Autobiographical memory, a specific type of episodic memory, refers to the ability to recall details of one's own life events. This crucial cognitive capacity develops rapidly in early childhood specifically by the time children are of school age, (Piolino et al.,2007). Improvements in this ability are thought to be related to developmental changes in memory, language, self concept, etc.. (ci. However the neural bases related to these improvements has not been identified. Previous research has established the vital role of the hippocampus in episodic memory. The hippocampus undergoes protracted developmental change in early childhood, with different …show more content…
In the study, 13 4- to 8-year-old children completed an autobiographical memory interview and underwent MRI scanning. Prior to the interview, parents were asked to identify two unique events their child has experienced within the last several months. Children were then asked to recall details of those events and were later prompted with specific questions regarding the events. The Narrative Coherence Coding Scheme was used to evaluate the coherence and recall of their autobiographical narrative (cite). Freesurfer v5.1 and Automatic Segmentation Adapter Tool were utilized to derive hippocampal volumes from the brain scans; demarcation of head, body, and tail subregions was completed manually using standard anatomical landmarks. Relations between autobiographical memory (context, chronology & theme) and subregion volume were assessed.
Findings shows that context (time and location) from their autobiographical memory is positively correlated with age. This is consistent with previous findings that
Preliminary results showed that the children’s ability to recall chronology, the temporal order of the event, is correlated with the right hippocampal tail (r(13) = . Such findings suggest the ability to recall and place components of an autobiographical event on a timeline is associated with the subregions along the longitudinal axis of the hippocampus
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