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It is now well established that the activation of semantic memories leads to the activation of autobiographical memories. Studies have shown that semantic processing of words or pictures primes autobiographical memories on voluntary and involuntary autobiographical memory tasks (the Crovitz cue-word task and the vigilance task). Known as semantic-to-autobiographical memory priming, our goal in the current study was to demonstrate the ubiquitous nature of this form of priming by showing that a wide variety of stimuli will prime involuntary autobiographical memories on the vigilance task. In Experiment 1, semantic-to-autobiographical priming was obtained on the vigilance task following the processing of sounds (e.g., the sound of bowling) and spoken words (e.g., the word bowling). In Experiment 2, semantic-to-autobiographical priming was observed on the vigilance task following tactile processing (e.g., the objects ball, glasses) and visual word processing (e.g., the words ball, glasses). In Experiment 3, semantic-to-autobiographical priming was observed on the vigilance task following the processing of videos (e.g., videos of a marching parade) and visual word processing (e.g., the word parade). The results of these experiments support the idea that semantic-to-autobiographical activations occur across a wide variety of stimuli (e.g., linguistic, perceptual). The results also further support the idea that semantic-to-autobiographical memory priming may play an important role in the production of involuntary memories in everyday life. Additional implications (for priming theory and autobiographical memory functions) are discussed.

In this study, we tested elements of the multi-process retrieval account of autobiographical memory, retrieval multiplicity, and retrieval selectivity. The retrieval multiplicity states that multiple different retrieval strategies are used to recall autobiographical memories, while the retrieval selectivity states that such retrieval strategies will vary in accord with the cuing environment. We tested these hypotheses across two experiments with the retrieve-aloud procedure. In the retrieve-aloud procedure, participants were required to verbalize their thoughts while attempting to retrieve personal memories in response to phrase cues (e.g., listening to music ). Experiments 1 and 2 found support for the retrieval multiplicity by showing that participants used a variety of different retrieval processes (eight different processes in total), while Experiment 1 found support for the retrieval selectivity by showing that retrieval strategies varied across different cue types. The implications of the findings are discussed with respect to autobiographical memory, as well as semantic memory.

Impairments in retrieving event-level, specific autobiographical memories, termed overgeneral memory (OGM), are recognised as a feature of clinical depression. A previous meta-analytic review assessing how OGM predicts the course of subsequent depressive symptoms showed small effects for correlations and regression analyses when baseline depressive symptoms were controlled for. We aimed to update this study and examine whether their findings replicate given the decade of research that has been published since. A systematic literature review using the same eligibility criteria as the previous meta-analysis led to a doubling of eligible studies (32 v. 15). The results provided more precise estimates of effect sizes, and largely support the finding that OGM predicts the course of depressive symptoms. The effects were generally small, but significantly larger among clinical samples, compared to studies with non-clinical samples. There was some evidence that higher age was associated with stronger effects, and longer follow-up was associated with weaker effects. The findings on other moderating variables that were analysed were mixed. Continued research into this modifiable cognitive process may help to provide an avenue to better understand and treat highly prevalent and impactful depressive disorders.

Mace, McQueen, Hayslett, Stalely, and Welch ( Memory & Cognition, 47, 299-312, 2019 ) demonstrated that the activation of semantic memories leads to the activation of autobiographical memories. In that study, the semantic processing of concept words (e.g., garden ) was shown to prime related autobiographical memories (e.g., personal memories involving garden ) on voluntary and involuntary autobiographical memory tasks. Our goal in the current study was to replicate such semantic-to-autobiographical priming effects, and show that they can be extended to a wider set of stimuli than reported in Mace et al. In Experiment 1 , semantic-to-autobiographical priming was obtained on a measure of involuntary autobiographical memory (the vigilance task) following the processing of concept words in insolation and within the context of a sentence. In Experiment 2 , semantic-to-autobiographical priming was again observed to occur with the vigilance task, but in this instance it occurred following the processing of both linguistic (words) and nonlinguistic (pictures) stimuli. The results of each of these experiments supports the idea that semantic-to-autobiographical activations occur within a wide variety of contexts (e.g., in language, perception, etc.). The implications of the results for autobiographical remembering are discussed.

Nostalgia is a mixed emotion that is often evoked by music. Nostalgic music may induce temporary improvements in autobiographical memory in individuals with cognitive decline. However, the neural mechanism underlying music‐evoked nostalgia and its associated memory improvements is unclear. With the ultimate goal of understanding how nostalgia‐evoking music may help retrieve autobiographical memories in individuals with cognitive impairment, we first sought to understand the neural underpinnings of these processes in healthy younger and older adults. Methodological constraints, including the lack of personally tailored and experimentally controlled stimuli, have impeded our understanding of this mechanism. Here, we utilized an innovative machine‐learning‐based method to construct three categories of songs, all matched for musical features: (1) personalized nostalgic, (2) familiar non‐nostalgic, and (3) unfamiliar non‐nostalgic. In 57 participants (29 aged 18–35; 28 aged 60 and older), we investigated the functional neural correlates of music‐evoked nostalgia using fMRI. Four main findings emerged: (1) Listening to nostalgic music, more than familiar non‐nostalgic or unfamiliar music, was associated with bilateral activity in the default mode network, salience network, reward network, medial temporal lobe, and supplementary motor regions, (2) Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) models indicated that listening to nostalgic music involved increased functional connectivity of self‐referential (posteromedial cortex) and affect‐related regions (insula), (3) Older adults had stronger BOLD signals than younger adults in nostalgia‐related regions during nostalgic listening, (4) While the BOLD response to nostalgic music in younger adults was associated with trait‐level factors of nostalgia proneness and cognitive ability, the response in older adults was related to affective responses to the music. Overall, our findings serve as a foundation for understanding the neural basis of music‐evoked nostalgia and its potential use in future clinical interventions. Music‐evoked nostalgia activates the default mode network, reward network, medial temporal lobe, and supplementary motor regions of the brain more than non‐nostalgic but familiar music that sounds musically similar in both younger and older adults.

A number of studies (Mace et al., Memory & Cognition, 47, 299–312, 2019 ; Mace & Unlu, Memory & Cognition , 48 , 931–941, 2020 ) have demonstrated that the activation of semantic memories leads to the activation of autobiographical memories on an involuntary memory task (the vigilance task; Schlagman & Kvavilashvili, Memory & Cognition, 36 , 920–932, 2008 ), suggesting that this form of priming (semantic-to-autobiographical) plays a role in the production of involuntary autobiographical memories in everyday life. In the current study, we investigated the effects of prime repetition on involuntary memory production in the vigilance task. Primed participants were either treated to one priming session, where they judged the familiarity of words (e.g., parade ), or three priming sessions, where they also judged the familiarity of words as well as decided whether sentences containing the words made sense (e.g., the parade dragged on for hours), and if their corresponding images were sensible (e.g., an image of a parade). The results showed that primed participants produced more involuntary memories with primed content on the vigilance task than control participants, and three-session primed participants produced more memories than one-session primed participants. Similar to other areas where prime repetition has been investigated (e.g., implicit memory, semantic priming), the results show that prime repetition enhances semantic-to-autobiographical memory priming. The results also further support the idea that semantic-to-autobiographical memory priming may play a significant role in the production of involuntary memories in everyday life, as concept repetition is a likely part of everyday experience. These implications, as well as others, are discussed.

Recent research has shown that the activation of semantic memories leads to the activation of autobiographical memories. Known as semantic-to-autobiographical memory priming, this form of priming has been demonstrated to prime involuntary and voluntary autobiographical memories with a wide variety of different primes (i.e., various verbal and non-verbal stimuli). However, only verbal cues have been used in the memory measures, leaving open the question of how non-verbal cues might function. Our goal in the current study was to show that non-verbal cues are also involved in semantic-to-autobiographical memory priming. Participants were primed with words, and then they were treated to an involuntary autobiographical memory task (the vigilance task) where they received either word cues or pictorial cues. The results showed that both the word cues and the pictorial cues had captured primed involuntary memories on the vigilance task relative to controls. The results support the idea that semantic-to-autobiographical memory primes occur with both verbal and non-verbal cues, potentially indicating substantial cue diversity. The results also further support the idea that semantic-to-autobiographical memory priming may play an important role in the production of involuntary autobiographical memories in everyday life.

Music can be a potent cue for autobiographical memories in both everyday and clinical settings. Understanding the extent to which music may have privileged access to aspects of our personal histories requires critical comparisons to other types of memories and exploration of how music-evoked autobiographical memories (MEAMs) vary across individuals. We compared the retrieval characteristics, content, and emotions of MEAMs to television-evoked autobiographical memories (TEAMs) in an online sample of 657 participants who were representative of the British adult population on age, gender, income, and education. Each participant reported details of a recent MEAM and a recent TEAM experience. MEAMs exhibited significantly greater episodic reliving, personal significance, and social content than TEAMs, and elicited more positive and intense emotions. The majority of these differences between MEAMs and TEAMs persisted in an analysis of a subset of responses in which the music and television cues were matched on familiarity. Age and gender effects were smaller, and consistent across both MEAMs and TEAMs. These results indicate phenomenological differences in naturally occurring memories cued by music as compared to television that are maintained across adulthood. Findings are discussed in the context of theoretical accounts of autobiographical memory, functions of music, and healthy aging.

BackgroundDepression is characterized by different forms of overgeneralization that are all assumed to play a causal role in the development and course of depression.MethodsWe examined, in a community sample of over 625 individuals, whether these different forms of overgeneralization are correlated and whether they are prospective predictors of depression at 6-month follow-up.ResultsNegative overgeneralization to the self and across situations—two types of overgeneralized thinking processes—were significantly but weakly related, but neither of them was related to overgeneral memory—a memory-based form of overgeneralization. Overgeneralization to the self and overgeneral memory both predicted depression symptoms at follow-up. Further, two and three-way interactions indicated that higher levels of overgeneralization processes interact to predict depressive symptoms. Overgeneralization to the self and overgeneral memory both independently predicted probable recurrence of a major depressive episode during the follow-up period in individuals that formerly experienced depression.ConclusionsFindings suggest that overgeneralization in depression is not a unitary construct and that different overgeneralization processes play independent and interacting roles in the course of depression.

Autobiographical memory specificity is known to contribute to better mental health, social problem-solving, and episodic future thinking. While numerous studies have addressed variables that affect autobiographical memory specificity, little is known regarding the meta-memory processes that underpin memory retrieval. In this study, we introduced two meta-memory constructs, ease of retrieval judgments and anticipation of negative emotion evoked, which potentially affect autobiographical memory specificity. Participants ( N = 109) first rated the ease of retrieval and anticipated emotions for positive and negative words used in a subsequent autobiographical memory test. We used the Optional Instructions of the Autobiographical Memory Test , in which participants were instructed that “specific memories are better, but other memories are permissible,” allowing them to adjust how much cognitive effort they spent on generative retrieval after a failure of direct retrieval. They also self-judged whether each retrieval was generative (using additional cues with cognitive effort) or direct (immediate recall without much cognitive effort). Results showed that for generative retrieval, ease of retrieval was associated with greater specific and general memories and fewer omissions. A more negative anticipated emotion was associated with fewer specific memories and greater omissions, but was not with general memories. These results suggest that low retrievability and anticipated negative emotion prevent individuals from devoting efforts to generative retrieval. The lack of association between anticipated negative emotion and general memory calls into question the functional avoidance hypothesis regarding autobiographical memory specificity. We discussed how participants judged these meta-memories and directions for future research.