Ill-defined problem solving in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: Linking episodic memory to effective solution generation

Vandermorris, Susan; Al-Haj, Mohamed; Cohen, Stephen S.; Winocur, Gordon; Moscovitch, Morris

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.01.005

Cited by 44 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…A broader definition of open‐ended tasks are those in which there are typically multiple different ways to perform the task, with multiple possible satisfactory outcomes that can change according to task demands . This is in contrast to closed‐ended or well‐defined tasks that have a single anticipated outcome if a set path is followed . In the next section, we provide evidence that the interaction of these two characteristics upon retrieval—generating and integrating details, and open‐endedness—will engage hippocampus‐mediated mental construction mechanisms.…”

Section: Section Two: Retrieval Scenarios That Recruit the Hippocampusmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Older adults remember the general gist of a memory and associated facts (i.e., recalling a schematic mental representation), but they do not construct events in specific detail (i.e., mental construction) to the same degree as younger adults, a finding replicated numerous times . A selective deficit of internal detail generation has been documented in a host of other conditions marked by MTL atrophy or excisions, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which specifically affects episodic memory owing to alterations of the MTL, , and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) involving excised or atrophied hippocampi . There is selective hippocampal involvement in constructing and integrating internal details; patients with focal hippocampal damage produce fewer internal, but not external, details when constructing events (for an exception, see Ref.…”

Section: Section One: Mental Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aligning with the broader relational processing account of the hippocampus, the constructive episodic simulation hypothesis suggests that hippocampal processes support autobiographical memory in a flexible manner, binding together multiple details of an event. These processes can build new event simulations, not just scene‐based imaginations, by recombining the details accumulated from several past events to support tasks such as problem solving, planning, and creativity , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of the hippocampus in memory and mental construction

Sheldon

Levine

2016

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.

129

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Much has been learned about the processes that support the remembrance of past autobiographical episodes and their importance for a number of cognitive tasks. This work has focused on hippocampal contributions to constructing coherent mental representations of scenarios for these tasks, which has opened up new questions about the underlying hippocampal mechanisms. We propose a new framework to answer these questions, which incorporates task demands that prompt hippocampal contributions to mental construction, the online formation of such mental representations, and how these demands relate to the functional organization of the hippocampus. Synthesizing findings from autobiographical memory research, our framework suggests that the interaction of two task characteristics influences the recruitment of the hippocampus: (1) the degree of task open-endedness (quantified by the presence/absence of a retrieval framework) and (2) the degree to which the integration of perceptual details is required. These characteristics inform the relative weighting of anterior and posterior hippocampal involvement, following an organizational model in which the anterior and posterior hippocampus support constructions on the basis of conceptual and perceptual representations, respectively. The anticipated outcome of our framework is a refined understanding of hippocampal contributions to memory and to the host of related cognitive functions.

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Section: Section Two: Retrieval Scenarios That Recruit the Hippocampusmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Section One: Mental Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of the hippocampus in memory and mental construction

Sheldon

Levine

2016

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.

129

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“…Responses for the MEPS task were scored as a “relevant step”, “irrelevant step”, or “no step” using the step categories defined by Platt and Spivack (1975); for the analyses, irrelevant and no steps were collapsed into one “other steps” category (cf. Madore & Schacter, 2014; Sheldon et al, 2015). A relevant step is a step or event that leads towards the designated solution state or goal, an irrelevant step is a step or event that leads towards a different solution state not designated in the prompt, and a no step is information that does not fit the step framework (e.g., commentary about the task, repetitive or off-topic information).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first avenue can be measured via the means-end problem solving paradigm (MEPS; Platt & Spivack, 1975), which involves a set of standardized problems which participants must generate steps (i.e., means) to solve. Patients with emotional disorders tend to show poorer performance on this task relative to healthy controls (Dickson & MacLeod, 2004; Goddard, Dritschel, & Burton, 1996; Raes et al, 2005; Sidley, Whitaker, Calam, & Wells, 1997; Sutherland & Bryant, 2008), perhaps because the MEPS task is known to be reliant on episodic memory processes (Sheldon, McAndrews, & Moscovitch, 2011; Sheldon et al, 2015; Vandermorris, Sheldon, Winocur, & Moscovitch, 2013) and reduced specificity of episodic memory has been documented in this population (McNally et al, 1994, 1995; Williams et al, 1996). As previously mentioned, Madore and Schacter (2014) demonstrated that increasing the level of detail with which participants recollect details of past experiences with an episodic specificity induction (Madore et al, 2014) positively impacted performance on the MEPS task by increasing the number of relevant steps and details generated for each problem.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Worrying about the future: An episodic specificity induction impacts problem solving, reappraisal, and well-being.

Jing¹,

Madore²,

Schacter³

2016

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

197

186

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Previous research has demonstrated that an episodic specificity induction – brief training in recollecting details of a recent experience – enhances performance on various subsequent tasks thought to draw upon episodic memory processes. Existing work has also shown that mental simulation can be beneficial for emotion regulation and coping with stressors. Here we focus on understanding how episodic detail can affect problem solving, reappraisal, and psychological well-being regarding worrisome future events. In Experiment 1, an episodic specificity induction significantly improved participants’ performance on a subsequent means-end problem solving task (i.e., more relevant steps) and an episodic reappraisal task (i.e., more episodic details) involving personally worrisome future events compared with a control induction not focused on episodic specificity. Imagining constructive behaviors with increased episodic detail via the specificity induction was also related to significantly larger decreases in anxiety, perceived likelihood of a bad outcome, and perceived difficulty to cope with a bad outcome, as well as larger increases in perceived likelihood of a good outcome and indicated use of active coping behaviors compared with the control. In Experiment 2, we extended these findings using a more stringent control induction, and found preliminary evidence that the specificity induction was related to an increase in positive affect and decrease in negative affect compared with the control. Our findings support the idea that episodic memory processes are involved in means-end problem solving and episodic reappraisal, and that increasing the episodic specificity of imagining constructive behaviors regarding worrisome events may be related to improved psychological well-being.

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Assessing Autobiographical Memory

Diamond

Armson

Palombo

et al. 2018

Stevens' Handbook of Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience

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Autobiographical memory is notoriously difficult to study in the laboratory because it involves many different cognitive processes and is subject to several “real‐world” factors. It is imperative that we understand the processes involved in autobiographical memory given that these processes are affected in several conditions, such as depression and dementia, and they are critical for a variety of daily life functions. We review established models and assessments of autobiographical memory as well as recent advances in the tools and approaches used to investigate autobiographical memory. We note the implications of these new assessment methods for our understanding of the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms of autobiographical memory as well as related clinical conditions.

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Ill-defined problem solving in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: Linking episodic memory to effective solution generation

Cited by 44 publications

References 58 publications

The role of the hippocampus in memory and mental construction

The role of the hippocampus in memory and mental construction

Worrying about the future: An episodic specificity induction impacts problem solving, reappraisal, and well-being.

Assessing Autobiographical Memory

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