BACKGROUND Chronic alcohol abuse is associated with a wide range of cognitive deficits. However, little is known about memory for real-life events (autobiographical memory) in non-amnesic alcoholic patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) non-amnesic alcoholics' ability to recall specific autobiographical memories and (b) their subjective experience when they access specific m...

The medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) is regarded as a region of the brain that supports self-referential processes, including the integration of sensory information with self-knowledge and the retrieval of autobiographical information. I used functional magnetic resonance imaging and a novel procedure for eliciting autobiographical memories with excerpts of popular music dating to one's extended...

The frequency and characteristics of involuntary autobiographical memories were compared in 25 stable dysphoric and 28 non-dysphoric participants, using a new laboratory-based task (Schlagman & Kvavilashvili, 2008). Participants detected infrequent target stimuli (vertical lines) in a simple vigilance task and recorded any involuntary autobiographical memories that came to mind, mostly in respo...

Considerable previous research has shown that retrieval of overgeneral autobiographical memories (OGM) is elevated among individuals suffering from various emotional disorders and those with a history of trauma. Although previous theories suggest that OGM serves the function of regulating acute negative affect, it is also possible that OGM results from difficulties in keeping the instruction se...

This study examined the effects of rehearsal on the neural substrates supporting episodic autobiographical and semantic memory. Stimuli were collected prospectively using audio recordings, thereby bringing under experimental control ecologically valid, naturalistic autobiographical stimuli. Participants documented both autobiographical and semantic stimuli over a period of 6-8 months, followed ...

In healthy participants, cortisol administration has been found to impair autobiographic memory retrieval. We recently reported that administration of 10 mg of hydrocortisone had enhancing effects on autobiographical memory retrieval, i.e. more specific memory retrieval, in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while in healthy controls the impairing effects were replicated. We he...

This study investigated the relationship between autobiographical memory and goals in complicated grief (CG). Twenty-four individuals with CG and 21 bereaved individuals without CG completed an autobiographical memory task and a personal goals task. CG participants were more likely to recall memories related to their loss, particularly in response to negative cues. There was a positive relation...

In two experiments we investigated individual di€erences related to memory errors. In Experiment 1, we conducted an exploratory study of several factors possibly related to the tendency to change source monitoring decisions for an autobiographical memory. We found that only the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) was related to this autobiographical memory error. In Experiment 2, we used both ...

Autobiographical memory encompasses memory for significant personal experiences and knowledge of the self and, consequently, is critical for personal identity and psychological wellbeing (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000; Pillemer, 1998). Although autobiographical memory, like many other cognitive faculties, has been traditionally viewed as an individual matter and a product of the mind or brain,...

Remembering previous experiences from one's personal past is a principal component of psychological well-being, personality, sense of self, decision making, and planning for the future. In the current study the ability to search for autobiographical information in memory was examined by having college students recall their Facebook friends. Individual differences in working memory capacity mani...