Dept. of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy; Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
Cortex. 2021 Oct;143:267-280. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.05.011. Epub 2021 Jun 1.
Whilst countless studies have shown that aging is associated with cognitive decline in the general population, near to nothing is known about this association in elderly individuals naturally exhibiting enhanced memory capabilities. The identification of a 75 years old individual (GC) with highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM), and his willingness to volunteer to our study over a period of five years, allowed us to investigate this issue in a single case study. At the age of 75 years, GC was screened for HSAM with the Public Events Quiz and the Random Dates Quiz, with a positive outcome. GC's memory performance was extraordinarily higher than normal-memory control subjects (>3 standard deviations), and comparable to a group of younger HSAM individuals (mean age of 32.5 years; Santangelo et al., 2018). GC underwent general neuropsychological (Mini-Mental State Examination), personality (Personality Assessment Inventory), and brain morphological (brain volumes and lesions) assessments, showing no deviation from normal ranges. To gain insight into the brain mechanisms underlying his memory performance, GC underwent functional brain imaging during the retrieval of memories associated with random dates. The latter were also rated in terms of reliving quality and emotional valence. Similar to younger HSAM individuals, GC's access to past memories recruited a wide network of prefrontal and temporo-parietal regions, especially during the recollection of memories associated with a lower reliving rating, suggesting a compensatory mechanism in HSAM. Increased activity in the insula was instead associated with emotionally-positive memories. Five years later, GC was tested again for HSAM and showed no sign of memory decline, whereby his memory performance was indistinguishable from the tests he performed five years earlier. GC's case suggests that highly superior memory performance can manifest without apparent decline in physiological aging. Implications of the current findings for the extant models of autobiographical memory are discussed.
虽然无数研究表明，衰老与普通人群的认知能力下降有关，但对于在自然情况下记忆力增强的老年人，人们对此关联几乎一无所知。我们通过一项单病例研究，对这一问题进行了调查。通过公众事件测验和随机日期测验，对一位 75 岁、具有高度自传体记忆超常能力（HSAM）的个体（GC）进行筛选，发现其结果呈阳性。GC 的记忆表现明显高于正常记忆对照组（>3 个标准差），与一组年轻的 HSAM 个体（平均年龄 32.5 岁；Santangelo 等人，2018 年）相当。GC 接受了一般神经心理学（简易精神状态检查）、人格（人格评估量表）和大脑形态学（大脑体积和病变）评估，未发现任何异常。为了深入了解其记忆表现的大脑机制，GC 在回忆随机日期相关记忆时接受了功能大脑成像。这些日期的记忆还根据重现质量和情绪效价进行了评分。与年轻的 HSAM 个体相似，GC 对过去记忆的访问激活了广泛的前额叶和颞顶叶区域网络，尤其是在回忆重现评分较低的记忆时，这表明 HSAM 存在一种补偿机制。而岛叶的活动增加则与情绪积极的记忆相关。五年后，GC 再次接受 HSAM 测试，没有出现记忆衰退的迹象，其记忆表现与五年前的测试结果无法区分。GC 的案例表明，高度的记忆表现可以在生理衰老没有明显下降的情况下显现出来。目前的研究结果对自传体记忆的现有模型提出了讨论。
