2019 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Remembering the dear past - how do emotions modulate the neural substrates of autobiographical memory recall?
| Project/Area Number |
17K00220
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| Research Institution | National Institute of Information and Communications Technology |
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Principal Investigator |
NAWA Norberto・E 国立研究開発法人情報通信研究機構, 脳情報通信融合研究センター脳機能解析研究室, 主任研究員 (40395116)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
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| Keywords | episodic memory / autobiographical memory / functional MRI / dynamic causal modeling |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Autobiographical memory (AM) retrieval is typically conceptualized as consisting of two phases. During the initial search phase, a memory that fulfills a given criterion (e.g., “trip to Rome”) is sought for; that is followed by an elaboration phase, where episodic details are retrieved (e.g., “an enjoyable afternoon spent at the Colosseum”) enabling one to relive various aspects of the original experience. Here, we investigated the organization of the brain networks underlying these memory processes by employing network analysis to examine neuroimaging data.
Results confirmed, first and foremost, that AM processes rely on the interaction of several regions distributed over large portions of the brain. During AM search, results showed that the dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortices (dlPFC/vmPFC), hippocampus and the posterior midline cortex coordinate the dynamics of the underlying network by regulating the activity of other brain regions. Most importantly, results indicated that successful AM search is primarily a distributed phenomenon that relies in the interplay of different brain regions (as opposed to a local phenomenon restricted to a couple of brain regions). During AM elaboration, results showed that the vmPFC exerts influence on the hippocampus and, at times, the amygdala; that influence was enhanced during the elaboration of more positive or more arousing memories. All in all, these results highlight the potential of network analysis for obtaining an in-depth systems-level understanding of a complex cognitive capacity such as human memory function.
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