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Reliving lifelong episodic autobiographical memories via the hippocampus: A correlative resting PET study in healthy middle‐aged subjects
Author(s) -
Piolino Pascale,
Desgranges Béatrice,
Hubert Valérie,
Bernard Frédéric A.,
Matuszewski Vanessa,
Chételat Gaël,
Baron JeanClaude,
Eustache Francis
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
hippocampus
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.767
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1098-1063
pISSN - 1050-9631
DOI - 10.1002/hipo.20406
Subject(s) - episodic memory , autobiographical memory , recall , psychology , temporal lobe , hippocampus , semantic memory , cerebral blood flow , neuroscience , cognitive psychology , cognition , medicine , cardiology , epilepsy
Abstract We aimed at identifying the cerebral structures whose synaptic function subserves the recollection of lifetime's episodic autobiographical memory (AM) via autonoetic consciousness. Twelve healthy middle‐aged subjects (mean age: 59 years ± 2.5) underwent a specially designed cognitive test to assess the ability to relive richly detailed episodic autobiographical memories from five time periods using the Remember/Know procedure. We computed an index of episodicity (number of Remember responses justified by the recall of specific events and details) and an index of retrieval spontaneity, and additionally an index of semanticized memories (number of Know responses). The regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in the resting state, with H 2 O 15 as part of an activation PET study. The indexes were correlated with blood flow using volumes of interest in frontotemporal regions, including hippocampus and voxel‐wise analyses in SPM. With both analyses, significant correlations were mainly found between the index of episodicity and rCBF in the medial temporal lobe, including hippocampus, across the five time periods (unlike the index of semanticized memories) and between the spontaneity index and rCBF in the prefrontal areas. These results highlight, in healthy subjects, the distinct role of these two structures in AM retrieval and support the view that the hippocampus is needed for reexperiencing detailed episodic memories no matter how old they are. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.