Life-story narratives, chapters, and depression

The structure of life-story narratives and their component chapters is of central importance to the cognitive representations and communication of autobiographical memory. While evidence points to the hierarchical role of chapters in autobiographical summations and abstractions of periods of time, and life-time periods feature as a fundamental characteristic of the most prominent model of autobiographical memory, few researchers have attempted to examine their existence as unique units of representation, and their impact on the recall of episodic events. The present thesis sets out to establish the nature of lifestories using established methods for life-story narrative and chapter elucidation and a novel paradigm for examining memory recall from within chapters. It does so by contrasting the impact of life story chapters for people with depression against non-depressed groups, and in doing so finds evidence for chapters acting as affective schema for autobiographical periods, and access to episodic events, with an overall raised access for incongruent event representations. The findings of this thesis also indicate that narrative disorder in depression is not reliably present (Studies one and two) and that chapters, while more negative in tone (Studies two and three), may not be structurally different for dysphoric narratives compared to control groups (Study two). The schematic role of chapters in the recall of episodic memories, indicates a tendency in depression to display a negative bias in dissonance reduction between negative chapters and positive events (Study four). This thesis provides evidence that depression is linked to a negative bias in the higher- order chapter level of autobiographical memory, and that due to dissonance reduction processes, and the rehearsal of affectively congruent event-based representations, people with depression may have reduced access to positive material which would be used in mood repair and the creation of positive variation to their life-stories by drawing on specific events

Probing emotional influences on cognitive control: an ALE meta-analysis of cognition emotion interactions

Increasing research documents an integration of cognitive control and affective processes. Despite a surge of interest in investigating the exact nature of this integration, no consensus has been reached on the precise neuroanatomical network involved. Using the Activation Likelihood Estimation meta-analysis method, we examined 43 functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies (total number of foci = 332; total number of participants, N =820) from the literature that have reported significant interactions between emotion and cognitive control. Meta-analytic results revealed that concurrent emotion (relative to emotionally neutral trials) consistently increased neural activation during high relative to low cognitive control conditions across studies and paradigms. Specifically, these activations emerged in regions commonly implicated in cognitive control such as the lateral prefrontal cortex (inferior frontal junction, inferior frontal gyrus), the medial prefrontal cortex, and the basal ganglia. In addition, some areas emerged during the interaction contrast that were not present during one of the main effects and included the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and the precuneus. These data provide new evidence for a network of cognition emotion interaction within a cognitive control setting. The findings are discussed within current theories of cognitive and attentional control

Autobiographical Memory Specificity and Emotional Disorder

The authors review research showing that when recalling autobiographical events, many emotionally disturbed patients summarize categories of events rather than retrieving a single episode. The mechanisms underlying such overgeneral memory are examined, with a focus on M. A. Conway and C. W. Pleydell-Pearce's (2000) hierarchical search model of personal event retrieval. An elaboration of this model is proposed to account for overgeneral memory, focusing on how memory search can be affected by (a) capture and rumination processes, when mnemonic information used in retrieval activates ruminative thinking; (b) functional avoidance, when episodic material threatens to cause affective disturbance; and (c) impairment in executive capacity and control that limits an individual's ability to remain focused on retrieval in the face of distraction

The effect of positive episodic simulation on future event predictions in non-depressed, dysphoric, and depressed individuals

Previous research demonstrates that depressed individuals have difficulties with prospection. For example, compared to non-depressed individuals, they predict negative events as more likely to happen, and positive events as less likely to happen, in their future. Recent work suggests that episodic simulation of positive events may prove a useful strategy for improving these prospective biases. The experiments within the current thesis investigated positive episodic simulation as a method of modifying predictions regarding likelihood of occurrence, perceived control, and importance for both positive and negative future events. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated the positive impact of a newly devised paradigm, the Future Simulation Intervention Task (F-SIT), on future event predictions in a non-depressed sample. Experiment 3 investigated the parameters under which the F-SIT modifies these predictions, by using various modifications of the paradigm. These findings suggested that both single cue words with positive instructions, and positive cue scenarios were equally effective at modifying future event predictions. Experiments 4 and 5 extended the findings to show that various versions of the F-SIT beneficially modifies predictions in both a depressed and dysphoric sample. Finally, Experiment 5 also made preliminary investigations into the mechanisms that underlie the modifications evident following the F-SIT, specifically investigating the role of affect. Findings suggested that the modification in predictions about future events that occur as a result of the F-SIT are not merely a by-product of mood improvements. Therefore, the underlying mechanisms of the prediction modification is in need of further investigation. However, overall, the findings from the current experiments suggest that training in future episodic simulation can improve future outlook and may represent a useful tool within cognitive therapeutic techniques

An examination of the relationship between depression, autobiographical memory specificity and executive function

This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool. It focuses on the frequently reported finding of reduced specificity of autobiographical memory in participants diagnosed with depression (Williams & Broadbent; 1986, van Vreeswijk & de Wilde; 2004). That is, difficulty recalling the who, what, where and when, of a remembered event. The focus of investigation particularly within the thesis is that of executive functioning; a term describing a range of higher order cognitive functions that control and integrate other activities such as planning, sequencing, initiation. It is examined in relation to depression. The thesis is presented in paper form; Chapter 1 contains a systematic review of 9 research studies related to executive function in the memory specificity of participants with a diagnosis of depression. While executive functioning does appear to be related to reduced specificity the findings in the literature are not consistent highlighting the need for further research. The original empirical paper presented in Chapter 2 tests out hypotheses related to the claims of reduced specificity and executive functioning in participants with a diagnosis of depression (Burt, Zembar, & Niederehe, 1995). These hypotheses are based on the conclusions drawn from the review paper in Chapter 1. It concludes that while overall participants with a diagnosis of depression produce fewer memories overall, and particularly fewer specific memories, this difference can be reduced with modified materials which are more concrete and imaginable. These modified materials can also produce more specific memories overall. In addition, regardless of depression status, executive functioning has a significant impact on autobiographical memory specificity. These key findings are developed in an extended discussion in Chapter 3 and discussed in terms of their value and application to practices in clinical psychology. Chapter 3 also contains research dissemination for participants and a future research proposal expanding the scope of investigation from depression to trauma

The self in autism and its relation to memory

This chapter begins with some definitions of memory and the self and continues to explain their relation on the psychological level along with their facets. It considers the relevance of these theories to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The chapter provides a critical review of relevant research on the self in autism, followed by some hypotheses concerning how diminished sense of self might predict and explain the unique memory profile in the ASD population. Although there are a considerable number of studies showing typical performance on some types of “self” task among people with ASD on balance, existing evidence suggests that individuals with ASD have atypical me‐selves. There is a considerable amount of evidence to suggest that individuals with ASD have impaired episodic memory. Strikingly, the study of prospective memory in ASD is an emergent research field with a handful of studies published to date. Two forms of prospective memory are commonly distinguished: event‐based and time‐based

Metamemory in multiple sclerosis

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The concept of metamemory proposes that supplementary to typically measured memory abilities, memory monitoring and control processes are used to optimise learning. Accurate memory monitoring appears to be underpinned by a range of cognitive, and possibly affective, contributions. In populations with these deficits, metamemory has been shown to be impaired. In Multiple Sclerosis (MS), only a limited metamemory literature exists, surprising given that MS is a leading cause of disability among people of working age, and cognitive and mood disorder is common. Using structural equation modelling, this study of 100 people with MS explored factors contributing to performance on episodic Judgment of Learning, Retrospective Confidence and Feeling of Knowing. Given its negative influence on cognitive domains in MS, the impact of information processing deficits on metamemory was also investigated. Finally, memory self-report, a frequently used clinical indicator of memory functioning, was assessed. Findings suggest that memory complaint is associated with mood, and is unrelated to tested memory. Second, Retrospective Confidence Judgments were predictive of memory performance, even in the presence of memory impairment. Third, an unusual finding of maintained underconfidence at delay was observed in the Judgment of Learning task. Finally, Feeling of Knowing judgments related to executive, but not to memory ability. A novel finding in respect of this judgment was of processing speed relating negatively to accuracy, in the context of executive dysfunction. This suggests that some top-down direction of processing resources may be a factor in supporting accuracy, rather than the speed at which information is processed. Of all the task-based judgments, accuracy in this judgment was the only one with a reliable association with mood. Faster processing speed, executive dysfunction and least depression symptomatology related to low accuracy, perhaps typifying a profile of disinhibition seen in MS, characterised by poorly constrained processing and apparently elevated mood

Examining experience in depressed and nondepressed individuals

The inner experience of nine depressed and nine nondepressed individuals was explored using Descriptive Experience Sampling. Each participant completed four days of descriptive experience sampling, exploring about six moments of their inner experience on each sampling day. Although the Depressed participants self-reported substantially higher levels of depressive symptomatology on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D) on each day of sampling, the differences in the frequency of depressive symptomatology in the inner experiences of these two groups were not statistically significant. Despite the group differences not reaching statistical significance, the Depressed group experienced somewhat more frequent moments of depression, anxiety, fatigue, body discomfort, negative feelings, negative content, and fewer instances of positive feelings and content than the Nondepressed group. The two groups experienced the five most frequent phenomena of inner experience identified in prior DES studies (inner seeing, inner speaking, unsymbolized thinking, feelings, and sensory awareness) at similar rates. Moments reflecting constructs related to depression, such as Beck\u27s Negative Cognitive Triad, were either very infrequent or absent. Overall, differences in the inner experience of the depressed and nondepressed participants observed via descriptive experience sampling were much less pronounced than the differences in their global self-reports of depressive symptomatology via the CES-D. The implications and possible reasons for this are discussed