A LITERATURE REVIEW OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY, ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE, MEDIAL TEMPORAL LOBE AMNESIA, AND THEIR NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL CORRELATES

Abstract

This literature review begins by defining the major concepts related to autobiographical memory and the self-concept. Then, four current autobiographical memory models are reviewed. These current models either attempt to link neuroanatomical regions with different aspects of autobiographical memory (Greenberg & Rubin, 2003; Ranganath & Ritchey, 2012), or they focus on experimentally derived associations among the different aspects of autobiographical memory (Conway, 2005; Renoult et al., 2012). Next, the effects of both Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and medial temporal lobe (MTL) amnesia on both autobiographical memory and the self-concept are examined through the review of several current studies. Patients with AD and MTL amnesia provide natural experiments in how damage to particular brain regions affects both autobiographical memory and the self-concept. Finally, the contemporary evidence for the neurological correlates of autobiographical memory and the self-concept is summarized. This summary indicates that mapping the precise neuroanatomical regions associated with the various aspects of autobiographical memory and the self-concept is the subject of ongoing research. As these neuroanatomical associations are more specifically delineated, new breakthroughs are frequently being made, and terminologies have not yet been fully standardized.