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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↗
PubMed1989

My early experience with Hirschsprung's disease.

Prior to 1948, when the first distal colonic resection with preservation of continence was performed for Hirschsprung's disease, there was no clear understanding of the etiology of the disease. Early explanations for the cause of the disease included mechanical obstruction, "neurologic imbalance," and congenital malformation of the entire colon. No medical or surgical treatment had proved successful in treating the disease. It is generally assumed today that the absence of ganglion cells was widely known and accepted as the cause of Hirschsprung's disease prior to 1948 and that this led to the concept of distal colon dysfunction and formed the basis for the distal colonic resection. As a matter of fact, it played no role whatsoever in devising the successful operation. The rare absence of ganglion cells was widely held to be produced by the massive distention and chronic stasis in the megacolon and was considered of no pathologic significance. This report reviews the early work in developing the concept of a distal physiologic obstruction that led to a successful surgical treatment.

Colectomy↗
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↗