Damage to the brain can affect the core of the individual, i.e. the self. Results from a small number of studies with amnesic individuals indicate that patients' ability to show preserved knowledge of self may vary. The present study explored self-knowledge in patients with memory impairment as a result of confabulation, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease and acquired brain damage. We found that different memory disorders differentially affected patients' self-knowledge. At least some patients showed a preserved sense of self, and were able to acquire information about another person that they had met postmorbidly. Frontal function and stability of cognitive impairments over time appear to be two variables important in determining whether patients can have a consistent and updated sense of self. We also explored the extent to which self-referential and other-referential processing might enhance memory in individuals with memory-impairment. The self-reference effect (SRE) and other-reference effect (ORE) have been consistently found in normal adults. Results indicated that patients showed a normal SRE and ORE. The SRE and ORE appeared to be at least partly dependent on degree of knowledge of the person being referenced, and were also related to general memory and frontal function. Only the SRE, however, was also related to patients' ability to improve memory as a result of emotional processing. These findings may have important implications for caregivers and healthcare professionals working with memory-impaired patients, and may pave the way to novel memory rehabilitation methods.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間健康科学) / 甲第20813号 / 人健博第50号 / 新制||人健||4(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科人間健康科学系専攻 / (主査)教授 三谷 章, 教授 二木 淑子, 教授 村井 俊哉 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human Health Sciences / Kyoto University / DGAM

[pt] Esquemas são estruturas mentais que organizam informações e influenciam processos cognitivos como a atenção e a recordação. Os esquemas que dizem respeito às próprias pessoas são chamados de autoesquemas. Informações relevantes para os autoesquemas podem ser mais facilmente recordadas. Assim, quando pessoas observam comportamentos característicos do seu autoesquema, elas tendem a recordar em maior grau essas informações. Dessa forma, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo verificar relações entre traços pessoais de personalidade e traços de personalidade recordados de terceiros. Participaram da pesquisa 4.488 pessoas, sendo 66,4 por cento mulheres e 33,6 por cento homens e com média de idade de 27,8 anos (DP = 9,17). Foi realizado um experimento com duas condições em que as pessoas liam a descrição de uma pessoa e, posteriormente, eram solicitadas e recordar as características dessa pessoa. A diferença entre as condições era o gênero da pessoa descrita. Os resultados indicaram que a maior parte dos efeitos encontrados ocorreram nas condições em que o gênero das pessoas foi compatível com o da personagem. Para os fatores extroversão e socialização verificou-se o efeito de autorreferência na recordação. Na condição em que os participantes leram sobre uma pessoa do mesmo gênero, verificou-se que uma proporção maior de homens baixos em extroversão recordou de características de extroversão; e uma proporção maior de mulheres altas no fator socialização recordou de características de socialização. Esses achados permitem concluir que, para contextos complexos, o efeito de autorreferência se sobressai para os traços diretamente relacionados à interação social. / [en] Schemas are mental structures that organize information and influence cognitive processes such as attention and recall. Schemas that concern people themselves are called self-schemas. Information relevant to self-schemas can be more easily recalled. Thus, when people observe behaviors characteristic of their self-schema, they tend to recall this information to a greater degree. Thus, this research aimed to verify the relationships between personal personality traits and personality traits remembered by others. Participated in the research 4,488 people, 66.4 percent women and 33.6 percent men, with a mean age of 27.8 years (SD = 9.17). An experiment was carried out with two conditions in which people read a person s description and were later asked to recall that person s characteristics. The difference between the conditions was the gender of the person described. The results indicated that most of the effects found occurred in conditions in which the people s gender was compatible with the character s. For the extraversion and socialization factors, the effect of self-reference on recall was verified. In the condition where the participants read about a person of the same gender, it was found that a greater proportion of men who were low in extraversion recalled characteristics of extraversion; and a greater proportion of women high in the socialization factor recalled socialization characteristics. These findings allow us to conclude that, for complex contexts, the self-reference effect stands out for traits directly related to social interaction.

Le premier objectif de cette thèse était d’explorer l’effet de référence à soi (ERS) sur la mémoire dans le vieillissement, l’amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) et la maladie d’Alzheimer (MA) à un stade précoce de l’évolution. Le second fut de revisiter les théories actuelles pour expliquer ce bénéfice mnésique, puis de tenter d’élucider ses mécanismes. Nous avons montré que l’ERS sur les représentations sémantiques de ses propres traits de personnalité (qui est une composante de notre identité) était préservé dans le vieillissement. Par ailleurs, nous avons montré que la profondeur de traitement, longtemps considérée comme le processus sous-tendant l’ERS, n’intervenait pas dans ce dernier. A contrario, l’interaction de l’âge et de l’estime de soi, ainsi que les expériences de vie des individus modulaient l’ERS. Nous avons montré que l’ERS pouvait résulter de deux processus : celui de la consistance des traits de caractère et celui de l’élaboration automatique des traits de caractère avec l’identité des individus. Nous avons par ailleurs rapporté pour la première fois que ce bénéfice mnésique s’opérait chez des patients atteints d’aMCI, un stade symptomatique et pré-démentiel de la MA, et qu’il pouvait s’observer dans une moindre mesure chez des patients MA. En outre, l’ERS agit comme mécanisme de self-défense chez les patients aMCI et MA, en les protégeant d’informations menaçantes pour l’intégrité de leur soi. Nous suggérons en dernier lieu que la référence à soi pourrait servir d’outil de réhabilitation sociale ou clinique pour augmenter l’estime de soi de certains individus et préserver leur mémoire et leur bien-être. / The first aim of this thesis was to examine the self-reference effect (SRE) on memory in aging, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and early-stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The second aim was to review the whole literature on the SRE and to attempt understanding its mechanisms. We showed that the SRE on semantic summary representations of one’s traits (which is a component of identity) was preserved in aging. Besides, we showed that depth of processing, which was hitherto regarded as the mechanism responsible for the SRE, did not actually play a role in the latter. By contrast, the interaction of age and self-esteem, as well as individuals’ life experiences modulated the SRE. We showed that the SRE resulted from two processes: the congruency of traits as well as the elaboration of traits with individuals’ identity. We also reported for the first time that aMCI patients benefited from the SRE, as well as AD patients in the early stage of the disease to a lesser extent. Furthermore, the SRE acted as a self-defense mechanism in patients with aMCI and AD by protecting them from negative feedback that constituted a threat to the integrity of their selves. Finally, we suggest that referencing the self could serve as a tool for social or clinical rehabilitation programs, by increasing the self-esteem of some individuals and preserving their memory and well-being.