Cited by 108Memory Processes and InfluencesIdentity, Memory, and TherapyCognitive Functions and Memory

Shifting visual perspective during retrieval shapes autobiographical memories

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St. Jacques, Peggy L., Szpunar, Karl K., Schacter, Daniel L.·2017·NeuroImage

Abstract

The dynamic and flexible nature of memories is evident in our ability to adopt multiple visual perspectives. Although autobiographical memories are typically encoded from the visual perspective of our own eyes they can be retrieved from the perspective of an observer looking at our self. Here, we examined the neural mechanisms of shifting visual perspective during long-term memory retrieval and its influence on online and subsequent memories using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants generated specific autobiographical memories from the last five years and rated their visual perspective. In a separate fMRI session, they were asked to retrieve the memories across three repetitions while maintaining the same visual perspective as their initial rating or by shifting to an alternative perspective. Visual perspective shifting during autobiographical memory retrieval was supported by a linear decrease in neural recruitment across repetitions in the posterior parietal cortices. Additional analyses revealed that the precuneus, in particular, contributed to both online and subsequent changes in the phenomenology of memories. Our findings show that flexibly shifting egocentric perspective during autobiographical memory retrieval is supported by the precuneus, and suggest that this manipulation of mental imagery during retrieval has consequences for how memories are retrieved and later remembered.

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    From Is episodic-like memory <i>like</i> episodic memory? (2024) · cites this paper as [41]

  • View of the body enhances perceptual and cognitive tasks.

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  • Encoding of episodic memory requires the natural co-perception of one's body and the extrapersonal world, which is perceived from the first-person perspective.

    “Therefore, these studies suggest that encoding of EM requires the natural co-perception of one’s body and the extrapersonal world, which is perceived from the first-person perspective.”

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Authors
St. Jacques, P. L., Szpunar, K. K., & Schacter, D. L.
Affiliations
  • University of Illinois Chicago (US)
  • Harvard University (US)
Venue
NeuroImage
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-03
Volume
148
Pages
103-114
ISSN
1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2565245978
Cited by
108
References
77
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 2
FWCI
4.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Sussex Research Online (University of Sussex) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (MH060941)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
Keywords
autobiographical memory, visual perspective, egocentric perspective, memory retrieval, perspective shift, precuneus, posterior parietal cortex, memory flexibility, mental imagery, phenomenology of memory, long-term memory
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Algorithms, Emotions, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Parietal Lobe, Mental Recall, Recruitment, Neurophysiological, Visual Perception, Young Adult, Memory, Long-Term, Memory, Episodic

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