INTRODUÇÃO: A memória autobiográfica é um tipo de memória episódica, que abrange os aspectos perceptuais, afetivos e espaço-temporais de um evento. Tais aspectos são organizados em representações que compõem uma história pessoal, sendo portanto fundamentais para a formação da identidade. Esse tipo de lembrança é uma construção transitória e dinâmica gerada a partir de uma base de conhecimento subjacente e esta base é armazenada em diferentes níveis de especificidade de detalhes. Por possuir grande conteúdo episódico, que é dependente das regiões frontais e temporomediais, áreas cerebrais conhecidas por sofrerem alterações significativas com o avanço da idade, é um sistema de memória que parece apresentar declínio com o avanço da idade. O presente estudo procurou investigar a relação entre a memória autobiográfica e o envelhecimento em 57 voluntários saudáveis, que foram divididos em dois grupos: adultos jovens (18 a 50 anos) e adultos mais velhos (51 a 75 anos). METODOLOGIA: A investigação utilizou uma entrevista de memória autobiográfica constituída de 5 eventos públicos marcantes (flashbulb memories), 4 estímulos de valência (positiva e negativa) e 1 evento importante ocorrido no último ano. As entrevistas foram avaliadas e pontuadas de acordo com sistema de categorização dos detalhes relatados em episódicos e semânticos. Também foi usada uma bateria de testes neuropsicológicos composta por 7 testes agrupados em 5 domínios cognitivos destinados a avaliar respectivamente: velocidade de processamento da informação, memória verbal, memória visual, funções executivas e funcionamento intelectual, para examinar possível déficits nesses domínios e suas correlações com o desempenho na entrevista autobiográfica. O nível de significância foi de p < 0.05. RESULTADOS: Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os dois grupos na avaliação de memória autobiográfica, com sujeitos lembrando-se de quantidades semelhantes de detalhes episódicos. Tanto eventos de valência positiva como negativa foram lembrados com a mesma qualidade. Houve uma tendência a um pior desempenho de pessoas mais velhas para relatar lembranças pessoais recentes (que ocorreram no último ano). O grupo mais velho teve pior desempenho em atividades de velocidade de processamento, flexibilidade mental, controle inibitório, memória episódica verbal e memória visual. Foi observada uma correlação positiva entre o desempenho em tarefa padronizada de memória verbal episódica e a quantidade de detalhes episódicos na entrevista de memória autobiográfica. Houve uma relação inversa entre a quantidade de eventos episódicos relatados e a velocidade de processamento de informações apenas no grupo de adultos jovens. Não foram observadas correlações entre os demais domínios cognitivos e os resultados na atividade de memória autobiográfica. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados obtidos sugerem que as memórias autobiográficas são mais resistentes aos efeitos do tempo. Eventos que têm importante significado pessoal e grande conteúdo emocional aparentam ficar bem preservados na memória / INTRODUCTION: The autobiographical memory is a kind of episodic memory that covers an event\'s aspects of perception, affection, space and time. These are organized in representations that make up a personal history. Therefore, they are paramount to the creation of identity. This type of memory is a transitory and dynamic construction, generated from a foundation of subjacent knowledge stored in details that are specific on different levels. Because it has a vast episodic content, that is dependent of the frontal and temporal medial regions (areas of the brain known for suffering meaningful changes with the aging process), it is a memory system that apparently shows decline with the aging process. This study sought to investigate the relationship between autobiographical memory and aging in 57 healthy subjects that were divided into two groups: young adults (18 to 50 years old) and seniors (51 to 75 years old). METHOD: The investigation used an autobiographical memory interview made up of 5 memorable public events (flashbulb memories), 4 valence stimuli (positive and negative) and 1 important event that happened in the last year. The interviews were evaluated and scored according to the sorting system of details determined either as episodic or semantic. A battery of neuropsychological tests was also used, it was constituted of 7 tests grouped in 5 cognitive domains destined to evaluate, respectively: processing speed, verbal memory, visual memory, executive functions and intellectual performance, to examine possible deficits in these domains and its correlation to the performance in the autobiographical interview. The level of significance was of p < 0.05. RESULTS: There were no meaningful differences between groups in the evaluation of autobiographical memory. Subjects remembered similar amounts of episodic details. Events of both negative and positive valence were recalled with the same quality. In seniors, a tendency towards a worse performance was found when they were asked to tell recent personal memories (that happened last year). The results demonstrate age-related difficulties in activities of speed processing, mental flexibility, inhibitory control, episodic verbal memory and visual memory. A positive correlation was found between the performance in a standardized episodic verbal memory task and the amount of episodic details in the autobiographical memory interview. There was a reverse relation between the amount of episodic events told and the speed of processing information only in the young adults group. No correlations were found between the other cognitive domains and the results in the autobiographical memory activity. CONCLUSION: The obtained results suggest that autobiographical memories are more resistant to the effects of time. Events that have important personal meaning and great emotional content seem to be well preserved in memory

This thesis aimed to extend the existing psychological and neural basis of social processing in Major Depressive Disorder. This investigation was an attempt to resolve current conflicts and gaps in the social affective neuroscience literature regarding social functioning in depression. Chapter 1 consisted of a general introduction to the current evidence-base and theoretical frameworks surrounding social processing more generally, and in depression more specifically. ‎Chapter 2 provided an exploration of the systemic behavioural biases in in those with depression compared to mentally healthy individuals using a range of social, affective and process measures implemented across the remaining chapters. Then followed a behavioural and neural investigation into self-relevant social processing in depression. Chapter 3 described the process of memory generation implemented across ‎ Chapter 4-6 using a script-driven paradigm. It further discussed the ecological validity of this paradigm using social autobiographical memories. Chapter 4 investigated the neural and behavioural responses to self-relevant autobiographical memories of social rejection and social inclusion in individuals with depression and in healthy controls. The next two chapters discussed the behavioural and neural basis of social processing in depression in response to others’ memories of social rejection and inclusion, using traditional and novel fMRI analysis methodologies in ‎Chapter 5 and ‎‎Chapter 6, respectively. The latter applied a novel intersubject correlation analysis to the same population of depressed and healthy controls as in Chapter 5. Then, Chapter 7 presented a future application of the script-driven imagery paradigm by investigating the effectiveness of different emotion regulation strategies in response to socially salient autobiographical memories in a population of healthy controls. Finally, Chapter 8 provided a general discussion bringing together behavioural and neural findings to provide a clearer understanding of social processing in Major Depressive Disorder. Current theoretical frameworks were used to guide the interpretation of these findings.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:39:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Maria Galrao Rios.pdf: 2160336 bytes, checksum: 51bb33fa14771b0e4cb6a7a6f946abc4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-04-10 / The aim of this work is to study the development of autobiographical narrative in children, using the Jungian Psychology as theoretical reference. From the moment the children proved able to tell their story, at two and a half years old. Children s autobiographic narratives were studied considering their development due to age, gender and environmental influence, understood here as the education level of the mothers. The autobiographical narratives of children were considered from the point of view of its volume, content, presence of emotions, intentions, autonomy, presence of others and interactivity of scenarios, social inclusion and determinants of identity. Fantasy inclusion in autobiographical narrative was also studied. Participants were 410 children from two to six and a half years old, interviewed in their schools in São Paulo. The instrument used for data collection was a semi-open interview. The children answered five questions about events experienced in the past, recent events and imaginary ones, and were also invited to talk about themselves. The research was characterized as combined quantitative and qualitative methods, which sets up a mixed method. The strategy used for data collection was Concurrent Triangulation design, which allows quantification of the qualitative data. Statistical analysis of the results indicated that the autobiographical narrative develops with age in volume and complexity, suffering influence of gender and culture. Autobiographical narrative includes both experienced or fantasized elements, edited on the individual webs of explicit and implicit memories, within a specific cultural pattern that guides the inclusion, exclusion or emphasis of elements in the narrative. The children were able to tell stories about themselves from age two and a half years on / Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar o desenvolvimento da narrativa autobiográfica nas crianças, utilizando-se como referência a linha teórica junguiana. O relato da criança foi estudado quanto a seu desenvolvimento, decorrente da idade, gênero e influência ambiental, entendida aqui como a escolaridade das mães. As narrativas autobiográficas das crianças foram consideradas do ponto de vista de seu volume, conteúdo, inclusão de emoções, intenções, autonomia, presença de terceiros, interatividade dos cenários, inserção social e determinantes da identidade. A inclusão da fantasia no relato autobiográfico também foi estudada. Os participantes foram 410 crianças entre dois anos e seis anos e meio, entrevistados em suas escolas no município de São Paulo. O instrumento usado para a coleta de dados foi uma entrevista semiaberta. As crianças responderam cinco questões a respeito de eventos vividos no passado, eventos imediatamente acontecidos e eventos apenas fantasiados, e foram ainda convidadas a falar sobre si mesmas. A pesquisa caracterizou-se como uma investigação de ordem tanto quantitativa quanto qualitativa, o que configura um método misto. A estratégia usada para a coleta dos dados foi a triangulação concomitante, segundo a qual os dados qualitativos são quantificados. Foram feitos estudos estatísticos dos resultados, que indicaram que a narrativa autobiográfica desenvolve-se em volume e complexidade com a idade, sofrendo influência do gênero e da cultura. A narrativa autobiográfica inclui elementos experimentados como fantasiados, editados sobre as teias individuais de memórias explícitas e implícitas, dentro de um padrão cultural específico que orienta a inclusão, ênfase ou exclusão de elementos na narrativa. As crianças mostraram-se capazes de contar histórias a seu próprio respeito a partir dos dois anos e meio

In two studies focused on finding predictors of dating accuracy of autobiographical memories, events were split into categories based on respondent independent characteristics (independent on respondents' evaluation) and other, which can be ascertained from date reconstruction (event lenght, theme, temporal schemata, landmark connection, self-events and other-events). The present study is part of a larger project on which I cooperated with A. Neusar (2012) and the present results supplement his study in the fields on which he did not focus in detail or at all. The first study was focused on dating accuracy of events from 2005 to 2008 and here events connected to a landmark, self-events and extended events and also holiday and relationship events and changes were dated more accurately. Temporal schema helped with estimating the month of the year. Women were on average more accurate and specifically also in thematic categories, e.g., in estimating the date of child events. The second study was focused on dating events from recent two and half months. Events connected to a landmark and Easter, self-events and extended events were dated more accurately. Higher accuracy was found also among events connected to the leisure activities and birthday category. Women were more accurate in dating events from...

INTRODUÇÃO: A memória autobiográfica é um tipo de memória episódica, que abrange os aspectos perceptuais, afetivos e espaço-temporais de um evento. Tais aspectos são organizados em representações que compõem uma história pessoal, sendo portanto fundamentais para a formação da identidade. Esse tipo de lembrança é uma construção transitória e dinâmica gerada a partir de uma base de conhecimento subjacente e esta base é armazenada em diferentes níveis de especificidade de detalhes. Por possuir grande conteúdo episódico, que é dependente das regiões frontais e temporomediais, áreas cerebrais conhecidas por sofrerem alterações significativas com o avanço da idade, é um sistema de memória que parece apresentar declínio com o avanço da idade. O presente estudo procurou investigar a relação entre a memória autobiográfica e o envelhecimento em 57 voluntários saudáveis, que foram divididos em dois grupos: adultos jovens (18 a 50 anos) e adultos mais velhos (51 a 75 anos). METODOLOGIA: A investigação utilizou uma entrevista de memória autobiográfica constituída de 5 eventos públicos marcantes (flashbulb memories), 4 estímulos de valência (positiva e negativa) e 1 evento importante ocorrido no último ano. As entrevistas foram avaliadas e pontuadas de acordo com sistema de categorização dos detalhes relatados em episódicos e semânticos. Também foi usada uma bateria de testes neuropsicológicos composta por 7 testes agrupados em 5 domínios cognitivos destinados a avaliar respectivamente: velocidade de processamento da informação, memória verbal, memória visual, funções executivas e funcionamento intelectual, para examinar possível déficits nesses domínios e suas correlações com o desempenho na entrevista autobiográfica. O nível de significância foi de p < 0.05. RESULTADOS: Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os dois grupos na avaliação de memória autobiográfica, com sujeitos lembrando-se de quantidades semelhantes de detalhes episódicos. Tanto eventos de valência positiva como negativa foram lembrados com a mesma qualidade. Houve uma tendência a um pior desempenho de pessoas mais velhas para relatar lembranças pessoais recentes (que ocorreram no último ano). O grupo mais velho teve pior desempenho em atividades de velocidade de processamento, flexibilidade mental, controle inibitório, memória episódica verbal e memória visual. Foi observada uma correlação positiva entre o desempenho em tarefa padronizada de memória verbal episódica e a quantidade de detalhes episódicos na entrevista de memória autobiográfica. Houve uma relação inversa entre a quantidade de eventos episódicos relatados e a velocidade de processamento de informações apenas no grupo de adultos jovens. Não foram observadas correlações entre os demais domínios cognitivos e os resultados na atividade de memória autobiográfica. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados obtidos sugerem que as memórias autobiográficas são mais resistentes aos efeitos do tempo. Eventos que têm importante significado pessoal e grande conteúdo emocional aparentam ficar bem preservados na memória / INTRODUCTION: The autobiographical memory is a kind of episodic memory that covers an event\'s aspects of perception, affection, space and time. These are organized in representations that make up a personal history. Therefore, they are paramount to the creation of identity. This type of memory is a transitory and dynamic construction, generated from a foundation of subjacent knowledge stored in details that are specific on different levels. Because it has a vast episodic content, that is dependent of the frontal and temporal medial regions (areas of the brain known for suffering meaningful changes with the aging process), it is a memory system that apparently shows decline with the aging process. This study sought to investigate the relationship between autobiographical memory and aging in 57 healthy subjects that were divided into two groups: young adults (18 to 50 years old) and seniors (51 to 75 years old). METHOD: The investigation used an autobiographical memory interview made up of 5 memorable public events (flashbulb memories), 4 valence stimuli (positive and negative) and 1 important event that happened in the last year. The interviews were evaluated and scored according to the sorting system of details determined either as episodic or semantic. A battery of neuropsychological tests was also used, it was constituted of 7 tests grouped in 5 cognitive domains destined to evaluate, respectively: processing speed, verbal memory, visual memory, executive functions and intellectual performance, to examine possible deficits in these domains and its correlation to the performance in the autobiographical interview. The level of significance was of p < 0.05. RESULTS: There were no meaningful differences between groups in the evaluation of autobiographical memory. Subjects remembered similar amounts of episodic details. Events of both negative and positive valence were recalled with the same quality. In seniors, a tendency towards a worse performance was found when they were asked to tell recent personal memories (that happened last year). The results demonstrate age-related difficulties in activities of speed processing, mental flexibility, inhibitory control, episodic verbal memory and visual memory. A positive correlation was found between the performance in a standardized episodic verbal memory task and the amount of episodic details in the autobiographical memory interview. There was a reverse relation between the amount of episodic events told and the speed of processing information only in the young adults group. No correlations were found between the other cognitive domains and the results in the autobiographical memory activity. CONCLUSION: The obtained results suggest that autobiographical memories are more resistant to the effects of time. Events that have important personal meaning and great emotional content seem to be well preserved in memory

過去文獻顯示憂鬱反芻與憂鬱有緊密關連，憂鬱反芻的概念又可區分為不具適應性與較具適應性的部分（Treynor, Gonzalez, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2003），但這兩者與憂鬱情緒的關係至今尚未有定論。在非臨床樣本中，高自我聚焦並非都是缺乏適應性的，高自我聚焦程度加上情緒一致的回憶特質，容易維持憂鬱情緒，反之加上情緒不一致性的回憶特質，則較能回憶正向記憶，具有較佳的情緒調節能力。為探討情緒、反芻與記憶特性的關係，本研究採用Trapnell和Campbell（1999）架構將自我聚焦分為自我反思與自我反芻兩個次分類，探討不同自我反思反芻與憂鬱情緒在自傳式記憶的特性表現上有何差異。其中以簡短指導語版的自傳式記憶測驗工具（MI-AMT）做為測量工具，增加在非臨床樣本中測驗自傳式記憶的敏感度。 本研究第一階段以545位大學、研究所學生為樣本，發展本地適用的中文版反思反芻量表，第二階段則從階段一的反思反芻程度、憂鬱程度高低中篩選出117位受試者，檢驗不同自我反思反芻與憂鬱情緒之自傳式記憶特性差異。 研究結果顯示（1）中文版自我反思反芻量表與簡短指導語版自傳式記憶測驗工具具有足夠心理計量特性，可用以測量相關概念與量化記憶特性。（2）憂鬱情緒程度高者具有自傳式記憶特定性低、過度概化記憶程度高的特性，與過去文獻符合。另外，反芻與反思在自傳式記憶的表現則相似性高，在同處於高憂鬱情緒類別，高反芻者並無顯著回憶出較少特定記憶、較多過度概化記憶，高反思者亦無顯著回憶出較多正向特定記憶、較少正向過度概化記憶；這些結果與Svaldi（2008）無法驗證研究假設的結果相同。 / Literature review shows that depressive rumination sustains depressed mood. Depressive rumination could separate into maladaptive and adaptive subcomponents (Treynor, Gonzalez, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2003), but the relationship of them and depressive mood is unstable. In non-clinical sample, high self-focus is not always relates to maladaptive. When it combines with mood-congruent autobiographical memory sustain negative mood easily. People with mood-incongruent effect will recall more positive autobiographical memory, has better emotional regulation. The present study tried to examine the relationship between emotion, rumination and autobiographical memory. Divided self-focus into self-reflection and self-rumination (Trapnell & Campbell, 1999), investigated the differential characteristic of autobiographical memory in different self-focus (ruminative and reflective) and depressive mood (high and low). In addition, we used Minimal Instructions Autobiographical Memory Test to measure memory specificity in non-clinical populations. Study one aimed to validate the Chinese version of Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire, recruit 545 graduate and undergraduate students as sample. Study two investigated the differential characteristic of autobiographical memory in self-focus and depressive mood with 117 students chosen from study one. The results revealed that: 1) the Chinese version of RRQ showed satisfactory psychometric properties. 2) High depressive mood is significantly associated with reduced AM specificity and induced overgeneral memory, this result supported pass researches. Otherwise, autobiographical memory’s characteristic in self-rumination and self-reflection are quite the same. In high depressive mood, high self-ruminator did not have lower autobiographical memory specificity, and more overgeneral memory. High self-reflector did not have more positive specific autobiographical memory, and less positive overgeneral memory. These two result didn’t support assumption, but matched to Svaldi’s (2008) result.

<p>In the present thesis, three empirical studies investigate autobiographical odor memory with regard to: (a) whole life-span age distributions, (b) phenomenological experience, (c) semantic processing, and (d) odor imagery. Study I explored potential influences of cue type (words, pictures, odors) on the retrieval of autobiographical memories. The results indicated that odor-evoked events were older than memories evoked by words and pictures. The bump for olfactory evoked information peaked in the first decade of life (<10 years of age), whereas the bump of the word- and picture-evoked age distributions peaked in the second decade (i.e., 11-20 years of age). Also, olfactory evoked events were associated with stronger feelings of being brought back in time. Study II investigated the influence of verbal processing on the retrieval of autobiographical olfactory information. The results revealed that semantic knowledge (i.e., the odor name) affected both the age distribution and phenomenological experience. Also, olfactory memories were associated with a higher emotional arousal. Study III addressed the influences of olfactory imagery on the age distribution and phenomenological experiences. The results showed that events evoked by odor imagery were older than memories evoked by words. No differences in phenomenological experiences were found between the two cue conditions. Based on these findings, it is suggested that (a) memories evoked by olfactory information are older than memories evoked by verbal and visual information, (b) odor memories are more emotional and associated with stronger feelings of being brought back in time, (c) knowledge of an odor’s name produces a shift from a more perceptually to a more conceptually driven retrieval, and that (d) imagined odor cues mimic the age distribution of events evoked by real odors. Overall, the results suggest that memories triggered by the olfactory sensory system are different from memories evoked by verbal or visual information.</p>

In the present thesis, three empirical studies investigate autobiographical odor memory with regard to: (a) whole life-span age distributions, (b) phenomenological experience, (c) semantic processing, and (d) odor imagery. Study I explored potential influences of cue type (words, pictures, odors) on the retrieval of autobiographical memories. The results indicated that odor-evoked events were older than memories evoked by words and pictures. The bump for olfactory evoked information peaked in the first decade of life (&lt;10 years of age), whereas the bump of the word- and picture-evoked age distributions peaked in the second decade (i.e., 11-20 years of age). Also, olfactory evoked events were associated with stronger feelings of being brought back in time. Study II investigated the influence of verbal processing on the retrieval of autobiographical olfactory information. The results revealed that semantic knowledge (i.e., the odor name) affected both the age distribution and phenomenological experience. Also, olfactory memories were associated with a higher emotional arousal. Study III addressed the influences of olfactory imagery on the age distribution and phenomenological experiences. The results showed that events evoked by odor imagery were older than memories evoked by words. No differences in phenomenological experiences were found between the two cue conditions. Based on these findings, it is suggested that (a) memories evoked by olfactory information are older than memories evoked by verbal and visual information, (b) odor memories are more emotional and associated with stronger feelings of being brought back in time, (c) knowledge of an odor’s name produces a shift from a more perceptually to a more conceptually driven retrieval, and that (d) imagined odor cues mimic the age distribution of events evoked by real odors. Overall, the results suggest that memories triggered by the olfactory sensory system are different from memories evoked by verbal or visual information.

The capacity to form olfactory images has received less attention than the formation of visual and auditory images. The evidence in favor of such ability is also inconsistent. This thesis explored some of the characteristics of olfactory imagery through three empirical studies. Study I investigated the effects of blocking spontaneous sniffing during olfactory imagery. The results indicated that the prevention of spontaneous sniffing reduced olfactory but not visual imagery capacity. Study II studied the relation between olfactory awareness (as indexed by olfactory dreams, olfactory imagery, and olfactory interest) and olfactory functions (i.e., odor threshold, episodic odor memory, and odor identification). The main findings were that compared to low, high olfactory awareness was associated with better episodic odor memory and identification, but not with higher olfactory sensitivity. Study III investigated the neural correlates of odor evoked autobiographical memories (OEAMs) as (a) a function of cue modality (i.e., odors and their verbal referents), and (b) a function of memory remoteness. The results from Study III showed that OEAMs activated regions generally associated with autobiographical memory. In addition, verbally cued OEAMs were associated with activity linked to olfactory imagery. Odor cues activated the limbic and temporal polar regions more than verbal cues; a result that may explain the phenomenological differences found between the cued memories. Moreover, OEAMs from the first decade of life were associated with higher activity in the secondary olfactory cortex, whereas memories from young adulthood were related to areas linked to semantic memory processing. Taken together these studies favor the notion of a human capacity to form olfactory images.

This study compared the relative importance of attentional capacity and processing speed accounts of cognitive aging with regard to how well they predict age differences in episodic and working memory performance. Two research projects were completed involving 150 and 100 right-handed adults between the ages of 18 and 90. In Study 1, each participant was administered measures of attentional capacity, processing speed and episodic memory. In Study 2 the processing speed measures were chosen to reduce the involvement of perceptual scanning and memory ability, and multiple measures of dual-task performance were used. Two working memory tasks were also administered along with the same episodic memory measures used in Study 1. The results of the studies revealed the following: (1) Measures of attentional capacity shared relatively smaller proportions of age-related episodic memory variance (14-45%) than measures of processing speed (60-87%). (2) Measures of attentional capacity shared very small proportions of age-related episodic memory variance (1-2%) independent of speed of processing. In contrast, measures of processing speed shared substantial proportions of age-related episodic memory variance (37-76%) that were independent of attentional capacity performance. (3) Measures of attentional capacity and processing speed shared comparable proportions of age-related working memory variance (58 and 65%) as well as comparable proportions of shared variance that was independent of the other mediator (10% attentional capacity; 17% processing speed). (4) The age-attentional capacity relations were attenuated to a large extent when performance on processing speed measures was controlled for (77-88%). In contrast the age-processing speed attenuations after control of attentional capacity performance were much smaller (6-55%). Taken together, these results provide little support for any predictive utility of the attentional capacity construct independent of processing speed ability in accounting for age-episodic memory relations although they are consistent with the notion that attentional capacity might mediate aspects of age-related working memory change. In contrast, these results contribute to the large body of evidence consistent with the notion that age-related decrements in the speed of executing relatively simple processing operations might be responsible for age-related differences in several cognitive domains.