Underlying Brain Mechanisms
By Maria Younan
Autobiographical memory is
a multimodal representation of personal past experiences, which comes about
from a widespread connection of brain regions. Dr. Melissa Hebscher gave a talk
where she spoke about the many brain regions associated with autobiographical
memory and how our brains facilitate this type of recollection. Brain regions,
such as the precuneus, specialize in the first-person perspective of memories
which is important for memory vividness. Spatial memory is crucial early on in
the process of autobiographical memory recall, from both the first or third
person perspectives. Spatial context is generated by the hippocampus, allowing
for vivid recollection of memory. However, her studies found there to be a
variety in recall of these episodic autobiographical memories, indicating there
is wide variability from person to person.
Recently, there was a study
done by Columbia University exploring the processing of autobiographical memory
in participants with major depressive disorder (MDD). Kevin Ochsner and colleagues discovered differences in how memory
systems in those with MDD are engaged during processing of emotions. They
observed interactions between the hippocampus and amygdala during emotional
responses, and they found that negative memories have a larger impact on those
with MDD.
By making
it harder to remember specific details of an experience, people with MDD could
be able to regulate their emotional responses. This could be a problematic
solution for these people since the regulation of emotional responses is
abnormal. However, identifying and using strategies for emotion regulation
would be beneficial for the patients. These strategies could normalize the
functional brain differences identified by Ochsner and colleagues.
The
results of this study could have potentially large implications related to Dr.
Hebscher’s talk. Her talk focused on the variability among individuals in this
type of memory recall but identified that there is an overarching large network
of brain region connections at play. This study identifies that people with MDD
use somewhat different brain networks to recall these memories, as compared to
those without MDD.
Even
though the study focused solely on the brain networks of those with MDD, rather
than people in general, there is still the idea that the process of
autobiographical memory recall varies by person. Autobiographical memories help
form a person’s self-identity and guide their actions and interactions with others
and requires an assortment of brain regions and circuits.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180306115747.htm
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