METHODS: PsycINFO, Web of Science, and PubMed databases were searched for articles published between January 1998 and December 2018. Fifty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies implemented the generative retrieval strategy by inducing memories through cue words or pictures, the life-stage method, or open-ended retrieval method. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement guidelines were followed for this review.
RESULTS: Most studies reported that patients with schizophrenia retrieve less specific autobiographical memories when compared to a healthy control group, while only three studies indicated that both groups performed similarly on memory specificity. Patients with schizophrenia also exhibited earlier reminiscence bumps than those for healthy controls. The relationship between comorbid depression and autobiographical memory specificity appeared to be independent because patients' memory specificity improved through intervention, but their level of depression remained unchanged. The U-shaped retrieval pattern for memory specificity was not consistent. Both the connection between the history of attempted suicide and autobiographical memory specificity, and the relationship between psychotic symptoms and autobiographical memory specificity, remain inconclusive. Patients' memory specificity and coherence improved through cognitive training.
CONCLUSIONS: The overgeneral recall of autobiographical memory by patients with schizophrenia could be attributed to working memory, the disturbing concept of self, and the cuing method implemented. The earlier reminiscence bump for patients with schizophrenia may be explained by the premature closure of the identity formation process due to the emergence of psychotic symptoms during early adulthood. Protocol developed for this review was registered in PROSPERO (registration no: CRD42017062643).
DESIGN: A 2 (Culture; Malay, British) × 2 (Mood; depressed, control) cross-sectional design using a card sort task and self-report measures was used.
METHODS: Malay individuals with MDD or no history of MDD completed the life-structure card-sorting task, which provided a novel method for investigating organizational structure of the life narrative. These data were compared to previously collected data in which British individuals with MDD or without MDD had completed the same task within the same experimental protocol.
RESULTS: Pan-culturally those with MDD had greater negativity (i.e., used more negative attributes), negative redundancy (i.e., used the same negative attributes repeatedly across life chapters) and negative emodiversity (i.e., had greater variety and relative abundance of negative attributes), and reduced positive redundancy (i.e., used the same positive attributes repeatedly across chapters) in their structuring relative to controls. While the British MDD group had greater compartmentalization (i.e., the negative and positive attributes were clustered separately across different chapters) than British controls, the Malay MDD group had lower levels of compartmentalization than Malay controls.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest culture may shape aspects of the autobiographical life structure in MDD.
PRACTITIONER POINTS: The majority of the literature investigating depression pertains to individuals from European Western cultures, despite recognition that depression ranks as one of the most debilitating diseases worldwide. This raises questions as to whether current depression models and interventions can be applied universally or whether they are limited to European Western groups. The current study found that pan-culturally those with MDD had similar structuring of their life story relative to controls. However, there were some cultural differences that need to be considered (e.g., Malay individuals provided less detailed, less elaborate and less emotionally diverse life stories and while the British MDD group had greater compartmentalization than British controls, the Malay MDD group had lower levels of compartmentalization than Malay controls). Limitations of the study included group differences in gender and mood at the time of testing. Cultural differences in the number of attributes used may have influenced findings. Only the Malay group completed the individualism-collectivism measure.
DESIGN: This study was a two-arm within-participants trial with 4- and 12-wk follow-ups. Allocation ratio was 1:1, and pretraining and posttraining measurements were included. A total number of 25 healthy older adults were enrolled (mean = 63.32, SD = 4.44). Participants were randomly allocated into two conditions: (a) prospective memory training: participants underwent a multicomponent prospective memory training, and (b) control: participants were not contacted during the training phase. After the training phase was finished, participants crossed over to undergo the condition they did not experience before. The differences between pretraining and posttraining measures of prospective memory, activities of daily living, negative mood (depression), and anxiety were assessed. All changes in the measurements were analyzed using general linear method. This trial is registered at https://www.isrctn.com (#ISRCTN57600070).
RESULTS: Multicomponent prospective memory training program was significantly effective on both subjective and objective prospective memory performances among healthy older adults. Moreover, the training had significant positive effects on activities of daily living (independence) among participants. In addition, negative mood and anxiety levels were reduced after the training was finished.
CONCLUSIONS: This multicomponent prospective memory training improved prospective memory performance and activities of daily living and reduce negative mood (depression) and anxiety levels among healthy older adults.
Objective: This paper illustrates a significant perspective of some of the challenges faced while conducting a randomized controlled trial exploring the impact of a multi-component intervention that included strategy- and process-based prospective memory (PM) training among Malaysian older adults.
Methods: The current study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and therefore the challenges were presented in accordance with the CONSORT statement style.
Results: A discussion on how these issues were addressed is provided.
Conclusion: Some suggestions were presented to help researchers plan and create interventions for similar studies and to support a practical method of addressing all related challenges.
METHODS: While their pupil diameter was measured with an eye-tracker, forty-five participants retrieved one memory from a field perspective (i.e., as viewed through our own eyes) and one memory from an observer perspective (i.e., as viewed from a spectator's standpoint). After retrieval, participants rated the emotional intensity of the memories.
RESULTS: Analysis demonstrated larger pupils during the retrieval of memories from a field perspective and higher emotional intensity for memories retrieved from a field perspective.
DISCUSSION: The larger pupils for memories recalled from a field perspective could, however, not be attributed to their higher emotional intensity. These findings suggest that pupil dilation could be used as a physiological assessment of visual perspective during memory retrieval.