Berntsen Dorthe, Kirk Marie, Kopelman Michael D
Aarhus University, Denmark.
Aarhus University, Denmark.
Cortex. 2022 May;150:137-148. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.02.008. Epub 2022 Mar 9.
Research on autobiographical memory loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by conflicting findings concerning a possible sparing of older memories. The literature shows evidence for both a negative temporal gradient, a flat gradient and a reminiscence bump - that is, a disproportionally high frequency of memories from early adulthood relative to surrounding periods. Here, we expanded the number of lifetime periods of the Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI; Kopelman, Wilson & Baddeley, 1989, 1990) from the standard three to seven in order to increase the sensitivity of the test to variations in the temporal distribution of autobiographical memories across the life span. Twenty-five older adults diagnosed with AD (MMMSE = 21.16, SD = 5.08) and a matched sample of 30 healthy, older adults were assessed. The temporal distribution for personal semantic information in AD showed a temporal gradient steadily decreasing from middle childhood to present life, consistent with predictions derived from consolidation theories. In comparison, the temporal distribution of incidents/episodic memories produced by AD patients in response to the expanded AMI showed a predominance of autobiographical memories from age 6 to 30, followed by a steep drop in memory referring to events that had occurred after age 30. This distribution challenges standard theories of retrograde amnesia in AD by showing neither a temporal gradient, decreasing progressively from early to later life, nor a flat gradient. In contrast, the distribution is consistent with the reminiscence bump identified in autobiographical memory research. Schematization and retrieval support provided by cultural life scripts are discussed.
关于阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者自传体记忆丧失的研究存在相互矛盾的结果，这些结果涉及到老年记忆是否可能幸免。文献中既有关于负时间梯度、平坦梯度和记忆隆起的证据——也就是说，与周围时期相比，成年早期记忆的频率异常高。在这里，我们将自传体记忆访谈（AMI；Kopelman、Wilson和Baddeley，1989年、1990年）的生命周期阶段数量从标准的三个扩展到七个，以提高测试对自传体记忆在整个生命周期中时间分布变化的敏感性。对25名被诊断患有AD的老年人（简易精神状态检查表[MMMSE]=21.16，标准差=5.08）和30名匹配的健康老年人样本进行了评估。AD患者个人语义信息的时间分布显示出从童年中期到现在生活稳步下降的时间梯度，这与巩固理论得出的预测一致。相比之下，AD患者对扩展后的AMI所产生的事件/情景记忆的时间分布显示，6岁至30岁的自传体记忆占主导地位，随后是30岁以后发生事件的记忆急剧下降。这种分布既没有显示出从早期到后期逐渐减少的时间梯度，也没有显示出平坦梯度，这对AD逆行性遗忘的标准理论提出了挑战。相反，这种分布与自传体记忆研究中确定的记忆隆起一致。文中讨论了文化生活脚本提供的图式化和检索支持。
