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In several models of long-term memory it is assumed, either explicitly or implicitly, that different meanings of homonyms and even different senses of nonhomonyms have separate representations in long-term memory. While evidence has accrued, particularly from studies employing lexical decision tasks, to suggest that homonyms are multiply represented in semantic memory, claims for multiple representation of homonyms in episodic memory have tended to be made on a purely post hoc basis. The aim of the present research was to determine the manner in which homonyms are represented in episodic memory. A series of experiments were conducted in which either one or two meanings of homonyms were encoded at input. Retention of the homonyms or their biasing nouns was tested in a variety of retrieval contexts. The results obtained were consistent with a conceptualisation of episodic memory in which successive encodings of the same item are represented within the same memory trace which was established on the first occurrence of the item. When to different meanings of a homonym are encoded at input the encoded meanings will be represented within a single memory trace, with each different meaning being represented by an independent set of encoded semantic features. The generality of the framework for episodic memory which is developed is demonstrated through its interpretive application to a wide range of episodic memory phenomena.

“Despite the fact that memory in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has been researched for over fifty years, there has been very little in the way of attempts to synthesize or codify the findings” (Boucher & Bowler, 2008, p. xv). It is the intent of this thesis to address this need specifically for episodic memory function in individuals with autism or Asperger’s syndrome. A scoping review was conducted on episodic memory function in this population and the findings are used to: (1) produce an episodic memory profile for individuals with autism or Asperger’s syndrome; and (2) identify gaps in the existing literature for future areas of study. The framework for the search criteria was based on Lind and Bowler’s (2008) claim of development of episodic memory being dependent on three cognitive abilities: (1) concept of self; (2) meta-representation; and (3) temporal cognition. Implications for teaching practice were discussed in light of the findings. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-24 16:42:01.194

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

The evaluation of past experience is influenced both by the strength of retrieved memories and factors in the immediate retrieval environment, including emphasised goals and cued expectations. However, the laboratory study of episodic memory has neglected such environmental influences, despite their overt contribution to real- world decision outcomes. The aim of this PhD thesis was to rectify this neglect, and clarify the interaction of memory evidence and environmental strategies in the service of strategic memory control. A related aim was to investigate whether control processes identified in the isolated domain of episodic memory in fact performed a more general or “cross-domain” function. An initial series of behavioural experiments (Experiments 1-3) elucidated an overlooked source of strategic bias in the standard recognition environment –implicit goal emphasis imparted by question format. Experiment 4 investigated whether the question bias was commonly enacted across different domains of evaluation, yielding modest evidence in favour of this underlying cross-domain function. Experiment 5 instantiated more explicit manipulation of goal emphasis and cued expectation, and recovered independent and opposing strategic effects of these two environmental factors, emerging across episodic and non-episodic domains. Experiment 6 employed a simultaneous EEG-fMRI approach to elucidate the neural correlates of memory control, identifying a modulation of the late positive event- related potential during the resolution of mnemonic conflict, which was sourced to BOLD variation in regions of the rostral cingulate zone and intraparietal sulcus. Experiment 7 used pupillometry to examine pupil-linked autonomic systems that have also been implicated in memory control, and isolated two distinct components of the dilation response evoked during environmental conflict –an “early amplitude” unexpected familiarity effect and a “trailing slope” uncertainty effect. The findings illuminate the cross-domain underpinnings of an adaptive memory control system, evidenced in behaviour and across different functional neuroimaging modalities, and across episodic and non-episodic domains of evaluation.

An episodic novel set in rural north Texas in the 1920s, this thesis concerns the life of Lizzie Brown and her son Luke. Suffering from a series of emotional shocks combined with a chronic hormonal imbalance, Lizzie is hospitalized shortly after Luke's fourth birthday. Just as she is to be discharged, he husband dies unexpectedly. Viewed by society as incompetent to care for Luke and operate her ranch alone, she finds herself homeless. She returns to her brother's home briefly, but eventually is declared NCM and institutionalized. The story also concerns Luke, his relationships with his father and other relatives who care for him in Lizzie's absence. As he matures, he must deal with society's attitudes regarding mental illness and orphans. The story ends with Lizzie's funeral when he is twenty.

This project is an episodic novel that revolves around the misadventures and exploits of Povi McDougal, head diversity consultant for G & K. She is responsible for the aggressive sensitivity training of new hires in the company’s bid to avoid future lawsuits. She is a nervy, disenfranchised, high-functioning alcoholic. When you think Povi,think binaries: she’s a bighearted misanthrope. She is furious yet wistful, knowing yet obtuse, and so forth. The episodes are all narrated by Povi and are very voice-driven. As a series of connected stories, the action is not in service to one primary plotline. There is, however, a narrative arc that follows Povi’s efforts to come to grips with her personal and ethnic identity, her troubled past and her self-imposed isolation. Central to these stories is a synthetic folklore. As a child, Povi’s father enrolled her in the Indian Princesses youth group at the YMCA in a misguided attempt to help her connect more fully with her Native American heritage. Figuring prominently in the girls’ mythology was the tale of Falling Rock, the highly sought after Indian princess who wanders into the woods to escape the fray of young braves who seek her hand in marriage. “Legend has it that Falling Rock becomes lost and is never heard from again. The group’s participants are told to be on the lookout for her whenever they see a yellow road sign bearing her name. In short, Povi is my Princess Falling Rock. Given her sense of disinheritance, it seems fitting that her folklore is synthetic, invented. Basically, I’ve gotten her to wander off into the woods for a bit of solitude, and I’ve kept her there for a while, as she tries to find her way back to her tribe – or some such suitable substitute for tribal affiliation, community, love, what have you.

Converging cognitive and neuroimaging evidence reveals that episodic memory and episodic future thinking (EFT) share component processes. Much less is known about the relationship between EFT and working memory (WM) processes. We hypothesized that WM capacity might provide a crucial componential cognitive role during EFT by supporting the translation of information from discrete episodic memories into a novel future event. We tested this hypothesis in two studies. In Study 1, we collected functional magnetic resonance imaging data during a dual-task interference paradigm that varied WM load and processing demands during EFT. Events imagined while actively maintaining bound item-location representations were less vivid than those imagined during low WM load control trials. Measures of functional and effective connectivity indicated that this behavioral effect corresponded with reduced coupling between the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and right temporoparietal junction. Events imagined while simultaneously manipulating items in WM took longer to construct than events imagined during control trials and were associated with less functional coupling between the right hippocampus and posterior visuospatial regions. In Study 2, participants completed a similar WM dual-task while simultaneously recalling past events or imagining future events during scalp-recorded encephalography (EEG). As in Study 1, future events imagined while maintaining item-location representations were less vivid than control trials. This effect was specific to future events and corresponded to reduced theta reactivity over bilateral temporoparietal sites. Relative to episodic memory, EFT was associated with alpha synchronization over frontal and parietal sites as well as greater theta-gamma phase amplitude coupling in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In contrast, episodic memory was associated with greater cross-frequency coupling between frontal theta and occipital gamma oscillations. These results provide novel empirical support for previous theoretical accounts suggesting that WM capacity provides the cognitive workspace necessary to temporarily store and recombine details from discrete episodes into a future event representation. / PHD / This study used neuroimaging and behavioral techniques to identify how long-term and short-term memory processes interact to support the ability to imagine future events. The results suggest that short-term memory serves as a mental stage on which memories of the past are held and transformed into imagined scenes.

This thesis aims to examine the role of the hippocampus in declarative memory through the development of animal behavioural models of episodic memory for laboratory rats. Episodic memory- memory for unique events or episodes- is part of the declarative memory system thought to be mediated by the medial temporal lobe area of the brain in humans. One commonly used test of episodic memory in human subjects is paired associate learning. The first part of this thesis describes the adaptation of this human test for use with laboratory rats. Using their natural foraging tendency, rats were trained to search for different flavours of food at different locations within a large enclosure. When cued with a piece of food of a particular flavour in a separate box, rats learned to return to the place where that flavour of food had previously been found. This paradigm was used to investigate the role of the hippocampus in paired-associate learning using temporary pharmacological inactivation and permanent neurotoxic lesion techniques. The hippocampus has also been strongly implicated in spatial navigation, learning and memory in rats and humans. In the experiments described previously, attempts were therefore made to demonstrate that the results were not confounded by a simple deficit in spatial navigation. An alternative approach to studying episodic memory in the laboratory rat is to use the criteria established by Tulving in 1972 to describe episodic memory. He stated that episodic memory should encompass the memory for an event and the spatiotemporal context in which it occurred, i.e. the ”what”, ”where” and ”when” of an event. He later updated these criteria to include demonstration of autonoetic consciousness- most easily described as a sense of self awareness. Since this is difficult or impossible to demonstrate in animals, the term ”episodic-like” memory was coined (Clayton & Dickinson 1998) to describe the flexible use of information about the spatiotemporal aspects of an event by non-human species. Since it has been difficult to demonstrate the use of time (when) in rats (Bird et al; 2003, Babb & Crystal 2006a), Eacott & Norman (2004) suggested that the ”when” component could be replaced by context; i.e. another element specific to a particular event that they labelled ”which”. The next part of this thesis describes the use of the task published by Eacott & Norman to test episodic-like memory in the laboratory rat. Using the innate spontaneous behaviour of rats to explore novel aspects of their environment, they were exposed to multiple unique events. These consisted of various three-dimensional objects being presented in different locations within different contexts. Their memory for manipulations of the environment was then tested by presenting them with an event in which one combination of object, location and context was different from combinations which had previously been encountered. Due to their tendency to explore novel aspects of their environment, normal rats spent the majority of their time exploring the object that was in a novel location relative to the context in which it was presented. This successfully demonstrated integrated memory for what, where and which- similar to that previously defined by Tulving. The rats also showed that they could use this information flexibly because every trial involved unique combinations of objects, locations and contexts so there was no inadvertent semantic rule-learning involved. Permanent neurotoxic lesions of the hippocampus were used to determine the extent to which this structure is involved in memory for the what, where and which of an event. The experimental results presented in this thesis demonstrate an indisputable role for the hippocampus in a variety of tasks designed to parallel episodic memory in humans. The next steps in this line of research should involve characterisation of the roles of the various subregions of the hippocampus in episodic-like and paired associate memory.