Lajko Patricia, Must Anita
Semmelweis Egyetem, Geriátriai Klinika és Ápolástudományi Központ Budapest;
Semmelweis Egyetem Mentális Egészségtudományok Doktori Iskola
Neuropsychopharmacol Hung. 2023 Sep;25(3):142-154.
In recent years, the question of how we can grasp the ability to plan future events has come to the forefront in light of the retrieval of personal memories from the past. If episodic memory is responsible for envisioning future events, there appears to be an overlap between autobiographical memory and imagining the future. The aim of this current narrative literature review is to present existing theories and research findings, thereby facilitating the development of an organizational framework necessary for the unified investigation of future thinking. This article introduces the neural network processes underlying episodic future thinking, with particular emphasis on the significance of the hippocampus. It outlines the constructive episodic simulation hypothesis, suggesting that episodic memory and episodic future thinking largely rely on similar neural substrates and assumes that a primary function of the episodic memory system is to flexibly reorganize units of individual, contextual memories to simulate possible future events for the individual. The article presents research results related to memory deficits, as it can be presumed that impairment of autobiographical memory in psychiatric disorders also results in impaired episodic future thinking. Future-oriented thoughts serve various functions, such as decision-making, action planning, and emotional regulation. The article also delves into schema theories, as when generating episodic future thoughts, people often activate their general knowledge about their personal future before a specific event occurs. Future thinking is crucial for well-being, goal attainment, aging, optimism, and understanding clinical conditions. How people think about the future can influence their decisions. The elucidation of emotionally futureoriented thoughts, autobiographical knowledge structures, and life-history schemas plays a crucial role in the construction of episodic future thinking. Understanding the role of memory in simulating future events can be important in comprehending the constructive nature of memory and, in general, the functioning of memory systems in diseases, thereby contributing to the specific selection of treatments for these conditions.
近年来，鉴于对过去个人记忆的检索，如何掌握规划未来事件的能力这一问题已成为焦点。如果情景记忆负责设想未来事件，那么自传体记忆与想象未来之间似乎存在重叠。本叙述性文献综述的目的是呈现现有理论和研究结果，从而推动构建统一研究未来思维所需的组织框架。本文介绍了情景未来思维背后的神经网络过程，特别强调了海马体的重要性。它概述了建构性情景模拟假说，表明情景记忆和情景未来思维在很大程度上依赖于相似的神经基质，并假设情景记忆系统的主要功能是灵活重组个人情境记忆单元，为个体模拟可能的未来事件。本文展示了与记忆缺陷相关的研究结果，因为可以推测精神疾病中自传体记忆的损害也会导致情景未来思维受损。面向未来的思维具有多种功能，如决策、行动规划和情绪调节。本文还深入探讨了图式理论，因为在产生情景未来思维时，人们通常会在特定事件发生之前激活他们关于个人未来的一般知识。未来思维对幸福感、目标达成、衰老、乐观主义以及理解临床状况至关重要。人们对未来的思考方式会影响他们的决策。阐明面向未来的情感思维、自传体知识结构和生活史图式在情景未来思维的构建中起着至关重要的作用。理解记忆在模拟未来事件中的作用对于理解记忆的建构本质以及一般疾病中记忆系统的功能可能很重要，从而有助于为这些病症选择特定的治疗方法。
