Bipolar disorder is characterised by intense fluctuations in mood, including the experience of severe episodes of depression, mania and hypomania. The experience of bipolar disorder can also be associated with biases in various cognitive processes, including rumination in response to positive and negative mood states and tendencies to make dysfunctional self-appraisals. Preliminary research has also suggested that bipolar disorder may be associated with deficits in the recall of specifically detailed autobiographical memories. The lack of specificity in the recall of autobiographical memories, known as the 'overgeneral' recall bias, refers to tendencies to generate generalised memory representations as the memory recall process is terminated prior to the activation of specifically detailed memories. This overgeneral recall of autobiographical memories can also contribute to ruminative thought patterns, impair the generation of effective solutions to problems, and is associated with poor illness outcomes. The overgeneral bias has been extensively researched within major depressive disorder and suicidality, but has been comparatively under-researched in bipolar disorder and in vulnerable individuals. A series of eight studies were designed to: (i) investigate the cross-sectional associations across measures of positive and negative rumination and self-appraisal with the vulnerability to hypomania, and investigate the associations of these cognitive styles with prospective mood symptoms in an at-risk sample; (ii) investigate the cognitive vulnerability to hypomania in relation to rumination, problem-solving and autobiographical memory specificity; (iii) conduct a preliminary investigation into the associations between goal-related memory processes and extreme goal-pursuit in relation to hypomania vulnerability; (iv) investigate whether the vulnerability to hypomania and future bipolar disorders is associated with similar patterns of overgeneral memory recall on a standardised cue memory task; and (v) investigate the patterns of autobiographical memory specificity within a remitted bipolar sample. The heightened vulnerability to future bipolar disorders was associated with tendencies to engage in both positive and negative forms of ruminative thought processes, and with poorer psychosocial problem-solving, however, this relationship with problem-solving was not independent of current mood symptoms. The results of two studies indicated that the heightened vulnerability to hypomania was associated with an overgeneral memory bias across two different assessments of memory specificity, in direct contrast to previous research. Individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder also reported more extreme overgenerality during memory recall than a sample of age and gender-matched healthy controls, but were able to recall some specifically detailed negative memories in short response latencies compared to non-bipolar control participants. The research presented within this thesis supports the notion of a continuum of increasing overgenerality in the bipolar disorder spectrum, inclusive of at-risk individuals to people formally diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Although bipolar disorder appears to be associated with a trait-based overgeneral memory bias, bipolar individuals appear to have ready access to some specific negative memories even during remission from symptoms. The clinical implications of this research, methodological considerations in the assessment of memory specificity, and directions for further investigations into the nature of autobiographical memory recall in bipolar spectrum disorders are discussed.

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Individuals with schizophrenia exhibit marked impairments on tasks assessing theory of mind (ToM) and autobiographical memory (AM) qualities, and preliminary research has indicated a positive link between these abilities. This study is the first to systematically explore this relationship in the related personality trait of schizotypy. In a study of 47 undergraduate students (23 males) reporting a wide continuous range of schizotypy, we found that females, but not males, exhibited a negative correlation between ToM and schizotypy, and an unexpected positive correlation between AM qualities and schizotypy. Factor score analysis within females indicated that disorganized schizotypy was the strongest correlate of both ToM (i.e., affective ToM; ability to infer emotions), and AM qualities (i.e., mental imagery vividness). Finally, independent of schizotypy and sex, ToM was negatively correlated with AM qualities. This negative association between ToM and AM as well as the positive relationship between schizotypy and AM (in females) distinguish findings in schizotypy from those in schizophrenia. Although, the qualities of AM in schizotypy are relatively unexplored in schizotypy, overlapping and AM-related constructs (e.g., mental image vividness, creativity) are enhanced in schizotypy. This phenomenon is theorized to occur due to a reduced latent inhibition process, which also reveals distinct patterns of sexual dimorphism in schizotypy. In sum, the current study found sex to be a critical variable in each hypothesis, demonstrating a unique pattern in females, but not males. It could be that distinct underlying mechanisms account for sex differences on ToM and AM tasks in schizophrenia-related disorders.

Socioemotional theories posit that the experience of overcoming unique life challenges over a lifetime enhances self-efficacy and emotional resilience among older adults. Older adults demonstrate greater emotional well-being and motivation to regulate emotions than younger adults, but specific regulatory mechanisms supporting late-life emotional resilience remain unclear. Cognitive reappraisal is an effective but cognitively demanding emotion regulation strategy and shows mixed efficacy in later-life. While a growing repertoire of autobiographical memories may be a resource with age, the role of autobiographical recall in momentary reappraisal has never been tested empirically. In this online study, older and younger adults were trained to reappraise the meaning of negative images as more positive by associating them either to any relevant autobiographical memory from the past (n=153), a specific cued autobiographical memory (reappraisal, n=118), or without autobiographical reference (n=156). Results revealed all strategies to be effective in regulating negative image intensity across age. While older adults outperformed younger adults in the non-AM condition, the opposite was observed for uncued AM reappraisals, and no age differences were found for cued AM reappraisals. Non-AM reappraisal was easiest to employ for all participants, and older adults reported all reappraisal strategies as easier than younger adults. While older adults found their AMs more helpful and more similar to reappraised images than younger adults, AM- image similarity was surprisingly associated with lower reappraisal efficacy. Findings suggests that AM reappraisal benefits are mixed for older adults, likely due to efficacy but higher associated cognitive burden of AM recall. We posit that older adults may sacrifice immediate hedonic relief, to engage with challenging but helpful emotion regulation strategies. We discuss limitations of this study, and areas for future directions to substantiate interpretations further.

Methods A standardised measurement tool was developed by identifying aspects of self that can be measured, and research methods that are effective at investigating self in people without dementia. The measure consists of three sets of illustrated ‘I am…’ statements representing Activities, Traits and Physical Characteristics, and Relationships and Occupations. Participants were asked to (i) sort these according to whether each was ‘just like me’, ‘a bit like me’ or ‘not at all like me’ (ii) sort their ‘just like me’ choices to identify the statement most like them; (iii) describe memories associated with this statement. The measure was tested with 20 people with dementia to inform refinement. The refined measure was tested for reliability and validity by comparing results from five people with dementia and six age-matched people without dementia. Results Outcome measures were strength, complexity and quality of self and an ‘episodicity’ score reflecting the descriptive richness of memories. The initial administration to 20 people indicated that the measure was suitable for people with mild to moderate dementia, and the outcomes were meaningful and reliable. An ‘Observational Framework’ was developed to enable measurement of self via gestures and expressions of people with limited verbal abilities. The second study indicated that the new measure has good test-retest reliability, but convergent validity was not demonstrated. Participants with dementia demonstrated strength, complexity and quality of self scores comparable to participants without dementia. The results suggest that providing visual cues bypasses the cognitive processes required for effortful recall. / Alzheimer’s Society

Language plays a crucial role in remembering, storing, maintaining, accessing, and sharing of memories. This evidence comes from the disciplines of psychoanalysis (Javier et al., 1993; Schwaneberg, 2010), developmental psychology (Fivush, 2011; Nelson, 2004), and bilingual memory (Larsen et al., 2002; Marian & Neisser, 2000). Some of the most telling examples come from bilingual psychotherapy where therapist switch to the patient’s native language in order to access childhood memories (e.g., Aragno & Schlacher, 1996). The loss of language, therefore, may have a detrimental effect on memory storage and recall. Until now, however, this possibility has not been tested. The purpose of the present study is to address this gap by investigating autobiographical memory in speakers undergoing L1 attrition. The study is grounded in the dual-coding theoretical framework (Paivio, 1971; 2014). According to the dual-coding theory, memories that are encoded with multiple memory traces (audio, visual, etc.) are remembered better and a weakening of a memory trace due to its inactivation might lead to forgetting. Therefore, memories that were encoded in a language that is no longer available might show signs of deterioration. Twelve non-attriters ages 18-28 (M=22.08; SD=3.73), 13 moderate attriters ages 18-33 (M=24.29; SD=5.43), and 10 advanced attriters ages 18-30 (M=23.1; SD=3.7) shared autobiographical memories with the help of free recall and cued-recall procedures (Marian & Neisser, 2000; Schrauf & Rubin, 2000). The pool of 420 free recall memories were analyzed for amount of detail (Levine et al., 2002) and the set of 1,988 cued recall memories were analyzed for phenomenological properties of vividness, significance, emotionality, and confidence in the event (Schrauf, 2009; Schrauf & Rubin, 2004). The results revealed that moderate attriters who had vague L1 Russian memories recalled memories with lower confidence rating in comparison to non-attriters, which suggests a negative L1 attrition effect on bilingual autobiographical memory. However, the advanced attriters were able to recall vivid and detailed L1 Russian memories. The aforementioned finding did not support the study’s hypothesis that memories might be forgotten if the language of encoding is no longer available. This can be explained by the following observation. Advanced attriters recalled their L1 Russian memories very frequently which insured a preservation of these memories. This rehearsing of L1 memories in their dominant L2 English also caused re-encoding of these memories into the dominant language. This was observed qualitatively (participants commenting on how L1 Russian memories were coming to them with L2 English words) and quantitatively (L1 Russian memories were reported to be accompanied by L2 English words). These findings have several theoretical implications for the discipline of bilingualism. L1 attrition may have a negative effect on bilingual autobiographical memory, at least as far as the phenomenological properties are concerned. However, this negative effect can be reversed by frequent rehearsing of memories that were encoded in an attrited language. Rehearsing may lead to re-encoding of L1 memories into the L2 which suggests that memories may be malleable. This demonstrates flexibility of bilingual mind and how it can adjust to L1 attrition. / Applied Linguistics

Yes / This study examined the effects of providing cues to facilitate autobiographical memory retrieval in Parkinson's disease. Previous findings have shown that individuals with Parkinson's disease retrieve fewer specific autobiographical memories than older adult controls. These findings are clinically significant since the quality of autobiographical memory is linked to identity and sense of self. In the current study, 16 older adults with Parkinson's disease without dementia and 16 matched older adult controls were given 3 min in which to recall autobiographical memories associated with five different time periods and to give each memory a short title. Participants were later asked to retrieve the memories in three phases: firstly in a free recall phase; secondly in response to general cues (time periods) and finally in response to specific cues (the short titles previously given). The number of memories and the quality of the memory (general or specific) was recorded in each condition. Compared with matched older adult controls, the Parkinson's disease group was impaired in retrieving the memories that they had previously given in the free recall phase and in response to general cues. The performance of the group with Parkinson's disease was only equivalent to the older adults when they retrieved memories in response to self-generated cues. The findings are discussed in relation to theories of autobiographical memory and the neuropsychology of Parkinson's disease.

Previous research has indicated that depression and thinking style (rumination versus distraction) interact to influence cognitive processing. Depressed ruminators produce more categoric autobiographical memories (AM) (i.e., a summary of repeated memories), and also demonstrate poorer SPS performance than depressed distracters and matched controls. The quality of AM retrieval during SPS is also related to the effectiveness of SPS solutions such that categoric AM retrieval during SPS contributes to poorer SPS. Therefore, the first aim of this thesis was to extend previous work by further investigating how an induced rumination/distraction influences subsequent AM retrieval during SPS and SPS performance. The first two studies examined how thinking style influences SPS and AM retrieval during SPS in a dysphoric (study 1) versus clinically depressed sample (study 2). The results indicated that rumination has a detrimental effect on SPS in both dysphoric and clinically depressed samples, with more pronounced effects in the clinical group. Rumination also appeared to influence AM retrieval during SPS for the clinically depressed group but not the dysphoric group. Moreover, in both samples, SPS performance was associated with the type of AM retrieval involved in the SPS process. As most studies investigating cognitive processes in depression have focused on Western people, a second aim of this thesis was to examine the association between thinking style, AM retrieval and SPS performance in depression from a cross-cultural perspective. The first cross-cultural study (Study 3) looked at AM retrieval on the AMT cueing task and the second cross-cultural study (Study 4) investigated whether these associations between thinking style, SPS and AM retrieval would vary across different cultures. Culture interacted with depression to influence AM retrieval on the AMT cueing task. However study 4 demonstrated that there seemed to be no interaction between culture, rumination and depression on SPS performance and AM retrieval during SPS.

While research highlights a number of risk factors for suicide, not all individuals displaying these characteristics will go on to attempt suicide. Depressed mood is a proximal indicator of suicide, with deterioration in already depressed mood increasing the likelihood of a suicide attempt. The overall aim of this thesis was to empirically test the Cognitive Model of Suicide by Wenzel and Beck (2008). This model proposes that each of the three components, dispositional vulnerabilities, mood disturbance and suicide related cognitions, may influence each other to enhance the propensity for a suicidal crisis. The thesis starts by examining the relationship between two personality characteristics (neuroticism and trait aggression) and current depressed mood, and then focuses on the relationship between suicidality and current depressed mood. Although autobiographical memories have been implied as a possible risk factor for suicidality, meta-analytical studies have highlighted discrepancies between sampling techniques which may limit interpretablity. Therefore, the first series of studies aimed to establish a protocol for assessing autobiographical memories. The second and third series of studies aimed to investigate whether the relationships between current depressed mood and specific personality factors (neuroticism and trait aggression) were indirectly influenced by other known risk factors that may affect cognitive processing of information (rumination, overgenerality, impulsivity). Moreover, these studies aimed to determine whether the same cognitive processing factors effected current depressed mood in non-suicidal and suicide attempt groups. The final series of studies aimed to determine whether these risk factors (neuroticism, trait aggression, brooding, impulsivity, and overgenerality) mediated the relationship between suicidality and current depressed mood. Findings indicated that compared to the non-suicidal group, individuals in the suicide attempt group was more likely to be influenced by the effects of trait aggression and brooding, and that the combination of these factors were positively associated with current depressed mood. In contrast, neuroticism and impulsivity appeared to influence individuals who had experienced suicidal ideation more than individuals who report never having suicidal thoughts or attempting suicide. Compared to the non-suicidal group, however, neuroticism and impulsivity did not show a significant association for current depressed mood in the suicidal ideation group. Findings supported the Interacting Sub-Systems model and are discussed in relation to the Cognitive Model of Suicide model.

An increasingly blurred understanding of the moral significance of accurate and authentic memory reconsolidation for an adequate apprehension of self, other, and community suggests a critical need to explore the inter-relationships shared between autobiographical memory, emotional rationality, and narrative identity in light of the contemporary possibilities of neurocognitive memory manipulation, particularly as it bears on ethical decision making. Grounding its thesis in four evidential effects – namely, (i) neurocognitive memory manipulation disintegrates autobiographical memory, (ii) the disintegration of autobiographical memory degenerates emotional rationality, (iii) the degeneration of emotional rationality decays narrative identity, and (iv) the decay of narrative identity disables one to seek, identify, and act on the good – the dissertation argues that neurocognitive memory manipulation cannot be justified as a morally licit biomedical practice insofar as it disables one to seek, identify, and act on the good. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Health Care Ethics / PhD; / Dissertation;