Intrinsic medial temporal lobe connectivity relates to individual differences in episodic autobiographical remembering. (January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sheldon, Signy; Farb, Norman; Palombo, Daniela J.; Levine, Brian
• Is Part Of: Cortex. Volume 74(2016)
• Page Start: 206
• Page End: 216
• Publication Date: 2016-01
• Subjects: Memory -- Functional connectivity -- Individual differences; Neuropsychology -- Periodicals; Nervous system -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Psychophysiology -- Periodicals; Behavior -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; 612.825
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.11.005
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0010-9452

Abstract

Abstract: People vary in how they remember the past: some recall richly detailed episodes; others more readily access the semantic features of events. The neural correlates of such trait-like differences in episodic and semantic remembering are unknown. We found that self-reported individual differences in how one recalls the past were related to predictable intrinsic connectivity patterns of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) memory system. A pattern of MTL connectivity to posterior brain regions supporting visual-perceptual processing (occipital/parietal cortices) was related to the endorsement of episodic memory-based remembering (recalling spatiotemporal event information), whereas MTL connectivity to inferior and middle prefrontal cortical regions was related to the endorsement of semantic memory-based remembering (recalling facts). These findings suggest that the tendency to engage in episodic autobiographical remembering is associated with accessing and constructing detailed images of a past event in memory, while the tendency to engage in semantic autobiographical remembering is associated with organizing and integrating higher-order conceptual information. More broadly, these findings suggest that differences in how people naturally use memory are instantiated though distinct patterns of MTL functional connectivity.