Allen Philip A, Kaut Kevin P, Lord Robert G, Hall Rosalie J, Grabbe Jeremy W, Bowie Tanara
Department of Psychology, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-4301, USA.
Exp Aging Res. 2005 Oct-Dec;31(4):355-91. doi: 10.1080/03610730500206642.
Although there is a large decrement in central episodic memory processes as adults age, there is no appreciable decrement in central semantic memory processes (Allen et al., Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 57B, P173-P186, 2002; Allen et al., Experimental Aging Research, 28, 111-142, 2002; Mitchell, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15, 31-49, 1989). The authors develop a theory of episodic memory's connections to cognitive, emotional, and motivational systems to explain these differential age effects. The theory is discussed within the context of the cognitive neuroscience research regarding limbic system connectivity in conjunction with Damasio's notion of somatic markers (Descartes' error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain, New York: Grosset/Putnam, 1994). The central hypothesis is that elements of limbic system circuitry, including portions of the medial temporal lobes and frontal cortex, are associated with both working and long-term episodic memory performance, and by extension, with the capacity to engage in emotion-guided, self-regulatory processes that depend heavily on episodic memory. In contrast, the semantic memory system may have less shared interface with episodic and affective networks (i.e., the limbic-related system), and therefore remain independent of neurocognitive changes impacting emotional states and episodic-type memory processes. Accordingly, this framework may account for the pattern of age-related declines in episodic relative to semantic memory, particularly if older adults experience less emotional activation, and therefore fewer somatic markers, than younger adults. An initial empirical examination of this emotional mediation theory is presented, using preexisting data that include indicators of age, chronic tendency to focus on negative emotional stimuli (neuroticism), and working memory performance.
尽管随着成年人年龄增长，中枢情景记忆过程有大幅衰退，但中枢语义记忆过程却没有明显衰退（艾伦等人，《老年学杂志：心理科学》，57B，P173 - P186，2002；艾伦等人，《实验老年学研究》，28，111 - 142，2002；米切尔，《实验心理学杂志：学习、记忆与认知》，15，31 - 49，1989）。作者们提出了一种情景记忆与认知、情感和动机系统联系的理论，以解释这些不同的年龄效应。该理论在关于边缘系统连通性的认知神经科学研究背景下进行讨论，并结合了达马西奥的躯体标记概念（《笛卡尔的错误：情感、理性和人类大脑》，纽约：格罗赛特/普特南出版社，1994）。核心假设是，边缘系统回路的组成部分，包括内侧颞叶和额叶皮质的部分区域，与工作记忆和长期情景记忆表现相关，进而与参与严重依赖情景记忆的情感引导的自我调节过程的能力相关。相比之下，语义记忆系统与情景和情感网络（即与边缘相关的系统）的共享接口可能较少，因此独立于影响情绪状态和情景式记忆过程的神经认知变化。因此，这个框架可能解释了情景记忆相对于语义记忆与年龄相关的衰退模式，特别是如果老年人比年轻人经历的情绪激活更少，因此躯体标记也更少。本文利用已有的数据，包括年龄指标、关注负面情绪刺激的长期倾向（神经质）和工作记忆表现，对这种情绪中介理论进行了初步实证检验。
