Altered brain activity during active forgetting in highly superior autobiographical memory: Evidence from an item-method directed forgetting
Summary: Individuals with highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) challenge current memory knowledge, yet it remains unclear if their superior memory stems from impaired forgetting. Using a directed forgetting paradigm, we examined this in 12 individuals with HSAM and 30 controls. During fMRI...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | iScience |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225008685 |
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| author | Valerio Santangelo Tiziana Pedale Sarah Daviddi Ilenia Salsano Simone Macrì Patrizia Campolongo |
| author_facet | Valerio Santangelo Tiziana Pedale Sarah Daviddi Ilenia Salsano Simone Macrì Patrizia Campolongo |
| author_sort | Valerio Santangelo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Individuals with highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) challenge current memory knowledge, yet it remains unclear if their superior memory stems from impaired forgetting. Using a directed forgetting paradigm, we examined this in 12 individuals with HSAM and 30 controls. During fMRI, participants viewed single words followed by “remember” or “forget” instructions. Five minutes later, participants performed a memory recognition task with old (previously studied) and new words. Behaviorally, both groups showed similar forgetting effects, recognizing fewer to-be-forgotten than to-be-remembered words. However, at the neural level, HSAM individuals showed increased activity in the dorsal and ventral frontoparietal regions during initial word presentation, prior to memory instructions. During active forgetting, they also showed increased activity in the anterior and posterior midline regions. These findings suggest that HSAM individuals require additional neural resources for active forgetting to compensate for their enhanced initial processing of stimuli, enabling them to match the forgetting performance of controls. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9fefe64e70b14744ad9502639be91ebc |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj-art-9fefe64e70b14744ad9502639be91ebc2025-08-20T03:13:30ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-06-0128611260710.1016/j.isci.2025.112607Altered brain activity during active forgetting in highly superior autobiographical memory: Evidence from an item-method directed forgettingValerio Santangelo0Tiziana Pedale1Sarah Daviddi2Ilenia Salsano3Simone Macrì4Patrizia Campolongo5Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Piazza G. Ermini 1, 06123 Perugia, Italy; Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy; Corresponding authorDepartment of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Piazza G. Ermini 1, 06123 Perugia, Italy; Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Piazza G. Ermini 1, 06123 Perugia, ItalyFunctional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179 Rome, Italy; Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 14090 Mother Teresa Lane, Boys Town, NE 68010, USACentre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology “Vittorio Erspamer”, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; CERC, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, ItalySummary: Individuals with highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) challenge current memory knowledge, yet it remains unclear if their superior memory stems from impaired forgetting. Using a directed forgetting paradigm, we examined this in 12 individuals with HSAM and 30 controls. During fMRI, participants viewed single words followed by “remember” or “forget” instructions. Five minutes later, participants performed a memory recognition task with old (previously studied) and new words. Behaviorally, both groups showed similar forgetting effects, recognizing fewer to-be-forgotten than to-be-remembered words. However, at the neural level, HSAM individuals showed increased activity in the dorsal and ventral frontoparietal regions during initial word presentation, prior to memory instructions. During active forgetting, they also showed increased activity in the anterior and posterior midline regions. These findings suggest that HSAM individuals require additional neural resources for active forgetting to compensate for their enhanced initial processing of stimuli, enabling them to match the forgetting performance of controls.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225008685Medical imagingNeuroscience |
| spellingShingle | Valerio Santangelo Tiziana Pedale Sarah Daviddi Ilenia Salsano Simone Macrì Patrizia Campolongo Altered brain activity during active forgetting in highly superior autobiographical memory: Evidence from an item-method directed forgetting iScience Medical imaging Neuroscience |
| title | Altered brain activity during active forgetting in highly superior autobiographical memory: Evidence from an item-method directed forgetting |
| title_full | Altered brain activity during active forgetting in highly superior autobiographical memory: Evidence from an item-method directed forgetting |
| title_fullStr | Altered brain activity during active forgetting in highly superior autobiographical memory: Evidence from an item-method directed forgetting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Altered brain activity during active forgetting in highly superior autobiographical memory: Evidence from an item-method directed forgetting |
| title_short | Altered brain activity during active forgetting in highly superior autobiographical memory: Evidence from an item-method directed forgetting |
| title_sort | altered brain activity during active forgetting in highly superior autobiographical memory evidence from an item method directed forgetting |
| topic | Medical imaging Neuroscience |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225008685 |
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