This research was aimed at giving a voice to three women, who are constructed as having had a traumatic event recalled from their autobiographical memory. To achieve this objective an epistemological framework of social constructionism was used to investigate autobiographical memory recall of trauma. Three in-depth interviews were conducted with participants who constructed themselves as having had a traumatic event. A case study approach was used to gain access to the information and to compare themes. The research explored the way in which dissociation, voluntary thought suppression, minimisation and outright denial enabled the three participants to alter unbearable memories through the use of recurring themes. To interpret these stories the content of the themes was analysed using thematic content analysis. The participants represented different cultures, languages and religions. In sharing their symptoms this did not necessarily mean they attached the same meaning to a specific theme, as individual meaning-making corresponded to the individual‟s background and history and their perception of the trauma. The stories related by the three participants revealed a shattered worldview that brought them into opposition with community norms and standards, which the narrators experienced as silencing and judgemental. In this regard the researcher‟s aim was to generate information from the participants themselves. This inquiry into the personal trauma stories and meanings suited a qualitative research approach, a form of methodology that allowed personal insight into the meanings the three participants attributed to their trauma and the autobiographical recall of trauma. At the same time it allowed a co-constructed reality to take shape between the researcher‟s reality and the participant‟s reality, always acknowledging the importance of their being the expert of their own individual trauma memory. This is in contrast to a quantitative approach which focuses on numbers to quantify the results; a qualitative approach on the other hand is a personal, rich information-gathering tool that takes into account the emotions and meaning-making of each individual story without any intention to generalise the information gathered to a larger population It is hoped that through this research there is a realisation that although trauma victims share symptoms, the meaning-making of the individual attached to this trauma is influenced by their society and history within their respective environments. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology : Fine Arts, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2014. / The motivation for this research results from the notion that art-making is a regenerative enriching process that can counteract the sense of dislocation that one suffers as a consequence of depression. The study has two objectives: to open a discourse around the transformative function of art for a person suffering depression; and challenge notions of dominant constructed ideals of normality by presenting alternative realities of the performative mind. From the earliest memories of my life, I knew I did not fit in, I was not part of the crowd. Depression has been my companion ever since I can remember. The intention for this self-study is to interrogate the ways in which art can become a self-actualising process in coping with depression. The content for this research deals with narratives of the mind, that is, my understanding of who I am. I have therefore, positioned myself as the pivot for this research, drawing on authentic personal experiential knowledge. This autobiographical phenomenological study is thus a self-reflexive exploration addressing concepts of difference and belonging in relation to social constructs of acceptability. The study looks at contemporary concepts of multiple selves, relationality and the application of therapeutic methodologies within art practice. Art-making becomes games of truth, mind games that offer alternative realities and possibilities for the construction of complex, multi-faceted narratives as dialogues between the self and the inner critic. Of importance is the concept that self is not a fixed conclusive notion but one that continues to unfold, shift and become a multi-layered construct. These new narratives examine how creativity enables or creates a sense of belonging or re-positioning of one’s states of mind. The overall intention of the art-making process is its potential for transformative self-recovery processes – the re-construction of who we are, rather than how we are perceived. This research thus examines the notion of belonging in this world through body/land enactments of ritualised behaviour. The body as metaphor investigates rites of passage as the re-tellings of one’s story within specific body/site/space relationships. The ideal of connection to site is central as a means of renewal and recovery – these performative relationships become the creative meaning-making processes of locating or positionality. In support of these ideas and concepts, the work of Ana Mendieta, Magdalena Abakanowicz and Suzanne Lacy are considered in relation to ideals of positionality and as reflecting each artist’s ethics or paradigms of equality. Artworks are examined against the notion of locating oneself within social contexts. The aim is to question the intention and outcomes of art-making as social function in dealing with issues of marginalisation and stigma. Performativity, personal writings/reflections and memory drawings are the quintessential tools of my art-making. The written psychological renderings and unravellings of my mind, questionings that are both reflexive and critical, are intentionally presented in dialogical, conversational and direct modes. This personal tone aims to allow a scope into my mind – it is my perspective from the inside, my voice, my personal understanding of the potential of art as a metaphorical process of transformation. Lacy asserts that the artist becomes a witness, reporter and analyst for socio-culturally biased concerns; a performance gives public articulation and permission to speak out loud, gives voice to internal dialogues, reveal information that requires questioning and that personal individual experience has profound social implications. Lacy believes that it is an innate human need to reflect on the meaning of one’s life and one’s work (2010:176-177). Central to the findings of this study, are both the transgressive and transformative functions of art. / M

Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of trauma are a hallmark symptom of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The term ‘flashback’ is used in this thesis to refer to vivid, sensory perceptual (predominantly visual images), emotional memories from a traumatic event that intrude involuntarily into consciousness. Furthermore, intrusive image based memories occur in a number of other psychological disorders, for example, bipolar disorder and depression. Clinically, the presence and occurrence of flashbacks and flashback type memories are well documented. However, in terms of the neural underpinnings there is limited understanding of how such flashback memories are formed or later involuntarily recalled. An experimental psychopathology approach is taken whereby flashbacks are viewed on a continuum with other involuntary autobiographical memories and are studied using analogue emotional events in the laboratory. An initial review develops a heuristic clinical neuroscience framework for understanding flashback memories. It is proposed that flashbacks consistent of five component parts – mental imagery, autobiographical memory, involuntary recall, attention hijacking and negative emotion. Combining knowledge of the component parts helped provide a guiding framework, at both a neural and behavioural level, into how flashback memories may be formed and how they return to mind unbidden. Four studies (1 neuroimaging, 3 behavioural) using emotional film paradigms were conducted. In the first study, the trauma film paradigm was combined with neuroimaging (n = 35) to investigate the neural basis of both the encoding and the involuntary recall of flashback memories. Results provided a first replication of a specific pattern of brain activation at the encoding of memories that later returned as flashbacks. This included elevation in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, insula, thalamus, ventral occipital cortex and left inferior frontal gyrus (during just the encoding of scenes that returned as flashbacks) alongside suppressed activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (during the encoding of scenes that returned as flashbacks in other participants, but not that individual). Critically, this is also the first study to show the brain activation at the moment of flashback involuntary recall in the scanner. Activation in the middle and superior frontal gyri and the left inferior frontal gyrus was found to be associated with flashback involuntary recall. In the second study, control conditions from 16 behavioural trauma film paradigm experiments were combined (n = 458) to investigate commonly studied factors that may be protective against flashback development. Results indicated that low emotional response to the traumatic film footage was associated with an absence of flashbacks over the following week. The third study used a positive film to consider the emotional valence of the emotion component of the framework. Positive emotional response at the time of viewing the footage was associated with positive involuntary memories over the following week. The fourth study aimed to replicate and extend this finding, comparing the impact of engaging in two cognitive tasks after film viewing (equated for general load). Predictions were not supported and methodological considerations are discussed. Results may have implications for understanding flashbacks and involuntary autobiographical memories occurring in everyday life and across psychological disorders. Further understanding of the proposed components of the clinical neuroscience framework may even help inform targeted treatments to prevent, or lessen, the formation and frequency of distressing involuntary memories.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for MA by Coursework and Research Report, Johannesburg, 2017 / This research report explores the influences of memory in selected works by two visual artists: South African Kemang Wa Lehulere’s Remembering the Future of a Hole as a Verb 2.1 and Polish artist Ursula von Rydingsvard’s Droga. The report examines the ways in which personal memory can inform creative practice and the surface difficulties such endeavours may present. These works and writings on memory and creative practice inform my own practice, through which I investigate ways of expressing my memories of my grandparents’ carpentry workshop in Sunnydale Eshowe in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. / XL2018

The ability to imagine negative or positive future events is associated with psychological well-being. The present thesis deals with depressed individual’s ability to imagine negative or positive future events. It consists of three quantitative studies (I-III) and one qualitative study (IV). Participants in studies I-III were assessed in connection with a randomized controlled trial of two ways to deliver Internet-based treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). Their ages ranged between 19-65 years. In addition to receiving treatment participants completed the Controlled Word Association Test; the Autobiographical Memory test (AMT) and the Future Thinking Task (FTT). Participants in study IV were recruited from a psychiatric clinic in Sweden. The sample sizes varied between study I (N=40), II (N=88), III (N=47) and IV (N=15). The aim of the first study was to compare positive and negative future thinking in a group of depressed individuals (n=20) who were compared with a matched group of non-depressed persons (n=20). The results showed that depressed persons report lower scores regarding anticipated future positive events, but that they do not differ in terms of future negative events. The aim of the second study was to examine the association between FTT and AMT in a depressed sample. The results showed that positive future thinking was significantly correlated with retrieval of specific positive autobiographical memories (r = 0.23). The results only gave weak support for an association between FTT and AMT. The aim of the third study was to investigate if scores on the FTT would change following two forms of Internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy for major depression (guided self-help and e-mail therapy). A second aim was to study if changes in depression scores as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory would correlate with changes in future thinking. The results showed that FTT index scores for negative events were reduced after treatment. There was no increase for the positive events. Change scores for the FTT negative events and depression symptoms were significantly correlated. The aim of the fourth study was to investigate representations of the future in depressed individuals by using open-ended methodology inspired by grounded theory. The results showed that depressed individuals experienced a state of “ambivalence”. Ambivalence and its negative emotional and cognitive effects were substantially reduced in strength when participants were asked about their distant future. The conclusions drawn from these studies are that depressed persons report lower scores regarding anticipated future positive events (Study I). There is some support for a positive association between FTT and AMT, but the association is weak and only concern positive FTT and positive AMT (Study II). Negative future thinking may be reduced after Internet-delivered treatment, and changes in depressive symptoms correlate to some extent with reductions in negative future thinking (Study III). The concept of ambivalence may be an important feature of depression which deserves more attention from both a theoretical and clinical perspective (Study VI). / Förmågan att föreställa sig negativa eller positiva framtida händelser är förknippad med vårt psykiska välbefinnande. Denna avhandling fokuserar deprimerade individers förmåga att föreställa sig negativa eller positiva framtida händelser. Den består av tre kvantitativa studier (I-III) och en kvalitativ studie (IV). Deltagare i studie I-III rekryterades i samband med en randomiserad kontrollerad studie av två sätt att ge Internet-baserad behandling för egentlig depression (vägledd självhjälp och e-postterapi) . Deltagarnas ålder varierade mellan 19-65 år. Förutom att gå igenom behandling fick deltagarna genomföra olika tester ( Controlled Word Association Test (COWAT), Autobiographical Memory test (AMT) och Future Thinking Task (FTT)). Deltagarna i studie IV rekryterades från en vuxenpsykiatrisk klinik i Sverige. Sampelstorleken varierade mellan studie I (n = 40), II (n = 88), III (n = 47) och IV (n = 15). Syftet med den första studien var att undersöka positiva och negativa framtidstankar hos deprimerade individer (n = 20) vilka jämfördes med en matchad grupp av icke-deprimerade individer (n = 20). Resultaten visade att deprimerade individer rapporterade färre förväntade framtida positiva händelser, men att de inte skiljer sig åt vad gäller framtida negativa händelser. Syftet med den andra studien var att undersöka sambandet mellan FTT och AMT hos deprimerade individer. Resultaten visade att positivt framtidstänkande var signifikant korrelerat med specifika positiva självbiografiska minnen (r = 0.23). Dock visade resultaten enbart ett svagt stöd för ett statistiskt signifikant samband mellan FTT och AMT. Syftet med den tredje studien var att undersöka om poäng på FTT ändrades som en följd av två former av Internetbaserad kognitiv beteendeterapi hos deprimerade individer. Ett andra syfte var att studera om förändringar i depressionspoäng mätt med Beck Depression Inventory skulle korrelera med förändringar i FTT. Resultaten visade att FTT indexpoäng för negativa händelser minskade efter behandling. Det fanns ingen ökning gällande positiva händelser. Ändrade poäng för FTT negativa händelser och depressionssymtom var signifikant korrelerade. Syftet med den fjärde studien var att undersöka representationer av framtiden hos deprimerade individer genom att använda en ”open-ended” metodik inspirerad av grundad teori. Resultaten visade att deprimerade individer upplevde ett tillstånd av "ambivalens". Ambivalensen och dess negativa emotionella och kognitiva effekter minskade betydligt i styrka när de tillfrågades om en mer avlägsen framtid. Slutsatserna från dessa studier är att deprimerade individer rapporter färre förväntade framtida positiva händelser, men att de inte skiljer sig från en kontrollgrupp avseende antal negativa framtida händelser (Studie I). Det finns visst stöd för ett positivt samband mellan FTT och AMT, men sambandet är svag och avser endast positiva FTT och positiva AMT (Studie II). Negativt framtidstänkande kan reduceras efter Internetbaserad behandling, och förändringar i depressionssymtom korrelerar till viss del med minskning av negativt framtidstänkande (studie III). Koncepten ambivalens vid depression kan vara ett viktigt inslag av depression som förtjänar mer uppmärksamhet från både ett teoretiskt och kliniskt perspektiv (Studie VI).

Les patients schizophrènes souffrent de graves déficits de mémoire autobiographique. Cela a un impact direct sur leur identité personnelle et leur statut fonctionnel dans la vie quotidienne. A travers 3 études, nous avons montré que l’ensemble des caractéristiques subjectives du rappel des souvenirs est perturbé chez les patients schizophrènes (distorsion de la perception du temps subjectif, moindre fréquence de la perspective visuelle Acteur). L’altération de ces aspects subjectifs serait liée au manque de spécificité et de détails des souvenirs. Ce sont ces détails qui rendent le rappel des souvenirs vivace. Aussi, nous avons testé l’efficacité d’une méthode qui a montré que les déficits de récupération stratégique de ces détails pouvaient être corrigés. Les patients sont capables d’améliorer le rappel des détails de leurs souvenirs si une aide appropriée leur est fournie. Une thérapie de remédiation cognitive basée sur cette méthode pourrait être proposée aux patients schizophrènes. / Patients with schizophrenia suffer from severe autobiographical memory deficits. These have a significant impact on patients’ personal identity and functional status in daily life. Through three studies, we showed that all the subjective characteristics of autobiographical recall are impaired in patients with schizophrenia (distorted perception of subjective time, memory recall less associated with Field visual perspective). The impairment of these subjective aspects of autobiographical recall was linked to the lack of specificity of memories and low level of details in patients’ memories. It is these details which allow vivid memory recall. Hence, we tested the effectiveness of a method which showed that deficits in the strategic retrieval of memory details could be remediated. Patients are able to improve the recall of their memory details when given the necessary means to do so. A cognitive remediation therapy, based on this method, could be set up with patients with schizophrenia.

Evidence from self-reports and laboratory studies suggests that recall of nontrauma autobiographical memories may be disturbed in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but investigations in everyday life are sparse. This study investigated unintentional nontrauma and trauma memories in trauma survivors with and without PTSD (N = 52), who kept an autobiographical memory diary for a week. We investigated whether unintentional nontrauma memories show an overgeneral memory bias and further memory abnormalities in people with PTSD, and whether unintentional trauma memories show distinct features. Compared to the no-PTSD group, the PTSD group recorded fewer nontrauma memories, which were more overgeneral, more often from before the trauma or related to the trauma, were perceived as distant, and led to greater dwelling. Trauma memories were more vivid, recurrent, and present and led to greater suppression and dwelling. Within the PTSD group, the same features distinguished trauma and nontrauma memories. Results are discussed regarding theories of autobiographical memory and PTSD.

Abstract The relationship between emotion and memory has been the subject of several fascinating investigations for decades now. From a developmental perspective, research has demonstrated that episodic/autobiographical memories improve in typically developing children from an early age through adulthood. This is because of their nature in relation to processing emotional regulation strategies and recollection of traumatic or past experiences. The current systematic literature review sought to further explore the relationship between emotion regulation and episodic/autobiographical memories from a developmental perspective. The relationship was investigated using a systematic literature review in accordance with guidlines from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis. The quality of included studies was evaluated using the Study Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional studies from the National Institute of Health. The search for empirical peer-reviewed articles yielded n=686 participants from various countries who qualified for inclusion from six databases. Due to the heterogeneity of the studies included a meta-analysis could not be done. In terms of emotion regulation strategies, emotional situation knowledge, and sensitive guidance of parental reminiscing, the results show a significant association between emotion regulation and episodic/autobiographical memories. Children as young as three years demonstrated emotional understanding and were able to recall past events, however, older children (4-older) performed better on all memory tasks, indicating that they have developed their cognition strategies well enough to outperform the younger children. Despite the positive association addressed, this systematic review observed some vaiations in the results which were noted due to the study designs included. Although few studies have advanced our understanding of the relationship between emotion regulation, episodic, and autobiographical memories, and traumatic life events, additional study is still required to better understand how these relationships develop and change over time utilizing longitudinal studies. / Sammanfattning Sambandet mellan känsla och minne har varit föremål för flera fascinerande undersökningar i decennier nu. Ur ett utvecklingsperspektiv har forskning visat att episodiska/självbiografiska minnen förbättras i typiskt utvecklande barn från tidig ålder till vuxen ålder. Detta beror på deras natur i sambandet till bearbetning av emotionella regleringsstrategier och minne av traumatiska eller tidigare upplevelser. Den aktuella systematiska litteraturöversikten försökte ytterligare att utforska sambandet mellan känsloreglering och episodiska/självbiografiska minnen ur ett utvecklingsperspektiv. Sambabdet undersöts med hjälp av en systematisk litteraturöversikt i enlighet med riktlinjerna från Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis. Kvaliteten på inkluderade studier utvärderades med hjälp av studiekvalitetsbedömningsverktyget för observationskohort-och tvärsnittsstudier från National Institute of Health. Sökningen efter empiriska peer-reviewed artiklar gav n=686 deltagare från olika länder som kvalificerade sig för inkludering i sex databaser. På grund av de ingående studiernas heterogenitet kunde en metaanalys inte göras. När det gäller strategier för känsloreglering, kunskap om känslöreglering situationer, känslig vägledning av förälders reminiscens, visar resultaten en signifikant samfällighet mellan känsloreglering och episodiska/självbiografiska minnen. Barn så ung som tre år visade känslomässig förståelse och kunde återkalla tidigare händelser., dock äldre barn (4 äldre) presenterade bättre på alla minnesuppgifter, vilket tyder på att de har utvecklat sina kognitivs strategier tillräckligt bra för att överträffa de yngre barnen. Trots den positiva samfällighet som adresserades, observerade denna systematiska översikt några av de flesta variationer i resultaten och noterades på grund av studiedesign som inkluderades. Även om få studier har förbättrat vår förståelse av sambandet mellan känsloreglering, självbiografiska och episodiska minnen och traumatiska livshändelser, krävs ytterligare studierna för att bättre förstå hur dessa relationer utvecklas och förändras övertiden med hjälp av longitudinella studierna.

Text in German, summaries in English and German / Alter und Altern gilt in Deutschland derzeit als eines der wichtigsten Zukunftsfelder wissenschaftlicher Forschung. Dabei liegt ein besonderes Augenmerk auf der nachberuflichen Lebensphase, dem so genannten dritten Lebensalter. Eine Gesellschaft des um 20-30 Jahre verlängerten Lebens bei meist guter Gesundheit ist kulturgeschichtlich ein neues Phänomen für das es keine Vorbilder gibt, so dass der jetzigen Generation der „jungen Alten“ eine gestalterische Aufgabe für sich und die Nachfolgegenerationen zukommt. Diese Arbeit befasst sich mit dem Thema Altern zunächst aus humanistischer und daran anschließend aus biblisch-theologischer Sicht. Diese beiden Kapitel enthalten grundlegende Aussagen zum Thema Altern aus unterschiedlichen Disziplinen und beziehen diese, wo möglich, aufeinander. Sie bilden die Grundlage und Voraussetzung für das Folgekapitel, in dem Bedeutung, Möglichkeiten und Grenzen von Biografiearbeit als praktisch-theologisches Bildungsangebot in der pastoralen Begleitung von Menschen in der nachberuflichen Lebensphase untersucht werden. Dabei wird offensichtlich, dass sowohl gerontologische Literatur als auch biblische Texte Biografiearbeit an einschneidenden Wendepunkten des Lebens als eine wichtige Voraussetzung für gelingendes Leben darstellen. Der Person und der Professionalität der Anleiterin kommen in dem Prozess biografischer Selbstreflexion mit älteren Menschen eine tragende Rolle zu. / Old age and the process of aging is currently one of the most important fields for future scientific study and research. Special focus is centered on the post-career phase. A society where life is prolonged for an extra 20 to 30 years, most of which are spent in reasonably good health, is culturally speaking a recent phenomenon for which there are no historical models. It follows, that the current generation bears a great responsibility in shaping and moulding this stage in their lives not only for themselves but also for future generations. This dissertation concentrates on the theme of aging, first from a humanistic point of view, and secondly by focusing on biblical and theological aspects. Both of these chapters contain fundamental and important statements regarding the subject of aging as seen from different disciplines, and, wherever possible, with reference to each other. They build the basis and prerequisite for the following chapter in which the significance and possibilities as well as the limits of biography work is researched in view of pastoral care and training for elderly people in the post employment phase of their life. It becomes obvious, that not only gerontological literature but also biblical texts depict biographical work as an important prerequisite for a life experienced as being successful, especially at drastic turning points in life. A vital part in biographical reflection with elderly people is played by the person and professionalism of the instructor. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

L’objectif de ce travail était d’étudier la mémoire autobiographique (MAb) aux stades débutants de la maladie d’Alzheimer et d’analyser le lien avec le Self défini selon le modèle de Prebble et collaborateurs. (2013) et en investiguant les substrats neuro-anatomiques. Notre étude a confirmé qu’il existait une altération de la MAb chez les patients atteints de maladie d’Alzheimer, dans sa composante épisodique et émotionnelle, quelle que soit l’ancienneté des souvenirs. Nous avons pu rattacher ce déficit épisodique à l’atrophie des régions temporales internes et en suggérer l’implication de l’hippocampe gauche dans le contexte temporel des souvenirs et de l’amygdale droite dans la composante émotionnelle. En revanche, il existait une relative préservation du niveau des détails des souvenirs émotionnels résiduels, et surtout, des souvenirs sémantisés, ces derniers étant supportés par le néocortex temporal. Concernant le Self de façon plus générale, les résultats mettent en évidence un lien entre Self-conceptuel et MAb, par le biais des processus de sémantisation et d’intégration des souvenirs qui permettent de former des représentations abstraites à partir des expériences vécues. Par ailleurs, nous avons également montré que le sens subjectif de soi est inhérent à toutes les autres composantes du Self. Par l’étude d’un cas unique et d’imagerie volumétrique de groupe, le cortex préfrontal médian a été mis en évidence comme substrat commun à toutes les composantes du Self, suggérant un rôle clé de cette structure pour supporter le sens subjectif de soi. Ces résultats ouvrent des pistes de remédiation par la réminiscence basée sur les mécanismes de sémantisation, d’intégration et sur les aspects émotionnels, au centre desquels se trouvent les souvenirs définissant-le-soi. Aussi notre étude engage-t-elle à analyser ces composantes du Self au sein de réseaux, en connectivité fonctionnelle et anatomique. / The present study aimed at studying autobiographical memory (AbM) in patients at early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as at analyzing the link between AbM and the Self components (as defined by Prebble et al., 2013), and finally, at investigating its neuro-anatomical correlates. The results we obtained confirmed AbM is damaged in patients with regards to episodic and emotional components, whatever the age of the memory. The deficit in episodic memory was associated with medial temporal lobe atrophy, with the left hippocampus seemingly involved in the temporal context of the memories and the right amygdala in the emotional component. Conversely, specificity of remaining emotional memories was relatively preserved, as well as semanticized memories, which rely on the temporal neocortex. In the context of the Self more generally, our results highlight a relationship between the conceptual-Self and autobiographical memories, through semanticization and integration processes, which allow the formation of the most abstracted forms of self-representations. Moreover, the subjective sense of Self appears as a prerequisite to all other Self components. Based upon a case study and a volumetric group study, we were able to show that the implication of the medial prefrontal cortex is common to all Self components, suggesting its key role for the subjective sense of Self. Our results point to a potential rehabilitation therapy based on reinforcing self-defining memories to strengthen the Self. This work will be completed by the study of functional and anatomical networks sustaining the Self.