Semantic Autobiographical Memory: A Literature Review

Öz

Autobiographical memory is subcomponent of declarative memory and defined as memories personal experiences that are closely linked to who are. Research suggests that autobiographical memory consists of both semantic and episodic components. Semantic autobiographical memory is defined as the knowledge of the facts about one’s personal past whereas episodic autobiographical memory refers to the memories of events. Most research on autobiographical memory has focused on its episodic component, while the semantic aspect has only recently begun to receive attention. The present review aims to offer a comprehensive summary of the literature on the semantic component of the autobiographical memory. For this purpose, the initial parts of the review will focus on the methods used to examine semantic autobiographical memory and the dissociation between episodic and semantic autobiographical memories. In addition, findings regarding the life span development of semantic autobiographical memory and semantic autobiographical memory in two neurodegenerative diseases will be summarized. Finally, methodological issues and directions for the future studies will be discussed.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• semantic autobiographical memory
• episodic autobiographical memory
• alzheimer's disease

Teşekkür

I would like to thank Dr. Ayşe Altan Atalay for her feedback to the manuscript.

Semantik Otobiyografik Bellek: Bir Alan Yazın Taraması

Öz

Otobiyografik bellek, açık belleğin bir alt bileşeni olup, kim olduğumuzla yakından bağlantılı kişisel deneyimlerin hatıraları olarak tanımlanır. Araştırmalar, otobiyografik belleğin hem semantik hem de epizodik bileşenlerden oluştuğunu öne sürmektedir. Semantik otobiyografik bellek, kişinin kendi geçmişine dair olgusal bilgileri içerirken, epizodik otobiyografik bellek ise olaylara dair anıları ifade eder. Otobiyografik bellek üzerine yapılan araştırmaların büyük bir kısmı epizodik bileşene odaklanmış olup, semantik bileşen ise ancak son yıllarda ilgi görmeye başlamıştır. Bu derleme, otobiyografik belleğin semantik bileşeni üzerine olan literatürü kapsamlı bir şekilde özetlemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu doğrultuda, derlemenin ilk bölümlerinde semantik otobiyografik belleği incelemek için kullanılan yöntemler ve epizodik ile semantik otobiyografik bellek arasındaki ayrım ele alınacaktır. Ayrıca, semantik otobiyografik belleğin yaşam boyu gelişimi ve iki nörodejeneratif hastalıktaki değişimi ile ilgili bulgular özetlenecektir. Son olarak, metodolojik sorunlar ve gelecekteki çalışmalar için öneriler tartışılacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Episodik Otobiyografik Bellek
• Semantik Otobiyografik Bellek
• Alzheimer's

Kaynakça

1. Abram, M., Picard, L., Navarro, B., & Piolino, P. (2014). Mechanisms of remembering the past and imagining the future–New data from autobiographical memory tasks in a lifespan approach. Consciousness and Cognition, 29, 76-89.
2. Albert, M. S., DeKosky, S. T., Dickson, D., Dubois, B., Feldman, H. H., ... Phelps, C. H. (2013). The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease: Recommendations from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer’s disease. Focus, 11(1), 96-106.
3. Baddeley, A., Eysenck, M. W., & Anderson, M. C. (2020). Memory (3rd Ed.). Routledge.
4. Barnabe, A., Whitehead, V., Pilon, R., Arsenault‐Lapierre, G., & Chertkow, H. (2012). Autobiographical memory in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease: A comparison between the Levine and Kopelman interview methodologies. Hippocampus, 22(9), 1809-1825.
5. Budson, A. E., & Price, B. H. (2005). Memory dysfunction. The New England Journal of Medicine, 352(7), 692-699. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra041071
6. Conway, M. A. (1996). Autobiographical knowledge and autobiographical memories. In D. C. Rubin (Ed.), Remembering our past: Studies in autobiographical memory (pp. 67-93). Cambridge University Press.
7. Conway, M. A. (2005). Memory and the self. Journal of Memory and Language, 53(4), 594-628.
8. Conway, M. A., & Pleydell-Pearce, C. W. (2000). The construction of autobiographical memories in the self-memory system. Psychological Review, 107, 261-288.

9. Crane, L., & Goddard, L. (2008). Episodic and semantic autobiographical memory in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(3), 498-506.
10. Crane, L., Goddard, L., & Pring, L. (2009). Specific and general autobiographical knowledge in adults with autism spectrum disorders: The role of personal goals. Memory, 17(5), 557-576.
11. Dritschel, B. H., Williams, J. M. G., Baddeley, A. D., & Nimmo-Smith, I. (1992). Autobiographical fluency: A method for the study of personal memory. Memory & Cognition, 20(2), 133-140.
12. El Haj, M., Antoine, P., Nandrino, J. L., & Kapogiannis, D. (2015). Autobiographical memory decline in Alzheimer’s disease, a theoretical and clinical overview. Ageing Research Reviews, 23, 183-192.
13. Graham, K. S., & Hodges, J. R. (1997). Differentiating the roles of the hippocampus complex and the neocortex in long-term memory storage: Evidence from the study of semantic dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychology, 11(1), 77.
14. Greenberg, D. L., & Rubin, D. C. (2003). The neuropsychology of autobiographical memory. Cortex, 39, 687-728.
15. Greenberg, D. L., & Verfaellie, M. (2010). Interdependence of episodic and semantic memory: Evidence from neuropsychology. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 16(5), 748-753. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617710000676
16. Greene, J. D., Hodges, J. R., & Baddeley, A. D. (1995). Autobiographical memory and executive function in early dementia of Alzheimer type. Neuropsychologia, 33(12), 1647-1670.
17. Haslam, C., Jetten, J., Haslam, S. A., Pugliese, C., & Tonks, J. (2011). ‘I remember therefore I am, and I am therefore I remember’: Exploring the contributions of episodic and semantic self‐knowledge to strength of identity. British Journal of Psychology, 102(2), 184-203.
18. Hirano, M., Noguchi, K., Hosokawa, T., & Takayama, T. (2002). I cannot remember, but I know my past events: remembering and knowing in a patient with amnesic syndrome. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 24(4), 548-555.
19. Irish, M., Bunk, S., Tu, S., Kamminga, J., Hodges, J. R., Hornberger, M., & Piguet, O. (2016). Preservation of episodic memory in semantic dementia: The importance of regions beyond the medial temporal lobes. Neuropsychologia, 81, 50-60.
20. Kazui, H., Hashimoto, M., Hirono, N., & Mori, E. (2003). Nature of personal semantic memory: Evidence from Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychologia, 41(8), 981-988.
21. Kenealy, P. M., Beaumont, J. G., Lintern, T. C., & Murrell, R. C. (2002). Autobiographical memory in advanced multiple sclerosis: Assessment of episodic and personal semantic memory across three time spans. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8(06), 855-860.
22. King, A. D., George, K., & Kershaw, J. (2017). Memory decline in Alzheimer’s disease: A longitudinal study. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 60(3), 1235-1247. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-170456
23. Knopman, D. S., Amieva, H., Petersen, R. C., Chételat, G., Holtzman, D. M., ... Jones, D. T. (2021). Alzheimer disease. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 7(1), 33.
24. Kopelman, M. D., Wilson, B. A., & Baddeley, A. D. (1989). The autobiographical memory interview: A new assessment of autobiographical and personal semantic memory in amnesic patients. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 11(5), 724-744.
25. Levine, B., Svoboda, E., Hay, J. F., Winocur, G., & Moscovitch, M. (2002). Aging and autobiographical memory: Dissociating episodic from semantic retrieval. Psychology and Aging, 17(4), 677.
26. Leyhe, T., Müller, S., Milian, M., Eschweiler, G. W., & Saur, R. (2009). Impairment of episodic and semantic autobiographical memory in patients with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychologia, 47(12), 2464-2469.
27. Marselli, G., Fiorentino, N., & Cipriani, G. (2023). Semantic memory impairment in mild cognitive impairment: A comprehensive review. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 36(2), 123-134. https://doi.org/10.1177/08919887221123456
28. Martinelli, P., Sperduti, M., & Piolino, P. (2013). Neural substrates of the self‐memory system: New insights from a meta‐analysis. Human Brain Mapping, 34(7), 1515-1529.
29. McAdams, D.P. (2001). The psychology of life stories. Review of General Psychology, 5, 100-122.
30. Melega, G., Lancelotte, F., Johnen, A. K., Hornberger, M., Levine, B., & Renoult, L. (2024). Evoking episodic and semantic details with instructional manipulation: The semantic Autobiographical Interview. Psychology and Aging, 39(4), 378-390.
31. Meléndez, J. C., Agusti, A. I., Satorres, E., & Pitarque, A. (2018). Are semantic and episodic autobiographical memories influenced by the life period remembered? Comparison of young and older adults. European Journal of Ageing, 15(4), 417-424.
32. Melendez, J. C., Torres, M. J., & Redondo, R. (2021). Longitudinal analysis of autobiographical memory in older adults: The role of cognitive reserve. Aging & Mental Health, 25(5), 860-867. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2020.1746745
33. Murphy, K. J., Troyer, A. K., Levine, B., & Moscovitch, M. (2008). Episodic, but not semantic, autobiographical memory is reduced in amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Neuropsychologia, 46(13), 3116-3123.
34. Nadel, L., & Moscovitch, M. (1997). Memory consolidation, retrograde amnesia and the hippocampal complex. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 7(2), 217-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-4388(97)80010-4
35. No Authors Listed (2023). 2023 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. Alzheimer’s Dement, 19(4), 1598-1695.
36. Parker, A., Parkin, A., & Dagnall, N. (2013). The effects of saccadic bilateral eye movements on episodic and semantic components of autobiographical memory. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 1-10.
37. Petersen, R. C. (2016). Mild cognitive impairment. CONTINUUM: Lifelong Learning in Neurology, 22(2), 404-418.
38. Petersen, R. C., Lopez, O., Armstrong, M. J., Getchius, T. S., Ganguli, M., ... Rae-Grant, A. (2018). Practice guideline update summary: Mild cognitive impairment: Report of the Guideline Development, Dissemination, and Implementation Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology, 90(3), 126.
39. Petersen, R. C., Smith, G. E., Waring, S. C., Ivnik, R. J., Tangalos, E. G., & Kokmen, E. (1999). Mild cognitive impairment: Clinical characterization and outcome. Archives of Neurology, 56(3), 303-308.
40. Picard, L., Reffuveille, I., Eustache, F., & Piolino, P. (2009). Development of autonoetic autobiographical memory in school-age children: Genuine age effect or development of basic cognitive abilities?. Consciousness and cognition, 18(4), 864-876.
41. Piolino, P., Desgranges, B., Benali, K., & Eustache, F. (2002). Episodic and semantic remote autobiographical memory in ageing. Memory, 10(4), 239-257.
42. Piolino, P., Hisland, M., Ruffeveille, I., Matuszewski, V., Jambaqué, I., & Eustache, F. (2007). Do school-age children remember or know the personal past?. Consciousness and Cognition, 16(1), 84-101.
43. Prebble, S. C., Addis, D. R., & Tippett, L. J. (2013). Autobiographical memory and sense of self. Psychological Bulletin, 139(4), 815.
44. Renoult, L., Armson, M. J., Diamond, N. B., Fan, C. L., Jeyakumar, N., Levesque, L., ... Levine, B. (2020). Classification of general and personal semantic details in the Autobiographical Interview. Neuropsychologia, 144, 107501.
45. Renoult, L., Davidson, P.S.R., Palombo, D.J., Moscovitch, M., Levine, B. (2012). Persoanal semantics: At the crossroads of semantic and episodic memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16, 550-558.
46. Renoult, L., Irish, M., Moscovitch, M., & Rugg, M. D. (2019). From knowing to remembering: The semantic–episodic distinction. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(12), 1041-1057.
47. Roberts, R., & Knopman, D. S. (2013). Classification and epidemiology of MCI. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 29(4), 10-1016.
48. Squire, L. R. (2004). Memory systems of the brain: A brief history and current perspective. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 82(3), 171-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2004.06.005
49. St. Jacques, P., Rubin, D. C., LaBar, K. S., & Cabeza, R. (2008). The short and long of it: Neural correlates of temporal-order memory for autobiographical events. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(7), 1327-1341. Tanguay, A. F., Palombo, D. J., Love, B., Glikstein, R., Davidson, P. S., & Renoult, L. (2023). The shared and unique neural correlates of personal semantic, general semantic, and episodic memory. ELife, 12, e83645.
50. Tulving, E. (1989). Remembering and knowing the past. American Scientist, 77, 361-367.
51. Tulving, E., Schacter, D. L., Mclachlan, D. R., & Moscovitch, M. (1988). Priming of semantic autobiographical knowledge: A case study of retrograde amnesia. Brain and Cognition, 8(1), 3-20.
52. Urbanowitsch, N., Gorenc, L., Herold, C. J., & Schröder, J. (2013). Autobiographical memory: A clinical perspective. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 7, 1-6.
53. Williams, H. L., Conway, M. A., & Cohen, G. (2008). Autobiographical memory. In G. Cohen & M. A. Conway (Eds.), Memory in the real world (3rd Ed., pp. 21-90). Psychology Press.
54. Willoughby, K. A., Desrocher, M., Levine, B., & Rovet, J. F. (2012). Episodic and semantic autobiographical memory and everyday memory during late childhood and early adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 1-15.
55. Wood, N., Brewin, C. R., & McLeod, H. J. (2006). Autobiographical memory deficits in schizophrenia. Cognition and Emotion, 20(3-4), 536-547.
56. World Health Organization. (2021). Global status report on the public health response to dementia. World Health Organization.