Source Memory in the Real World: A Neuropsychological Study of Flashbulb Memory

A flashbulb memory (FM) is a vivid, enduring memory for how one learned about a surprising, shocking event. It thus involves memory for the source of event information, as opposed to memory for the event itself. Which brain regions are involved in FM, however, is uncertain. Although medial temporal lobe/diencephalic (MTL/D) damage impairs content or item memory, frontal lobe (FL) damage has been associated with impaired source memory. One would therefore expect that FM should depend on the FLs, although two recent reports do not support this idea. In the current study, we examined memory for the events of September 11th, and memory for the source of that information, in MTL/D patients, FL patients, and healthy subjects. Only the MTL/D patients were impaired in long-term memory for the event itself, measured after a 6 month retention interval. The FL patients, on the other hand, showed a selective deficit in source memory, although their memory for the target event was unimpaired. MTL/D and FL structures appear to play different roles in memory for flashbulb events. This research was supported by fellowships from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to P. D., a National Institute on Aging grant (AG 14792) to E. G., and a National Institute on Neurological Disease and Stroke grant (NS 26985) to the Memory Disorders Research Center at Boston University and the Boston VA Healthcare System. We thank Lee Ryan for access to healthy participants; Lis Nielsen, Jasmeet Pannu, Pamela Perschler, and Sheryl Reminger for help contacting participants; Mick Alexander, Kelly Sullivan Giovanello, and David Schnyer for providing lesion data on the patients from Boston; Michael Robinson and Andrea Soulé for assistance with data collection, entry, and analysis; and members of the Memory Interest Group at the University of Arizona for helpful comments on a preliminary report. Preliminary findings were presented at the 2003 International Neuropsychological Society meeting in Honolulu, HI.

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