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PubMed2006

Is chronic widespread pain biographically disruptive?

This article draws on findings from a study of eight people (aged 40-60) with chronic widespread pain and their families, living in the West Midlands area of the UK. Data were generated through a series of in-depth interviews, based on a lifegrid and on participants' diaries. We explore the experience of chronic widespread pain in the context of sufferers' biographies, examining how people attempt to account for and give meaning to their pain onset and development and how they remake identity following disruption to their lives. We use these accounts to consider whether chronic widespread pain is biographically disruptive, or whether any of the alternative notions better describe the experience. We conclude that the consideration of context in biographical disruption should extend to lifestage and perceived life expectancy.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

Correlates of autobiographical memory specificity: the role of depression, anxiety and childhood trauma.

The present study examined the role of childhood trauma, major depressive disorder (MDD), and anxiety disorder (AD) in overgeneral autobiographical memory. Ninety-three outpatients and 24 healthy controls completed a childhood trauma questionnaire and an autobiographical memory test (AMT). Results showed that MDD diagnosis rather than trauma history predicted AMT-performance. Memory specificity was not related to AD diagnosis, recovered MDD, or self-rated depression severity. The present findings cast doubts on theories that emphasize the role of childhood trauma in overgeneral autobiographical memory.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Autobiographical memory specificity, psychopathology, depressed mood and the use of the Autobiographical Memory Test: a meta-analysis.

Reviewing the literature on autobiographical memory overgenerality, as measured by a cueing task like the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT), gives a diffuse view of the moderating role of depression. This meta-analysis is an attempt to investigate the role of depression in the specificity of autobiographical memory, while accounting for the role of patient and task variables as possible moderators. Meta-analytic techniques are used to synthesize data from 14 studies on the recall of specific autobiographical memories in psychiatric and non-psychiatric samples. The results confirm the relationship between overgenerality and depression. The psychiatric patients are less specific than their non-clinical controls. It is not possible to establish that this result is solely due to a (co-morbid) diagnosis of depression. Self-reported depressed mood is also related to an impairment of autobiographical memory specificity. The way of presenting cues, audio taping responses and the maximum available amount of time to respond, are moderators of AMT performance.

Autobiographies as Topic↗
PubMed2000

Long live Proust: the odour-cued autobiographical memory bump.

The autobiographical memory bump is an increase in the frequency of reported autobiographical memories (AMs) from a particular age range, and has been reported by numerous investigators (for reviews, see Conway, M. A. & Rubin, D. C. (1993). The structure of autobiographical memory. In A. F. Collins, S. E. Gathercole, M. A. Conway & P. E. Morris, Theories of memory. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum; Rubin, D. C., Rahhal, T. A. & Poon, L. W. (1998). Things learned in early adulthood are remembered best. Memory and Cognition, 26, 3-19) to occur in the second and third decades of life. Invariably, word labels have been used as AM cues but, given that a popular interpretation of the anecdotal 'Proust phenomenon' is that odours evoke AMs which are especially aged, we wondered if a different pattern in the AM bump might emerge if AMs were cued by odours rather than labels. Here we report an attempt to substantiate this aspect of the 'Proust phenomenon' by comparing the distributions of memories across the lifespan when cued by odour and label. Data showed that, in line with previous studies, the bump for label cues was found to peak between ages 11 and 25 years and was confirmed to be quadratic in form. In contrast, the odour-cued memory distribution peaked at 6-10 years and decreased linearly thereafter. In the earliest age interval, 6-10 years, the proportion of AMs retrieved in response to odour cues was significantly greater than that for the label cues. These results provide empirical support for the Proust phenomenon, and have more general implications for the structure and age distribution of stored AMs.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Out of one's mind: a study of involuntary semantic memories.

The study of memories that pop into one's mind without any conscious attempt to retrieve them began only recently. While there are some studies on involuntary autobiographical memories (e.g., ) research on involuntary semantic memories or mind-popping is virtually non-existent. The latter is defined as an involuntary conscious occurrence of brief items of one's network of semantic knowledge. The recall of these items (e.g., a word, a name, a tune) is not accompanied by additional contextual information and/or involvement of self-a standard feature of involuntary autobiographical memories. The paper reports several diary and questionnaire studies which looked into the nature and frequency of occurrence of these memories. The data show that people do experience involuntary semantic memories which tend to occur without any apparent cues while being engaged in relatively automatic activities. Possible mechanisms of involuntary semantic memories are discussed (e.g., very long-term priming), and the results of the study provide information on the possible duration of the priming effects in everyday life. Related theoretical and methodological issues and future avenues of research in this neglected area are outlined.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Autobiographical memory in diabetes mellitus patients.

OBJECTIVE: Although current theorizing proposes that adjustment to insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is influenced by appraisals of past health, there is little research into the role of autobiographical recall in patients with this condition. Autobiographical memory patterns were investigated in patients with IDDM and controls. METHOD: Fifteen patients with IDDM and 15 control participants were administered the Autobiographical Memory Test, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Survey (MHLCS). RESULTS: Patients with IDDM displayed impaired access to specific positive memories and took longer to retrieve memories than controls. Impaired retrieval in patients with IDDM was associated with higher scores on the MHLCS-Powerful Others scale. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that impaired recall of positive experiences is associated with poor adjustment to IDDM.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Angle on disability.

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Autobiographies as Topic↗
PubMed2004

Autobiographical memory predicts the course of depression during detoxification therapy in alcohol dependent men.

BACKGROUND: Recall of autobiographical memories (AM) has shown to predict the course of depression during psychiatric treatment [British Journal of Psychiatry 162 (1993)]; therefore, we assume that AM also predicts the remissive course of depression during detoxification therapy in alcohol dependent men. METHODS: In a longitudinal study, 65 patients were assessed twice: at admission to a detoxification unit and about 3 weeks later for follow-up. AM scores at the beginning of the detoxification program were used as predictors in hierarchical regression analyses. RESULTS: After controlling for initial depression, mental status and degree of alcohol dependence, AM in response to positive and aggressive cue words significantly predicted affective change. These results validate the assumption that AM is a psychological depression marker. LIMITATIONS: No data are reported on depression prior to drinking onset. CONCLUSIONS: As a practical consequence, AM can assist the physician with the decision for concomittant antidepressive therapy during detoxification and rehabilitation of alcohol dependent men.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Panic disorder and agoraphobia: a sufferer's perspective.

This is a story by a woman about her life with panic, agoraphobia, and depression. She tells us about the clinical features, the heritable components, the environmental contributions, the developmental penalties, the social consequences, and the therapies for these conditions far more vividly than even the most dramatic of our systematic studies. But this is more than a clinical vignette. It is a human story of courage to proceed undaunted in the face of terror and despair to ultimately prevail over the most formidable internal obstacles. Nowadays I rarely see Mrs. Edwards. She is too busy living. I know she is productively and gratifyingly employed and engaged with her family. Usually I learn of her adventures here and abroad through letters written in the same captivating style as the autobiography below. I have witnessed Mrs. Edwards reading her story to others with similar problems, to medical students, and to psychiatric residents. The impact invariably was stunning. Making her acquaintance even in the dry print medium is an unforgettable learning experience.

Agoraphobia↗
PubMed2003

Reduced levels of specific autobiographical memories in schizophrenia.

Autobiographical memory is intrinsically related to the self and personal identity. This study investigated whether both personal episodic memory and semantic memory are impaired in schizophrenia, a disease characterized by an abnormal personal identity. Personal episodic memory and personal semantic memory were investigated in 24 patients with schizophrenia and 24 normal subjects using an autobiographical fluency task and an autobiographical memory inquiry. Autobiographical memory scores and the proportion of specific memories were lower in patients with schizophrenia than in normal subjects. The deficit of personal episodic and semantic memory, as assessed by the autobiographical memory inquiry and the autobiographical fluency task, respectively, was most apparent after the onset of clinical symptoms. Schizophrenia is associated with an impairment of both personal episodic and semantic memory and with a reduction of specific autobiographical memories. Those impairments are consistent with the existence of an abnormal personal identity in patients with schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lesson of life.

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Aged↗
PubMed1995

Developing and maintaining reflection in clinical journals.

There is a pressing need in today's world for nurses who are willing and able to transform health care. Teaching strategies that foster reflection are in order. The use of dialogue journals has been widely reported in the nursing literature as an effective strategy for assisting students to reflect about learning experiences in the clinical area. Despite the promise that journal writing will enhance students' ability to reflect on their clinical learning experiences, not all students respond positively to journal writing as a learning tool. The paper is a discussion of some of the common difficulties that arise in the use of clinical journals as a reflective strategy in nursing education. Common problems in the use of clinical journals include procrastination; superficial, nonreflective entries; waning enthusiasm about the activity; and unwillingness or inability to reflect. The possible etiologies for these problems will be explored. Specifically, the paper will focus on ways to prevent or minimize these concerns by maintaining and enhancing the factors required for students to reflect in clinical journals.

Autobiographies as Topic↗
PubMed2002

Personal narratives as maps of the social ecosystem.

Research and theory on the development and function of autobiographical narratives are reviewed and synthesized in this discussion article. In our synthesis, these stories are viewed as summaries of long-term and recent historical experiences describing patterns of social contingencies in the narrator's relationships with a variety of people. The pattern, extending from past to present, is assumed to serve a map function for the narrator, guiding this observer's deliberate study of personal social interactions in the here and now. Clarity of the pattern is thought to depend on how well the narrative is structured along dimensions of coherence and richness, characteristics amenable to change through the constructive feedback of listeners. Ways in which clarity is enhanced through natural changes in narrative structure are highlighted as relevant processes for clinical work with adults, adolescents, and children.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Preserved ability to recognize keywords related to remote events in the absence of retrieval of relevant knowledge: a case of postencephalitic amnesia.

We describe a case of severe anterograde and retrograde amnesia resulting from herpes simplex encephalitis. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed pathological changes in the bilateral hippocampi, parahippocampal gyri, fusiform gyri, medial temporal poles, posterior part of the cingulate gyri, and insula. The patient showed severe amnesia for autobiographical episodic memory in relation to events that had occurred throughout her life, but temporally graded amnesia for autobiographical semantic memory, and severe amnesia without a temporal gradient for public events and famous people. However, using a multiple-choice method, she showed a high level of accuracy when choosing keywords related to public or personal events, although this did not prompt her recollection of the events. An important indication of these results is that, even with severe retrograde amnesia, memories of past events are not completely lost. We propose that an event may be stored in a fragmented form, consisting of many components, and that normal recall of an event may require recombination or reconstruction of these components.

Amnesia↗
PubMed2003

Preservation of autobiographical memory in a case of pure progressive amnesia.

G.D., a 79 year-old female, presents with a severe and slowly progressive amnesia although she remains entirely independent in daily life and is perfectly well spatially oriented. Her amnesia is relatively isolated and her deficit does not embrace other cognitive domains. G.D. underwent extensive neuropsychological evaluation including language, executive functions, perceptual, and memory tests. Based on clinical observation, the purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a dissociation between her autobiographical and semantic memory. Results point out a severely degraded semantic knowledge of famous public events and persons while autobiographical memory of personally experienced and relevant information remains intact. Results from this study and from previous studies seem to suggest that relative sparing of hippocampal structures may be related to the preservation of autobiographical memory.

Aged↗