comparisons to be made. A total of 2844 children aged between 8 years 10 months and 12 years 10 months (mean age 10 years 6 months completed classroom-based tests of cued recall, recognition memory and prospective memory. Questionnaires were also completed by the children and their parents in order to provide information about socioeconomic context. Multilevel modeling analysis revealed aircraft noise to be associated with an impairment of recognition memory in a linear exposure-effect relationship. The analysis also found road traffic noise to be associated with improved performance on cued recall in a linear exposure-effect relationship. No significant association was found between exposure to aircraft noise and cued recall or prospective memory. Likewise, no significant association was found between road traffic noise and recognition or prospective memory. Taken together, these findings indicate that exposure to aircraft noise and road traffic noise can impact on certain aspects of children′s episodic memory.

  3. Sleep-dependent memory consolidation in healthy aging and mild cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pace-Schott, Edward F; Spencer, Rebecca M C

    2015-01-01

    Sleep quality and architecture as well as sleep's homeostatic and circadian controls change with healthy aging. Changes include reductions in slow-wave sleep's (SWS) percent and spectral power in the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG), number and amplitude of sleep spindles, rapid eye movement (REM) density and the amplitude of circadian rhythms, as well as a phase advance (moved earlier in time) of the brain's circadian clock. With mild cognitive impairment (MCI) there are further reductions of sleep quality, SWS, spindles, and percent REM, all of which further diminish, along with a profound disruption of circadian rhythmicity, with the conversion to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Sleep disorders may represent risk factors for dementias (e.g., REM Behavior Disorder presages Parkinson's disease) and sleep disorders are themselves extremely prevalent in neurodegenerative diseases. Working memory , formation of new episodic memories, and processing speed all decline with healthy aging whereas semantic, recognition, and emotional declarative memory are spared. In MCI, episodic and working memory further decline along with declines in semantic memory. In young adults, sleep-dependent memory consolidation (SDC) is widely observed for both declarative and procedural memory tasks. However, with healthy aging, although SDC for declarative memory is preserved, certain procedural tasks, such as motor-sequence learning, do not show SDC. In younger adults, fragmentation of sleep can reduce SDC, and a normative increase in sleep fragmentation may account for reduced SDC with healthy aging. Whereas sleep disorders such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, and narcolepsy can impair SDC in the absence of neurodegenerative changes, the incidence of sleep disorders increases both with normal aging and, further, with neurodegenerative disease. Specific features of sleep architecture, such as sleep spindles and SWS are strongly linked to SDC. Diminution of these features with healthy aging

  4. Cognitive Training Using a Novel Memory Game on an iPad in Patients with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savulich, George; Piercy, Thomas; Fox, Chris; Suckling, John; Rowe, James B; O'Brien, John T; Sahakian, Barbara J

    2017-08-01

    Cognitive training is effective in patients with mild cognitive impairment but does not typically address the motivational deficits associated with older populations with memory difficulties. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of cognitive training using a novel memory game on an iPad in 42 patients with a diagnosis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment assigned to either the cognitive training (n=21; 8 hours of gameplay over 4 weeks) or control (n=21; clinic visits as usual) groups. Significant time-by-pattern-by-group interactions were found for cognitive performance in terms of the number of errors made and trials needed on the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery Paired Associates Learning task (P=.044; P=.027). Significant time-by-group interactions were also found for the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery Paired Associates Learning first trial memory score (P=.002), Mini-Mental State Examination (P=.036), the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (P=.032), and the Apathy Evaluation Scale (P=.026). Within-group comparisons revealed highly specific effects of cognitive training on episodic memory. The cognitive training group maintained high levels of enjoyment and motivation to continue after each hour of gameplay, with self-confidence and self-rated memory ability improving over time. Episodic memory robustly improved in the cognitive training group. "Gamified" cognitive training may also enhance visuospatial abilities in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Gamification maximizes engagement with cognitive training by increasing motivation and could complement pharmacological treatments for amnestic mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease. Larger, more controlled trials are needed to replicate and extend these findings. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.

  5. Modeling the Role of Working Memory and Episodic Memory in Behavioral Tasks

    OpenAIRE

    Zilli, Eric A.; Hasselmo, Michael E.

    2008-01-01

    The mechanisms of goal-directed behavior have been studied using reinforcement learning theory, but these theoretical techniques have not often been used to address the role of memory systems in performing behavioral tasks. The present work addresses this shortcoming by providing a way in which working memory and episodic memory may be included in the reinforcement learning framework, then simulating the successful acquisition and performance of six behavioral tasks, drawn from or inspired by...

  6. Episodic autobiographical memories over the course of time: cognitive, neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piolino, Pascale; Desgranges, Béatrice; Eustache, Francis

    2009-09-01

    The critical attributes of episodic memory are self, autonoetic consciousness and subjectively sensed time. The aim of this paper is to present a theoretical overview of our already published researches into the nature of episodic memory over the course of time. We have developed a new method of assessing autobiographical memory (TEMPau task), which is specially designed to measure these specific aspects, based on the sense of re-experiencing events from across the entire lifespan. Based on our findings of cognitive, neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies, new insights into episodic autobiographical memories are presented, focusing on the effects of age of the subjects interacting with time interval in healthy subjects and lesioned patients. The multifaceted and complex nature of episodic memory is emphasized and it is suggested that mental time travel through subjective time, which allows individuals to re-experience specific past events through a feeling of self-awareness, is the last feature of autobiographical memory to become fully operational in development and the first feature to go in aging and most amnesias. Our findings highlight the critical role of frontotemporal areas in constructive autobiographical memory processes, and especially hippocampus, in re-experiencing episodic details from the recent or more distant past.

  7. Altered Effective Connectivity of Hippocampus-Dependent Episodic Memory Network in mTBI Survivors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hao Yan

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs are generally recognized to affect episodic memory. However, less is known regarding how external force altered the way functionally connected brain structures of the episodic memory system interact. To address this issue, we adopted an effective connectivity based analysis, namely, multivariate Granger causality approach, to explore causal interactions within the brain network of interest. Results presented that TBI induced increased bilateral and decreased ipsilateral effective connectivity in the episodic memory network in comparison with that of normal controls. Moreover, the left anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG, the concept forming hub, left hippocampus (the personal experience binding hub, and left parahippocampal gyrus (the contextual association hub were no longer network hubs in TBI survivors, who compensated for hippocampal deficits by relying more on the right hippocampus (underlying perceptual memory and the right medial frontal gyrus (MeFG in the anterior prefrontal cortex (PFC. We postulated that the overrecruitment of the right anterior PFC caused dysfunction of the strategic component of episodic memory, which caused deteriorating episodic memory in mTBI survivors. Our findings also suggested that the pattern of brain network changes in TBI survivors presented similar functional consequences to normal aging.

  8. The Effects of Emotion on Episodic Memory for TV Commercials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorson, Esther; Friestad, Marian

    Based on the associational nature of memory, the distinction between episodic and semantic memory, and the notion of memory strength, a model was developed of the role of emotion in the memory of television commercials. The model generated the following hypotheses: (1) emotional commercials will more likely be recalled than nonemotional…

  9. The relationship among unawareness of memory impairment, depression, and dementia in older adults with memory impairment in Singapore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jianlin; Abdin, Edimansyah; Vaingankar, Janhavi A; Shafie, Saleha B; Jeyagurunathan, Anitha; Shahwan, Shazana; Magadi, Harish; Ng, Li Ling; Chong, Siow Ann; Subramaniam, Mythily

    2017-11-01

    Previous research has studied the relationships among unawareness of memory impairment, depression, and dementia in older adults with severe dementia, but it has not considered the associations and clinical implications at earlier stages of memory impairment. This study therefore sought to examine the relationship among unawareness of memory impairment, depression, and dementia in older adults with memory impairment in Singapore. The participants were 751 older adults with memory impairment in Singapore. They were assessed for objective and subjective memory loss, depression, and dementia severity. Participants' subjective memory loss was determined based on a self-appraisal question on memory, and their objective memory loss was calculated based on their performance on three cognitive tasks. Unawareness was assessed based on the contrast between subjective and objective memory loss. Descriptive statistics revealed a high prevalence of unawareness (80.4%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that gender and marital status were significantly associated with unawareness. Men (odds ratio (OR) = 2.5) and those who were divorced or separated (OR = 23.0) were more likely to be unaware than women and those who were married, respectively. After chronic conditions and demographic characteristics were controlled for, multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that older adults with depression were less likely (OR = 0.2) to be unaware than those without depression. Unawareness was also related with dementia severity; older adults with questionable (OR = 0.3) and mild dementia (OR = 0.4) were less likely to be unaware than someone without dementia. Unawareness of memory impairment was common among older adults with memory impairment. However, unawareness may be the result of denial as a strategy for coping with memory loss of which the older adult is aware. Psychological care should be integrated into the overall treatment management of dementia to

  10. Relevance of quality of life assessment for multiple sclerosis patients with memory impairment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karine Baumstarck

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Memory disturbances, in particular episodic verbal memory dysfunction, are the most frequent cognitive impairment observed in multiple sclerosis (MS patients. The use of self-reported outcomes for evaluating treatment and managing care of these subjects has been questioned. The aim of this study was to provide new evidence about the suitability of self-reported outcomes for use in this impaired population by exploring the internal structure, reliability and external validity of a specific quality of life (QoL instrument, the Multiple Sclerosis International Quality of Life questionnaire (MusiQoL. METHODS: DESIGN: cross-sectional study. INCLUSION CRITERIA: MS patients of any disease subtype. DATA COLLECTION: sociodemographic (age, gender, marital status, education level, and occupational activity and clinical data (MS subtype, Expanded Disability Status Scale, disease duration; QoL (MusiQoL and SF36; and memory performance (Grober and Buschke test. In accordance with the French norms of the memory test, non-impaired and impaired populations were defined for short- and long-delay free composites and for short- and long-delay total composites. For the 8 populations, psychometric properties were compared to those reported from the reference population assessed in the validation study. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: One hundred and twenty-four consecutive patients were enrolled. The analysis performed in the impaired populations showed that the questionnaire structure adequately matched the initial structure of the MusiQoL. The unidimensionality of the dimensions was preserved, and the internal/external validity indices were close to those of the reference population. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our study suggests that memory dysfunction did not compromise the reliability or validity of the self-reported QoL questionnaires.

  11. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 and episodic memory decline in Alzheimer's disease: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Haj, Mohamad; Antoine, Pascal; Amouyel, Philippe; Lambert, Jean-Charles; Pasquier, Florence; Kapogiannis, Dimitrios

    2016-05-01

    A growing body of research has examined the relationship between episodic memory decline, the cognitive hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and the presence of Apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) allele, a major genetic risk factor for the disease. Our review attempts to summarize and critically evaluate this literature. We performed a systematic search for studies assessing episodic memory in AD patients who were genotyped for APOE ε4 and identified fourteen papers. Although most of these papers reported significant relationships between APOE ε4 and episodic memory decline in AD, some papers did not confirm this relationship. Our review links this controversy to the conflicting literature about the effects of APOE ε4 on general cognitive functioning in AD. We identify several shortcoming and limitations of the research on the relationship between APOE ε4 and episodic memory in AD, such as small sample sizes, non-representative populations, lack of comparison of early-onset vs. late-onset disease, and lack of comparison among different genotypes that include APOE ε4 (i.e., zero, one, or two ε4 alleles). Another major shortcoming of the reviewed literature was the lack of comprehensive evaluation of episodic memory decline, since episodic memory was solely evaluated with regard to encoding and retrieval, omitting evaluation of core episodic features that decline in AD, such as context recall (e.g., how, where, and when an episodic event has occurred) and subjective experience of remembering (e.g., reliving, emotion and feeling during episodic recollection). Future research taking these limitations into consideration could illuminate the nature of the relationship between APOE ε4 and episodic memory decline in AD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. The contribution of the human posterior parietal cortex to episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sestieri, Carlo; Shulman, Gordon L; Corbetta, Maurizio

    2017-02-17

    The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is traditionally associated with attention, perceptual decision making and sensorimotor transformations, but more recent human neuroimaging studies support an additional role in episodic memory retrieval. In this Opinion article, we present a functional-anatomical model of the involvement of the PPC in memory retrieval. Parietal regions involved in perceptual attention and episodic memory are largely segregated and often show a push-pull relationship, potentially mediated by prefrontal regions. Moreover, different PPC regions carry out specific functions during retrieval - for example, representing retrieved information, recoding this information based on task demands, or accumulating evidence for memory decisions.

  13. Negative affect impairs associative memory but not item memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bisby, James A; Burgess, Neil

    2013-12-17

    The formation of associations between items and their context has been proposed to rely on mechanisms distinct from those supporting memory for a single item. Although emotional experiences can profoundly affect memory, our understanding of how it interacts with different aspects of memory remains unclear. We performed three experiments to examine the effects of emotion on memory for items and their associations. By presenting neutral and negative items with background contexts, Experiment 1 demonstrated that item memory was facilitated by emotional affect, whereas memory for an associated context was reduced. In Experiment 2, arousal was manipulated independently of the memoranda, by a threat of shock, whereby encoding trials occurred under conditions of threat or safety. Memory for context was equally impaired by the presence of negative affect, whether induced by threat of shock or a negative item, relative to retrieval of the context of a neutral item in safety. In Experiment 3, participants were presented with neutral and negative items as paired associates, including all combinations of neutral and negative items. The results showed both above effects: compared to a neutral item, memory for the associate of a negative item (a second item here, context in Experiments 1 and 2) is impaired, whereas retrieval of the item itself is enhanced. Our findings suggest that negative affect impairs associative memory while recognition of a negative item is enhanced. They support dual-processing models in which negative affect or stress impairs hippocampal-dependent associative memory while the storage of negative sensory/perceptual representations is spared or even strengthened.

  14. Cognitively impaired elderly exhibit insulin resistance and no memory improvement with infused insulin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Jill K; Vidoni, Eric D; Mahnken, Jonathan D; Montgomery, Robert N; Johnson, David K; Thyfault, John P; Burns, Jeffrey M

    2016-03-01

    Insulin resistance is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), although its role in AD etiology is unclear. We assessed insulin resistance using fasting and insulin-stimulated measures in 51 elderly subjects with no dementia (ND; n = 37) and with cognitive impairment (CI; n = 14). CI subjects exhibited either mild CI or AD. Fasting insulin resistance was measured using the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Insulin-stimulated glucose disposal was assessed using the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp to calculate glucose disposal rate into lean mass, the primary site of insulin-stimulated glucose disposal. Because insulin crosses the blood-brain barrier, we also assessed whether insulin infusion would improve verbal episodic memory compared to baseline. Different but equivalent versions of cognitive tests were administered in counterbalanced order in the basal and insulin-stimulated state. Groups did not differ in age or body mass index. Cognitively impaired subjects exhibited greater insulin resistance as measured at fasting (HOMA-IR; ND: 1.09 [1.1] vs. CI: 2.01 [2.3], p = 0.028) and during the hyperinsulinemic clamp (glucose disposal rate into lean mass; ND: 9.9 (4.5) vs. AD 7.2 (3.2), p = 0.040). Cognitively impaired subjects also exhibited higher fasting insulin compared to ND subjects, (CI: 8.7 [7.8] vs. ND: 4.2 [3.8] μU/mL; p = 0.023) and higher fasting amylin (CI: 24.1 [39.1] vs. 8.37 [14.2]; p = 0.050) with no difference in fasting glucose. Insulin infusion elicited a detrimental effect on one test of verbal episodic memory (Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test) in both groups (p insulin resistance was observed in cognitively impaired subjects compared to ND controls, insulin infusion did not improve memory. Furthermore, a significant correlation between HOMA-IR and glucose disposal rate was present only in ND (p = 0.0002) but not in cognitively impaired (p = 0.884) subjects, indicating potentially important

  15. Relationship of Sensory Modality to Retention of Episodic Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Jeri; Woodworth, Craig; Swier-Vosnos, Amy; Rossini, Edward; Jackson, Ilana

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the difference between episodic memory for verbal information presented in an oral format versus equivalent material presented in a written format. The study utilized the Logical Memory subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scales-Fourth Edition and the recently validated Morris Revision-IV Paragraphs. In a sample of 97 normal participants, auditory and visual memory performances were found to be significantly correlated (r = .651, p memory for these two sensory modalities in normal participants.

  16. Structural development of the hippocampus and episodic memory: developmental differences along the anterior/posterior axis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeMaster, Dana; Pathman, Thanujeni; Lee, Joshua K; Ghetti, Simona

    2014-11-01

    The hippocampus is critically involved in episodic memory, yet relatively little is known about how the development of this structure contributes to the development of episodic memory during middle to late childhood. Previous research has inconsistently reported associations between hippocampal volume and episodic memory performance during this period. We argue that this inconsistency may be due to assessing the hippocampus as a whole, and propose to examine associations separately for subregions along the longitudinal axis of the hippocampus. In the present study, we examined age-related differences in volumes of the hippocampal head, body, and tail, and collected episodic memory measures in children ages 8-11 years and young adults (N = 62). We found that adults had a smaller right hippocampal head, larger hippocampal body bilaterally, and smaller right hippocampal tail compared with children. In adults, but not in children, better episodic memory performance was associated with smaller right hippocampal head and larger hippocampal body. In children, but not in adults, better episodic memory was associated with larger left hippocampal tail. Overall, the results suggest that protracted development of hippocampal subregions contribute to age-related differences in episodic memory. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  17. Adaptive scaling of reward in episodic memory:a replication study

    OpenAIRE

    Mason, Alice; Ludwig, Casimir; Farrell, Simon

    2017-01-01

    Reward is thought to enhance episodic memory formation via dopaminergic consolidation. Bunzeck, Dayan, Dolan, and Duzel [(2010). A common mechanism for adaptive scaling of reward and novelty. Human Brain Mapping, 31, 1380–1394] provided functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioural evidence that reward and episodic memory systems are sensitive to the contextual value of a reward—whether it is relatively higher or lower—as opposed to absolute value or prediction error. We carrie...

  18. Episodic Autobiographical Memories over the Course of Time: Cognitive, Neuropsychological and Neuroimaging Findings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piolino, Pascale; Desgranges, Beatrice; Eustache, Francis

    2009-01-01

    The critical attributes of episodic memory are self, autonoetic consciousness and subjectively sensed time. The aim of this paper is to present a theoretical overview of our already published researches into the nature of episodic memory over the course of time. We have developed a new method of assessing "autobiographical" memory (TEMPau task),…

  19. The influence of aging on attentional refreshing and articulatory rehearsal during working memory on later episodic memory performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loaiza, Vanessa M; McCabe, David P

    2013-01-01

    We investigated age-related changes in two proposed mechanisms of maintenance in working memory, articulatory rehearsal, and attentional refreshing, by examining the consequences of manipulating the opportunity for each on delayed recall. Both experiments utilized modified operation span tasks to vary the opportunity for articulatory rehearsal (Experiment 1) and attentional refreshing opportunities (Experiment 2). In both experiments, episodic memory was tested for items that had been initially studied during the respective operation span task. Older adults' episodic memory benefited less from opportunities for refreshing than younger adults. In contrast, articulatory rehearsal opportunities did not influence episodic memory for either age group. The results suggest that attentional refreshing, and not articulatory rehearsal, is important during working memory in order to bind more accessible traces at later tests, which appears to be more deficient in older adults than younger adults.

  20. The Effect of Blindness on Long-Term Episodic Memory for Odors and Sounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stina Cornell Kärnekull

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available We recently showed that compared with sighted, early blind individuals have better episodic memory for environmental sounds, but not odors, after a short retention interval (∼ 8 – 9 min. Few studies have investigated potential effects of blindness on memory across long time frames, such as months or years. Consequently, it was unclear whether compensatory effects may vary as a function of retention interval. In this study, we followed-up participants (N = 57 out of 60 approximately 1 year after the initial testing and retested episodic recognition for environmental sounds and odors, and identification ability. In contrast to our previous findings, the early blind participants (n = 14 performed at a similar level as the late blind (n = 13 and sighted (n = 30 participants for sound recognition. Moreover, the groups had similar recognition performance of odors and identification ability of odors and sounds. These findings suggest that episodic odor memory is unaffected by blindness after both short and long retention intervals. However, the effect of blindness on episodic memory for sounds may vary as a function of retention interval, such that early blind individuals have an advantage over sighted across short but not long time frames. We speculate that the finding of a differential effect of blindness on auditory episodic memory across retention intervals may be related to different memory strategies at initial and follow-up assessments. In conclusion, this study suggests that blindness does not influence auditory or olfactory episodic memory as assessed after a long retention interval.

  1. The CRISP theory of hippocampal function in episodic memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Sen

    2013-01-01

    Over the past four decades, a “standard framework” has emerged to explain the neural mechanisms of episodic memory storage. This framework has been instrumental in driving hippocampal research forward and now dominates the design and interpretation of experimental and theoretical studies. It postulates that cortical inputs drive plasticity in the recurrent cornu ammonis 3 (CA3) synapses to rapidly imprint memories as attractor states in CA3. Here we review a range of experimental studies and argue that the evidence against the standard framework is mounting, notwithstanding the considerable evidence in its support. We propose CRISP as an alternative theory to the standard framework. CRISP is based on Context Reset by dentate gyrus (DG), Intrinsic Sequences in CA3, and Pattern completion in cornu ammonis 1 (CA1). Compared to previous models, CRISP uses a radically different mechanism for storing episodic memories in the hippocampus. Neural sequences are intrinsic to CA3, and inputs are mapped onto these intrinsic sequences through synaptic plasticity in the feedforward projections of the hippocampus. Hence, CRISP does not require plasticity in the recurrent CA3 synapses during the storage process. Like in other theories DG and CA1 play supporting roles, however, their function in CRISP have distinct implications. For instance, CA1 performs pattern completion in the absence of CA3 and DG contributes to episodic memory retrieval, increasing the speed, precision, and robustness of retrieval. We propose the conceptual theory, discuss its implications for experimental results and suggest testable predictions. It appears that CRISP not only accounts for those experimental results that are consistent with the standard framework, but also for results that are at odds with the standard framework. We therefore suggest that CRISP is a viable, and perhaps superior, theory for the hippocampal function in episodic memory. PMID:23653597

  2. Effects of eating rate on satiety: A role for episodic memory?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferriday, Danielle; Bosworth, Matthew L; Lai, Samantha; Godinot, Nicolas; Martin, Nathalie; Martin, Ashley A; Rogers, Peter J; Brunstrom, Jeffrey M

    2015-12-01

    Eating slowly is associated with a lower body mass index. However, the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. Here, our objective was to determine whether eating a meal at a slow rate improves episodic memory for the meal and promotes satiety. Participants (N=40) consumed a 400ml portion of tomato soup at either a fast (1.97ml/s) or a slow (0.50ml/s) rate. Appetite ratings were elicited at baseline and at the end of the meal (satiation). Satiety was assessed using; i) an ad libitum biscuit 'taste test' (3h after the meal) and ii) appetite ratings (collected 2h after the meal and after the ad libitum snack). Finally, to evaluate episodic memory for the meal, participants self-served the volume of soup that they believed they had consumed earlier (portion size memory) and completed a rating of memory 'vividness'. Participants who consumed the soup slowly reported a greater increase in fullness, both at the end of the meal and during the inter-meal interval. However, we found little effect of eating rate on subsequent ad libitum snack intake. Importantly, after 3h, participants who ate the soup slowly remembered eating a larger portion. These findings show that eating slowly promotes self-reported satiation and satiety. For the first time, they also suggest that eating rate influences portion size memory. However, eating slowly did not affect ratings of memory vividness and we found little evidence for a relationship between episodic memory and satiety. Therefore, we are unable to conclude that episodic memory mediates effects of eating rate on satiety. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. Neuropsychological Impairment in Prodromal, First-Episode, and Chronic Psychosis: Assessing RBANS Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, William S.; Woodberry, Kristen A.; Seidman, Larry J.; Tang, YingYing; Guo, Qian; Zhuo, KaiMing; Qian, ZhenYing; Cui, HuiRu; Zhu, YiKang; Jiang, LiJuan; Chow, Annabelle; Tang, YunXiang; Li, ChunBo; Jiang, KaiDa; Yi, ZhengHui; Xiao, ZePing; Wang, JiJun

    2015-01-01

    Background Cognitive deficits are observed throughout all developmental phases of psychosis. However, prior studies have usually focused on a limited illness period and used a wide variety of cognitive instruments. Therefore, it has been difficult to characterize or highlight cognitive functioning in different stages of psychosis. Method We administered the RBANS (Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status) tests to 4 participant subgroups, including healthy volunteers (controls, HC, n = 28), subjects at high risk for clinical psychosis (prodrome, CHR, n = 27), first-episode schizophrenia patients (FE-Sz, n = 26), and mid-term and long-term chronic schizophrenia patients (Ch-Sz, n =147). Comparison, correlation, and regression analyses of RBANS index scores were assessed among groups. We examined clinical outcomes over 2 years between the CHR and HC subjects, and RBANS domains were used as possible predictors for conversion to psychosis. Results Performance on all RBANS domains was significantly impaired during a post-onset stage of psychosis (FE-Sz and Ch-Sz), and RBANS scores declined along with disease progression. Regression analyses showed that for CHR and HC subjects, baseline impairment in delayed memory (DM) significantly predicted conversion to psychosis. Additionally, partial correlations showed that for FE-Sz and Ch-Sz subjects, DM was the only correlate with a later stage of psychosis. Conclusions Cognitive deficits broadly emerged, and diminished functioning followed along with disease progression. Impairment in DM is perhaps one domain that helps us understand the development of psychosis. A critical need is to monitor and treat memory functioning for psychotic patients throughout all phases of the disease. PMID:25973925

  4. Latent change models of adult cognition: are changes in processing speed and working memory associated with changes in episodic memory?

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    Hertzog, Christopher; Dixon, Roger A; Hultsch, David F; MacDonald, Stuart W S

    2003-12-01

    The authors used 6-year longitudinal data from the Victoria Longitudinal Study (VLS) to investigate individual differences in amount of episodic memory change. Latent change models revealed reliable individual differences in cognitive change. Changes in episodic memory were significantly correlated with changes in other cognitive variables, including speed and working memory. A structural equation model for the latent change scores showed that changes in speed and working memory predicted changes in episodic memory, as expected by processing resource theory. However, these effects were best modeled as being mediated by changes in induction and fact retrieval. Dissociations were detected between cross-sectional ability correlations and longitudinal changes. Shuffling the tasks used to define the Working Memory latent variable altered patterns of change correlations.

  5. Simple and complex rule induction performance in young and older adults: contribution of episodic memory and working memory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oosterman, J.M.; Boeschoten, M.S.; Eling, P.A.; Kessels, R.P.C.; Maes, J.H.

    2014-01-01

    This study tested the hypothesis that part of the age-related decline in performance on executive function tasks is due to a decline in episodic memory. For this, we developed a rule induction task in which we manipulated the involvement of episodic memory and executive control processes; age

  6. A review on the neural bases of episodic odor memory: from laboratory-based to autobiographical approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saive, Anne-Lise; Royet, Jean-Pierre; Plailly, Jane

    2014-01-01

    Odors are powerful cues that trigger episodic memories. However, in light of the amount of behavioral data describing the characteristics of episodic odor memory, the paucity of information available on the neural substrates of this function is startling. Furthermore, the diversity of experimental paradigms complicates the identification of a generic episodic odor memory network. We conduct a systematic review of the literature depicting the current state of the neural correlates of episodic odor memory in healthy humans by placing a focus on the experimental approaches. Functional neuroimaging data are introduced by a brief characterization of the memory processes investigated. We present and discuss laboratory-based approaches, such as odor recognition and odor associative memory, and autobiographical approaches, such as the evaluation of odor familiarity and odor-evoked autobiographical memory. We then suggest the development of new laboratory-ecological approaches allowing for the controlled encoding and retrieval of specific multidimensional events that could open up new prospects for the comprehension of episodic odor memory and its neural underpinnings. While large conceptual differences distinguish experimental approaches, the overview of the functional neuroimaging findings suggests relatively stable neural correlates of episodic odor memory. PMID:25071494

  7. A review on the neural bases of episodic odor memory: from laboratory-based to autobiographical approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne-Lise eSaive

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Odors are powerful cues that trigger episodic memories. However, in light of the amount of behavioral data describing the characteristics of episodic odor memory, the paucity of information available on the neural substrates of this function is startling. Furthermore, the diversity of experimental paradigms complicates the identification of a generic episodic odor memory network. We conduct a systematic review of the literature depicting the current state of the neural correlates of episodic odor memory in healthy humans by placing a focus on the experimental approaches. Functional neuroimaging data are introduced by a brief characterization of the memory processes investigated. We present and discuss laboratory-based approaches, such as odor recognition and odor associative memory, and autobiographical approaches, such as the evaluation of odor familiarity and odor-evoked autobiographical memory. We then suggest the development of new laboratory-ecological approaches allowing for the controlled encoding and retrieval of specific multidimensional events that could open up new prospects for the comprehension of episodic odor memory and its neural underpinnings. While large conceptual differences distinguish experimental approaches, the overview of the functional neuroimaging findings suggests relatively stable neural correlates of episodic odor memory.

  8. Prospective memory impairment in multiple sclerosis: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rouleau, Isabelle; Dagenais, Emmanuelle; Tremblay, Alexandra; Demers, Mélanie; Roger, Élaine; Jobin, Céline; Duquette, Pierre

    2017-08-04

    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease of the central nervous system affecting information processing speed, episodic memory, attention, and executive functions. MS patients also often report prospective memory (PM) failures that directly impact their functional autonomy, including professional and social life. The purpose of this paper was to review the literature concerning the assessment and remediation of PM deficits in MS. The literature pertaining to PM impairment in MS was carefully reviewed using PubMed, PsyINFO, and Google Scholar, as well as cross-references from the articles published on this topic. Since PM rehabilitation in MS patients is still in its infancy, this review mainly focuses on studies that have directly assessed PM through various measures including questionnaires, standardized clinical tests, and experimental procedures. This literature review confirms the presence of PM deficits in MS patients, even in the early stages of the disease. A further need for controlled studies on PM assessment and PM interventions in patients with MS is stressed.

  9. The cognitive neuroscience of remote episodic, semantic and spatial memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moscovitch, Morris; Nadel, Lynn; Winocur, Gordon; Gilboa, Asaf; Rosenbaum, R Shayna

    2006-04-01

    The processes and mechanisms implicated in retention and retrieval of memories as they age is an enduring problem in cognitive neuroscience. Research from lesion and functional neuroimaging studies on remote episodic, semantic and spatial memory in humans is crucial for evaluating three theories of hippocampal and/or medial temporal lobe-neocortical interaction in memory retention and retrieval: cognitive map theory, standard consolidation theory and multiple trace theory. Each theory makes different predictions regarding first, the severity and extent of retrograde amnesia following lesions to some or all of the structures mentioned; second, the extent of activation of these structures to retrieval of memory across time; and third, the type of memory being retrieved. Each of these theories has strengths and weaknesses, and there are various unresolved issues. We propose a unified account based on multiple trace theory. This theory states that the hippocampus is needed for re-experiencing detailed episodic and spatial memories no matter how old they are, and that it contributes to the formation and assimilation of semantic memories and schematic spatial maps.

  10. Metamemory ratings predict long-term changes in reactivated episodic memories

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    Amnon eYacoby

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Reactivation of long-term memory can render the memory item temporarily labile, offering an opportunity to modify it via behavioral or pharmacological intervention. Declarative memory reactivation is accompanied by a metamemory ability to subjectively assess the knowledge available concerning the target item (Feeling of knowing, FOK. We set out to examine whether FOK can predict the extent of change of long-term episodic memories by post-retrieval manipulations. To this end, participants watched a short movie and immediately thereafter tested on their memory for it. A day later, they were reminded of that movie, and either immediately or one day later, were presented with a second movie. The reminder phase consisted of memory cues to which participants were asked to judge their FOK regarding the original movie. The memory performance of participants to whom new information was presented immediately after reactivating the original episode corresponded to the degree of FOK ratings upon reactivation such that the lower their FOK, the less their memory declined. In contrast, no relation was found between FOK and memory strength for those who learned new information one day after the reminder phase. Our findings suggest that the subjective accessibility of reactivated memories may determine the extent to which new information might modify those memories.

  11. Autobiographically significant concepts: more episodic than semantic in nature? An electrophysiological investigation of overlapping types of memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renoult, Louis; Davidson, Patrick S R; Schmitz, Erika; Park, Lillian; Campbell, Kenneth; Moscovitch, Morris; Levine, Brian

    2015-01-01

    A common assertion is that semantic memory emerges from episodic memory, shedding the distinctive contexts associated with episodes over time and/or repeated instances. Some semantic concepts, however, may retain their episodic origins or acquire episodic information during life experiences. The current study examined this hypothesis by investigating the ERP correlates of autobiographically significant (AS) concepts, that is, semantic concepts that are associated with vivid episodic memories. We inferred the contribution of semantic and episodic memory to AS concepts using the amplitudes of the N400 and late positive component, respectively. We compared famous names that easily brought to mind episodic memories (high AS names) against equally famous names that did not bring such recollections to mind (low AS names) on a semantic task (fame judgment) and an episodic task (recognition memory). Compared with low AS names, high AS names were associated with increased amplitude of the late positive component in both tasks. Moreover, in the recognition task, this effect of AS was highly correlated with recognition confidence. In contrast, the N400 component did not differentiate the high versus low AS names but, instead, was related to the amount of general knowledge participants had regarding each name. These results suggest that semantic concepts high in AS, such as famous names, have an episodic component and are associated with similar brain processes to those that are engaged by episodic memory. Studying AS concepts may provide unique insights into how episodic and semantic memory interact.

  12. Working memory span in mild cognitive impairment. Influence of processing speed and cognitive reserve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Facal, David; Juncos-Rabadán, Onésimo; Pereiro, Arturo X; Lojo-Seoane, Cristina

    2014-04-01

    Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) often includes episodic memory impairment, but can also involve other types of cognitive decline. Although previous studies have shown poorer performance of MCI patients in working memory (WM) span tasks, different MCI subgroups were not studied. In the present exploratory study, 145 participants underwent extensive cognitive evaluation, which included three different WM span tasks, and were classified into the following groups: multiple-domain amnestic MCI (mda-MCI), single-domain amnestic MCI (sda-MCI), and controls. General linear model was conducted by considering the WM span tasks as the within-subject factor; the group (mda-MCI, sda-MCI, and controls) as the inter-subject factor; and processing speed, vocabulary and age as covariates. Multiple linear regression models were also used to test the influence of processing speed, vocabulary, and other cognitive reserve (CR) proxies. Results indicate different levels of impairment of WM, with more severe impairment in mda-MCI patients. The differences were still present when processing resources and CR were controlled. Between-group differences can be understood as a manifestation of the greater severity and widespread memory impairment in mda-MCI patients and may contribute to a better understanding of continuum from normal controls to mda-MCI patients. Processing speed and CR have a limited influence on WM scores, reducing but not removing differences between groups.

  13. Recollection of Emotional Memories in Schizophrenia: Autonoetic awareness and specificity deficits

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    Aurore Neumann

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Episodic memory impairments seem to play a crucial role in schizophrenia. Most of the studies that have demonstrated such a deficit have used neutral material, leaving the recollection of emotional memories in schizophrenia unexplored. An overview is presented of a series of studies investigating the influence of emotion on episodic and autobiographical memory in schizophrenia. These experiments share a common experimental approach in which states of awareness accompanying recollection are considered. Results show that schizophrenia impairs conscious recollection in episodic and autobiographical memory tasks using emotional material. Schizophrenia is also associated with a reduction of the specificity with which autobiographical memories are recalled. An hypothesis in terms of a fundamental executive deficit underlying these impairments is proposed.

  14. Computational dissection of human episodic memory reveals mental process-specific genetic profiles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luksys, Gediminas; Fastenrath, Matthias; Coynel, David; Freytag, Virginie; Gschwind, Leo; Heck, Angela; Jessen, Frank; Maier, Wolfgang; Milnik, Annette; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G; Scherer, Martin; Spalek, Klara; Vogler, Christian; Wagner, Michael; Wolfsgruber, Steffen; Papassotiropoulos, Andreas; de Quervain, Dominique J-F

    2015-09-01

    Episodic memory performance is the result of distinct mental processes, such as learning, memory maintenance, and emotional modulation of memory strength. Such processes can be effectively dissociated using computational models. Here we performed gene set enrichment analyses of model parameters estimated from the episodic memory performance of 1,765 healthy young adults. We report robust and replicated associations of the amine compound SLC (solute-carrier) transporters gene set with the learning rate, of the collagen formation and transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity gene sets with the modulation of memory strength by negative emotional arousal, and of the L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) interactions gene set with the repetition-based memory improvement. Furthermore, in a large functional MRI sample of 795 subjects we found that the association between L1CAM interactions and memory maintenance revealed large clusters of differences in brain activity in frontal cortical areas. Our findings provide converging evidence that distinct genetic profiles underlie specific mental processes of human episodic memory. They also provide empirical support to previous theoretical and neurobiological studies linking specific neuromodulators to the learning rate and linking neural cell adhesion molecules to memory maintenance. Furthermore, our study suggests additional memory-related genetic pathways, which may contribute to a better understanding of the neurobiology of human memory.

  15. Computational dissection of human episodic memory reveals mental process-specific genetic profiles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luksys, Gediminas; Fastenrath, Matthias; Coynel, David; Freytag, Virginie; Gschwind, Leo; Heck, Angela; Jessen, Frank; Maier, Wolfgang; Milnik, Annette; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G.; Scherer, Martin; Spalek, Klara; Vogler, Christian; Wagner, Michael; Wolfsgruber, Steffen; Papassotiropoulos, Andreas; de Quervain, Dominique J.-F.

    2015-01-01

    Episodic memory performance is the result of distinct mental processes, such as learning, memory maintenance, and emotional modulation of memory strength. Such processes can be effectively dissociated using computational models. Here we performed gene set enrichment analyses of model parameters estimated from the episodic memory performance of 1,765 healthy young adults. We report robust and replicated associations of the amine compound SLC (solute-carrier) transporters gene set with the learning rate, of the collagen formation and transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity gene sets with the modulation of memory strength by negative emotional arousal, and of the L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) interactions gene set with the repetition-based memory improvement. Furthermore, in a large functional MRI sample of 795 subjects we found that the association between L1CAM interactions and memory maintenance revealed large clusters of differences in brain activity in frontal cortical areas. Our findings provide converging evidence that distinct genetic profiles underlie specific mental processes of human episodic memory. They also provide empirical support to previous theoretical and neurobiological studies linking specific neuromodulators to the learning rate and linking neural cell adhesion molecules to memory maintenance. Furthermore, our study suggests additional memory-related genetic pathways, which may contribute to a better understanding of the neurobiology of human memory. PMID:26261317

  16. How autobiographical memories can support episodic recall: transfer and maintenance effect of memory training with old-old low-autonomy adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carretti, Barbara; Facchini, Giulia; Nicolini, Chiara

    2011-02-01

    A large body of research has demonstrated that, although specific memory activities can enhance the memory performance of healthy older adults, the extent of the increment is negatively associated with age. Conversely, few studies have examined the case of healthy elderly people not living alone. This study has two mains goals: to understand whether older adults with limited autonomy can benefit from activities devoted to increasing their episodic memory performance, and to test the efficacy of a memory training program based on autobiographical memories, in terms of transfer and maintenance effect. We postulated that being able to rely on stable autobiographical memories (intrinsically associated with emotions) would be a valuable memory aid. Memory training was given to healthy older adults (aged 75-85) living in a retirement home. Two programs were compared: in the first, participants were primed to recall autobiographical memories around certain themes, and then to complete a set of episodic memory tasks (experimental group); in the second, participants were only given the episodic tasks (control group). Both groups improved their performance from pre- to post-test. However, the experimental group reported a greater feeling of well-being after the training, and maintained the training gains relating to episodic performance after three months. Our findings suggest that specific memory activities are beneficial to elderly people living in a retirement home context. In addition, training based on reactivation of autobiographical memories is shown to produce a long-lasting effect on memory performance.

  17. [Neuropsychological study of false memory in patients with amnesia mild cognitive impairment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Dan-dan; Cheng, Huai-dong; Yin, Chang-lin; Lü, Xin-yi; Wang, Kai

    2011-01-18

    To explore the profile of false memory in aMCI (amnesia mild cognitive impairment) and to elucidate the neuropsychological mechanism of false memory. False memory provoked by pictures and feeling-of-knowing (FOK) test in episodic memory (EM) were conducted in 25 aMCI patients at our hospital from October 2009 to May 2010. And 25 age and education level-matched healthy patients were recruited into the healthy control (HC) group. As compared with HC group, the rate of false memory was higher in the aMCI group. The rate of false memory in recall stage was 26% ± 7% and that of questionnaire stage 28% ± 12%. And the difference between two group was significant (t = 14.437, 7.597, P false recognition in the aMCI group (41% ± 10%) was higher than the HC group. And the difference was significant (t = 4.207, P false memory in recall and questionnaire stages were positively correlated with FOK-EM in aMCI group (r = 0.563, 0.705, P false memory provoked by pictures. The deficit of memory monitoring in aMCI may be the foundation of false memory.

  18. Episodic grammar: a computational model of the interaction between episodic and semantic memory in language processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Borensztajn, G.; Zuidema, W.; Carlson, L.; Hoelscher, C.; Shipley, T.F.

    2011-01-01

    We present a model of the interaction of semantic and episodic memory in language processing. Our work shows how language processing can be understood in terms of memory retrieval. We point out that the perceived dichotomy between rule-based versus exemplar-based language modelling can be

  19. Does emotional memory enhancement assist the memory-impaired?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucas S. Broster

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available We review recent work on emotional memory enhancement in older adults and patients with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer dementia and evaluate the viability of incorporating emotional components into cognitive rehabilitation for these groups. First, we identify converging evidence regarding the effects of emotional valence on working memory in healthy aging. Second, we introduce work that suggests a more complex role for emotional memory enhancement in aging and identify a model capable of unifying disparate research findings. Third, we identify neuroimaging evidence that the amygdala may play a key role in mediating emotional memory enhancement in mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer dementia. Finally, we assess the theoretical feasibility of incorporating emotional content into cognitive rehabilitation given all available evidence.

  20. Episodic Memory Retrieval Benefits from a Less Modular Brain Network Organization

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    Most complex cognitive tasks require the coordinated interplay of multiple brain networks, but the act of retrieving an episodic memory may place especially heavy demands for communication between the frontoparietal control network (FPCN) and the default mode network (DMN), two networks that do not strongly interact with one another in many task contexts. We applied graph theoretical analysis to task-related fMRI functional connectivity data from 20 human participants and found that global brain modularity—a measure of network segregation—is markedly reduced during episodic memory retrieval relative to closely matched analogical reasoning and visuospatial perception tasks. Individual differences in modularity were correlated with memory task performance, such that lower modularity levels were associated with a lower false alarm rate. Moreover, the FPCN and DMN showed significantly elevated coupling with each other during the memory task, which correlated with the global reduction in brain modularity. Both networks also strengthened their functional connectivity with the hippocampus during the memory task. Together, these results provide a novel demonstration that reduced modularity is conducive to effective episodic retrieval, which requires close collaboration between goal-directed control processes supported by the FPCN and internally oriented self-referential processing supported by the DMN. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Modularity, an index of the degree to which nodes of a complex system are organized into discrete communities, has emerged as an important construct in the characterization of brain connectivity dynamics. We provide novel evidence that the modularity of the human brain is reduced when individuals engage in episodic memory retrieval, relative to other cognitive tasks, and that this state of lower modularity is associated with improved memory performance. We propose a neural systems mechanism for this finding where the nodes of the frontoparietal

  1. Episodic Memory Retrieval Benefits from a Less Modular Brain Network Organization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westphal, Andrew J; Wang, Siliang; Rissman, Jesse

    2017-03-29

    Most complex cognitive tasks require the coordinated interplay of multiple brain networks, but the act of retrieving an episodic memory may place especially heavy demands for communication between the frontoparietal control network (FPCN) and the default mode network (DMN), two networks that do not strongly interact with one another in many task contexts. We applied graph theoretical analysis to task-related fMRI functional connectivity data from 20 human participants and found that global brain modularity-a measure of network segregation-is markedly reduced during episodic memory retrieval relative to closely matched analogical reasoning and visuospatial perception tasks. Individual differences in modularity were correlated with memory task performance, such that lower modularity levels were associated with a lower false alarm rate. Moreover, the FPCN and DMN showed significantly elevated coupling with each other during the memory task, which correlated with the global reduction in brain modularity. Both networks also strengthened their functional connectivity with the hippocampus during the memory task. Together, these results provide a novel demonstration that reduced modularity is conducive to effective episodic retrieval, which requires close collaboration between goal-directed control processes supported by the FPCN and internally oriented self-referential processing supported by the DMN. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Modularity, an index of the degree to which nodes of a complex system are organized into discrete communities, has emerged as an important construct in the characterization of brain connectivity dynamics. We provide novel evidence that the modularity of the human brain is reduced when individuals engage in episodic memory retrieval, relative to other cognitive tasks, and that this state of lower modularity is associated with improved memory performance. We propose a neural systems mechanism for this finding where the nodes of the frontoparietal control

  2. Common and unique gray matter correlates of episodic memory dysfunction in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irish, Muireann; Piguet, Olivier; Hodges, John R; Hornberger, Michael

    2014-04-01

    Conflicting evidence exists regarding the integrity of episodic memory in the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Recent converging evidence suggests that episodic memory in progressive cases of bvFTD is compromised to the same extent as in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The underlying neural substrates of these episodic memory deficits, however, likely differ contingent on dementia type. In this study we sought to elucidate the neural substrates of episodic memory performance, across recall and recognition tasks, in both patient groups using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analyses. We predicted that episodic memory dysfunction would be apparent in both patient groups but would relate to divergent patterns of neural atrophy specific to each dementia type. We assessed episodic memory, across verbal and visual domains, in 19 bvFTD, 18 AD patients, and 19 age- and education-matched controls. Behaviorally, patient groups were indistinguishable for immediate and delayed recall, across verbal and visual domains. Whole-brain VBM analyses revealed regions commonly implicated in episodic retrieval across groups, namely the right temporal pole, right frontal lobe, left paracingulate gyrus, and right anterior hippocampus. Divergent neural networks specific to each group were also identified. Whereas a widespread network including posterior regions such as the posterior cingulate cortex, parietal and occipital cortices was exclusively implicated in AD, the frontal and anterior temporal lobes underpinned the episodic memory deficits in bvFTD. Our results point to distinct neural changes underlying episodic memory decline specific to each dementia syndrome. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Autonoetic consciousness: Reconsidering the role of episodic memory in future-oriented self-projection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, Stanley B

    2016-01-01

    Following the seminal work of Ingvar (1985. "Memory for the future": An essay on the temporal organization of conscious awareness. Human Neurobiology, 4, 127-136), Suddendorf (1994. The discovery of the fourth dimension: Mental time travel and human evolution. Master's thesis. University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand), and Tulving (1985. Memory and consciousness. Canadian Psychology/PsychologieCanadienne, 26, 1-12), exploration of the ability to anticipate and prepare for future contingencies that cannot be known with certainty has grown into a thriving research enterprise. A fundamental tenet of this line of inquiry is that future-oriented mental time travel, in most of its presentations, is underwritten by a property or an extension of episodic recollection. However, a careful conceptual analysis of exactly how episodic memory functions in this capacity has yet to be undertaken. In this paper I conduct such an analysis. Based on conceptual, phenomenological, and empirical considerations, I conclude that the autonoetic component of episodic memory, not episodic memory per se, is the causally determinative factor enabling an individual to project him or herself into a personal future.

  4. Memory and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Meta-Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Anna; Bucks, Romola S.

    2013-01-01

    Study Objectives: To examine episodic memory performance in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Design Meta-analysis was used to synthesize results from individual studies examining the impact of OSA on episodic memory performance. The performance of individuals with OSA was compared to healthy controls or normative data. Participants Forty-two studies were included, comprising 2,294 adults with untreated OSA and 1,364 healthy controls. Studies that recorded information about participants at baseline prior to treatment interventions were included in the analysis. Measurements Participants were assessed with tasks that included a measure of episodic memory: immediate recall, delayed recall, learning, and/or recognition memory. Results: The results of the meta-analyses provide evidence that individuals with OSA are significantly impaired when compared to healthy controls on verbal episodic memory (immediate recall, delayed recall, learning, and recognition) and visuo-spatial episodic memory (immediate and delayed recall), but not visual immediate recall or visuo-spatial learning. When patients were compared to norms, negative effects of OSA were found only in verbal immediate and delayed recall. Conclusions: This meta-analysis contributes to understanding of the nature of episodic memory deficits in individuals with OSA. Impairments to episodic memory are likely to affect the daily functioning of individuals with OSA. Citation Wallace A; Bucks RS. Memory and obstructive sleep apnea: a meta-analysis. SLEEP 2013;36(2):203-220. PMID:23372268

  5. III. NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (CB): measuring episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauer, Patricia J; Dikmen, Sureyya S; Heaton, Robert K; Mungas, Dan; Slotkin, Jerry; Beaumont, Jennifer L

    2013-08-01

    One of the most significant domains of cognition is episodic memory, which allows for rapid acquisition and long-term storage of new information. For purposes of the NIH Toolbox, we devised a new test of episodic memory. The nonverbal NIH Toolbox Picture Sequence Memory Test (TPSMT) requires participants to reproduce the order of an arbitrarily ordered sequence of pictures presented on a computer. To adjust for ability, sequence length varies from 6 to 15 pictures. Multiple trials are administered to increase reliability. Pediatric data from the validation study revealed the TPSMT to be sensitive to age-related changes. The task also has high test-retest reliability and promising construct validity. Steps to further increase the sensitivity of the instrument to individual and age-related variability are described. © 2013 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  6. Mind-to-mind heteroclinic coordination: Model of sequential episodic memory initiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afraimovich, V. S.; Zaks, M. A.; Rabinovich, M. I.

    2018-05-01

    Retrieval of episodic memory is a dynamical process in the large scale brain networks. In social groups, the neural patterns, associated with specific events directly experienced by single members, are encoded, recalled, and shared by all participants. Here, we construct and study the dynamical model for the formation and maintaining of episodic memory in small ensembles of interacting minds. We prove that the unconventional dynamical attractor of this process—the nonsmooth heteroclinic torus—is structurally stable within the Lotka-Volterra-like sets of equations. Dynamics on this torus combines the absence of chaos with asymptotic instability of every separate trajectory; its adequate quantitative characteristics are length-related Lyapunov exponents. Variation of the coupling strength between the participants results in different types of sequential switching between metastable states; we interpret them as stages in formation and modification of the episodic memory.

  7. Experimental Investigation of the Time Course Effects of Acute Exercise on False Episodic Memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Siddiqui

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Previous experimental work suggests that acute exercise may positively influence the accurate recall of past episodic events. However, few studies have examined whether acute exercise also reduces the number of false episodic memories. We evaluated this paradigm in conjunction with an examination of the temporal effects of acute exercise, which have previously been shown to play an important role in subserving episodic memory function. Twenty young adults participated in three experimental visits, including a non-exercise control visit, a visit involving an acute bout (20 min of moderate-intensity exercise occurring prior to the memory task, and a visit involving an acute bout of exercise occurring during the encoding of the memory task. All visits were counterbalanced and occurred at least 24 h apart. The Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM Paradigm, involving a separate word list trial for each visit, was employed to assess accurate and false episodic memory recall. For each visit, a short-term (immediate recall and a long-term (25-min delay memory recall was assessed. For both time points, the visit that involved exercise prior to encoding resulted in better short-term and long-term memory function (F(2 = 11.56, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.38. For both time points, the control visit resulted in a greater number of false memories. These findings suggest that acute moderate-intensity exercise may help to increase the accurate recall of past episodic memories and may help to reduce the rate of false memories.

  8. Episodic memory function is associated with multiple measures of white matter integrity in cognitive aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Neal Lockhart

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Previous neuroimaging research indicates that white matter injury and integrity, measured respectively by white matter hyperintensities (WMH and fractional anisotropy (FA obtained from diffusion tensor imaging, differ with aging and cerebrovascular disease and are associated with episodic memory deficits in cognitively normal older adults. However, knowledge about tract-specific relationships between WMH, FA, and episodic memory in aging remains limited. We hypothesized that white matter connections between frontal cortex and subcortical structures as well as connections between frontal and temporo-parietal cortex would be most affected. In the current study, we examined relationships between WMH, FA and episodic memory in 15 young adults, 13 elders with minimal WMH and 15 elders with extensive WMH, using an episodic recognition memory test for object-color associations. Voxel-based statistics were used to identify voxel clusters where white matter measures were specifically associated with variations in episodic memory performance, and white matter tracts intersecting these clusters were analyzed to examine white matter-memory relationships. White matter injury and integrity measures were significantly associated with episodic memory in extensive regions of white matter, located predominantly in frontal, parietal, and subcortical regions. Template based tractography indicated that white matter injury, as measured by WMH, in the uncinate and inferior longitudinal fasciculi were significantly negatively associated with episodic memory performance. Other tracts such as thalamo-frontal projections, superior longitudinal fasciculus, and dorsal cingulum bundle demonstrated strong negative associations as well. The results suggest that white matter injury to multiple pathways, including connections of frontal and temporal cortex and frontal-subcortical white matter tracts, plays a critical role in memory differences seen in older individuals.

  9. Semantic and episodic memory of music are subserved by distinct neural networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Platel, Hervé; Baron, Jean-Claude; Desgranges, Béatrice; Bernard, Frédéric; Eustache, Francis

    2003-09-01

    Numerous functional imaging studies have shown that retrieval from semantic and episodic memory is subserved by distinct neural networks. However, these results were essentially obtained with verbal and visuospatial material. The aim of this work was to determine the neural substrates underlying the semantic and episodic components of music using familiar and nonfamiliar melodic tunes. To study musical semantic memory, we designed a task in which the instruction was to judge whether or not the musical extract was felt as "familiar." To study musical episodic memory, we constructed two delayed recognition tasks, one containing only familiar and the other only nonfamiliar items. For each recognition task, half of the extracts (targets) were presented in the prior semantic task. The episodic and semantic tasks were to be contrasted by a comparison to two perceptive control tasks and to one another. Cerebral blood flow was assessed by means of the oxygen-15-labeled water injection method, using high-resolution PET. Distinct patterns of activations were found. First, regarding the episodic memory condition, bilateral activations of the middle and superior frontal gyri and precuneus (more prominent on the right side) were observed. Second, the semantic memory condition disclosed extensive activations in the medial and orbital frontal cortex bilaterally, the left angular gyrus, and predominantly the left anterior part of the middle temporal gyri. The findings from this study are discussed in light of the available neuropsychological data obtained in brain-damaged subjects and functional neuroimaging studies.

  10. The Integration of Realistic Episodic Memories Relies on Different Working Memory Processes: Evidence from Virtual Navigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaën Plancher

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Memory is one of the most important cognitive functions in a person’s life as it is essential for recalling personal memories and performing many everyday tasks. Although a huge number of studies have been conducted in the field, only a few of them investigated memory in realistic situations, due to methodological issues. The various tools that have been developed using virtual environments (VEs have gained popularity in cognitive psychology and neuropsychology because they enable to create naturalistic and controlled situations, and are thus particularly adapted to the study of episodic memory (EM, for which an ecological evaluation is of prime importance. EM is the conscious recollection of personal events combined with their phenomenological and spatiotemporal encoding contexts. Using an original paradigm in a VE, the objective of the present study was to characterize the construction of episodic memories. While the concept of working memory has become central in the understanding of a wide range of cognitive functions, its role in the integration of episodic memories has seldom been assessed in an ecological context. This experiment aimed at filling this gap by studying how EM is affected by concurrent tasks requiring working memory resources in a realistic situation. Participants navigated in a virtual town and had to memorize as many elements in their spatiotemporal context as they could. During learning, participants had either to perform a concurrent task meant to prevent maintenance through the phonological loop, or a task aimed at preventing maintenance through the visuospatial sketchpad, or no concurrent task. EM was assessed in a recall test performed after learning through various scores measuring the what, where and when of the memories. Results showed that, compared to the control condition with no concurrent task, the prevention of maintenance through the phonological loop had a deleterious impact only on the encoding of

  11. The Integration of Realistic Episodic Memories Relies on Different Working Memory Processes: Evidence from Virtual Navigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plancher, Gaën; Gyselinck, Valérie; Piolino, Pascale

    2018-01-01

    Memory is one of the most important cognitive functions in a person's life as it is essential for recalling personal memories and performing many everyday tasks. Although a huge number of studies have been conducted in the field, only a few of them investigated memory in realistic situations, due to methodological issues. The various tools that have been developed using virtual environments (VEs) have gained popularity in cognitive psychology and neuropsychology because they enable to create naturalistic and controlled situations, and are thus particularly adapted to the study of episodic memory (EM), for which an ecological evaluation is of prime importance. EM is the conscious recollection of personal events combined with their phenomenological and spatiotemporal encoding contexts. Using an original paradigm in a VE, the objective of the present study was to characterize the construction of episodic memories. While the concept of working memory has become central in the understanding of a wide range of cognitive functions, its role in the integration of episodic memories has seldom been assessed in an ecological context. This experiment aimed at filling this gap by studying how EM is affected by concurrent tasks requiring working memory resources in a realistic situation. Participants navigated in a virtual town and had to memorize as many elements in their spatiotemporal context as they could. During learning, participants had either to perform a concurrent task meant to prevent maintenance through the phonological loop, or a task aimed at preventing maintenance through the visuospatial sketchpad, or no concurrent task. EM was assessed in a recall test performed after learning through various scores measuring the what, where and when of the memories. Results showed that, compared to the control condition with no concurrent task, the prevention of maintenance through the phonological loop had a deleterious impact only on the encoding of central elements. By

  12. Prospection in Cognition: The Case for Joint Episodic-Procedural Memory in Cognitive Robotics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David eVernon

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Prospection lies at the core of cognition: it is the means by which an agent — a person or a cognitive robot — shifts its perspective from immediate sensory experience to anticipate future events, be they the actions of other agents or the outcome of its own actions. Prospection, accomplished by internal simulation, requires mechanisms for both perceptual imagery and motor imagery. While it is known that these two forms of imagery are tightly entwined in the mirror neuron system, we do not yet have an effective model of the mentalizing network which would provide a framework to integrate declarative episodic and procedural memory systems and to combine experiential knowledge with skillful know-how. Such a framework would be founded on joint perceptuo-motor representations. In this paper we examine the case for this form of representation, contrasting sensory-motor theory with ideo-motor theory, and we discuss how such a framework could be realized by joint episodic-procedural memory. We argue that such a representation framework has several advantages for cognitive robotics. Since episodic memory operates by recombining imperfectly recalled past experience, this allows it to simulate new or unexpected events. Furthermore, by virtue of its associative nature, joint episodic-procedural memory allows the internal simulation to be conditioned by current context, semantic memory, and the agent’s value system. Context and semantics constrain the combinatorial explosion of potential perception-action associations and allow effective action selection in the pursuit of goals, while the value system provides the motives that underpin the agent’s autonomy and cognitive development. This joint episodic-procedural memory framework is neutral regarding the final implementation of these episodic and procedural memories, which can be configured sub-symbolically as associative networks or symbolically as content-addressable image databases and databases

  13. Anterograde Episodic Memory in Korsakoff Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fama, Rosemary; Pitel, Anne-Lise; Sullivan, Edith V.

    2016-01-01

    A profound anterograde memory deficit for information, regardless of the nature of the material, is the hallmark of Korsakoff syndrome, an amnesic condition resulting from severe thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. Since the late nineteenth century when the Russian physician, S. S. Korsakoff, initially described this syndrome associated with “polyneuropathy,” the observed global amnesia has been a primary focus of neuroscience and neuropsychology. In this review we highlight the historical studies that examined anterograde episodic memory processes in KS, present a timeline and evidence supporting the myriad theories proffered to account for this memory dysfunction, and summarize what is known about the neuroanatomical correlates and neural systems presumed affected in KS. Rigorous study of KS amnesia and associated memory disorders of other etiologies provide evidence for distinct mnemonic component processes and neural networks imperative for normal declarative and nondeclarative memory abilities and for mnemonic processes spared in KS, from whence emerged the appreciation that memory is not a unitary function. Debate continues regarding the qualitative and quantitative differences between KS and other amnesias and what brain regions and neural pathways are necessary and sufficient to produce KS amnesia. PMID:22644546

  14. Anterograde episodic memory in Korsakoff syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fama, Rosemary; Pitel, Anne-Lise; Sullivan, Edith V

    2012-06-01

    A profound anterograde memory deficit for information, regardless of the nature of the material, is the hallmark of Korsakoff syndrome, an amnesic condition resulting from severe thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. Since the late nineteenth century when the Russian physician, S. S. Korsakoff, initially described this syndrome associated with "polyneuropathy," the observed global amnesia has been a primary focus of neuroscience and neuropsychology. In this review we highlight the historical studies that examined anterograde episodic memory processes in KS, present a timeline and evidence supporting the myriad theories proffered to account for this memory dysfunction, and summarize what is known about the neuroanatomical correlates and neural systems presumed affected in KS. Rigorous study of KS amnesia and associated memory disorders of other etiologies provide evidence for distinct mnemonic component processes and neural networks imperative for normal declarative and nondeclarative memory abilities and for mnemonic processes spared in KS, from whence emerged the appreciation that memory is not a unitary function. Debate continues regarding the qualitative and quantitative differences between KS and other amnesias and what brain regions and neural pathways are necessary and sufficient to produce KS amnesia.

  15. The Role of Episodic Memory in Learning from University Lectures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapadat, Judith C.; Martin, Jack

    1994-01-01

    Results from a study involving 34 undergraduates supported the prediction from Paivo's dual coding theory (1986) that imaginal elaborations during lectures assist students' recall of both episodic and declarative information. The prediction that episodic memories would mediate retention of declarative information from the lecture was not…

  16. Recall of Others' Actions after Incidental Encoding Reveals Episodic-like Memory in Dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fugazza, Claudia; Pogány, Ákos; Miklósi, Ádám

    2016-12-05

    The existence of episodic memory in non-human animals is a debated topic that has been investigated using different methodologies that reflect diverse theoretical approaches to its definition. A fundamental feature of episodic memory is recalling after incidental encoding, which can be assessed if the recall test is unexpected [1]. We used a modified version of the "Do as I Do" method [2], relying on dogs' ability to imitate human actions, to test whether dogs can rely on episodic memory when recalling others' actions from the past. Dogs were first trained to imitate human actions on command. Next, they were trained to perform a simple training exercise (lying down), irrespective of the previously demonstrated action. This way, we substituted their expectation to be required to imitate with the expectation to be required to lie down. We then tested whether dogs recalled the demonstrated actions by unexpectedly giving them the command to imitate, instead of lying down. Dogs were tested with a short (1 min) and a long (1 hr) retention interval. They were able to recall the demonstrated actions after both intervals; however, their performance declined more with time compared to conditions in which imitation was expected. These findings show that dogs recall past events as complex as human actions even if they do not expect the memory test, providing evidence for episodic-like memory. Dogs offer an ideal model to study episodic memory in non-human species, and this methodological approach allows investigating memory of complex, context-rich events. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), diabetes and trajectories of change in episodic memory performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pappas, Colleen; Andel, Ross; Infurna, Frank J; Seetharaman, Shyam

    2017-02-01

    As the ageing population grows, it is important to identify strategies to moderate cognitive ageing. We examined glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and diabetes in relation to level and change in episodic memory in older adults with and without diabetes. Data from 4419 older adults with (n=950) and without (n=3469) diabetes participating in a nationally representative longitudinal panel study (the Health and Retirement Study) were examined. Average baseline age was 72.66 years and 58% were women. HbA1c was measured in 2006 and episodic memory was measured using immediate and delayed list recall over 4 biennial waves between 2006 and 2012. Growth curve models were used to assess trajectories of episodic memory change. In growth curve models adjusted for age, sex, education, race, depressive symptoms and waist circumference, higher HbA1c levels and having diabetes were associated with poorer baseline episodic memory (p=0.036 and HbA1c on episodic memory decline was smaller than the effect of age. The results were stronger for women than men and were not modified by age or race. When the main analyses were estimated for those with and without diabetes separately, HbA1c was significantly linked to change in episodic memory only among those with diabetes. Higher HbA1c and diabetes were both associated with declines in episodic memory, with this relationship further exacerbated by having diabetes and elevated HbA1c. HbA1c appeared more important for episodic memory performance among women than men. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  18. Revealing past memories: proactive interference and ketamine-induced memory deficits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chrobak, James J; Hinman, James R; Sabolek, Helen R

    2008-04-23

    Memories of events that occur often are sensitive to interference from memories of similar events. Proactive interference plays an important and often unexamined role in memory testing for spatially and temporally unique events ("episodes"). Ketamine (NMDA receptor antagonist) treatment in humans and other mammals induces a constellation of cognitive deficits, including impairments in working and episodic memory. We examined the effects of the ketamine (2.5-100 mg/kg) on the acquisition, retrieval, and retention of memory in a delayed-match-to-place radial water maze task that can be used to assess proactive interference. Ketamine (2.5-25 mg/kg, i.p.) given 20 min before the sample trial, impaired encoding. The first errors made during the test trial were predominantly to arms located spatially adjacent to the goal arm, suggesting an established albeit weakened representation. Ketamine (25-100 mg/kg) given immediately after the sample trial had no effect on retention. Ketamine given before the test trial impaired retrieval. First errors under the influence of ketamine were predominantly to the goal location of the previous session. Thus, ketamine treatment promoted proactive interference. These memory deficits were not state dependent, because ketamine treatment at both encoding and retrieval only increased the number of errors during the test session. These data demonstrate the competing influence of distinct memory representations during the performance of a memory task in the rat. Furthermore, they demonstrate the subtle disruptive effects of the NMDA antagonist ketamine on both encoding and retrieval. Specifically, ketamine treatment disrupted retrieval by promoting proactive interference from previous episodic representations.

  19. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the episodic autobiographic memory interview for Brazilian Portuguese

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guilherme R. Rodrigues

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Episodic memory enables the storage of personal events with specific temporal and spatial details, and their retrieval through a sensory experience, usually visual, which is called autonoetic consciousness. While, in Brazil, several scales for the evaluation of anterograde episodic memory have been validated, there is not yet an instrument to assess the episodic autobiographical memory. The aim of this study is thus to make a cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Episodic Autobiographic Memory Interview (EAMI for Brazilian Portuguese. Altogether, 11 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD and 10 healthy controls (CTs were evaluated. EAMI scores for AD patients were lower than those of CTs, and these scores also correlated positively with the Remember-Know coefficient. The intraclass correlation coefficient indicated a good inter-rater reliability. The Portuguese version of EAMI showed a good reliability and validity, which suggests that it is a useful tool for evaluation of autobiographical memory in Brazilian patients.

  20. Negative Emotional Content Disrupts the Coherence of Episodic Memories

    OpenAIRE

    Bisby, James A.; Horner, Aidan J.; Bush, Daniel; Burgess, Neil

    2017-01-01

    Events are thought to be stored in episodic memory as coherent representations, in which the constituent elements are bound together so that a cue can trigger reexperience of all elements via pattern completion. Negative emotional content can strongly influence memory, but opposing theories predict strengthening or weakening of memory coherence. Across a series of experiments, participants imagined a number of person-location-object events with half of the events including a negative element ...

  1. Potential avenues for exercise to activate episodic memory-related pathways: a narrative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loprinzi, Paul D; Edwards, Meghan K; Frith, Emily

    2017-09-01

    Memory function plays an important role in activities of daily living, and consequently, quality and quantity of life. In this narrative review, we discuss the anatomical components of episodic memory, including the structure of the hippocampus and the routes of communication to and from this structure. We also highlight cellular traces of memory, such as the engram cell and pathway. To provide etiological insight, the biological mechanisms of episodic memory are discussed, including factors subserving memory encoding (e.g., cognitive attention, neuroelectrical indices), consolidation (i.e., synaptic and brain systems level), and retrieval (e.g., availability of cues, context-dependent, state-dependent, and cognitive processing). Central to this manuscript, we highlight how exercise may influence each of these aforementioned parameters (e.g., exercise-induced hippocampal growth, synaptic plasticity, and cue retrieval) and then discuss the implications of these findings to enhance and preserve memory function. Collectively, this narrative review briefly summarizes potential mechanisms of episodic memory, and how exercise may activate these mechanistic pathways. © 2017 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. A unique memory process modulated by emotion underpins successful odor recognition and episodic retrieval in humans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne-Lise eSaive

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available We behaviorally explore the link between olfaction, emotion and memory by testing the hypothesis that the emotion carried by odors facilitates the memory of specific unique events. To investigate this idea, we used a novel behavioral approach inspired by a paradigm developed by our team to study episodic memory in a controlled and as ecological as possible way in humans. The participants freely explored three unique and rich laboratory episodes; each episode consisted of three unfamiliar odors (What positioned at three specific locations (Where within a visual context (Which context. During the retrieval test, which occurred 24 to 72 hours after the encoding, odors were used to trigger the retrieval of the complex episodes. The participants were proficient in recognizing the target odors among distractors and retrieving the visuospatial context in which they were encountered. The episodic nature of the task generated high and stable memory performances, which were accompanied by faster responses and slower and deeper breathing. Successful odor recognition and episodic memory were not related to differences in odor investigation at encoding. However, memory performances were influenced by the emotional content of the odors, regardless of odor valence, with both pleasant and unpleasant odors generating higher recognition and episodic retrieval than neutral odors. Finally, the present study also suggested that when the binding between the odors and the spatio-contextual features of the episode was successful, the odor recognition and the episodic retrieval collapsed into a unique memory process that began as soon as the participants smelled the odors.

  3. A unique memory process modulated by emotion underpins successful odor recognition and episodic retrieval in humans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saive, Anne-Lise; Royet, Jean-Pierre; Ravel, Nadine; Thévenet, Marc; Garcia, Samuel; Plailly, Jane

    2014-01-01

    We behaviorally explore the link between olfaction, emotion and memory by testing the hypothesis that the emotion carried by odors facilitates the memory of specific unique events. To investigate this idea, we used a novel behavioral approach inspired by a paradigm developed by our team to study episodic memory in a controlled and as ecological as possible way in humans. The participants freely explored three unique and rich laboratory episodes; each episode consisted of three unfamiliar odors (What) positioned at three specific locations (Where) within a visual context (Which context). During the retrieval test, which occurred 24–72 h after the encoding, odors were used to trigger the retrieval of the complex episodes. The participants were proficient in recognizing the target odors among distractors and retrieving the visuospatial context in which they were encountered. The episodic nature of the task generated high and stable memory performances, which were accompanied by faster responses and slower and deeper breathing. Successful odor recognition and episodic memory were not related to differences in odor investigation at encoding. However, memory performances were influenced by the emotional content of the odors, regardless of odor valence, with both pleasant and unpleasant odors generating higher recognition and episodic retrieval than neutral odors. Finally, the present study also suggested that when the binding between the odors and the spatio-contextual features of the episode was successful, the odor recognition and the episodic retrieval collapsed into a unique memory process that began as soon as the participants smelled the odors. PMID:24936176

  4. The hippocampus remains activated over the long term for the retrieval of truly episodic memories.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline Harand

    Full Text Available The role of the hippocampus in declarative memory consolidation is a matter of intense debate. We investigated the neural substrates of memory retrieval for recent and remote information using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. 18 young, healthy participants learned a series of pictures. Then, during two fMRI recognition sessions, 3 days and 3 months later, they had to determine whether they recognized or not each picture using the "Remember/Know" procedure. Presentation of the same learned images at both delays allowed us to track the evolution of memories and distinguish consistently episodic memories from those that were initially episodic and then became familiar or semantic over time and were retrieved without any contextual detail. Hippocampal activation decreased over time for initially episodic, later semantic memories, but remained stable for consistently episodic ones, at least in its posterior part. For both types of memories, neocortical activations were observed at both delays, notably in the ventromedial prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices. These activations may reflect a gradual reorganization of memory traces within neural networks. Our data indicate maintenance and strengthening of hippocampal and cortico-cortical connections in the consolidation and retrieval of episodic memories over time, in line with the Multiple Trace theory (Nadel and Moscovitch, 1997. At variance, memories becoming semantic over time consolidate through strengthening of cortico-cortical connections and progressive disengagement of the hippocampus.

  5. How Does Intentionality of Encoding Affect Memory for Episodic Information?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craig, Michael; Butterworth, Karla; Nilsson, Jonna; Hamilton, Colin J.; Gallagher, Peter; Smulders, Tom V.

    2016-01-01

    Episodic memory enables the detailed and vivid recall of past events, including target and wider contextual information. In this paper, we investigated whether/how encoding intentionality affects the retention of target and contextual episodic information from a novel experience. Healthy adults performed (1) a "What-Where-When"…

  6. Episodic Memory Encoding Interferes with Reward Learning and Decreases Striatal Prediction Errors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braun, Erin Kendall; Daw, Nathaniel D.

    2014-01-01

    Learning is essential for adaptive decision making. The striatum and its dopaminergic inputs are known to support incremental reward-based learning, while the hippocampus is known to support encoding of single events (episodic memory). Although traditionally studied separately, in even simple experiences, these two types of learning are likely to co-occur and may interact. Here we sought to understand the nature of this interaction by examining how incremental reward learning is related to concurrent episodic memory encoding. During the experiment, human participants made choices between two options (colored squares), each associated with a drifting probability of reward, with the goal of earning as much money as possible. Incidental, trial-unique object pictures, unrelated to the choice, were overlaid on each option. The next day, participants were given a surprise memory test for these pictures. We found that better episodic memory was related to a decreased influence of recent reward experience on choice, both within and across participants. fMRI analyses further revealed that during learning the canonical striatal reward prediction error signal was significantly weaker when episodic memory was stronger. This decrease in reward prediction error signals in the striatum was associated with enhanced functional connectivity between the hippocampus and striatum at the time of choice. Our results suggest a mechanism by which memory encoding may compete for striatal processing and provide insight into how interactions between different forms of learning guide reward-based decision making. PMID:25378157

  7. A Hamiltonian driven quantum-like model for overdistribution in episodic memory recollection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broekaert, Jan B.; Busemeyer, Jerome R.

    2017-06-01

    While people famously forget genuine memories over time, they also tend to mistakenly over-recall equivalent memories concerning a given event. The memory phenomenon is known by the name of episodic overdistribution and occurs both in memories of disjunctions and partitions of mutually exclusive events and has been tested, modeled and documented in the literature. The total classical probability of recalling exclusive sub-events most often exceeds the probability of recalling the composed event, i.e. a subadditive total. We present a Hamiltonian driven propagation for the Quantum Episodic Memory model developed by Brainerd (et al., 2015) for the episodic memory overdistribution in the experimental immediate item false memory paradigm (Brainerd and Reyna, 2008, 2010, 2015). Following the Hamiltonian method of Busemeyer and Bruza (2012) our model adds time-evolution of the perceived memory state through the stages of the experimental process based on psychologically interpretable parameters - γ_c for recollection capability of cues, κ_p for bias or description-dependence by probes and β for the average gist component in the memory state at start. With seven parameters the Hamiltonian model shows good accuracy of predictions both in the EOD-disjunction and in the EOD-subadditivity paradigm. We noticed either an outspoken preponderance of the gist over verbatim trace, or the opposite, in the initial memory state when β is real. Only for complex β a mix of both traces is present in the initial state for the EOD-subadditivity paradigm.

  8. Assessment of Behavioural Markers of Autonoetic Consciousness during Episodic Autobiographical Memory Retrieval: A Preliminary Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Irish

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available There is ongoing theoretical debate regarding episodic memory and how it can be accurately measured, in particular if the focus should be content-based recall of episodic details or something more experiential involving the subjective capacity to mentally travel back in time and “re-live” aspects of the original event. The autonoetic subscale of the Episodic Autobiographical Memory Interview (EAMI is presented here as a new test instrument that attempts to redress theoretical and methodological shortcomings in autobiographical memory assessment. The EAMI merges a phenomenological detail-based approach with an assessment of autonoetic consciousness, departing considerably from traditional Remember/Know paradigms used within this field. We present findings from an initial pilot study investigating the potential markers of autonoetic consciousness that may accompany episodic retrieval. Key behavioural indices of autonoetic consciousness, notably those of viewer perspective, visual imagery, and emotional re-experiencing, emerged as being inextricably bound with the level of phenomenological detail recalled and the overall re-living judgment. The autonoetic subscale of the EAMI permits conceptually refined assessment of episodic personal memories and the accompanying subjective experience of mental re-living, characteristic of episodic memory.

  9. Verbal declarative memory impairments in specific language impairment are related to working memory deficits

    OpenAIRE

    Lum, Jarrad A.G.; Ullman, Michael T.; Conti-Ramsden, Gina

    2015-01-01

    This study examined verbal declarative memory functioning in SLI and its relationship to working memory. Encoding, recall, and recognition of verbal information was examined in children with SLI who had below average working memory (SLILow WM), children with SLI who had average working memory (SLIAvg. WM) and, a group of non-language impaired children with average working memory (TDAvg. WM). The SLILow WM group was significantly worse than both the SLIAvg. WM and TDAvg. WM groups at encoding ...

  10. The Episodicity of Verbal Reports of Personally Significant Autobiographical Memories: Vividness Correlates with Narrative Text Quality More than with Detailedness or Memory Specificity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habermas, Tilmann; Diel, Verena

    2013-01-01

    How can we tell from a memory report whether a memory is episodic or not? Vividness is required by many definitions, whereas detailedness, memory specificity, and narrative text type are competing definitions of episodicity used in research. We explored their correlations with vividness in personally significant autobiographical memories to provide evidence to support their relative claim to define episodic memories. In addition, we explored differences between different memory types and text types as well as between memories with different valences. We asked a lifespan sample (N = 168) of 8-, 12-, 16-, 20-, 40-, and 65-year-olds of both genders (N = 27, 29, 27, 27, 28, 30) to provide brief oral life narratives. These were segmented into thematic memory units. Detailedness of person, place, and time did not correlate with each other or either vividness, memory specificity, or narrative text type. Narrative text type, in contrast, correlated both with vividness and memory specificity, suggesting narrative text type as a good criterion of episodicity. Emotionality turned out to be an even better predictor of vividness. Also, differences between narrative, chronicle, and argument text types and between specific versus more extended and atemporal memories were explored as well as differences between positive, negative, ambivalent, neutral, contamination, and redemption memory reports. It is concluded that temporal sequentiality is a central characteristic of episodic autobiographical memories. Furthermore, it is suggested that the textual quality of memory reports should be taken more seriously, and that evaluation and interpretation are inherent aspects of personally significant memories. PMID:23966918

  11. The episodicity of verbal reports of personally significant autobiographical memories: vividness correlates with narrative text quality more than with detailedness or memory specificity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habermas, Tilmann; Diel, Verena

    2013-01-01

    How can we tell from a memory report whether a memory is episodic or not? Vividness is required by many definitions, whereas detailedness, memory specificity, and narrative text type are competing definitions of episodicity used in research. We explored their correlations with vividness in personally significant autobiographical memories to provide evidence to support their relative claim to define episodic memories. In addition, we explored differences between different memory types and text types as well as between memories with different valences. We asked a lifespan sample (N = 168) of 8-, 12-, 16-, 20-, 40-, and 65-year-olds of both genders (N = 27, 29, 27, 27, 28, 30) to provide brief oral life narratives. These were segmented into thematic memory units. Detailedness of person, place, and time did not correlate with each other or either vividness, memory specificity, or narrative text type. Narrative text type, in contrast, correlated both with vividness and memory specificity, suggesting narrative text type as a good criterion of episodicity. Emotionality turned out to be an even better predictor of vividness. Also, differences between narrative, chronicle, and argument text types and between specific versus more extended and atemporal memories were explored as well as differences between positive, negative, ambivalent, neutral, contamination, and redemption memory reports. It is concluded that temporal sequentiality is a central characteristic of episodic autobiographical memories. Furthermore, it is suggested that the textual quality of memory reports should be taken more seriously, and that evaluation and interpretation are inherent aspects of personally significant memories.

  12. The episodicity of verbal reports of personally significant autobiographical memories: Vividness correlates with narrative text quality more than with detailedness or memory specificity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tilmann eHabermas

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available How can we tell from a memory report whether a memory is episodic or not? Vividness is required by many definitions, whereas detailedness, memory specificity, and narrative text type are competing definitions of episodicity used in research. We explored their correlations with vividness in personally significant autobiographical memories to provide evidence to support their relative claim to define episodic memories. In addition, we explored differences between different memory types and text types as well as between memories with different valences. We asked a lifespan sample (N = 168 of 8-, 12-, 16-, 20-, 40-, and 65-year-olds of both genders (N = 27, 29, 27, 27, 28, 30 to provide brief oral life narratives. These were segmented into thematic memory units. Detailedness of person, place, and time did not correlate with each other or either vividness, memory specificity, or narrative text type. Narrative text type, in contrast, correlated both with vividness and memory specificity, suggesting narrative text type as a good criterion of episodicity. Emotionality turned out to be an even better predictor of vividness. Also, differences between narrative, chronicle, and argument text types and between specific versus more extended and atemporal memory were explored as well as differences between positive, negative, ambivalent, neutral, contamination, and redemption memory reports. It is concluded that temporal sequentiality is a central characteristic of episodic autobiographical memories. Furthermore, it is suggested that the textual quality of memory reports should be taken more seriously, and that evaluation and interpretation are inherent aspects of personally significant memories.

  13. Spatial working memory in aging and mild cognitive impairment: effects of task load and contextual cueing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessels, Roy P C; Meulenbroek, Olga; Fernández, Guillén; Olde Rikkert, Marcel G M

    2010-09-01

    Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is characterized by episodic memory deficits, while aspects of working memory may also be implicated, but studies into this latter domain are scarce and results are inconclusive. Using a computerized search paradigm, this study compares 25 young adults, 25 typically aging older adults and 15 amnestic MCI patients as to their working-memory capacities for object-location information and potential differential effects of memory load and additional context cues. An age-related deficit in visuospatial working-memory maintenance was found that became more pronounced with increasing task demands. The MCI group additionally showed reduced maintenance of bound information, i.e., object-location associations, again especially at elevated memory load. No effects of contextual cueing were found. The current findings indicate that working memory should be considered when screening patients for suspected MCI and monitoring its progression.

  14. Low episodic memory performance in cognitively normal elderly subjects is associated with increased posterior cingulate gray matter N-acetylaspartate: a 1H MRSI study at 7 Tesla.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreiner, Simon J; Kirchner, Thomas; Wyss, Michael; Van Bergen, Jiri M G; Quevenco, Frances C; Steininger, Stefanie C; Griffith, Erica Y; Meier, Irene; Michels, Lars; Gietl, Anton F; Leh, Sandra E; Brickman, Adam M; Hock, Christoph; Nitsch, Roger M; Pruessmann, Klaas P; Henning, Anke; Unschuld, Paul G

    2016-12-01

    Low episodic memory performance characterizes elderly subjects at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may reflect neuronal dysfunction within the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus (PCP) region. To investigate a potential association between cerebral neurometabolism and low episodic memory in the absence of cognitive impairment, tissue-specific magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging at ultrahigh field strength of 7 Tesla was used to investigate the PCP region in a healthy elderly study population (n = 30, age 70 ± 5.7 years, Mini-Mental State Examination 29.4 ± 4.1). The Verbal Learning and Memory Test (VLMT) was administered as part of a neuropsychological battery for assessment of episodic memory performance. Significant differences between PCP gray and white matter could be observed for glutamate-glutamine (p = 0.001), choline (p = 0.01), and myo-inositol (p = 0.02). Low Verbal Learning and Memory Test performance was associated with high N-acetylaspartate in PCP gray matter (p = 0.01) but not in PCP white matter. Our data suggest that subtle decreases in episodic memory performance in the elderly may be associated with increased levels of N-acetylaspartate as a reflection of increased mitochondrial energy capacity in PCP gray matter. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Deficits in episodic memory are related to uncontrolled eating in a sample of healthy adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, A A; Davidson, T L; McCrory, M A

    2018-05-01

    Despite a substantial amount of animal data linking deficits in memory inhibition to the development of overeating and obesity, few studies have investigated the relevance of memory inhibition to uncontrolled eating in humans. Further, although memory for recent eating has been implicated as an important contributor to satiety and energy intake, the possibility that variations in episodic memory relate to individual differences in food intake control has been largely neglected. To examine these relationships, we recruited ninety-three adult subjects to attend a single lab session where we assessed body composition, dietary intake, memory performance, and eating behaviors (Three Factor Eating Questionnaire). Episodic recall and memory inhibition were assessed using a well-established measure of memory interference (Retrieval Practice Paradigm). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that memory inhibition was largely unrelated to participants' eating behaviors; however, episodic recall was reliably predicted by restrained vs. uncontrolled eating: recall was positively associated with strategic dieting (β = 2.45, p = 0.02), avoidance of fatty foods (β = 3.41, p = 0.004), and cognitive restraint (β = 1.55, p = 0.04). In contrast, recall was negatively associated with uncontrolled eating (β = -1.15, p = 0.03) and emotional eating (β = -2.46, p = 0.04). These findings suggest that episodic memory processing is related to uncontrolled eating in humans. The possibility that deficits in episodic memory may contribute to uncontrolled eating by disrupting memory for recent eating is discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Differential Medial Temporal Lobe and Parietal Cortical Contributions to Real-world Autobiographical Episodic and Autobiographical Semantic Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Thackery I; Rissman, Jesse; Chow, Tiffany E; Uncapher, Melina R; Wagner, Anthony D

    2018-04-18

    Autobiographical remembering can depend on two forms of memory: episodic (event) memory and autobiographical semantic memory (remembering personally relevant semantic knowledge, independent of recalling a specific experience). There is debate about the degree to which the neural signals that support episodic recollection relate to or build upon autobiographical semantic remembering. Pooling data from two fMRI studies of memory for real-world personal events, we investigated whether medial temporal lobe (MTL) and parietal subregions contribute to autobiographical episodic and semantic remembering. During scanning, participants made memory judgments about photograph sequences depicting past events from their life or from others' lives, and indicated whether memory was based on episodic or semantic knowledge. Results revealed several distinct functional patterns: activity in most MTL subregions was selectively associated with autobiographical episodic memory; the hippocampal tail, superior parietal lobule, and intraparietal sulcus were similarly engaged when memory was based on retrieval of an autobiographical episode or autobiographical semantic knowledge; and angular gyrus demonstrated a graded pattern, with activity declining from autobiographical recollection to autobiographical semantic remembering to correct rejections of novel events. Collectively, our data offer insights into MTL and parietal cortex functional organization, and elucidate circuitry that supports different forms of real-world autobiographical memory.

  17. Narrative organisation at encoding facilitated children's long-term episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qi; Bui, Van-Kim; Song, Qingfang

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the effect of narrative organisation at encoding on long-term episodic memory in a sample of five- to seven-year-old children (N = 113). At an initial interview, children were asked to narrate a story from a picture book. Six months later, they were interviewed again and asked to recall the story and answer a series of direct questions about the story. Children who initially encoded more information in narrative and produced more complete, complex, cohesive and coherent narratives remembered the story in greater detail and accuracy following the six-month interval, independent of age and verbal skills. The relation between narrative organisation and memory was consistent across culture and gender. These findings provide new insight into the critical role of narrative in episodic memory.

  18. Cue-independent memory impairment by reactivation-coupled interference in human declarative memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Zijian; Wang, Yingying; Cao, Zhijun; Chen, Biqing; Cai, Huaqian; Wu, Yanhong; Rao, Yi

    2016-10-01

    Memory is a dynamic process. While memory becomes increasingly resistant to interference after consolidation, a brief reactivation renders it unstable again. Previous studies have shown that interference, when applied upon reactivation, impairs the consolidated memory, presumably by disrupting the reconsolidation of the memory. However, attempts have failed in disrupting human declarative memory, raising a question about whether declarative memory becomes unstable upon reactivation. Here, we used a double-cue/one-target paradigm, which associated the same target with two different cues in initial memory formation. Only one cue/target association was later reactivated and treated with behavioral interference. Our results showed, for the first time, that reactivation-coupled interference caused cue-independent memory impairment that generalized to other cues associated with the memory. Critically, such memory impairment appeared immediately after interference, before the reconsolidation process was completed, suggesting that common manipulations of reactivation-coupled interference procedures might disrupt other processes in addition to the reconsolidation process in human declarative memory. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. Long-Term Episodic Memory in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skowronek, Jeffrey S.; Leichtman, Michelle D.; Pillemer, David B.

    2008-01-01

    Twenty-nine grade-matched 4th-8th-grade males, 12 with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (age M = 12.2 years, SD = 1.48), and 17 without (age M = 11.5, SD = 1.59), completed two working memory tasks (digit span and the Simon game) and three long-term episodic memory tasks (a personal event memory task, story memory task, and picture…

  20. The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baddeley

    2000-11-01

    In 1974, Baddeley and Hitch proposed a three-component model of working memory. Over the years, this has been successful in giving an integrated account not only of data from normal adults, but also neuropsychological, developmental and neuroimaging data. There are, however, a number of phenomena that are not readily captured by the original model. These are outlined here and a fourth component to the model, the episodic buffer, is proposed. It comprises a limited capacity system that provides temporary storage of information held in a multimodal code, which is capable of binding information from the subsidiary systems, and from long-term memory, into a unitary episodic representation. Conscious awareness is assumed to be the principal mode of retrieval from the buffer. The revised model differs from the old principally in focussing attention on the processes of integrating information, rather than on the isolation of the subsystems. In doing so, it provides a better basis for tackling the more complex aspects of executive control in working memory.

  1. Selective memory retrieval can impair and improve retrieval of other memories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bäuml, Karl-Heinz T; Samenieh, Anuscheh

    2012-03-01

    Research from the past decades has shown that retrieval of a specific memory (e.g., retrieving part of a previous vacation) typically attenuates retrieval of other memories (e.g., memories for other details of the event), causing retrieval-induced forgetting. More recently, however, it has been shown that retrieval can both attenuate and aid recall of other memories (K.-H. T. Bäuml & A. Samenieh, 2010). To identify the circumstances under which retrieval aids recall, the authors examined retrieval dynamics in listwise directed forgetting, context-dependent forgetting, proactive interference, and in the absence of any induced memory impairment. They found beneficial effects of selective retrieval in listwise directed forgetting and context-dependent forgetting but detrimental effects in all the other conditions. Because context-dependent forgetting and listwise directed forgetting arguably reflect impaired context access, the results suggest that memory retrieval aids recall of memories that are subject to impaired context access but attenuates recall in the absence of such circumstances. The findings are consistent with a 2-factor account of memory retrieval and suggest the existence of 2 faces of memory retrieval. 2012 APA, all rights reserved

  2. Forms of memory: Investigating the computational basis of semantic-episodic memory interactions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Neville, D.A.

    2015-01-01

    The present thesis investigated how the memory systems related to the processing of semantic and episodic information combine to generate behavioural performance as measured in standard laboratory tasks. Across a series of behavioural experiment I looked at different types of interactions between

  3. Dissociations in Hippocampal and Frontal Contributions to Episodic Memory Performance

    OpenAIRE

    Kramer, Joel H.; Rosen, Howard J.; Du, An-Tao; Schuff, Norbert; Hollnagel, Caroline; Weiner, Michael W.; Miller, Bruce L.; Delis, Dean C.

    2005-01-01

    The hippocampus and frontal lobes both contribute to episodic memory performance. In the present study, the authors evaluated the relative contributions of hippocampus, frontal lobes, anterior temporal cortex, and posterior cortex to memory performance in neurodegenerative patients and normal older controls. Subjects (n = 42) were studied with structural MRI and a memory paradigm that measured delayed recall, semantic clustering during recall, recognition discriminability, and recognition res...

  4. Type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance are associated with word memory source monitoring recollection deficits but not simple recognition familiarity deficits following water, low glycaemic load, and high glycaemic load breakfasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamport, Daniel J; Lawton, Clare L; Mansfield, Michael W; Moulin, Chris A J; Dye, Louise

    2014-01-30

    It has been established that type 2 diabetes, and to some extent, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), are associated with general neuropsychological impairments in episodic memory. However, the effect of abnormalities in glucose metabolism on specific retrieval processes such as source monitoring has not been investigated. The primary aim was to investigate the impact of type 2 diabetes and IGT on simple word recognition (familiarity) and complex source monitoring (recollection). A secondary aim was to examine the effect of acute breakfast glycaemic load manipulations on episodic memory. Data are presented from two separate studies; (i) 24 adults with type 2 diabetes and 12 controls aged 45-75years, (ii) 18 females with IGT and 47 female controls aged 30-50years. Controls were matched for age, IQ, BMI, waist circumference, and depression. Recognition of previously learned words and memory for specifically which list a previously learned word had appeared in (source monitoring) was examined at two test sessions during the morning after consumption of low glycaemic load, high glycaemic load and water breakfasts according to a counterbalanced, crossover design. Type 2 diabetes (pglucose metabolism are not detrimental for global episodic memory processes. This enhances our understanding of how metabolic disorders are associated with memory impairments. © 2013.

  5. Episodic memory encoding interferes with reward learning and decreases striatal prediction errors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wimmer, G Elliott; Braun, Erin Kendall; Daw, Nathaniel D; Shohamy, Daphna

    2014-11-05

    Learning is essential for adaptive decision making. The striatum and its dopaminergic inputs are known to support incremental reward-based learning, while the hippocampus is known to support encoding of single events (episodic memory). Although traditionally studied separately, in even simple experiences, these two types of learning are likely to co-occur and may interact. Here we sought to understand the nature of this interaction by examining how incremental reward learning is related to concurrent episodic memory encoding. During the experiment, human participants made choices between two options (colored squares), each associated with a drifting probability of reward, with the goal of earning as much money as possible. Incidental, trial-unique object pictures, unrelated to the choice, were overlaid on each option. The next day, participants were given a surprise memory test for these pictures. We found that better episodic memory was related to a decreased influence of recent reward experience on choice, both within and across participants. fMRI analyses further revealed that during learning the canonical striatal reward prediction error signal was significantly weaker when episodic memory was stronger. This decrease in reward prediction error signals in the striatum was associated with enhanced functional connectivity between the hippocampus and striatum at the time of choice. Our results suggest a mechanism by which memory encoding may compete for striatal processing and provide insight into how interactions between different forms of learning guide reward-based decision making. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3414901-12$15.00/0.

  6. Intact and impaired conceptual memory processes in amnesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keane, M M; Gabrieli, J D; Monti, L A; Fleischman, D A; Cantor, J M; Noland, J S

    1997-01-01

    To examine the status of conceptual memory processes in amnesia, a conceptual memory task with implicit or explicit task instructions was given to amnesic and control groups. After studying a list of category exemplars, participants saw category labels and were asked to generate as many exemplars as possible (an implicit memory task) or to generate exemplars that had been in the prior study list (an explicit memory task). After incidental deep or shallow encoding of exemplars, amnesic patients showed normal implicit memory performance (priming), a normal levels-of-processing effect on priming, and impaired explicit memory performance. After intentional encoding of exemplars, amnesic patients showed impaired implicit and explicit memory performance. Results suggest that although amnesic patients can show impairments on implicit and explicit conceptual memory tasks, their deficit does not generalize to all conceptual memory tasks.

  7. Bimanual coordination positively predicts episodic memory: A combined behavioral and MRI investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyle, Keith B; Dombroski, Brynn A; Faul, Leonard; Hopkins, Robin F; Naaz, Farah; Switala, Andrew E; Depue, Brendan E

    2017-11-01

    Some people remember events more completely and accurately than other people, but the origins of individual differences in episodic memory are poorly understood. One way to advance understanding is by identifying characteristics of individuals that reliably covary with memory performance. Recent research suggests motor behavior is related to memory performance, with individuals who consistently use a single preferred hand for unimanual actions performing worse than individuals who make greater use of both hands. This research has relied on self-reports of behavior. It is unknown whether objective measures of motor behavior also predict memory performance. Here, we tested the predictive power of bimanual coordination, an important form of manual dexterity. Bimanual coordination, as measured objectively on the Purdue Pegboard Test, was positively related to correct recall on the California Verbal Learning Test-II and negatively related to false recall. Furthermore, MRI data revealed that cortical surface area in right lateral prefrontal regions was positively related to correct recall. In one of these regions, cortical thickness was negatively related to bimanual coordination. These results suggest that individual differences in episodic memory may partially reflect morphological variation in right lateral prefrontal cortex and suggest a relationship between neural correlates of episodic memory and motor behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Selective verbal recognition memory impairments are associated with atrophy of the language network in non-semantic variants of primary progressive aphasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilakantan, Aneesha S; Voss, Joel L; Weintraub, Sandra; Mesulam, M-Marsel; Rogalski, Emily J

    2017-06-01

    Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is clinically defined by an initial loss of language function and preservation of other cognitive abilities, including episodic memory. While PPA primarily affects the left-lateralized perisylvian language network, some clinical neuropsychological tests suggest concurrent initial memory loss. The goal of this study was to test recognition memory of objects and words in the visual and auditory modality to separate language-processing impairments from retentive memory in PPA. Individuals with non-semantic PPA had longer reaction times and higher false alarms for auditory word stimuli compared to visual object stimuli. Moreover, false alarms for auditory word recognition memory were related to cortical thickness within the left inferior frontal gyrus and left temporal pole, while false alarms for visual object recognition memory was related to cortical thickness within the right-temporal pole. This pattern of results suggests that specific vulnerability in processing verbal stimuli can hinder episodic memory in PPA, and provides evidence for differential contributions of the left and right temporal poles in word and object recognition memory. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. From episodic to habitual prospective memory: ERP-evidence for a linear transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Beat; Matter, Sibylle; Baumann, Brigitta; Walter, Stefan; Koenig, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    Performing a prospective memory task repeatedly changes the nature of the task from episodic to habitual. The goal of the present study was to investigate the neural basis of this transition. In two experiments, we contrasted event-related potentials (ERPs) evoked by correct responses to prospective memory targets in the first, more episodic part of the experiment with those of the second, more habitual part of the experiment. Specifically, we tested whether the early, middle, or late ERP-components, which are thought to reflect cue detection, retrieval of the intention, and post-retrieval processes, respectively, would be changed by routinely performing the prospective memory task. The results showed a differential ERP effect in the middle time window (450–650 ms post-stimulus). Source localization using low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography analysis suggests that the transition was accompanied by an increase of activation in the posterior parietal and occipital cortex. These findings indicate that habitual prospective memory involves retrieval processes guided more strongly by parietal brain structures. In brief, the study demonstrates that episodic and habitual prospective memory tasks recruit different brain areas. PMID:25071519

  10. Impact of hippocampal subfield histopathology in episodic memory impairment in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comper, Sandra Mara; Jardim, Anaclara Prada; Corso, Jeana Torres; Gaça, Larissa Botelho; Noffs, Maria Helena Silva; Lancellotti, Carmen Lúcia Penteado; Cavalheiro, Esper Abrão; Centeno, Ricardo Silva; Yacubian, Elza Márcia Targas

    2017-10-01

    The objective of the study was to analyze preoperative visual and verbal episodic memories in a homogeneous series of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) and unilateral hippocampal sclerosis (HS) submitted to corticoamygdalohippocampectomy and its association with neuronal cell density of each hippocampal subfield. The hippocampi of 72 right-handed patients were collected and prepared for histopathological examination. Hippocampal sclerosis patterns were determined, and neuronal cell density was calculated. Preoperatively, two verbal and two visual memory tests (immediate and delayed recalls) were applied, and patients were divided into two groups, left and right MTLE (36/36). There were no statistical differences between groups regarding demographic and clinical data. Cornu Ammonis 4 (CA4) neuronal density was significantly lower in the right hippocampus compared with the left (p=0.048). The groups with HS presented different memory performance - the right HS were worse in visual memory test [Complex Rey Figure, immediate (p=0.001) and delayed (p=0.009)], but better in one verbal task [RAVLT delayed (p=0.005)]. Multiple regression analysis suggested that the verbal memory performance of the group with left HS was explained by CA1 neuronal density since both tasks were significantly influenced by CA1 [Logical Memory immediate recall (p=0.050) and Logical Memory and RAVLT delayed recalls (p=0.004 and p=0.001, respectively)]. For patients with right HS, both CA1 subfield integrity (p=0.006) and epilepsy duration (p=0.012) explained Complex Rey Figure immediate recall performance. Ultimately, epilepsy duration also explained the performance in the Complex Rey Figure delayed recall (pepilepsy duration were associated with visual memory performance in patients with right HS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Common genetic variants on 6q24 associated with exceptional episodic memory performance in the elderly

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barral, Sandra; Cosentino, Stephanie; Christensen, Kaare

    2014-01-01

    IMPORTANCE: There are genetic influences on memory ability as we age, but no specific genes have been identified. OBJECTIVE: To use a cognitive endophenotype, exceptional episodic memory (EEM) performance, derived from nondemented offspring from the Long Life Family Study (LLFS) to identify genetic...... individuals. Results of the individual replication cohorts were combined by meta-analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Episodic memory scores computed as the mean of the 2 standardized measures of Logical Memory IA and IIA. RESULTS: Heritability estimates indicated a significant genetic component for EEM (h2 = 0...... peak. Replication in one cohort identified a set of 26 SNPs associated with episodic memory (P ≤ .05). Meta-analysis of the 26 SNPs using the 4 independent replication cohorts found SNPs rs9321334 and rs6902875 to be nominally significantly associated with episodic memory (P = .009 and P = .013...

  12. Event-related brain potentials in memory: correlates of episodic, semantic and implicit memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wieser, Stephan; Wieser, Heinz Gregor

    2003-06-01

    To study cognitive evoked potentials, recorded from scalp EEG and foramen ovale electrodes, during activation of explicit and implicit memory. The subgroups of explicit memory, episodic and semantic memory, are looked at separately. A word-learning task was used, which has been shown to activate hippocampus in H(2)(15)O positron emission tomography studies. Subjects had to study and remember word pairs using different learning strategies: (i) associative word learning (AWL), which activates the episodic memory, (ii) deep single word encoding (DSWE), which activates the semantic memory, and (iii) shallow single word encoding (SSWE), which activates the implicit memory and serves as a baseline. The test included the 'remember/know' paradigm as a behavioural learning control. During the task condition, a 10-20 scalp EEG with additional electrodes in both temporal lobes regions was recorded from 11 healthy volunteers. In one patient with mesiotemporal lobe epilepsy, the EEG was recorded from bilateral foramen ovale electrodes directly from mesial temporal lobe structures. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were calculated off-line and visual and statistical analyses were made. Associative learning strategy produced the best memory performance and the best noetic awareness experience, whereas shallow single word encoding produced the worst performance and the smallest noetic awareness. Deep single word encoding performance was in between. ERPs differed according to the test condition, during both encoding and retrieval, from both the scalp EEG and the foramen ovale electrode recordings. Encoding showed significant differences between the shallow single word encoding (SSWE), which is mainly a function of graphical characteristics, and the other two strategies, deep single word (DSWE) and associative learning (AWL), in which there is a semantic processing of the meaning. ERPs generated by these two categories, which are both functions of explicit memory, differed as well

  13. Role of slow oscillatory activity and slow wave sleep in consolidation of episodic-like memory in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oyanedel, Carlos N; Binder, Sonja; Kelemen, Eduard; Petersen, Kimberley; Born, Jan; Inostroza, Marion

    2014-12-15

    Our previous experiments showed that sleep in rats enhances consolidation of hippocampus dependent episodic-like memory, i.e. the ability to remember an event bound into specific spatio-temporal context. Here we tested the hypothesis that this enhancing effect of sleep is linked to the occurrence of slow oscillatory and spindle activity during slow wave sleep (SWS). Rats were tested on an episodic-like memory task and on three additional tasks covering separately the where (object place recognition), when (temporal memory), and what (novel object recognition) components of episodic memory. In each task, the sample phase (encoding) was followed by an 80-min retention interval that covered either a period of regular morning sleep or sleep deprivation. Memory during retrieval was tested using preferential exploration of novelty vs. familiarity. Consistent with previous findings, the rats which had slept during the retention interval showed significantly stronger episodic-like memory and spatial memory, and a trend of improved temporal memory (although not significant). Object recognition memory was similarly retained across sleep and sleep deprivation retention intervals. Recall of episodic-like memory was associated with increased slow oscillatory activity (0.85-2.0Hz) during SWS in the retention interval. Spatial memory was associated with increased proportions of SWS. Against our hypothesis, a relationship between spindle activity and episodic-like memory performance was not detected, but spindle activity was associated with object recognition memory. The results provide support for the role of SWS and slow oscillatory activity in consolidating hippocampus-dependent memory, the role of spindles in this process needs to be further examined. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Patterns of Semantic Memory Impairment in Mild Cognitive Impairment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sven Joubert

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Although the semantic memory impairment has been largely documented in Alzheimer's disease, little is known about semantic memory in the preclinical phase of the disease (Mild Cognitive Impairment. The purpose of this study was to document the nature of semantic breakdown using a battery of tests assessing different aspects of conceptual knowledge: knowledge about common objects, famous people and famous public events. Results indicate that all domains of semantic memory were impaired in MCI individuals but knowledge about famous people and famous events was affected to a greater extent than knowledge about objects. This pattern of results suggests that conceptual entities with distinctive and unique properties may be more prone to semantic breakdown in MCI. In summary, results of this study support the view that genuine semantic deficits are present in MCI. It could be useful to investigate the etiological outcome of patients failing or succeeding at such tests.

  15. Experimentally-induced dissociation impairs visual memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewin, Chris R; Mersaditabari, Niloufar

    2013-12-01

    Dissociation is a phenomenon common in a number of psychological disorders and has been frequently suggested to impair memory for traumatic events. In this study we explored the effects of dissociation on visual memory. A dissociative state was induced experimentally using a mirror-gazing task and its short-term effects on memory performance were investigated. Sixty healthy individuals took part in the experiment. Induced dissociation impaired visual memory performance relative to a control condition; however, the degree of dissociation was not associated with lower memory scores in the experimental group. The results have theoretical and practical implications for individuals who experience frequent dissociative states such as patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. KCNQ channels regulate age-related memory impairment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonia Cavaliere

    Full Text Available In humans KCNQ2/3 heteromeric channels form an M-current that acts as a brake on neuronal excitability, with mutations causing a form of epilepsy. The M-current has been shown to be a key regulator of neuronal plasticity underlying associative memory and ethanol response in mammals. Previous work has shown that many of the molecules and plasticity mechanisms underlying changes in alcohol behaviour and addiction are shared with those of memory. We show that the single KCNQ channel in Drosophila (dKCNQ when mutated show decrements in associative short- and long-term memory, with KCNQ function in the mushroom body α/βneurons being required for short-term memory. Ethanol disrupts memory in wildtype flies, but not in a KCNQ null mutant background suggesting KCNQ maybe a direct target of ethanol, the blockade of which interferes with the plasticity machinery required for memory formation. We show that as in humans, Drosophila display age-related memory impairment with the KCNQ mutant memory defect mimicking the effect of age on memory. Expression of KCNQ normally decreases in aging brains and KCNQ overexpression in the mushroom body neurons of KCNQ mutants restores age-related memory impairment. Therefore KCNQ is a central plasticity molecule that regulates age dependent memory impairment.

  17. The effects of marital status on episodic and semantic memory in healthy middle-aged and old individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mousavi-Nasab, S-M-Hossein; Kormi-Nouri, Reza; Sundström, Anna; Nilsson, Lars-Göran

    2012-02-01

    The present study examined the influences of marital status on different episodic and semantic memory tasks. A total of 1882 adult men and women participated in a longitudinal project (Betula) on memory, health and aging. The participants were grouped into two age cohorts, 35-60 and 65-85, and studied over a period of 5 years. Episodic memory tasks concerned recognition and recall, whereas semantic memory tasks concerned knowledge and fluency. The results showed, after controlling for education, some diseases, chronological age and leisure activity as covariates, that there were significant differences between married and single individuals in episodic memory, but not in semantic memory. Married people showed significantly better memory performances than singles in both subsystems of episodic memory, that is, recall and recognition. Also, the rate of decline in episodic memory was significantly larger for singles and widowed than other groups over the 5-year time period in both age groups. The findings demonstrate that the positive relation found between marriage and health can be extended to the relation between marriage and cognitive performance. This effect might be explained by the role played by cognitive stimulation in memory and cognition. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

  18. Episodic memory change in late adulthood: generalizability across samples and performance indices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, Roger A; Wahlin, Ake; Maitland, Scott B; Hultsch, David F; Hertzog, Christopher; Bäckman, Lars

    2004-07-01

    Younger adults recall more information from episodic memory tasks than do older adults. Because longitudinal studies are rare and often incompatible, the extent of actual late-life memory change is not well established. We assemble two different longitudinal samples of normal older adults, each of which is tested twice at a 3-year interval, using a large battery of episodic memory indicators. Together, two-wave data from both the Victoria Longitudinal Study in Canada (n = 400) and the Kungsholmen Project in Sweden (n = 168) cover a 40-year span of adulthood, ranging from 54 to 94 years of age. Principal memory tasks include categorizable word lists, story recall, and random word lists, as well as indicators of cognitive support. Overall, an examination of performance on sets of common and complementary episodic tasks reveals that, for both samples, actual 3-year changes are modest and that, when decline occurs, it is gradual. The exception-greater decline for more supported tasks-suggests that these may be especially sensitive to late-life changes.

  19. Assessing the role of memory in preschoolers' performance on episodic foresight tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atance, Cristina M; Sommerville, Jessica A

    2014-01-01

    A total of 48 preschoolers (ages 3, 4, and 5) received four tasks modelled after prior work designed to assess the development of "episodic foresight". For each task, children encountered a problem in one room and, after a brief delay, were given the opportunity in a second room to select an item to solve the problem. Importantly, after selecting an item, children were queried about their memory for the problem. Age-related changes were found both in children's ability to select the correct item and their ability to remember the problem. However, when we controlled for children's memory for the problem, there were no longer significant age-related changes on the item choice measure. These findings suggest that age-related changes in children's performance on these tasks are driven by improvements in children's memory versus improvements in children's future-oriented thinking or "foresight" per se. Our results have important implications for how best to structure tasks to measure children's episodic foresight, and also for the relative role of memory in this task and in episodic foresight more broadly.

  20. Autobiographical memory for the differential diagnosis of cognitive pathology in aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meléndez, Juan C; Redondo, Rita; Torres, Marta; Mayordomo, Teresa; Sales, Alicia

    2016-11-01

    The present study distinguishes three memory stages across the lifespan, and aims to compare episodic and semantic autobiographical memory in healthy older adults, with amnesic mild cognitive impairment, and with Alzheimer's disease. This information can offer evidence about the way semantic and episodic autobiographical memory work, and how the disease affects them. The sample was composed of 56 people, all aged over 60 years; 15 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, 12 with Alzheimer's disease and 29 healthy older people. Participants were evaluated with the Autobiographical Memory Interview. A mixed anova showed significant main effects of memory and time-period, and significant interactions of memory × group, time-period × group and memory × time × group. Assessment of autobiographical memory provides information to differentiate amnestic mild cognitive impairment patients from Alzheimer's disease patients. Although the decline in episodic memory starts with the onset of the disease, semantic memory is maintained until moderate stages of dementia. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2016; 16:1220-1225. © 2015 Japan Geriatrics Society.

  1. Spatial and Temporal Episodic Memory Retrieval Recruit Dissociable Functional Networks in the Human Brain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekstrom, Arne D.; Bookheimer, Susan Y.

    2007-01-01

    Imaging, electrophysiological studies, and lesion work have shown that the medial temporal lobe (MTL) is important for episodic memory; however, it is unclear whether different MTL regions support the spatial, temporal, and item elements of episodic memory. In this study we used fMRI to examine retrieval performance emphasizing different aspects…

  2. Episodic sequence memory is supported by a theta-gamma phase code.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heusser, Andrew C; Poeppel, David; Ezzyat, Youssef; Davachi, Lila

    2016-10-01

    The meaning we derive from our experiences is not a simple static extraction of the elements but is largely based on the order in which those elements occur. Models propose that sequence encoding is supported by interactions between high- and low-frequency oscillations, such that elements within an experience are represented by neural cell assemblies firing at higher frequencies (gamma) and sequential order is encoded by the specific timing of firing with respect to a lower frequency oscillation (theta). During episodic sequence memory formation in humans, we provide evidence that items in different sequence positions exhibit greater gamma power along distinct phases of a theta oscillation. Furthermore, this segregation is related to successful temporal order memory. Our results provide compelling evidence that memory for order, a core component of an episodic memory, capitalizes on the ubiquitous physiological mechanism of theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling.

  3. Bridging the Gap between Brain and Behavior: Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Episodic Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichenbaum, Howard; Fortin, Norbert J.

    2005-01-01

    The notion that non-human animals are capable of episodic memory is highly controversial. Here, we review recent behavioral work from our laboratory showing that the fundamental features of episodic memory can be observed in rats and that, as in humans, this capacity relies on the hippocampus. We also discuss electrophysiological evidence, from…

  4. Neurofeedback training of EEG alpha rhythm enhances episodic and working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsueh, Jen-Jui; Chen, Tzu-Shan; Chen, Jia-Jin; Shaw, Fu-Zen

    2016-07-01

    Neurofeedback training (NFT) of the alpha rhythm has been used for several decades but is still controversial in regards to its trainability and effects on working memory. Alpha rhythm of the frontoparietal region are associated with either the intelligence or memory of healthy subjects and are also related to pathological states. In this study, alpha NFT effects on memory performances were explored. Fifty healthy participants were recruited and randomly assigned into a group receiving a 8-12-Hz amplitude (Alpha) or a group receiving a random 4-Hz amplitude from the range of 7 to 20 Hz (Ctrl). Three NFT sessions per week were conducted for 4 weeks. Working memory was assessed by both a backward digit span task and an operation span task, and episodic memory was assessed using a word pair task. Four questionnaires were used to assess anxiety, depression, insomnia, and cognitive function. The Ctrl group had no change in alpha amplitude and duration. In contrast, the Alpha group showed a progressive significant increase in the alpha amplitude and total alpha duration of the frontoparietal region. Accuracies of both working and episodic memories were significantly improved in a large proportion of participants of the Alpha group, particularly for those with remarkable alpha-amplitude increases. Scores of four questionnaires fell in a normal range before and after NFT. The current study provided supporting evidence for alpha trainability within a small session number compared with that of therapy. The findings suggested the enhancement of working and episodic memory through alpha NFT. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2662-2675, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Working memory and novel word learning in children with hearing impairment and children with specific language impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansson, K; Forsberg, J; Löfqvist, A; Mäki-Torkko, E; Sahlén, B

    2004-01-01

    Working memory is considered to influence a range of linguistic skills, i.e. vocabulary acquisition, sentence comprehension and reading. Several studies have pointed to limitations of working memory in children with specific language impairment. Few studies, however, have explored the role of working memory for language deficits in children with hearing impairment. The first aim was to compare children with mild-to-moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment, children with a preschool diagnosis of specific language impairment and children with normal language development, aged 9-12 years, for language and working memory. The special focus was on the role of working memory in learning new words for primary school age children. The assessment of working memory included tests of phonological short-term memory and complex working memory. Novel word learning was assessed according to the methods of. In addition, a range of language tests was used to assess language comprehension, output phonology and reading. Children with hearing impairment performed significantly better than children with a preschool diagnosis of specific language impairment on tasks assessing novel word learning, complex working memory, sentence comprehension and reading accuracy. No significant correlation was found between phonological short-term memory and novel word learning in any group. The best predictor of novel word learning in children with specific language impairment and in children with hearing impairment was complex working memory. Furthermore, there was a close relationship between complex working memory and language in children with a preschool diagnosis of specific language impairment but not in children with hearing impairment. Complex working memory seems to play a significant role in vocabulary acquisition in primary school age children. The interpretation is that the results support theories suggesting a weakened influence of phonological short-term memory on novel word

  6. Thickness in Entorhinal and Subicular Cortex Predicts Episodic Memory Decline in Mild Cognitive Impairment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. C. Burggren

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Identifying subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI most likely to decline in cognition over time is a major focus in Alzheimer's disease (AD research. Neuroimaging biomarkers that predict decline would have great potential for increasing the efficacy of early intervention. In this study, we used high-resolution MRI, combined with a cortical unfolding technique to increase visibility of the convoluted medial temporal lobe (MTL, to assess whether gray matter thickness in subjects with MCI correlated to decline in cognition over two years. We found that thickness in the entorhinal (ERC and subicular (Sub cortices of MCI subjects at initial assessment correlated to change in memory encoding over two years (ERC: r=0.34; P=.003 and Sub (r=0.26; P=.011 but not delayed recall performance. Our findings suggest that aspects of memory performance may be differentially affected in the early stages of AD. Given the MTL's involvement in early stages of neurodegeneration in AD, clarifying the relationship of these brain regions and the link to resultant cognitive decline is critical in understanding disease progression.

  7. Differential patterns of contextual organization of memory in first-episode psychosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murty, Vishnu P; McKinney, Rachel A; DuBrow, Sarah; Jalbrzikowski, Maria; Haas, Gretchen L; Luna, Beatriz

    2018-02-15

    Contextual information is used to support and organize episodic memory. Prior research has reliably shown memory deficits in psychosis; however, little research has characterized how this population uses contextual information during memory recall. We employed an approach founded in a computational framework of free recall to quantify how individuals with first episode of psychosis (FEP, N = 97) and controls (CON, N = 55) use temporal and semantic context to organize memory recall. Free recall was characterized using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R). We compared FEP and CON on three measures of free recall: proportion recalled, temporal clustering, and semantic clustering. Measures of temporal/semantic clustering quantified how individuals use contextual information to organize memory recall. We also assessed to what extent these measures relate to antipsychotic use and differentiated between different types of psychosis. We also explored the relationship between these measures and intelligence. In comparison to CON, FEP had reduced recall and less temporal clustering during free recall (p contextual organization of memory. IQ was related to free recall accuracy, but not the use of contextual information during recall in either group (p < 0.05, Bonferroni-corrected). These results show that in addition to deficits in memory recall, FEP differed in how they organize memories compared to CON.

  8. More Effective Consolidation of Episodic Long-Term Memory in Children Than Adults-Unrelated to Sleep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jing-Yi; Weber, Frederik D; Zinke, Katharina; Inostroza, Marion; Born, Jan

    2017-06-08

    Abilities to encode and remember events in their spatiotemporal context (episodic memory) rely on brain regions that mature late during childhood and are supported by sleep. We compared the temporal dynamics of episodic memory formation and the role of sleep in this process between 62 children (8-12 years) and 57 adults (18-37 years). Subjects recalled "what-where-when" memories after a short 1-hr retention interval or after a long 10.5-hr interval containing either nocturnal sleep or daytime wakefulness. Although children showed diminished recall of episodes after 1 hr, possibly resulting from inferior encoding, unlike adults, they showed no further decrease in recall after 10.5 hr. In both age groups, episodic memory benefitted from sleep. However, children's more effective offline retention was unrelated to sleep. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  9. Distinct slow and fast cortical theta dynamics in episodic memory retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pastötter, Bernhard; Bäuml, Karl-Heinz T

    2014-07-01

    Brain oscillations in the theta frequency band (3-8 Hz) have been shown to be critically involved in human episodic memory retrieval. In prior work, both positive and negative relationships between cortical theta power and retrieval success have been reported. This study examined the hypothesis that slow and fast cortical theta oscillations at the edges of the traditional theta frequency band are differentially related to retrieval success. Scalp EEG was recorded in healthy human participants as they performed a cued-recall episodic memory task. Slow (~3 Hz) and fast (~7 Hz) theta oscillations at retrieval were examined as a function of whether an item was recalled or not and as a function of the items' output position at test. Recall success typically declines with output position, due to increases in interference level. The results showed that slow theta power was positively related but fast theta power was negatively related to retrieval success. Concurrent positive and negative episodic memory effects for slow and fast theta oscillations were dissociable in time and space, showing different time courses and different spatial locations on the scalp. Moreover, fast theta power increased from early to late output positions, whereas slow theta power was unaffected by items' output position. Together with prior work, the results suggest that slow and fast theta oscillations have distinct functional roles in episodic memory retrieval, with slow theta oscillations being related to processes of recollection and conscious awareness, and fast theta oscillations being linked to processes of interference and interference resolution. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Association of GPX1 and GPX4 polymorphisms with episodic memory and Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Rocha, Tatiane Jacobsen; Silva Alves, Mônica; Guisso, Carolina Campelo; de Andrade, Fabiana Michelsen; Camozzato, Analuiza; de Oliveira, Alcyr Alves; Fiegenbaum, Marilu

    2018-02-14

    It is well established that healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are associated with substantial declines in episodic memory. However, there is still debate about the roles of GPX1 and GPX4 polymorphisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of rs1050450 and rs713041 polymorphisms with memory. This research was composed of a cross-sectional study (334 subjects) and a case-control study (108 healthy controls and 103 with AD-NINCDS/ARDA, DSM-IV-TR criteria). For the association of the genetic polymorphisms with memory or cognitive loss, the phenotypes were analyzed as follows: 1) each memory as a quantitative trait; 2) presence of deficit on a specific memory; 3) presence of MCI; 4) presence of AD. To assess verbal learning and the ability to store new information, we used the Rey Verbal Learning Test. Scores were recorded as a function of age as in the WMS-R testing battery. DNA was obtained from whole blood, and genotypes for GPX1 (rs1050450) and GPX4 (rs713041) were detected by allelic discrimination assay using TaqMan ® MGB probes on a real-time PCR system. GPX1 TT homozygotes had lower long-term visual memory scores than CC/CT group (-0.28 ± 1.03 vs. 0.13 ± 1.03, respectively, p = 0.017). For the GPX4 rs713041, the frequency of the TT genotype was higher in the group with normal scores than in the group with long-term visual memory deficits (p = 0.025). In a multivariate logistic regression, GPX1 CC homozygotes had a 2.85 higher chance of developing AD (OR = 2.85, CI95% = 1.04-7.78, p = 0.041) in comparison to the reference genotype. No significant differences were observed regarding the MCI group between genetic variants. This study is one of the first to show that polymorphisms in GPX1 and GPX4 are significantly associated with episodic memory and AD in a South Brazilian population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. The self-reference effect on episodic memory recollection in young and older adults and Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lalanne, Jennifer; Rozenberg, Johanna; Grolleau, Pauline; Piolino, Pascale

    2013-12-01

    The Self-reference effect (SRE) on long-term episodic memory and autonoetic consciousness has been investigated in young adults, scarcely in older adults, but never in Alzheimer's patients. Is the functional influence of Selfreference still present when the individual's memory and identity are impaired? We investigated this issue in 60 young subjects, 41 elderly subjects, and 28 patients with Alzheimer's disease, by using 1) an incidental learning task of personality traits in three encoding conditions, inducing variable degrees of depth of processing and personal involvement, 2) a 2- minute retention interval free recall task, and 3) a 20-minute delayed recognition task, combined with a remember-know paradigm. Each recorded score was corrected for errors (intrusions in free recall, false alarms in recognition, and false source memory in remember responses). Compared with alternative encodings, the Self-reference significantly enhanced performance on the free recall task in the young group, and on the recognition task both in the young and older groups but not in the Alzheimer group. The most important finding in the Alzheimer group is that the Self-reference led the most often to a subjective sense of remembering (especially for the positive words) with the retrieval of the correct encoding source. This Self-reference recollection effect in patients was related to independent subjective measures of a positive and definite sense of Self (measured by the Tennessee Self Concept Scale), and to memory complaints in daily life. In conclusion, these results demonstrated the power and robustness of the Self-reference effect on recollection in long-term episodic memory in Alzheimer's disease, albeit the retrieval is considerably reduced. These results should open new perspectives for the development of rehabilitation programs for memory deficits.

  12. "I know your name, but not your number"--Patients with verbal short-term memory deficits are impaired in learning sequences of digits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bormann, Tobias; Seyboth, Margret; Umarova, Roza; Weiller, Cornelius

    2015-06-01

    Studies on verbal learning in patients with impaired verbal short-term memory (vSTM) have revealed dissociations among types of verbal information. Patients with impaired vSTM are able to learn lists of known words but fail to acquire new word forms. This suggests that vSTM is involved in new word learning. The present study assessed both new word learning and the learning of digit sequences in two patients with impaired vSTM. In two experiments, participants were required to learn people's names, ages and professions, or their four digit 'phone numbers'. The STM patients were impaired on learning unknown family names and phone numbers, but managed to acquire other verbal information. In contrast, a patient with a severe verbal episodic memory impairment was impaired across information types. These results indicate verbal STM involvement in the learning of digit sequences. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Context Memory in Korsakoff's Syndrome

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kessels, R.P.C.; Kopelman, M.D.

    2012-01-01

    Memory for contextual information and target-context integration are crucial for successful episodic memory formation and are impaired in patients with Korsakoff's syndrome. In this paper we review the evidence for the notion that a context memory deficit makes an important contribution to the

  14. Context memory in Korsakoff's syndrome.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kessels, R.P.C.; Kopelman, M.D.

    2012-01-01

    Memory for contextual information and target-context integration are crucial for successful episodic memory formation and are impaired in patients with Korsakoff's syndrome. In this paper we review the evidence for the notion that a context memory deficit makes an important contribution to the

  15. Hue-specific colour memory impairment in an individual with intact colour perception and colour naming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jakobson, L S; Pearson, P M; Robertson, B

    2008-01-15

    Cases of hue-selective dyschomatopsias, together with the results of recent optical imaging studies [Xiao, Y., Casti, A. R. R., Xiao, J., & Kaplan, E. (2006). A spatially organized representation of colour in macaque primary visual cortex. Perception, 35, ECVP Abstract Supplement; Xiao, Y., Wang, Y., & Felleman, D. J. (2003). A spatially organized representation of colour in macaque cortical area V2. Nature, 421, 535-539], have provided support for the idea that different colours are processed in spatially distinct regions of extrastriate cortex. In the present report, we provide evidence suggesting that a similar, but distinct, map may exist for representations of colour in memory. This evidence comes from observations of a young woman (QP) who demonstrates an isolated deficit in colour memory secondary to a concussive episode. Despite having normal colour perception and colour naming skills, and above-average memory skills in other domains, QP's ability to recall visually encoded colour information over short retention intervals is dramatically impaired. Her long-term memory for colour and her colour imagery skills are also abnormal. Surprisingly, however, these impairments are not seen with all hues; specifically, her ability to remember or imagine blue shades is spared. This interesting case contributes to the literature suggesting that colour perception, naming, and memory can be clinically dissociated, and provides insights into the organization of colour information in memory.

  16. Oscillations and Episodic Memory: Addressing the Synchronization/Desynchronization Conundrum

    OpenAIRE

    Hanslmayr, Simon; Staresina, Bernhard P.; Bowman, Howard

    2016-01-01

    Trends Data from rodent as well as human studies suggest that theta/gamma synchronization in the hippocampus (i.e., theta phase to gamma power cross-frequency coupling) mediates the binding of different elements in episodic memory. In vivo and in vitro animal studies suggest that theta provides selective time windows for fast-acting synaptic modifications and recent computational models have implemented these mechanisms to explain human memory formation and retrieval. Recent data from human e...

  17. Emotion impairs extrinsic source memory--An ERP study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Xinrui; You, Yuqi; Li, Wen; Guo, Chunyan

    2015-09-01

    Substantial advancements in understanding emotional modulation of item memory notwithstanding, controversies remain as to how emotion influences source memory. Using an emotional extrinsic source memory paradigm combined with remember/know judgments and two key event-related potentials (ERPs)-the FN400 (a frontal potential at 300-500 ms related to familiarity) and the LPC (a later parietal potential at 500-700 ms related to recollection), our research investigated the impact of emotion on extrinsic source memory and the underlying processes. We varied a semantic prompt (either "people" or "scene") preceding a study item to manipulate the extrinsic source. Behavioral data indicated a significant effect of emotion on "remember" responses to extrinsic source details, suggesting impaired recollection-based source memory in emotional (both positive and negative) relative to neutral conditions. In parallel, differential FN400 and LPC amplitudes (correctly remembered - incorrectly remembered sources) revealed emotion-related interference, suggesting impaired familiarity and recollection memory of extrinsic sources associated with positive or negative items. These findings thus lend support to the notion of emotion-induced memory trade off: while enhancing memory of central items and intrinsic/integral source details, emotion nevertheless disrupts memory of peripheral contextual details, potentially impairing both familiarity and recollection. Importantly, that positive and negative items result in comparable memory impairment suggests that arousal (vs. affective valence) plays a critical role in modulating dynamic interactions among automatic and elaborate processes involved in memory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Sleep-dependent facilitation of episodic memory details.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Helm, Els; Gujar, Ninad; Nishida, Masaki; Walker, Matthew P

    2011-01-01

    While a role for sleep in declarative memory processing is established, the qualitative nature of this consolidation benefit, and the physiological mechanisms mediating it, remain debated. Here, we investigate the impact of sleep physiology on characteristics of episodic memory using an item- (memory elements) and context- (contextual details associated with those elements) learning paradigm; the latter being especially dependent on the hippocampus. Following back-to-back encoding of two word lists, each associated with a different context, participants were assigned to either a Nap-group, who obtained a 120-min nap, or a No Nap-group. Six hours post-encoding, participants performed a recognition test involving item-memory and context-memory judgments. In contrast to item-memory, which demonstrated no between-group differences, a significant benefit in context-memory developed in the Nap-group, the extent of which correlated both with the amount of stage-2 NREM sleep and frontal fast sleep-spindles. Furthermore, a difference was observed on the basis of word-list order, with the sleep benefit and associated physiological correlations being selective for the second word-list, learned last (most proximal to sleep). These findings suggest that sleep may preferentially benefit contextual (hippocampal-dependent) aspects of memory, supported by sleep-spindle oscillations, and that the temporal order of initial learning differentially determines subsequent offline consolidation.

  19. Sleep-dependent facilitation of episodic memory details.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Els van der Helm

    Full Text Available While a role for sleep in declarative memory processing is established, the qualitative nature of this consolidation benefit, and the physiological mechanisms mediating it, remain debated. Here, we investigate the impact of sleep physiology on characteristics of episodic memory using an item- (memory elements and context- (contextual details associated with those elements learning paradigm; the latter being especially dependent on the hippocampus. Following back-to-back encoding of two word lists, each associated with a different context, participants were assigned to either a Nap-group, who obtained a 120-min nap, or a No Nap-group. Six hours post-encoding, participants performed a recognition test involving item-memory and context-memory judgments. In contrast to item-memory, which demonstrated no between-group differences, a significant benefit in context-memory developed in the Nap-group, the extent of which correlated both with the amount of stage-2 NREM sleep and frontal fast sleep-spindles. Furthermore, a difference was observed on the basis of word-list order, with the sleep benefit and associated physiological correlations being selective for the second word-list, learned last (most proximal to sleep. These findings suggest that sleep may preferentially benefit contextual (hippocampal-dependent aspects of memory, supported by sleep-spindle oscillations, and that the temporal order of initial learning differentially determines subsequent offline consolidation.

  20. Autobiographical memory in temporal lobe epilepsy: role of hippocampal and temporal lateral structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herfurth, Kirsten; Kasper, Burkhard; Schwarz, Michael; Stefan, Hermann; Pauli, Elisabeth

    2010-11-01

    The present study was aimed at investigating the impact of hippocampal and temporal cortical lesions on remote autobiographical memories in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Episodic specificity, episodic richness, and personal semantic memory from different life periods were assessed using a modified version of the Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI) (M.D. Kopelman, A.E. Wilson, A. Baddeley, The autobiographical memory interview. Bury St. Edmunds: Thames Valley Test Co.; 1990) in 47 patients with unilateral mesial or lateral TLE and 38 healthy controls. Patients with TLE performed significantly more poorly than controls. Patients with left and right mTLE were equally moderately impaired, but patients with left lateral TLE had the most severe episodic memory deficits, particularly for childhood memories. With respect to personal semantic memory, patients with left TLE were significantly more impaired than those with right TLE, most pronounced for childhood memories. Both autobiographical memory aspects, episodic and personal semantic memory, were significantly intercorrelated, but both did not correlate with anterograde memory, indicating a structural dissociation between both functions. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Test-retest reliability and validity of the Sniffin' TOM odor memory test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croy, Ilona; Zehner, Cora; Larsson, Maria; Zucco, Gesualdo M; Hummel, Thomas

    2015-03-01

    Few attempts have been made to develop an olfactory test that captures episodic retention of olfactory information. Assessment of episodic odor memory is of particular interest in aging and in the cognitively impaired as both episodic memory deficits and olfactory loss have been targeted as reliable hallmarks of cognitive decline and impending dementia. Here, 96 healthy participants (18-92 years) and an additional 19 older people with mild cognitive impairment were tested (73-82 years). Participants were presented with 8 common odors with intentional encoding instructions that were followed by a yes-no recognition test. After recognition completion, participants were asked to identify all odors by means of free or cued identification. A retest of the odor memory test (Sniffin' TOM = test of odor memory) took place 17 days later. The results revealed satisfactory test-retest reliability (0.70) of odor recognition memory. Both recognition and identification performance were negatively affected by age and more pronounced among the cognitively impaired. In conclusion, the present work presents a reliable, valid, and simple test of episodic odor recognition memory that may be used in clinical groups where both episodic memory deficits and olfactory loss are prevalent preclinically such as Alzheimer's disease. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Two retrievals from a single cue: A bottleneck persists across episodic and semantic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orscheschek, Franziska; Strobach, Tilo; Schubert, Torsten; Rickard, Timothy

    2018-05-01

    There is evidence in the literature that two retrievals from long-term memory cannot occur in parallel. To date, however, that work has explored only the case of two retrievals from newly acquired episodic memory. These studies demonstrated a retrieval bottleneck even after dual-retrieval practice. That retrieval bottleneck may be a global property of long-term memory retrieval, or it may apply only to the case of two retrievals from episodic memory. In the current experiments, we explored whether that apparent dual-retrieval bottleneck applies to the case of one retrieval from episodic memory and one retrieval from highly overlearned semantic memory. Across three experiments, subjects learned to retrieve a left or right keypress response form a set of 14 unique word cues (e.g., black-right keypress). In addition, they learned a verbal response which involved retrieving the antonym of the presented cue (e.g., black-"white"). In the dual-retrieval condition, subjects had to retrieve both the keypress response and the antonym word. The results suggest that the retrieval bottleneck is superordinate to specific long-term memory systems and holds across different memory components. In addition, the results support the assumption of a cue-level response chunking account of learned retrieval parallelism.

  3. The role of the episodic buffer in working memory for language processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudner, Mary; Rönnberg, Jerker

    2008-03-01

    A body of work has accumulated to show that the cognitive process of binding information from different mnemonic and sensory sources as well as in different linguistic modalities can be fractionated from general executive functions in working memory both functionally and neurally. This process has been defined in terms of the episodic buffer (Baddeley in Trends Cogn Sci 4(11):417-423, 2000). This paper considers behavioural, neuropsychological and neuroimaging data that elucidate the role of the episodic buffer in language processing. We argue that the episodic buffer seems to be truly multimodal in function and that while formation of unitary multidimensional representations in the episodic buffer seems to engage posterior neural networks, maintenance of such representations is supported by frontal networks. Although, the episodic buffer is not necessarily supported by executive processes and seems to be supported by different neural networks, it may operate in tandem with the central executive during effortful language processing. There is also evidence to suggest engagement of the phonological loop during buffer processing. The hippocampus seems to play a role in formation but not maintenance of representations in the episodic buffer of working memory.

  4. The optimal timing of stimulation to induce long-lasting positive effects on episodic memory in physiological aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manenti, Rosa; Sandrini, Marco; Brambilla, Michela; Cotelli, Maria

    2016-09-15

    Episodic memory displays the largest degree of age-related decline. A noninvasive brain stimulation technique that can be used to modulate memory in physiological aging is transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS). However, an aspect that has not been adequately investigated in previous studies is the optimal timing of stimulation to induce long-lasting positive effects on episodic memory function. Our previous studies showed episodic memory enhancement in older adults when anodal tDCS was applied over the left lateral prefrontal cortex during encoding or after memory consolidation with or without a contextual reminder. Here we directly compared the two studies to explore which of the tDCS protocols would induce longer-lasting positive effects on episodic memory function in older adults. In addition, we aimed to determine whether subjective memory complaints would be related to the changes in memory performance (forgetting) induced by tDCS, a relevant issue in aging research since individuals with subjective memory complaints seem to be at higher risk of later memory decline. The results showed that anodal tDCS applied after consolidation with a contextual reminder induced longer-lasting positive effects on episodic memory, conceivably through reconsolidation, than anodal tDCS during encoding. Furthermore, we reported, providing new data, a moderate negative correlation between subjective memory complaints and forgetting when anodal tDCS was applied after consolidation with a contextual reminder. This study sheds light on the best-suited timing of stimulation to induce long-lasting positive effects on memory function and might help the clinicians to select the most effective tDCS protocol to prevent memory decline. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Virtual Reality as an Ecologically Valid Tool for Assessing Multifaceted Episodic Memory in Children and Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Picard, Laurence; Abram, Maria; Orriols, Eric; Piolino, Pascale

    2017-01-01

    The majority of episodic memory (EM) tests are far removed from what we experience in daily life and from the definition of this type of memory. This study examines the developmental trajectory of the main aspects of episodic memory--what, where, and when--and of feature binding in a naturalistic virtual environment. A population of 125…

  6. Temporal context memory in high-functioning autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gras-Vincendon, Agnès; Mottron, Laurent; Salamé, Pierre; Bursztejn, Claude; Danion, Jean-Marie

    2007-11-01

    Episodic memory, i.e. memory for specific episodes situated in space and time, seems impaired in individuals with autism. According to weak central coherence theory, individuals with autism have general difficulty connecting contextual and item information which then impairs their capacity to memorize information in context. This study investigated temporal context memory for visual information in individuals with autism. Eighteen adolescents and adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger syndrome (AS) and age- and IQ-matched typically developing participants were tested using a recency judgement task. The performance of the autistic group did not differ from that of the control group, nor did the performance between the AS and HFA groups. We conclude that autism in high-functioning individuals does not impair temporal context memory as assessed on this task. We suggest that individuals with autism are as efficient on this task as typically developing subjects because contextual memory performance here involves more automatic than organizational processing.

  7. Neuropsychological assessment of memory in child and adolescent first episode psychosis: cannabis and «the paradox effect».

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno-Granados, Josefa María; Ferrín, Maite; Salcedo-Marín, Dolores M; Ruiz-Veguilla, Miguel

    2014-01-01

    The importance of neuropsychological functioning in First-Episode Psychosis (FEP) has led to the publication of a growing number of studies in this area of research. The present study pursued three goals: First, to examine verbal and visual memory in a sample of Child and Adolescent FEP, second, to evaluate the effect of other cognitive domains on verbal and visual memory, and finally, to examine the relationship between performance in this cognitive dimension and the use of cannabis at this age. A sample of 41 FEPs and 39 healthy subjects were evaluated. The variables assessed were verbal and visual memory, attention, working memory, processing speed, mental flexibility, verbal fluency, motor coordination, planning ability and intelligence. Our results found impairment of short and long-term recall of verbal memory, and short-term visual memory in early psychosis. They also found relationships between cognitive dimensions, such as visual memory and intelligence and motor coordination. Finally, a «paradoxical» effect was found in patients who used cannabis, as the FEP consumers performed the visual memory test better than those who had not used it. Patients showed impairment of short and long-term recall of verbal information and short-term visual reproduction. In the second place, motor coordination and intelligence influenced short-term visual memory in patients in the early stages of the illness. Third, use of cannabis in patients with FEP was associated with better performance in the test that evaluated the short-term visual memory, as measured by task completion time, that is, efficiency in performing the test. However, when measured by task execution accuracy, their visual memory was no better than the controls. Copyright © 2012 SEP y SEPB. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  8. Personal semantics: Is it distinct from episodic and semantic memory? An electrophysiological study of memory for autobiographical facts and repeated events in honor of Shlomo Bentin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renoult, Louis; Tanguay, Annick; Beaudry, Myriam; Tavakoli, Paniz; Rabipour, Sheida; Campbell, Kenneth; Moscovitch, Morris; Levine, Brian; Davidson, Patrick S R

    2016-03-01

    Declarative memory is thought to consist of two independent systems: episodic and semantic. Episodic memory represents personal and contextually unique events, while semantic memory represents culturally-shared, acontextual factual knowledge. Personal semantics refers to aspects of declarative memory that appear to fall somewhere in between the extremes of episodic and semantic. Examples include autobiographical knowledge and memories of repeated personal events. These two aspects of personal semantics have been studied little and rarely compared to both semantic and episodic memory. We recorded the event-related potentials (ERPs) of 27 healthy participants while they verified the veracity of sentences probing four types of questions: general (i.e., semantic) facts, autobiographical facts, repeated events, and unique (i.e., episodic) events. Behavioral results showed equivalent reaction times in all 4 conditions. True sentences were verified faster than false sentences, except for unique events for which no significant difference was observed. Electrophysiological results showed that the N400 (which is classically associated with retrieval from semantic memory) was maximal for general facts and the LPC (which is classically associated with retrieval from episodic memory) was maximal for unique events. For both ERP components, the two personal semantic conditions (i.e., autobiographical facts and repeated events) systematically differed from semantic memory. In addition, N400 amplitudes also differentiated autobiographical facts from unique events. Autobiographical facts and repeated events did not differ significantly from each other but their corresponding scalp distributions differed from those associated with general facts. Our results suggest that the neural correlates of personal semantics can be distinguished from those of semantic and episodic memory, and may provide clues as to how unique events are transformed to semantic memory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier

  9. Functional neuroanatomy of remote episodic, semantic and spatial memory: a unified account based on multiple trace theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moscovitch, Morris; Rosenbaum, R Shayna; Gilboa, Asaf; Addis, Donna Rose; Westmacott, Robyn; Grady, Cheryl; McAndrews, Mary Pat; Levine, Brian; Black, Sandra; Winocur, Gordon; Nadel, Lynn

    2005-07-01

    We review lesion and neuroimaging evidence on the role of the hippocampus, and other structures, in retention and retrieval of recent and remote memories. We examine episodic, semantic and spatial memory, and show that important distinctions exist among different types of these memories and the structures that mediate them. We argue that retention and retrieval of detailed, vivid autobiographical memories depend on the hippocampal system no matter how long ago they were acquired. Semantic memories, on the other hand, benefit from hippocampal contribution for some time before they can be retrieved independently of the hippocampus. Even semantic memories, however, can have episodic elements associated with them that continue to depend on the hippocampus. Likewise, we distinguish between experientially detailed spatial memories (akin to episodic memory) and more schematic memories (akin to semantic memory) that are sufficient for navigation but not for re-experiencing the environment in which they were acquired. Like their episodic and semantic counterparts, the former type of spatial memory is dependent on the hippocampus no matter how long ago it was acquired, whereas the latter can survive independently of the hippocampus and is represented in extra-hippocampal structures. In short, the evidence reviewed suggests strongly that the function of the hippocampus (and possibly that of related limbic structures) is to help encode, retain, and retrieve experiences, no matter how long ago the events comprising the experience occurred, and no matter whether the memories are episodic or spatial. We conclude that the evidence favours a multiple trace theory (MTT) of memory over two other models: (1) traditional consolidation models which posit that the hippocampus is a time-limited memory structure for all forms of memory; and (2) versions of cognitive map theory which posit that the hippocampus is needed for representing all forms of allocentric space in memory.

  10. Functional neuroanatomy of remote episodic, semantic and spatial memory: a unified account based on multiple trace theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moscovitch, Morris; Rosenbaum, R Shayna; Gilboa, Asaf; Addis, Donna Rose; Westmacott, Robyn; Grady, Cheryl; McAndrews, Mary Pat; Levine, Brian; Black, Sandra; Winocur, Gordon; Nadel, Lynn

    2005-01-01

    We review lesion and neuroimaging evidence on the role of the hippocampus, and other structures, in retention and retrieval of recent and remote memories. We examine episodic, semantic and spatial memory, and show that important distinctions exist among different types of these memories and the structures that mediate them. We argue that retention and retrieval of detailed, vivid autobiographical memories depend on the hippocampal system no matter how long ago they were acquired. Semantic memories, on the other hand, benefit from hippocampal contribution for some time before they can be retrieved independently of the hippocampus. Even semantic memories, however, can have episodic elements associated with them that continue to depend on the hippocampus. Likewise, we distinguish between experientially detailed spatial memories (akin to episodic memory) and more schematic memories (akin to semantic memory) that are sufficient for navigation but not for re-experiencing the environment in which they were acquired. Like their episodic and semantic counterparts, the former type of spatial memory is dependent on the hippocampus no matter how long ago it was acquired, whereas the latter can survive independently of the hippocampus and is represented in extra-hippocampal structures. In short, the evidence reviewed suggests strongly that the function of the hippocampus (and possibly that of related limbic structures) is to help encode, retain, and retrieve experiences, no matter how long ago the events comprising the experience occurred, and no matter whether the memories are episodic or spatial. We conclude that the evidence favours a multiple trace theory (MTT) of memory over two other models: (1) traditional consolidation models which posit that the hippocampus is a time-limited memory structure for all forms of memory; and (2) versions of cognitive map theory which posit that the hippocampus is needed for representing all forms of allocentric space in memory. PMID

  11. Remembering the past and imagining the future: Identifying and enhancing the contribution of episodic memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schacter, Daniel L; Madore, Kevin P

    2016-01-01

    Recent studies have shown that imagining or simulating future events relies on many of the same cognitive and neural processes as remembering past events. According to the constructive episodic simulation hypothesis (Schacter and Addis, 2007), such overlap indicates that both remembered past and imagined future events rely heavily on episodic memory: future simulations are built on retrieved details of specific past experiences that are recombined into novel events. An alternative possibility is that commonalities between remembering and imagining reflect the influence of more general, non-episodic factors such as narrative style or communicative goals that shape the expression of both memory and imagination. We consider recent studies that distinguish the contributions of episodic and non-episodic processes in remembering the past and imagining the future by using an episodic specificity induction – brief training in recollecting the details of a past experience – and also extend this approach to the domains of problem solving and creative thinking. We conclude by suggesting that the specificity induction may target a process of scene construction that contributes to episodic memory as well as to imagination, problem solving, and creative thinking. PMID:28163775

  12. First-episode schizophrenia: characterization and clinical correlates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert M. Bilder

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Neuropsychological impairments are well documented in schizophrenia and are important targets of treatment. Information about the severity and pattern of deficits after treatment for the first psychotic episode and about relationships between these deficits and syndromal characteristics remains limited. Comprehensive neuropsychological assessments including 41 individual tests were given to 94 patients with first-episode schizophrenia after initial stabilization of psychosis and to a comparison group of 36 healthy volunteers. Profiles of neuropsychological deficits and the relationship of deficits to sex and handedness were examined. Correlations of neuropsychological deficit with a broad range of historical and clinical characteristics, including outcome, were explored. Patients had a large generalized neuropsychological deficit. Patients also had, superimposed on the generalized deficit, subtle relative deficits in memory and executive functions. Learning/memory dysfunction best distinguished patients from healthy individuals; after accounting for this difference, only motor deficits further distinguished the groups. Patients with higher neuropsychological ability had only memory deficits, and patients with lower ability had both memory and executive deficits. Dextral patients had less severe generalized deficit. Severity of residual symptoms was associated with greater generalized deficit. Executive and attentional deficits were most linked to global functional impairment and poor outcome. The results document a large generalized deficit, and more subtle differential deficits, in clinically stabilized first-episode patients. Learning/memory deficits were observed even in patients with less severe generalized deficit, but the pattern was unlike the amnestic syndrome and probably reflects different mechanisms. Executive and attentional deficits marked the more severe ly disabled patients, and may portend relatively poor outcome. Failure to

  13. Self-imagining enhances recognition memory in memory-impaired individuals with neurological damage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grilli, Matthew D; Glisky, Elizabeth L

    2010-11-01

    The ability to imagine an elaborative event from a personal perspective relies on several cognitive processes that may potentially enhance subsequent memory for the event, including visual imagery, semantic elaboration, emotional processing, and self-referential processing. In an effort to find a novel strategy for enhancing memory in memory-impaired individuals with neurological damage, we investigated the mnemonic benefit of a method we refer to as self-imagining-the imagining of an event from a realistic, personal perspective. Fourteen individuals with neurologically based memory deficits and 14 healthy control participants intentionally encoded neutral and emotional sentences under three instructions: structural-baseline processing, semantic processing, and self-imagining. Findings revealed a robust "self-imagination effect (SIE)," as self-imagination enhanced recognition memory relative to deep semantic elaboration in both memory-impaired individuals, F(1, 13) = 32.11, p memory disorder nor were they related to self-reported vividness of visual imagery, semantic processing, or emotional content of the materials. The findings suggest that the SIE may depend on unique mnemonic mechanisms possibly related to self-referential processing and that imagining an event from a personal perspective makes that event particularly memorable even for those individuals with severe memory deficits. Self-imagining may thus provide an effective rehabilitation strategy for individuals with memory impairment.

  14. Strengthening of Existing Episodic Memories Through Non-invasive Stimulation of Prefrontal Cortex in Older Adults with Subjective Memory Complaints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa Manenti

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Episodic memory is critical to daily life functioning. This type of declarative memory declines with age and is the earliest cognitive function to be compromised in Alzheimer’s disease (AD. Subjective memory complaints are commonly reported by older adults and have been considered a risk factor for developing AD. The possibilities for prevention of memory disorders in older adults have increased substantially in recent years. Previous studies have shown that anodal transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS applied over the left lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC after a contextual reminder strengthened existing verbal episodic memories, conceivably through reconsolidation, in elderly people. In this study, we hypothesized that anodal tDCS applied over the left lateral PFC after a contextual reminder would improve delayed memory retrieval relative to placebo (sham stimulation in elderly individuals with SMC. Twenty-two subjects learned a list of words. Twenty-four hour later, tDCS (anodal or placebo was applied over the left lateral PFC after a contextual reminder. Memory retrieval was tested 48h and 30 days later. These findings showed that anodal tDCS over the left lateral PFC strengthened existing episodic memories, a behavioral effect documented by improved recognition up to 30 days, relative to placebo stimulation. This study suggests that tDCS after a contextual reminder can induce long-lasting beneficial effects by facilitating the consolidation processes and opens up the possibility to design specific non-invasive interventions aimed at preventing memory decline in this at-risk population.

  15. Influence of aging on the neural correlates of autobiographical, episodic, and semantic memory retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    St-Laurent, Marie; Abdi, Hervé; Burianová, Hana; Grady, Cheryl L

    2011-12-01

    We used fMRI to assess the neural correlates of autobiographical, semantic, and episodic memory retrieval in healthy young and older adults. Participants were tested with an event-related paradigm in which retrieval demand was the only factor varying between trials. A spatio-temporal partial least square analysis was conducted to identify the main patterns of activity characterizing the groups across conditions. We identified brain regions activated by all three memory conditions relative to a control condition. This pattern was expressed equally in both age groups and replicated previous findings obtained in a separate group of younger adults. We also identified regions whose activity differentiated among the different memory conditions. These patterns of differentiation were expressed less strongly in the older adults than in the young adults, a finding that was further confirmed by a barycentric discriminant analysis. This analysis showed an age-related dedifferentiation in autobiographical and episodic memory tasks but not in the semantic memory task or the control condition. These findings suggest that the activation of a common memory retrieval network is maintained with age, whereas the specific aspects of brain activity that differ with memory content are more vulnerable and less selectively engaged in older adults. Our results provide a potential neural mechanism for the well-known age differences in episodic/autobiographical memory, and preserved semantic memory, observed when older adults are compared with younger adults.

  16. Time Frame Affects Vantage Point in Episodic and Semantic Autobiographical Memory: Evidence from Response Latencies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerzy J. Karylowski

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Previous research suggests that, with the passage of time, representations of self in episodic memory become less dependent on their initial (internal vantage point and shift toward an external perspective that is normally characteristic of how other people are represented. The present experiment examined this phenomenon in both episodic and semantic autobiographical memory using latency of self-judgments as a measure of accessibility of the internal vs. the external perspective. Results confirmed that in the case of representations of the self retrieved from recent autobiographical memories, trait-judgments regarding unobservable self-aspects (internal perspective were faster than trait judgments regarding observable self-aspects (external perspective. Yet, in the case of self-representations retrieved from memories of a more distant past, judgments regarding observable self-aspects were faster. Those results occurred for both self-representations retrieved from episodic memory and for representations retrieved from the semantic memory. In addition, regardless of the effect of time, greater accessibility of unobservable (vs. observable self-aspects was associated with the episodic rather than semantic autobiographical memory. Those results were modified by neither declared trait’s self-descriptiveness (yes vs. no responses nor by its desirability (highly desirable vs. moderately desirable traits. Implications for compatibility between how self and others are represented and for the role of self in social perception are discussed.

  17. Time Frame Affects Vantage Point in Episodic and Semantic Autobiographical Memory: Evidence from Response Latencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karylowski, Jerzy J; Mrozinski, Blazej

    2017-01-01

    Previous research suggests that, with the passage of time, representations of self in episodic memory become less dependent on their initial (internal) vantage point and shift toward an external perspective that is normally characteristic of how other people are represented. The present experiment examined this phenomenon in both episodic and semantic autobiographical memory using latency of self-judgments as a measure of accessibility of the internal vs. the external perspective. Results confirmed that in the case of representations of the self retrieved from recent autobiographical memories, trait-judgments regarding unobservable self-aspects (internal perspective) were faster than trait judgments regarding observable self-aspects (external perspective). Yet, in the case of self-representations retrieved from memories of a more distant past, judgments regarding observable self-aspects were faster. Those results occurred for both self-representations retrieved from episodic memory and for representations retrieved from the semantic memory. In addition, regardless of the effect of time, greater accessibility of unobservable (vs. observable) self-aspects was associated with the episodic rather than semantic autobiographical memory. Those results were modified by neither declared trait's self-descriptiveness ( yes vs. no responses) nor by its desirability (highly desirable vs. moderately desirable traits). Implications for compatibility between how self and others are represented and for the role of self in social perception are discussed.

  18. Associative and Strategic Components of Episodic Memory: A Life-Span Dissociation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shing, Yee Lee; Werkle-Bergner, Markus; Li, Shu-Chen; Lindenberger, Ulman

    2008-01-01

    The authors investigated the strategic component (i.e., elaboration and organization of episodic features) and the associative component (i.e., binding processes) of episodic memory and their interactions in 4 age groups (10-12, 13-15, 20-25, and 70-75 years of age). On the basis of behavioral and neural evidence, the authors hypothesized that the…

  19. Two Rooms, Two Representations? Episodic-Like Memory in Toddlers and Preschoolers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newcombe, Nora S.; Balcomb, Frances; Ferrara, Katrina; Hansen, Melissa; Koski, Jessica

    2014-01-01

    Episodic memory involves binding together what-where-when associations. In three experiments, we tested the development of memory for such contextual associations in a naturalistic setting. Children searched for toys in two rooms with two different experimenters; each room contained two identical sets of four containers, but arranged differently.…

  20. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT IN THE ALZHEIMER DISEASE: EPISODIC AND SEMANTIC MEMORY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Comesaña

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to review the neuropsychological evaluation process in Alzheimer (AD patients, specifically that related to episodic and semantic memory. Alzheimer-style dementia is the main form of dementia, and is nowadays one of the most important social, cultural and health-related problems. Diagnosis and differentiation from normal aging are difficult in the initial stages, and so neuropsychological evaluation is key. The criteria currently utilized are those of the DSM IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994 and of the NINCDS-ADRDA (Instituto Nacional para los Desórdenes Neurológicos, de la Comunicación y el Accidente Cerebro Vascular y la Asociación para la Enfermedad de Alzheimer y Desórdenes Relacionados (McKhann G, Drachman D, Folstein M, y col., 1984, and they require that the diagnosis of probable AD be confirmed by neuropsychological evaluation in addition to clinical evaluation and other studies. After the division of long term memory into semantic and episodic memory was made, specific tests were created for their neuropsychological evaluation in different pathologies, including AD. An important contribution to the early detection of memory deterioration typical of such illness was thus made.

  1. Does abnormal sleep impair memory consolidation in schizophrenia?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dara S Manoach

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Although disturbed sleep is a prominent feature of schizophrenia, its relation to the pathophysiology, signs, and symptoms of schizophrenia remains poorly understood. Sleep disturbances are well known to impair cognition in healthy individuals. Yet, in spite of its ubiquity in schizophrenia, abnormal sleep has generally been overlooked as a potential contributor to cognitive deficits. Amelioration of cognitive deficits is a current priority of the schizophrenia research community, but most efforts to define, characterize, and quantify cognitive deficits focus on cross-sectional measures. While this approach provides a valid snapshot of function, there is now overwhelming evidence that critical aspects of learning and memory consolidation happen offline, both over time and with sleep. Initial memory encoding is followed by a prolonged period of consolidation, integration, and reorganization, that continues over days or even years. Much of this evolution of memories is mediated by sleep. This article briefly reviews (i abnormal sleep in schizophrenia, (ii sleep-dependent memory consolidation in healthy individuals, (iii recent findings of impaired sleep-dependent memory consolidation in schizophrenia, and (iv implications of impaired sleep-dependent memory consolidation in schizophrenia. This literature suggests that abnormal sleep in schizophrenia disrupts attention and impairs sleep-dependent memory consolidation and task automation. We conclude that these sleep-dependent impairments may contribute substantially to generalized cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Understanding this contribution may open new avenues to ameliorating cognitive dysfunction and thereby improve outcome in schizophrenia.

  2. Does virtual reality have a future for the study of episodic memory in aging?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abichou, Kouloud; La Corte, Valentina; Piolino, Pascale

    2017-03-01

    Episodic memory is the memory of personally lived events located in time and space, it shapes our identity and allows us to project ourselves into the past and the future. This form of memory is vulnerable to the effects of age and its alteration, hindering the autonomy of the subjects, can predict the evolution towards neurodegenerative disorders. Hence, a better understanding of this type of memory is a priority in the field of public health. Actually, traditional neuropsychological tools are often decontextualized, using simplistic situations that did not require the mobilization of all the characteristics of episodic memory, thus they just offer a partial measure of this complex mnemonic capacity. Nowadays, the virtual reality (VR) is a tool allowing the immersion of subjects in simulations of real situations, rich in spatial and temporal naturalistic contexts. Due to its many characteristics, the VR allows to solve several limitations of the traditional tests. The purpose of this review is to expose studies that investigated episodic memory in normal and Alzheimer's disease using VR in order to address its relevance as a new tool in the future practice of neuropsychology of aging.

  3. Remember Bach: an investigation in episodic memory for music.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eschrich, Susann; Münte, Thomas F; Altenmüller, Eckart O

    2005-12-01

    Emotional events are remembered better than nonemotional ones, especially after a long period of time. In this study, we investigated whether emotional music is kept better in episodic long-term memory than less emotional music and to which extent musical structure is important.

  4. Contributions of Feature Binding During Encoding and Functional Connectivity of the Medial Temporal Lobe Structures to Episodic Memory Deficits Across the Prodromal and First-Episode Phases of Schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haut, Kristen M; van Erp, Theo G M; Knowlton, Barbara; Bearden, Carrie E; Subotnik, Kenneth; Ventura, Joseph; Nuechterlein, Keith H; Cannon, Tyrone D

    2015-03-01

    Patients with and at risk for psychosis may have difficulty using associative strategies to facilitate episodic memory encoding and recall. In parallel studies, patients with first-episode schizophrenia ( n = 27) and high psychosis risk ( n = 28) compared with control participants ( n = 22 and n = 20, respectively) underwent functional MRI during a remember-know memory task. Psychophysiological interaction analyses, using medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures as regions of interest, were conducted to measure functional connectivity patterns supporting successful episodic memory. During encoding, patients with first-episode schizophrenia demonstrated reduced functional coupling between MTL regions and regions involved in stimulus representations, stimulus selection, and cognitive control. Relative to control participants and patients with high psychosis risk who did not convert to psychosis, patients with high psychosis risk who later converted to psychosis also demonstrated reduced connectivity between MTL regions and auditory-verbal and visual-association regions. These results suggest that episodic memory deficits in schizophrenia are related to inefficient recruitment of cortical connections involved in associative memory formation; such deficits precede the onset of psychosis among those individuals at high clinical risk.

  5. Episodic and semantic content of memory and imagination: A multilevel analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devitt, Aleea L; Addis, Donna Rose; Schacter, Daniel L

    2017-10-01

    Autobiographical memories of past events and imaginations of future scenarios comprise both episodic and semantic content. Correlating the amount of "internal" (episodic) and "external" (semantic) details generated when describing autobiographical events can illuminate the relationship between the processes supporting these constructs. Yet previous studies performing such correlations were limited by aggregating data across all events generated by an individual, potentially obscuring the underlying relationship within the events themselves. In the current article, we reanalyzed datasets from eight studies using a multilevel approach, allowing us to explore the relationship between internal and external details within events. We also examined whether this relationship changes with healthy aging. Our reanalyses demonstrated a largely negative relationship between the internal and external details produced when describing autobiographical memories and future imaginations. This negative relationship was stronger and more consistent for older adults and was evident both in direct and indirect measures of semantic content. Moreover, this relationship appears to be specific to episodic tasks, as no relationship was observed for a nonepisodic picture description task. This negative association suggests that people do not generate semantic information indiscriminately, but do so in a compensatory manner, to embellish episodically impoverished events. Our reanalysis further lends support for dissociable processes underpinning episodic and semantic information generation when remembering and imagining autobiographical events.

  6. Episodic-like memory impairment in subtypes of mild cognitive impairment

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Vlček, Kamil; Laczó, J.; Vajnerová, O.; Ort, Michael; Vyhnálek, M.; Hort, J.

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 2007, - (2007), s. 69-69 ISSN 0792-8483. [Annual general meeting of the European Brain and Behaviour Society /39./. 15.09.2007-19.09.2007, Trieste] R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA309/05/0693; GA ČR(CZ) GA309/06/1231; GA MŠk(CZ) 1M0517 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50110509 Keywords : cpo1 * mild cognitive impairment * spatial navigation * Alzheimer 's disease Subject RIV: FH - Neurology

  7. Episodic but not semantic order memory difficulties in autism spectrum disorder: evidence from the Historical Figures Task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaigg, Sebastian B; Bowler, Dermot M; Gardiner, John M

    2014-01-01

    Considerable evidence suggests that the episodic memory system operates abnormally in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) whereas the functions of the semantic memory system are relatively preserved. Here we show that the same dissociation also applies to the domain of order memory. We asked adult participants to order the names of famous historical figures either according to their chronological order in history (probing semantic memory) or according to a random sequence shown once on a screen (probing episodic memory). As predicted, adults with ASD performed less well than age- and IQ-matched comparison individuals only on the episodic task. This observation is of considerable importance in the context of developmental theory because semantic and episodic order memory abilities can be dissociated in typically developing infants before they reach the age at which the behavioural markers associated with ASD are first apparent. This raises the possibility that early emerging memory abnormalities play a role in shaping the developmental trajectory of the disorder. We discuss the broader implications of this possibility and highlight the urgent need for greater scrutiny of memory competences in ASD early in development.

  8. Intake of Wild Blueberry Powder Improves Episodic-Like and Working Memory during Normal Aging in Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beracochea, Daniel; Krazem, Ali; Henkouss, Nadia; Haccard, Guillaume; Roller, Marc; Fromentin, Emilie

    2016-08-01

    The number of Americans older than 65 years old is projected to more than double in the next 40 years. Cognitive changes associated to aging can affect an adult's day-to-day functioning. Among these cognitive changes, reasoning, episodic memory, working memory, and processing speed decline gradually over time. Early memory changes include a decline in both working and episodic memory. The aim of the present study was to determine whether chronic (up to 75 days) daily administration of wild blueberry extract or a wild blueberry full spectrum powder would help prevent memory failure associated with aging in tasks involving various forms of memory. Both blueberry ingredients were used in a study comparing young mice (6 months old) to aged mice (18 months old). At this age, mice exhibit memory decline due to aging, which is exacerbated first by a loss in working and contextual (episodic-like) memory. Contextual memory (episodic-like memory) was evaluated using the contextual serial discrimination test. Working and spatial memory were evaluated using the Morris-Water maze test and the sequential alternation test. Statistical analysis was performed using an ANOVA with the Bonferroni post-hoc test. Supplementation with wild blueberry full spectrum powder and wild blueberry extract resulted in significant improvement of contextual memory, while untreated aged mice experienced a decline in such memory. Only the wild blueberry full spectrum powder significantly contributed to an improvement of spatial and working memory versus untreated aged mice. These improvements of cognitive performance may be related to brain oxidative status, acetylcholinesterase activity, neuroprotection, or attenuation of immunoreactivity. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  9. Long-term consolidation of declarative memory: insight from temporal lobe epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tramoni, Eve; Felician, Olivier; Barbeau, Emmanuel J; Guedj, Eric; Guye, Maxime; Bartolomei, Fabrice; Ceccaldi, Mathieu

    2011-03-01

    Several experiments carried out with a subset of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy have demonstrated normal memory performance at standard delays of recall (i.e. minutes to hours) but impaired performance over longer delays (i.e. days or weeks), suggesting altered long-term consolidation mechanisms. These mechanisms were specifically investigated in a group of five adult-onset pharmaco-sensitive patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, exhibiting severe episodic memory complaints despite normal performance at standardized memory assessment. In a first experiment, the magnitude of autobiographical memory loss was evaluated using retrograde personal memory tasks based on verbal and visual cues. In both conditions, results showed an unusual U-shaped pattern of personal memory impairment, encompassing most of the patients' life, sparing however, periods of the childhood, early adulthood and past several weeks. This profile was suggestive of a long-term consolidation impairment of personal episodes, adequately consolidated over 'short-term' delays but gradually forgotten thereafter. Therefore, in a subsequent experiment, patients were submitted to a protocol specifically devised to investigate short and long-term consolidation of contextually-bound experiences (episodic memory) and context-free information (semantic knowledge and single-items). In the short term (1 h), performance at both contextually-free and contextually-bound memory tasks was intact. After a 6-week delay, however, contextually-bound memory performance was impaired while contextually-free memory performance remained preserved. This effect was independent of task difficulty and the modality of retrieval (recall and recognition). Neuroimaging studies revealed the presence of mild metabolic changes within medial temporal lobe structures. Taken together, these results show the existence of different consolidation systems within declarative memory. They suggest that mild medial temporal lobe dysfunction

  10. Cognitive dissonance resolution is related to episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salti, Moti; El Karoui, Imen; Maillet, Mathurin; Naccache, Lionel

    2014-01-01

    The notion that our past choices affect our future behavior is certainly one of the most influential concepts of social psychology since its first experimental report in the 50 s, and its initial theorization by Festinger within the "cognitive dissonance" framework. Using the free choice paradigm (FCP), it was shown that choosing between two similarly rated items made subjects reevaluate the chosen items as more attractive and the rejected items as less attractive. However, in 2010 a major work by Chen and Risen revealed a severe statistical flaw casting doubt on most previous studies. Izuma and colleagues (2010) supplemented the traditional FCP with original control conditions and concluded that the effect observed could not be solely attributed to this methodological flaw. In the present work we aimed at establishing the existence of genuine choice-induced preference change and characterizing this effect. To do so, we replicated Izuma et al.' study and added a new important control condition which was absent from the original study. Moreover, we added a memory test in order to measure the possible relation between episodic memory of choices and observed behavioral effects. In two experiments we provide experimental evidence supporting genuine choice-induced preference change obtained with FCP. We also contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon by showing that choice-induced preference change effects are strongly correlated with episodic memory.

  11. The influence of impaired processing speed on cognition in first-episode antipsychotic-naive schizophrenic patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Rune; Fagerlund, Birgitte; Rasmussen, Hans

    2013-01-01

    of neuropsychological tests to assess domains of cognitive impairments in schizophrenia. Composite scores were calculated, grouping tests into cognitive domains. RESULTS: There were significant differences between patients and healthy controls on global cognition and all cognitive domains, including verbal intelligence......BACKGROUND: Impaired cognition is a prominent feature of schizophrenia. To what extent the heterogeneous cognitive impairments can be accounted for by considering only a single underlying impairment or a small number of core impairments remains elusive. This study examined whether cognitive...... impairments in antipsychotic-naïve, first-episode schizophrenia patients may be determined by a relative slower speed of information processing. METHOD: Forty-eight antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 48 matched healthy controls were administered a comprehensive battery...

  12. Insights from child development on the relationship between episodic and semantic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, Erin K; Köhler, Stefan

    2007-11-05

    The present study was motivated by a recent controversy in the neuropsychological literature on semantic dementia as to whether episodic encoding requires semantic processing or whether it can proceed solely based on perceptual processing. We addressed this issue by examining the effect of age-related limitations in semantic competency on episodic memory in 4-6-year-old children (n=67). We administered three different forced-choice recognition memory tests for pictures previously encountered in a single study episode. The tests varied in the degree to which access to semantically encoded information was required at retrieval. Semantic competency predicted recognition performance regardless of whether access to semantic information was required. A direct relation between picture naming at encoding and subsequent recognition was also found for all tests. Our findings emphasize the importance of semantic encoding processes even in retrieval situations that purportedly do not require access to semantic information. They also highlight the importance of testing neuropsychological models of memory in different populations, healthy and brain damaged, at both ends of the developmental continuum.

  13. Conjunction Illusions and Conjunction Fallacies in Episodic Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brainerd, C. J.; Holliday, Robyn E.; Nakamura, Koyuki; Reyna, Valerie F.

    2014-01-01

    Recent research on the overdistribution principle implies that episodic memory is infected by conjunction illusions. These are instances in which an item that was presented in a single context (e.g., List 1) is falsely remembered as having been presented in multiple contexts (e.g., List 1 and List 2). Robust conjunction illusions were detected in…

  14. Cognitive rehabilitation of episodic memory disorders: from theory to practice

    OpenAIRE

    Radek Ptak; Radek Ptak; Martial Van Der Linden; Armin Schnider; Armin Schnider

    2010-01-01

    Memory disorders are among the most frequent and most debilitating cognitive impairments following acquired brain damage. Cognitive remediation strategies attempt to restore lost memory capacity, provide compensatory techniques or teach the use of external memory aids. Memory rehabilitation has strongly been influenced by memory theory, and the interaction between both has stimulated the development of techniques such as spaced retrieval, vanishing cues or errorless learning. These techniques...

  15. Cognitive Rehabilitation of Episodic Memory Disorders: From Theory to Practice

    OpenAIRE

    Ptak, Radek; der Linden, Martial Van; Schnider, Armin

    2010-01-01

    Memory disorders are among the most frequent and most debilitating cognitive impairments following acquired brain damage. Cognitive remediation strategies attempt to restore lost memory capacity, provide compensatory techniques or teach the use of external memory aids. Memory rehabilitation has strongly been influenced by memory theory, and the interaction between both has stimulated the development of techniques such as spaced retrieval, vanishing cues or errorless learning. These techniques...

  16. The nature of the semantic/episodic memory distinction: A missing piece of the "working through" process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, Stanley B; Markowitsch, Hans J

    2015-01-01

    The relations between the semantic and episodic-autobiographical memory systems are more complex than described in the target article. We argue that understanding the noetic/autonoetic distinction provides critical insights into the foundation of the delineation between the two memory systems. Clarity with respect to the criteria for classification of these two systems, and the evolving conceptualization of episodic memory, can further neuroscientifically informed therapeutic approaches.

  17. Learning and memory impairments in a neuroendocrine mouse model of anxiety/depression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flavie eDarcet

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Cognitive disturbances are often reported as serious incapacitating symptoms by patients suffering from major depressive disorders. Such deficits have been observed in various animal models based on environmental stress.Here, we performed a complete characterization of cognitive functions in a neuroendocrine mouse model of depression based on a chronic (4 weeks corticosterone administration (CORT. Cognitive performances were assessed using behavioral tests measuring episodic (novel object recognition test, NORT, associative (one-trial contextual fear conditioning, CFC and visuo-spatial (Morris water maze, MWM; Barnes maze, BM learning/memory. Altered emotional phenotype after chronic corticosterone treatment was confirmed in mice using tests predictive of anxiety or depression-related behaviors.In the NORT, CORT-treated mice showed a decrease in time exploring the novel object during the test session and a lower discrimination index compared to control mice, characteristic of recognition memory impairment. Associative memory was also impaired, as observed with a decrease in freezing duration in CORT-treated mice in the CFC, thus pointing out the cognitive alterations in this model. In the MWM and in the BM, spatial learning performance but also short-term spatial memory were altered in CORT-treated mice. In the MWM, unlike control animals, CORT-treated animals failed to learn a new location during the reversal phase, suggesting a loss of cognitive flexibility. Finally, in the BM, the lack of preference for the target quadrant during the recall probe trial in animals receiving corticosterone regimen demonstrates that long-term retention was also affected in this paradigm. Taken together, our results highlight that CORT-induced anxio-depressive-like phenotype is associated with a cognitive deficit affecting all aspects of memory tested.

  18. Transformed Neural Pattern Reinstatement during Episodic Memory Retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Xiaoqian; Dong, Qi; Gao, Jiahong; Men, Weiwei; Poldrack, Russell A; Xue, Gui

    2017-03-15

    Contemporary models of episodic memory posit that remembering involves the reenactment of encoding processes. Although encoding-retrieval similarity has been consistently reported and linked to memory success, the nature of neural pattern reinstatement is poorly understood. Using high-resolution fMRI on human subjects, our results obtained clear evidence for item-specific pattern reinstatement in the frontoparietal cortex, even when the encoding-retrieval pairs shared no perceptual similarity. No item-specific pattern reinstatement was found in the ventral visual cortex. Importantly, the brain regions and voxels carrying item-specific representation differed significantly between encoding and retrieval, and the item specificity for encoding-retrieval similarity was smaller than that for encoding or retrieval, suggesting different nature of representations between encoding and retrieval. Moreover, cross-region representational similarity analysis suggests that the encoded representation in the ventral visual cortex was reinstated in the frontoparietal cortex during retrieval. Together, these results suggest that, in addition to reinstatement of the originally encoded pattern in the brain regions that perform encoding processes, retrieval may also involve the reinstatement of a transformed representation of the encoded information. These results emphasize the constructive nature of memory retrieval that helps to serve important adaptive functions. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Episodic memory enables humans to vividly reexperience past events, yet how this is achieved at the neural level is barely understood. A long-standing hypothesis posits that memory retrieval involves the faithful reinstatement of encoding-related activity. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the neural representations during encoding and retrieval. We found strong pattern reinstatement in the frontoparietal cortex, but not in the ventral visual cortex, that represents visual details. Critically

  19. Hippocampal dentation: Structural variation and its association with episodic memory in healthy adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleming Beattie, Julia; Martin, Roy C; Kana, Rajesh K; Deshpande, Hrishikesh; Lee, Seongtaek; Curé, Joel; Ver Hoef, Lawrence

    2017-07-01

    While the hippocampus has long been identified as a structure integral to memory, the relationship between morphology and function has yet to be fully explained. We present an analysis of hippocampal dentation, a morphological feature previously unexplored in regard to its relationship with episodic memory. "Hippocampal dentation" in this case refers to surface convolutions, primarily present in the CA1/subiculum on the inferior aspect of the hippocampus. Hippocampal dentation was visualized using ultra-high resolution structural MRI and evaluated using a novel visual rating scale. The degree of hippocampal dentation was found to vary considerably across individuals, and was positively associated with verbal memory recall and visual memory recognition in a sample of 22 healthy adults. This study is the first to characterize the variation in hippocampal dentation in a healthy cohort and to demonstrate its association with aspects of episodic memory. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Source Memory in Korsakoff Syndrome: Disentangling the Mechanisms of Temporal Confusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brion, Mélanie; de Timary, Philippe; Pitel, Anne-Lise; Maurage, Pierre

    2017-03-01

    Korsakoff syndrome (KS), most frequently resulting from alcohol dependence (ALC), is characterized by severe anterograde amnesia. It has been suggested that these deficits may extend to other memory components, and notably source memory deficits involved in the disorientation and temporal confusion frequently observed in KS. However, the extent of this source memory impairment in KS and its usefulness for the differential diagnosis between ALC and KS remain unexplored. Nineteen patients with KS were compared with 19 alcohol-dependent individuals and 19 controls in a source memory test exploring temporal context confusions ("continuous recognition task"). Episodic memory and psychopathological comorbidities were controlled for. While no source memory deficit was observed in ALC, KS was associated with a significant presence of temporal context confusion, even when the influence of comorbidities was taken into account. This source memory impairment did not appear to be related to performances on episodic memory or executive functions. Patients with KS displayed source memory deficits, as indexed by temporal context confusions. The absence of a relationship with episodic memory performances seems to indicate that source memory impairment is not a mere by-product of amnesia. As ALC was associated with preserved source memory, the presence of temporal context confusion may serve as a complementary tool for the differential diagnosis between ALC and KS. Copyright © 2017 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

  1. Impaired Odor Recognition Memory in Patients with Hippocampal Lesions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levy, Daniel A.; Squire, Larry R.; Hopkins, Ramona O.

    2004-01-01

    In humans, impaired recognition memory following lesions thought to be limited to the hippocampal region has been demonstrated for a wide variety of tasks. However, the importance of the human hippocampus for olfactory recognition memory has scarcely been explored. We evaluated the ability of memory-impaired patients with damage thought to be…

  2. Short-term and working memory impairments in aphasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potagas, Constantin; Kasselimis, Dimitrios; Evdokimidis, Ioannis

    2011-08-01

    The aim of the present study is to investigate short-term memory and working memory deficits in aphasics in relation to the severity of their language impairment. Fifty-eight aphasic patients participated in this study. Based on language assessment, an aphasia score was calculated for each patient. Memory was assessed in two modalities, verbal and spatial. Mean scores for all memory tasks were lower than normal. Aphasia score was significantly correlated with performance on all memory tasks. Correlation coefficients for short-term memory and working memory were approximately of the same magnitude. According to our findings, severity of aphasia is related with both verbal and spatial memory deficits. Moreover, while aphasia score correlated with lower scores in both short-term memory and working memory tasks, the lack of substantial difference between corresponding correlation coefficients suggests a possible primary deficit in information retention rather than impairment in working memory. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. False Memories for Affective Information in Schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairfield, Beth; Altamura, Mario; Padalino, Flavia A; Balzotti, Angela; Di Domenico, Alberto; Mammarella, Nicola

    2016-01-01

    Studies have shown a direct link between memory for emotionally salient experiences and false memories. In particular, emotionally arousing material of negative and positive valence enhanced reality monitoring compared to neutral material since emotional stimuli can be encoded with more contextual details and thereby facilitate the distinction between presented and imagined stimuli. Individuals with schizophrenia appear to be impaired in both reality monitoring and memory for emotional experiences. However, the relationship between the emotionality of the to-be-remembered material and false memory occurrence has not yet been studied. In this study, 24 patients and 24 healthy adults completed a false memory task with everyday episodes composed of 12 photographs that depicted positive, negative, or neutral outcomes. Results showed how patients with schizophrenia made a higher number of false memories than normal controls ( p  false memories ( p  > 0.05) resulting from erroneous inferences but did interact with plausible, script consistent errors in patients (i.e., neutral episodes yielded a higher degree of errors than positive and negative episodes). Affective information reduces the probability of generating causal errors in healthy adults but not in patients suggesting that emotional memory impairments may contribute to deficits in reality monitoring in schizophrenia when affective information is involved.

  4. False Memories for Affective Information in Schizophrenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairfield, Beth; Altamura, Mario; Padalino, Flavia A.; Balzotti, Angela; Di Domenico, Alberto; Mammarella, Nicola

    2016-01-01

    Studies have shown a direct link between memory for emotionally salient experiences and false memories. In particular, emotionally arousing material of negative and positive valence enhanced reality monitoring compared to neutral material since emotional stimuli can be encoded with more contextual details and thereby facilitate the distinction between presented and imagined stimuli. Individuals with schizophrenia appear to be impaired in both reality monitoring and memory for emotional experiences. However, the relationship between the emotionality of the to-be-remembered material and false memory occurrence has not yet been studied. In this study, 24 patients and 24 healthy adults completed a false memory task with everyday episodes composed of 12 photographs that depicted positive, negative, or neutral outcomes. Results showed how patients with schizophrenia made a higher number of false memories than normal controls (p false memories (p > 0.05) resulting from erroneous inferences but did interact with plausible, script consistent errors in patients (i.e., neutral episodes yielded a higher degree of errors than positive and negative episodes). Affective information reduces the probability of generating causal errors in healthy adults but not in patients suggesting that emotional memory impairments may contribute to deficits in reality monitoring in schizophrenia when affective information is involved. PMID:27965600

  5. The Impairing Role of Stress on Autobiographical Memory Reconsolidation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeinab Azimi

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Despite some studies indicating improving role of stress on memory consolidation, very few animal and human studies show that stress impairs reconsolidation of memories. This study aimed to determine the effect of stress on autobiographical memory reconsolidation.Materials and Methods: The present study was done with an experimental method (Solomon Four-Group design. The statistical society of this study was all undergraduate female students in 2009-2010 academic year at Tabriz University. Forty students were selected using random cluster sampling, and we ensure about their physical and mental health by GHQ-28 and interview. Tools for this study were cueing autobiographical memory test, SECPT (for raising blood pressure and stress induction, autobiographical memory test, PANAS and general health questionnaire (GHQ-28. MANOVA was used for data analysis by SPSS-17.Results: The results show that stress after activation of memory impairs memory for neutral events (p0.05. None of stress and memory activation alone had effect on memory performance (p>0.05.Conclusion: These findings indicate that stress impairs autobiographical memory reconsolidation, which is opposite to its effects on memory consolidation, so it supports the view that consolidation and reconsolidation are separate process.

  6. Episodic memory for spatial context biases spatial attention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciaramelli, Elisa; Lin, Olivia; Moscovitch, Morris

    2009-01-01

    The study explores the bottom-up attentional consequences of episodic memory retrieval. Individuals studied words (Experiment 1) or pictures (Experiment 2) presented on the left or on the right of the screen. They then viewed studied and new stimuli in the centre of the screen. One-second after the appearance of each stimulus, participants had to respond to a dot presented on the left or on the right of the screen. The dot could follow a stimulus that had been presented, during the study phase, on the same side as the dot (congruent condition), a stimulus that had been presented on the opposite side (incongruent condition), or a new stimulus (neutral condition). Subjects were faster to respond to the dot in the congruent compared to the incongruent condition, with an overall right visual field advantage in Experiment 1. The memory-driven facilitation effect correlated with subjects' re-experiencing of the encoding context (R responses; Experiment 1), but not with their explicit memory for the side of items' presentation (source memory; Experiment 2). The results indicate that memory contents are attended automatically and can bias the deployment of attention. The degree to which memory and attention interact appears related to subjective but not objective indicators of memory strength.

  7. Distinct and shared cognitive functions mediate event- and time-based prospective memory impairment in normal ageing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonneaud, Julie; Kalpouzos, Grégoria; Bon, Laetitia; Viader, Fausto; Eustache, Francis; Desgranges, Béatrice

    2011-01-01

    Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to perform an action at a specific point in the future. Regarded as multidimensional, PM involves several cognitive functions that are known to be impaired in normal aging. In the present study, we set out to investigate the cognitive correlates of PM impairment in normal aging. Manipulating cognitive load, we assessed event- and time-based PM, as well as several cognitive functions, including executive functions, working memory and retrospective episodic memory, in healthy subjects covering the entire adulthood. We found that normal aging was characterized by PM decline in all conditions and that event-based PM was more sensitive to the effects of aging than time-based PM. Whatever the conditions, PM was linked to inhibition and processing speed. However, while event-based PM was mainly mediated by binding and retrospective memory processes, time-based PM was mainly related to inhibition. The only distinction between high- and low-load PM cognitive correlates lays in an additional, but marginal, correlation between updating and the high-load PM condition. The association of distinct cognitive functions, as well as shared mechanisms with event- and time-based PM confirms that each type of PM relies on a different set of processes. PMID:21678154

  8. A Diffusion Model Analysis of Adult Age Differences in Episodic and Semantic Long-Term Memory Retrieval

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spaniol, Julia; Madden, David J.; Voss, Andreas

    2006-01-01

    Two experiments investigated adult age differences in episodic and semantic long-term memory tasks, as a test of the hypothesis of specific age-related decline in context memory. Older adults were slower and exhibited lower episodic accuracy than younger adults. Fits of the diffusion model (R. Ratcliff, 1978) revealed age-related increases in…

  9. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, working memory and episodic memory processes: insight through transcranial magnetic stimulation techniques

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Michela Balconi

    2013-01-01

    The ability to recall and recognize facts we experienced in the past is based on a complex mechanism in which several cerebral regions are implicated.Neuroimaging and lesion studies agree in identifying the frontal lobe as a crucial structure for memory processes,and in particular for working memory and episodic memory and their relationships.Furthermore,with the introduction of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) a new way was proposed to investigate the relationships between brain correlates,memory functions and behavior.The aim of this review is to present the main findings that have emerged from experiments which used the TMS technique for memory analysis.They mainly focused on the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in memory process.Furthermore,we present state-of-the-art evidence supporting a possible use of TMS in the clinic.Specifically we focus on the treatment of memory deficits in depression and anxiety disorders.

  10. Bombesin administration impairs memory and does not reverse memory deficit caused by sleep deprivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, L B T; Oliveira, S L B; Raya, J; Esumi, L A; Hipolide, D C

    2017-07-28

    Sleep deprivation impairs performance in emotional memory tasks, however this effect on memory is not completely understood. Possible mechanisms may involve an alteration in neurotransmission systems, as shown by the fact that many drugs that modulate neural pathways can prevent memory impairment by sleep loss. Gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) is a neuropeptide that emerged as a regulatory molecule of emotional memory through the modulation of other neurotransmission systems. Thus, the present study addressed the effect of intraperitoneal (IP) administration of bombesin (BB) (2.5, 5.0 and 10.0μg/kg), a GRP agonist, on the performance of Wistar rats in a multiple trail inhibitory avoidance (MTIA) task, after sleep deprivation, using the modified multiple platforms method (MMPM). Sleep deprived animals exhibited acquisition and retention impairment that was not prevented by BB injection. In addition, non-sleep deprived animals treated with BB before and after the training session, but not before the test, have shown a retention deficit. In summary, BB did not improve the memory impairment by sleep loss and, under normal conditions, produced a memory consolidation deficit. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. What-Where-When Memory and Encoding Strategies in Healthy Aging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheke, Lucy G.

    2016-01-01

    Older adults exhibit disproportionate impairments in memory for item-associations. These impairments may stem from an inability to self-initiate deep encoding strategies. The present study investigates this using the "treasure-hunt task"; a what-where-when style episodic memory test that requires individuals to "hide" items…

  12. Arbitrary associations in animals: what can paired associate recall in rats tell us about the neural basis of episodic memory? Theoretical comment on Kesner, Hunsaker, & Warthen (2008).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langston, Rosamund F; Wood, Emma R

    2008-12-01

    Detailed memories for unique episodes from an individual's past can be triggered, often effortlessly, when that individual is exposed to a stimulus that was present during the original event. The aim of Kesner et al. is to understand the neural basis of memory encoding that supports this cued recall of episodic memories. Kesner and colleagues make novel use of an object-place paired-associate task for rats to provide evidence for a critical role of dorsal CA3 in certain aspects of episodic memory encoding. Using one-trial cued recall versions of the task they show that when rats are cued with an object stimulus, they can be trained to revisit the location in which the object appeared previously. Conversely, when rats are cued with a location, they can learn to choose the object with which it was associated. Rats with dorsal CA3 lesions are severely impaired at these tasks. These data are consistent with the theory that the autoassociative network in CA3 supports the rapid formation of novel associations and may allow pattern completion--the phenomenom whereby a subset of the cues present at an encoding event triggers recall of the whole event. Although flexible recall of arbitrary associations is not fully demonstrated, the study contributes 2 novel behavioral tasks to the previously limited repertoire for studying paired associate recall in rats. It also builds on previous data to specify the role of the hippocampal CA3 subregion in cued recall--a critical aspect of episodic memory.

  13. Computational Model-Based Prediction of Human Episodic Memory Performance Based on Eye Movements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Naoyuki; Yamaguchi, Yoko

    Subjects' episodic memory performance is not simply reflected by eye movements. We use a ‘theta phase coding’ model of the hippocampus to predict subjects' memory performance from their eye movements. Results demonstrate the ability of the model to predict subjects' memory performance. These studies provide a novel approach to computational modeling in the human-machine interface.

  14. Disjunction and conjunction fallacies in episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, K; Brainerd, C J

    2017-09-01

    It has recently been found that episodic memory displays analogues of the well-known disjunction and conjunction fallacies of probability judgement. The aim of the present research was, for the first time, to study these memory fallacies together under the same conditions, and test theoretical predictions about the reasons for each. The focus was on predictions about the influence of semantic gist, target versus context recollection, and proactive versus retroactive interference. Disjunction and conjunction fallacies increased in conditions in which subjects were able to form semantic connections among list words. In addition, disjunction fallacies were increased by manipulations that minimised proactive interference, whereas conjunction fallacies were increased by manipulations that minimised retroactive interference. That pattern suggests that disjunction fallacies are more dependent on target recollection, whereas conjunction fallacies are more dependent on context recollection.

  15. Human aging reduces the neurobehavioral influence of motivation on episodic memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geddes, Maiya R; Mattfeld, Aaron T; Angeles, Carlo de Los; Keshavan, Anisha; Gabrieli, John D E

    2018-05-01

    The neural circuitry mediating the influence of motivation on long-term declarative or episodic memory formation is delineated in young adults, but its status is unknown in healthy aging. We examined the effect of reward and punishment anticipation on intentional declarative memory formation for words using an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) monetary incentive encoding task in twenty-one younger and nineteen older adults. At 24-hour memory retrieval testing, younger adults were significantly more likely to remember words associated with motivational cues than neutral cues. Motivational enhancement of memory in younger adults occurred only for recollection ("remember" responses) and not for familiarity ("familiar" responses). Older adults had overall diminished memory and did not show memory gains in association with motivational cues. Memory encoding associated with monetary rewards or punishments activated motivational (substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area) and memory-related (hippocampus) brain regions in younger, but not older, adults during the target word periods. In contrast, older and younger adults showed similar activation of these brain regions during the anticipatory motivational cue interval. In a separate monetary incentive delay task that did not require learning, we found evidence for relatively preserved striatal reward anticipation in older adults. This supports a potential dissociation between incidental and intentional motivational processes in healthy aging. The finding that motivation to obtain rewards and avoid punishments had reduced behavioral and neural influence on intentional episodic memory formation in older compared to younger adults is relevant to life-span theories of cognitive aging including the dopaminergic vulnerability hypothesis. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Episodic and semantic components of autobiographical memories and imagined future events in post-traumatic stress disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Adam D; Addis, Donna Rose; Romano, Tracy A; Marmar, Charles R; Bryant, Richard A; Hirst, William; Schacter, Daniel L

    2014-01-01

    Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) tend to retrieve autobiographical memories with less episodic specificity, referred to as overgeneralised autobiographical memory. In line with evidence that autobiographical memory overlaps with one's capacity to imagine the future, recent work has also shown that individuals with PTSD also imagine themselves in the future with less episodic specificity. To date most studies quantify episodic specificity by the presence of a distinct event. However, this method does not distinguish between the numbers of internal (episodic) and external (semantic) details, which can provide additional insights into remembering the past and imagining the future. This study employed the Autobiographical Interview (AI) coding scheme to the autobiographical memory and imagined future event narratives generated by combat veterans with and without PTSD. Responses were coded for the number of internal and external details. Compared to combat veterans without PTSD, those with PTSD generated more external than internal details when recalling past or imagining future events, and fewer internal details were associated with greater symptom severity. The potential mechanisms underlying these bidirectional deficits and clinical implications are discussed.

  17. False memories for affective information in Schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beth Fairfield

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Studies have shown a direct link between memory for emotionally salient experiences and false memories. In particular, emotionally arousing material of negative and positive valence enhanced reality monitoring compared to neutral material since emotional stimuli can be encoded with more contextual details and thereby facilitate the distinction between presented and imagined stimuli. Individuals with schizophrenia appear to be impaired in both reality monitoring and memory for emotional experiences. However, the relationship between the emotionality of the-to-be-remembered material and false memory occurrence has not yet been studied. In this study, twenty-four patients and twenty-four healthy adults completed a false memory task with everyday episodes composed of 12 photographs that depicted positive, negative or neutral outcomes. Results showed how patients with schizophrenia made a higher number of false memories than normal controls (p0.05 resulting from erroneous inferences but did interact with plausible, script consistent errors in patients (i.e. neutral episodes yielded a higher degree of errors than positive and negative episodes. Affective information reduces the probability of generating causal errors in healthy adults but not in patients suggesting that emotional memory impairments may contribute to deficits in reality monitoring in schizophrenia when affective information is involved.

  18. Specific memory impairment following neonatal encephalopathy in term-born children

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Handel, M.; de Sonneville, L.; Vries, L.S. de; Jongmans, M.C.J.; Swaab, H.

    2012-01-01

    This study examines short-term memory, verbal working memory, episodic long-term memory, and intelligence in 32 children with mild neonatal encephalopathy (NE), 39 children with moderate NE, 10 children with NE who developed cerebral palsy (CP), and 53 comparison children, at the age of 9 to 10

  19. Effects of medial prefrontal cortex lesions in rats on the what-where-when memory of a fear conditioning event.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jay-Shake; Hsiao, Kun-Yuan; Chen, Wei-Min

    2011-03-17

    Previous animal studies have defined the ability to remember the details of what, where, and when of an event as an episodic-like memory to be used to model episodic memory in humans. Numerous findings indicate that the hippocampal-frontal cortical circuitry plays a major part in its neural mechanism. Researchers have intensively studied roles of diverse hippocampus sub-regions using animal models. By contrast, the impact of prefrontal cortex lesions on episodic-like memory in animals is still unknown. Here we show that Wistar rats with bilateral medial prefrontal cortex lesions failed to use the temporal-contextual information to retrieve memory of a fear-conditioning event, indicating impairments in their episodic-like memory. Subsequent experiments excluded alternative interpretations that the manipulation impaired the fear-conditioning per se, or interfered with the sensory preconditioning process. We concluded that damages in this area might impair temporal information processing, or interfere with integrating temporal and contextual elements of fear-conditioning events to form a conjunctive entity. These findings can help understand how the medial prefrontal cortex contributes to episodic-like memory. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Reactivation of Reward-Related Patterns from Single Past Episodes Supports Memory-Based Decision Making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wimmer, G Elliott; Büchel, Christian

    2016-03-09

    Rewarding experiences exert a strong influence on later decision making. While decades of neuroscience research have shown how reinforcement gradually shapes preferences, decisions are often influenced by single past experiences. Surprisingly, relatively little is known about the influence of single learning episodes. Although recent work has proposed a role for episodes in decision making, it is largely unknown whether and how episodic experiences contribute to value-based decision making and how the values of single episodes are represented in the brain. In multiple behavioral experiments and an fMRI experiment, we tested whether and how rewarding episodes could support later decision making. Participants experienced episodes of high reward or low reward in conjunction with incidental, trial-unique neutral pictures. In a surprise test phase, we found that participants could indeed remember the associated level of reward, as evidenced by accurate source memory for value and preferences to re-engage with rewarded objects. Further, in a separate experiment, we found that high-reward objects shown as primes before a gambling task increased financial risk taking. Neurally, re-exposure to objects in the test phase led to significant reactivation of reward-related patterns. Importantly, individual variability in the strength of reactivation predicted value memory performance. Our results provide a novel demonstration that affect-related neural patterns are reactivated during later experience. Reactivation of value information represents a mechanism by which memory can guide decision making. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/362868-13$15.00/0.