scholarly journals Precuneus stimulation alters the neural dynamics of autobiographical memory retrieval

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Hebscher ◽  
Christine Ibrahim ◽  
Asaf Gilboa

AbstractAutobiographical memory (AM) unfolds over time, but little is known about the dynamics of its retrieval. Space-based models of memory implicate the hippocampus, retrosplenial cortex, and precuneus in early memory computations. Here we used inhibitory continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) to determine the causal role of the precuneus in the temporal dynamics of AM retrieval. Compared to vertex, precuneus stimulation altered evoked neural activity during early memory construction, as early as 400 ms after cue presentation, as well as during later memory elaboration. We further identified a parietal late positive component during memory elaboration, the amplitude of which was associated with spatial perspective during recollection. Precuneus stimulation disrupted this association, suggesting that this region plays a crucial role in the neural representation of spatial perspective during AM. These findings help clarify the neural correlates of early memory retrieval and demonstrate a causal role for the precuneus in the temporal dynamics of AM retrieval.

Cortex ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 588-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliana Mazzoni ◽  
Andrew Clark ◽  
Adriana De Bartolo ◽  
Chiara Guerrini ◽  
Zacharia Nahouli ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-490 ◽  

Autobiographical memory (AM) defines the memory systems that encode, consolidate, and retrieve personal events and facts, AM is strongly related to self-perception and self representation. We review here the neural correlates of AM retrieval. AM retrieval encompasses a large neural network including the prefrontal, temporal, and parietal cortex, and limbic structures. All these regions subserve the cognitive processes (episodic remembering, cognitive control, self-processing, and scene construction) at play during memory retrieval. We emphasize the specific role of medial prefrontal cortex and precuneus in self-processing during autobiographical memory retrieval. Overall, these data call for further studies in psychiatric patients, to investigate the neural underpinnings of autobiographical memory and self-representation in mental disorders.


2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
Wenxing Yang ◽  
Ying Sun

Abstract. The causal role of a unidirectional orthography in shaping speakers’ mental representations of time seems to be well established by many psychological experiments. However, the question of whether bidirectional writing systems in some languages can also produce such an impact on temporal cognition remains unresolved. To address this issue, the present study focused on Japanese and Taiwanese, both of which have a similar mix of texts written horizontally from left to right (HLR) and vertically from top to bottom (VTB). Two experiments were performed which recruited Japanese and Taiwanese speakers as participants. Experiment 1 used an explicit temporal arrangement design, and Experiment 2 measured implicit space-time associations in participants along the horizontal (left/right) and the vertical (up/down) axis. Converging evidence gathered from the two experiments demonstrate that neither Japanese speakers nor Taiwanese speakers aligned their vertical representations of time with the VTB writing orientation. Along the horizontal axis, only Japanese speakers encoded elapsing time into a left-to-right linear layout, which was commensurate with the HLR writing direction. Therefore, two distinct writing orientations of a language could not bring about two coexisting mental time lines. Possible theoretical implications underlying the findings are discussed.


GeroPsych ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Peters ◽  
Signy Sheldon

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


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