Brain activity during episodic retrieval of autobiographical and laboratory events: an fMRI study using a novel photo paradigm.
Abstract
Functional neuroimaging studies of episodic memory retrieval generally measure brain
activity while participants remember items encountered in the laboratory ("controlled
laboratory condition") or events from their own life ("open autobiographical condition").
Differences in activation between these conditions may reflect differences in retrieval
processes, memory remoteness, emotional content, retrieval success, self-referential
processing, visual/spatial memory, and recollection. To clarify the nature of these
differences, a functional MRI study was conducted using a novel "photo paradigm,"
which allows greater control over the autobiographical condition, including a measure
of retrieval accuracy. Undergraduate students took photos in specified campus locations
("controlled autobiographical condition"), viewed in the laboratory similar photos
taken by other participants (controlled laboratory condition), and were then scanned
while recognizing the two kinds of photos. Both conditions activated a common episodic
memory network that included medial temporal and prefrontal regions. Compared with
the controlled laboratory condition, the controlled autobiographical condition elicited
greater activity in regions associated with self-referential processing (medial prefrontal
cortex), visual/spatial memory (visual and parahippocampal regions), and recollection
(hippocampus). The photo paradigm provides a way of investigating the functional neuroanatomy
of real-life episodic memory under rigorous experimental control.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AdolescentAdult
Arousal
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Cortex
Female
Hippocampus
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Mental Recall
Photic Stimulation
Photography
Reference Values
Self Concept
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Roberto Cabeza
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
My laboratory investigates the neural correlates of memory and cognition in young
and older adults using fMRI. We have three main lines of research: First, we distinguish
the neural correlates of various episodic memory processes. For example, we have compared
encoding vs. retrieval, item vs. source memory, recall vs. recognition, true vs. false
memory, and emotional vs. nonemotional memory. We are particularly interested in the
contribution of prefrontal cortex (PFC) and medial temporal lobe (M
Kevin S. LaBar
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
My research focuses on understanding how emotional events modulate cognitive processes
in the human brain. We aim to identify brain regions that encode the emotional properties
of sensory stimuli, and to show how these regions interact with neural systems supporting
social cognition, executive control, and learning and memory. To achieve this goal,
we use a variety of cognitive neuroscience techniques in human subject populations.
These include psychophysiological monitoring, functional magnetic
David C. Rubin
Juanita M. Kreps Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
For .pdfs of all publications click here My main research interest has been in
long-term memory, especially for complex (or "real-world") stimuli. This work includes
the study of autobiographical memory and oral tra
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