The Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory and its Relevance to Meme Research Morris Moscovitch Rotman Research Institute and Department of Psychology Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care University of Toronto

1
The Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory and its
Relevance to Meme Research Morris
MoscovitchRotman Research Institute
andDepartment of Psychology Baycrest Centre for
Geriatric Care University of Toronto

• Memory, Social Networks, and Language Probing
  the Meme Hypothesis II

U of T
2
Collaborators

• Gordon Winocur Rotman Research Inst., Trent U.
• Lynn Nadel U of Arizona
• Carlo Umiltà U of Padova
• Cheryl Grady - Rotman Research Inst.
• Brian Levine - Rotman Research Inst.
• Morris Freedman Rotman Research Inst.
• Mary Pat McAndrews - Toronto Western
• Sandra Black Sunnybrook
• Fuqiang Gao Sunnybrook
• Marilyne Ziegler- University of Toronto
• Baycrest Psychologists Baycrest Psychology

3
Collaborators

• Robyn Westmacott Hospital for Sick Children
• Shayna Rosenbaum York University and Rotman
  Research Inst.
• Asaf Gilboa Haifa University
• Donna Addis Harvard University
• Lillian Park Rotman Research Institute
• Signy Sheldon University of Toronto

4
Meme A unit of cultural information that can be
transmitted and replicated, but also altered in
the process.
5
Memory would seem to be crucial to meme formation
and transmission. But what kind of memory? And
what kind of memory processes?
6
Types of Memory Human

• Explicit Implicit
• Episodic Perceptual
• Conceptual
• Semantic Motor
  (procedural)

7
Dissociation between Episodic and Semantic
Memory Comparison of Two Patients
8
Remote Memory in Amnesia

• Patient K.C.
• right-handed man with bilateral hippocampal
  damage from head injury that occurred in 1981,
  when he was 31 years old
• preserved remote semantic memory
• cursory evidence of impaired autobiographical
  episodic memory for all times in his life

9
KCs MTL lesions
10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
MTL Related Structures
13
HPC-neocortical connections (from Treves and
Rolls, 1993).
14
Patient KC scores on Autobiographical Memory
Interview
15
Semantic Dementia

• Patient E.L.
• 65 year-old man, originally from England who
  worked as a graphic artist at the CBC.

16
(No Transcript)
17
Video of EL being interviewed by Morris Freedman
and Morris Moscovitch
18
Robyn WestmacottShayna RosenbaumSandra
BlackMorris FreedmanPeter GaoStefan
KohlerLarry LeachSandra PriselacJill
RichShayna RosenbaumKathy Stokes

• Westmacott et al., Neurocase, 2001 Cog.
  Neuropsychol., 2002, 2004 Neuropsychologia,
  2004 Rosenbaum et al, Neuropsychologia, 2005.

19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
Asaf GilboawithShayna Rosenbaumand Amir Poreh
and Gordon Winocur

• Poreh, et al, Neuropsychologia, 2006 Gilboa et
  al, Hippocampus, 2006.

22
MTL Related Structures
23
Fornix lesions are a crucial test of EHS
hypothesis
24
Patients with fornix lesion

• Fornix lesions prevent major hippocampal output
  while leaving the hippocampus, the rest of MTL,
  and neocortex intact.
• According to our hypothesis that the hippocampus
  is necessary for recollection, autobiographical
  memories, whether recent or remote, should be
  impaired in people with fornix lesions.

25
The Case of D.A. p.s.

• An educated 45-year-old right-handed male.
  Arrived with a one-month history of excruciating
  headaches.
• Continued working up to the time of his surgery.
• An MRI T1 revealed a typical colloid-cyst
  situated in the anterior part of the IIIrd
  ventricle, with a mild degree of obstructive
  hydrocephalus.

Colloid cyst
26
ADFs Fornix lesions
ADF
Age-matched control
27
Other memory-related lesions
Basal forebrain
Basal ganglia
ADF
Control
Control
ADF
28
Famous Faces and Events
TASK YEARS Correct Famous Faces 1970-80
95 1981-90 96 1991-99
99 Famous Events 1970-80 100 1981-90
95 1991-99 90 Personal Episodes
1970-80 50 1981-90
50 1991-99 40
29
Reaction to Photos from Significant Personal
Events

• His Photograph of an Army Camp 73
• Army base, these are T. type tanks. When was the
  picture taken? Why was it taken? I dont know.
• Group photograph of a graduation ceremony in 1984
  
• This is the graduation ceremony of some kind of
  training. I can't remember the ceremony.
• Photograph of the circumcision of his son 1987
• Looks at the picture for 5min This is a
  circumcision rite. I can see the baby. He didnt
  identify his son.
• A picture from a trip to Greece 97
• A trip to Turkey (Wife No). Rhodes? (wife no)
  we went on a train (wife by a boat).

30
Summary of Studies of Patients with Hippocampal
Complex Lesions

• Autobiographical Memory Extensive RA, sometimes
  even without a temporal gradient

31
Summary of Studies of Patients with Hippocampal
Complex Lesions

• Autobiographical Memory Extensive RA, sometimes
  even without a temporal gradient
• Semantic Memory
• Limited RA, most often with a temporal gradient

32
Two Components of Episodic Memory(Tulving, 1985)

• Recollection Re-experiencing or reliving a past
  event in the mind mental time travel.
  Characterized by recovering and recreating the
  context in which a stimulus or event occurred.
• Familiarity A stimulus is recognized or
  experienced as old, but little or no information
  is associated about the context in which it was
  encountered. Resembles semantic memory

33
Two Components of Episodic Memory(Tulving, 1985)

• Recollection re-experiencing or reliving a past
  event in the mind mental time travel.
  Characterized by recovering and recreating the
  context in which a stimulus or event occurred.
• Familiarity A stimulus is recognized or
  experienced as old, but little or no information
  is associated about the context in which it was
  encountered. Resembles semantic memory.

34
Why should recollection be associated with the
hippocampus?
35
Carlo Umiltà Gordon Winocur

• A component process of memory based on modules
  and central systems
• Moscovitch and Umiltà (1990, 1991) Moscovitch
  and Winocur (1992) Moscovitch (1992)

36
B. Cohesion
A. Encoding
C. Consolidation
Remembering
Event
Event
Event
A
B
C
A
B
C
B
NEOCORTEX
A
B
B
C
A
C
A
B
Hi
Hi
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
37
The hippocampus is essential for encoding,
retaining, and recovering experiences (i.e.
recollection).
38

• The hippocampal complex (or medial temporal
  lobe) is a stupid module that automatically
  encodes all information that is apprehended
  consciously, and retrieves information
  obligatorily in response to a proper, proximal
  cue.

39
Strategic Memory ProcessesThe Frontal Lobe as
aWorking-with-Memory Structure(Moscovitch
Winocur, 1992, 2002Moscovitch, 1992)
40
B. Cohesion
A. Encoding
C. Consolidation
Remembering
Event
Event
Event
A
B
C
A
B
C
B
FRONTAL
NEOCORTEX
FRONTAL
A
B
B
C
A
C
A
B
Hi
Hi
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
41
The hippocampus is essential for encoding,
retaining, and recovering experiences (i.e.
recollection) which the prefrontal cortex
selects, organizes, monitors, and verifies.
42
Retrieval from the Hippocampus is also stupid
(automatic and unorganized), needing the
prefrontal cortex to make retrieval intelligent
(goal-directed).
43
Summary

• Memories are not stored as whole representations
  of events, but as elements of the event which
  need to be reconstructed into a coherent
  narrative. Storage is random.
• Memories are represented as beads in a jar which
  need the prefrontal cortex to string into a
  necklace.
• Narratives are better suited than single items
  for investigations of reconstructive memory.

44
Memory is reconstructive Bartlett, Remembering
(1932)

• The first notion to get rid of is that memory is
  primarily reduplicative, or reproductivere-excite
  ment of individual traces did not look to be in
  the least what was happening... remembering
  appears to be far more decisively an affair of
  construction than one of mere reproduction.
  pp204-205.

45
Implications

• Recollection Detailed re-experiencing of a past
  event always will depend on the hippocampus, no
  matter when the event occurred.
• Automaticity A proper cue will reactivate
  hippocampal memories automatically and
  influence performance even on non-episodic tasks.
• Random Storage Allows for recombination of
  elements needed for construction of scenarios in
  many domains, from reconstructing the past,
  imagining the future, and solving problems.

46
Implications

• Recollection Detailed re-experiencing of a past
  event always will depend on the hippocampus, no
  matter when the event occurred.
• Automaticity A proper cue will reactivate
  hippocampal memories automatically and
  influence performance even on non-episodic tasks.
• Random Storage Allows for recombination of
  elements needed for construction of scenarios in
  many domains, from reconstructing the past,
  imagining the future, and solving problems.

47
Implications

• Recollection Detailed re-experiencing of a past
  event always will depend on the hippocampus, no
  matter when the event occurred.
• Automaticity A proper cue will reactivate
  hippocampal memories automatically and
  influence performance even on non-episodic tasks.
• Random Storage Allows for recombination of
  elements needed for construction of scenarios in
  many domains, from reconstructing the past,
  imagining the future, and solving problems.

48
Implications

• Recollection Detailed re-experiencing of a past
  event always will depend on the hippocampus, no
  matter when the event occurred.
• Automaticity A proper cue will reactivate
  hippocampal memories automatically and
  influence performance even on non-episodic tasks.
• Random Storage Allows for recombination of
  elements needed for construction of scenarios in
  many domains, from reconstructing the past,
  imagining the future, and solving problems.

49
Asaf GilboaCheryl GradyGordon WinocurMorris
Moscovitch Gilboa et al., Cerebral
Cortex, 2004.
50
Remote Autobiographical Memory

• In normal people, the hippocampus should be much
  more activated for vivid memories (recollection)
  than for those that are not (familiarity) no
  matter how long ago the memory occurred.

51
Autobiographical memory
B. Rating scales (e.g. vividness/re-experiencing)
C. Semi-structured interviews (Levine et al.,
2002)
Gilboa et al., 2004
52
Experiment

• Measure brain activity with fMRI (1.5 T)
• Three to four time periods
• childhood
• teen/ early adult
• middle years
• recent
• Photos matched for content as much as possible

53
fMRI Design
Self
Self
Other
Other
fix
fix
fix
30 sec stimulus presentation (5 blocks of each
type of photo per run) 6 sec fixation in between
each photo
54
Activations in vividly vs. poorly recalled remote
events Hippocampus
55
Hippocampal activation is mediated by extent of
re-experiencing
High vividness vs. low vividness remote memories
X -27, Y 21, Z 16 t5. 75
56
Foci of left hippocampal activations across
subjects
Remote events
Recent events
57
The hippocampus and remote episodic memories-
comment

• Active specifically when re-experiencing
• Active for both remote and recent AM
• Different distribution of activation- may account
  for gradients in retrograde amnesia

58
Autobiographical Memory Network

• Donna Addis
• Mary Pat McAndrews
• Randy McIntosh
• Morris Moscovitch
• Hippocampus, 2007

59
(No Transcript)
60
The hippocampus is a hub linking other areas
which represent different aspects of
autobiographical re-experiencing
61
Semantic memory

• Generic Facts and general knowledge about the
  world, language, etc.
• Personal Facts and knowledge about oneself.
• For both types, there is little or no information
  about the context in which the knowledge was
  acquired. There is no experiential component.

62
Semantic Memory

• The hippocampus slowly nurtures the development
  of neocortical (NC) traces that reflect the
  statistical properties of the world and/or of
  memories - the gist is extracted

63
Names of famous People

• 1940s Joseph Cotten Johnny Longden
• 1950s Althea Gibson Buddy Holly
• 1960s Janet Leigh Barbara Billinglsly
• 1970s Loretta Switt Phil Esposito
• 1980s Gary Coleman Ben Johnson
• 1990s Tonya Harding Monica Lewinsky

64
(No Transcript)
65
Words Entering the Language

• 1940s Gasser Hep-cat
• 1950s Honcho Univac
• 1960s Hippie Psychedelic
• 1970s Velcro Disco
• 1980s Microwave Nuke
• 1990s Homophobia Viagra

66
(No Transcript)
67
The hippocampus contributes, but is not
necessary, for the retention and recovery of
semantic memory and of items which are merely
familiar.
68
What accounts for both temporal gradients?

• For the first 5-10 years, memories retain their
  experiential qualities which contribute to
  recovery of semantic memory.

69
Multiple Trace Theory(Nadel Moscovitch,
Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 1997 Moscovitch
et al, Journal of Anatomy, 2005)
70
NEOCORTICAL MODULES
Episodic
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
71
NEOCORTICAL MODULES
Episodic
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
72
NEOCORTICAL MODULES
Episodic
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
73
KNOW
Cue
NEOCORTICAL MODULES
Episodic
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
74
NEOCORTICAL MODULES
Multiple Trace Formation
Episodic
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
75
NEOCORTICAL MODULES
Multiple Trace Formation
Episodic
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
76
NEOCORTICAL MODULES
Multiple Trace Formation
Episodic
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
77
REMEMBER
Cue
NEOCORTICAL MODULES
Semantic
Episodic
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
78
NEOCORTICAL MODULES
Loves Golfs
BBQs Paints
Loves Swims
BBQs Cycles
Semantic
Multiple Trace Formation
Episodic
HIPPOCAMPAL COMPLEX
79
Implications

• Recollection Detailed re-experiencing of a past
  event always will depend on the hippocampus, no
  matter when the event occurred.
• Automaticity A proper cue will reactivate
  hippocampal memories automatically and
  influence performance even on non-episodic tasks.
• Random Storage Allows for recombination of
  elements needed for construction of scenarios in
  many domains, from reconstructing the past,
  imagining the future, and solving problems.

80
Robyn WestmacottLillian Park Signy SheldonMary
Pat McAndrews

• Remember/Know (Re-experiencing/Familiarity)
  Judgementsof Famous People
• Westmacott Moscovitch, Memory Cognition,
  2003 Westmacott et al, Neuropsychologia, 2004.

81
Procedure

• Norms were derived by having participants rate
  about 300 names of famous people on familiarity,
  facts known about them, emotionality, and
  personal significance.
• 50 famous names were selected, half of which
  were associated with high R responses and half
  with low R (K) responses in the general
  population. The R and K items were matched for
  familiarity and facts known about them.

82
Procedure

• Participants Reaction times to read the names
  and make fame judgments about them were recorded.
• After the tasks were completed, each subject
  rated the names on the extent to which they
  evoked a personal memory.

83
Remember vs. Know Left anterior hippocampal
activation
84
Know vs. Non-famousNo MTL activation
85
(No Transcript)
86
Conclusion

• Recollection influences semantic judgment and
  reading times.
• The influence of recollection on semantics is
  mediated by the hippocampus.

87
Conclusions

• 1. The Hippocampus is needed for storage and
  retrieval of rich, autobiographical memories as
  long as they exist. Such memories are NOT
  transferred to neocortex. The hippocampus plays
  the same role for remote memories as it does for
  recent memories.

88
Conclusions

• 2. The HP Complex contributes to the Neocortical
  strengthening and development of semantic
  memories of words, concepts, events, people and
  space - and even the gist of autobiographical
  memories.

89
Conclusions

• 3.Semantic memories may retain an
  autobiographical component which remains HP
  dependent.

90
Implications

• Recollection Detailed re-experiencing of a past
  event always will depend on the hippocampus, no
  matter when the event occurred.
• Automaticity A proper cue will reactivate
  hippocampal memories automatically and
  influence performance even on non-episodic tasks.
• Random Storage Allows for recombination of
  elements needed for construction of scenarios in
  many domains, from reconstructing the past,
  imagining the future, and solving problems.

91
Recollection in the Service of Problem Solving

• Signy Sheldon
• Aida Ramos
• Morris Moscovitch

92
Why do we need this detailed autobiographical
memory?

• Planning for the future
• Imagination
• Problem solving

93
Episodic Memory

• Captures co-occurring, often unrelated elements
  of a consciously experienced event in a single
  memory trace. Therefore, the memory trace is
  informationally rich. Ideal for cross-domain
  pattern matching and completion.
• Extended episodes are not stored as single
  representations, but as separate units and need
  to be reconstructed into a coherent narrative.
  Underlies flexibility.

94
Current Study

• Episodic memory may be important when solving
  problems that are low frequency and not
  well-defined.
• Such problems are frequent in social settings.

95
The Role of EM in Social Problem Solving

• Do episodic memories contribute to social problem
  solving?
• Specifically, does impaired episodic memory lead
  to impaired ability to solve problems in which
  the solutions must be re-constructed from past
  personal experience?

96
Means-End Problem Solving (MEPS Spivak Platt,
1975)

• Measure of real-life problem solving, typically
  used in clinical setting.
• Requires one to orient self and conceptualize
  means of moving towards a goal.
• Consists of 10 vignettes that are of a personal
  nature each describes an initial problem
  followed by an end state. The participant is to
  fill in the steps taken to get from the starting
  position to the end state/goal.

97
MEPS example

• H. loved her boyfriend very much, but they
  had many arguments. One day he left her. H.
  wanted things to be better. The story ends with
  everything being fine between her and her
  boyfriend. You begin the story when H.s
  boyfriend left.

98
Analysis Means

• Score the number of means taken to get to the end
  state.
• Three types of means
• Relevant ? a step or action that gets the
  individual closer to achieving his/her goal
• Irrelevant ? a step or action that may be
  directed toward a specific goal but that is not
  effective within the context of the story
• No means ? doesnt provide steps to achieve a
  goal. e.g. a miracle solution

99
Example

• You begin the story when H.s boyfriend left.
  The story ends with everything fine between her
  and her boyfriend
• Relevant talked things over
• Irrelevant realizes cannot make it work, so H
  gives up
• No Mean Waited a little while and then
  everything was fine

100

• Score total number of relevant means
• Total Means Relevant Irrelevant No Means
• Relevancy Ratio total number relevant means/
  (relevant irrelevant no means)
• Effectiveness Ratings 0?7

101
MEPS and Episodic Memory

• Significant correlations between the number of
  specific memories generated on an
  autobiographical memory test and
• (a) the means MEPS scores
• (b) the effectiveness MEPS scores
• (Beaman, et al., 2006 Goddard, et al., 1996)
• Groups with dampened specific memory recall also
  have lower MEPS scores
• Depressed, schizophrenia

102
Current Study Participants

• 12 Younger adults mean age 23.0
• 12 Older adults mean age 76.8
• So far, 4 Patients with medial temporal lobe
  lesions

103
Method

• Full MEPS protocol 10 stories
• After completed, asked
• Have you experienced an event like this?
• Vividness of recall
• What information did you use to complete the
  story?

104
Results Means


105
Analysis Details

• To account for the richness of detail, we adapted
  the Autobiographical Interview of Levine et al
  (2002).
• segmented into distinct details (i.e., chunks of
  information)
• Internal Details
• Reflects episodic autobiographical memory
• H then went to her friends house, down the
  street, to talk about her problem
• External Details
• including semantic details, extended events and
  repetitions
• H always hates it when she fights with her
  boyfriend

106
Results Number of DetailsOlder vs Younger

107
Proportion of internal details/total details
Older vs Younger

108
Correlation of Internal Details to Relevant Means
109
Correlation of External Details to Relevant Means
110
Correlation of Internal Details to Relevant
Means Older Adults
111
Correlation of Internal Details to Relevant
Means Older Adults
112
Correlation of External Details to Relevant
Means Older Adults
113
Correlation of External Details to Relevant
Means Older Adults
114
ConclusionsThus Far

• Older adults produce the same overall number of
  means as younger adults, BUT they produce fewer
  relevant means.
• Older adults produce fewer internal (episodic)
  details when describing solutions to social
  problems.
• Number of internal details is correlated with
  relevant means, especially in older adults
• Number of internal details in autobiographical
  memory is also correlated with relevant means

115
Broad Conclusions

• Recollection is implicated in problem solving and
  possibly in expertise.
• A re-evaluation of the function of the
  hippocampus and, by extension, what constitutes
  memory.

116
What about the creative imagination?
117
Memory is reconstructive Bartlett, Remembering
(1932)

• The first notion to get rid of is that memory is
  primarily reduplicative, or reproductivere-excite
  ment of individual traces did not look to be in
  the least what was happening... remembering
  appears to be far more decisively an affair of
  construction than one of mere reproduction.
  pp204-205.

118
Dont make love to a novelist because youll
find a description of your body in the next book

• From an interview with a French-Canadian
  novelist on CBC.

119
Thank you
U of T