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A smartphone intervention that enhances real-world memory and promotes differentiation of hippocampal activity in older adults

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Martin, Chris B., Hong, Bryan, Newsome, Rachel N., Savel, Katarina, Meade, Melissa E., Xia, Andrew, Honey, Christopher J., Barense, Morgan D.·2022·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.2214285119PMC PMC9907156
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Abstract

The act of remembering an everyday experience influences how we interpret the world, how we think about the future, and how we perceive ourselves. It also enhances long-term retention of the recalled content, increasing the likelihood that it will be recalled again. Unfortunately, the ability to recollect event-specific details and reexperience the past tends to decline with age. This decline in recollection may reflect a corresponding decrease in the distinctiveness of hippocampal memory representations. Despite these well-established changes, there are few effective cognitive behavioral interventions that target real-world episodic memory. We addressed this gap by developing a smartphone-based application called HippoCamera that allows participants to record labeled videos of everyday events and subsequently replay, high-fidelity autobiographical memory cues. In two experiments, we found that older adults were able to easily integrate this noninvasive intervention into their daily lives. Using HippoCamera to repeatedly reactivate memories for real-world events improved episodic recollection and it evoked more positive autobiographical sentiment at the time of retrieval. In both experiments, these benefits were observed shortly after the intervention and again after a 3-mo delay. Moreover, more detailed recollection was associated with more differentiated memory signals in the hippocampus. Thus, using this smartphone application to systematically reactivate memories for recent real-world experiences can help to maintain a bridge between the present and past in older adults.

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  • Having access to photos documenting one's life can help to reconstruct past experiences that are not accessible in unaided recall.

    “Generally speaking, these studies indicate that having access to photos documenting one's life can help to reconstruct past experiences that are not accessible in unaided recall.”

    From Understanding Autobiographical Memory in the Digital Age: The AMEDIA-Model (2024) · cites this paper as Martin et al., 2022

    The Discussion reports that replaying recordings of daily-life events improved older adults’ recall of event-specific details. But the recordings included video and verbal descriptions, and the Results describe cued recall in both conditions; the study did not directly compare access to photos with unaided recall or establish that the recovered experiences were otherwise inaccessible. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Most studies that have investigated the effects of high-tech external resources on recollection focused on the impact of reviewing photos.

    “Most studies that have investigated the effects of high-tech external resources on recollection focused on the impact of reviewing photos (see, e.g., Finley et al., 2011;Mair et al., 2017;Martin et al., 2022; for reviews, see Foley, 2020;Silva et al., 2018).”

    From Understanding Autobiographical Memory in the Digital Age: The AMEDIA-Model (2024) · cites this paper as Martin et al., 2022

    The Discussion (page unavailable) describes a substantial body of research on reviewing photographs from wearable cameras, supporting the background point. But Martin et al.’s own intervention replayed video paired with verbal descriptions, not photos, so this paper is not itself an example of a photo-review study. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Automatically capturing snapshots of everyday life and recording short videos can help people remember aspects of their recent past that may otherwise become inaccessible.

    “In addition, it has been demonstrated that automatically capturing snapshots of everyday life as well as recording short videos can help people to remember aspects of their recent past that may otherwise become inaccessible ( Hodges et al., 2011; Loveday & Conway, 2011; Martin et al., 2022;for a review, see Silva et al., 2018).”

    From Understanding Autobiographical Memory in the Digital Age: The AMEDIA-Model (2024) · cites this paper as Martin et al., 2022

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Authors
Martin, C. B., Hong, B., Newsome, R. N., Savel, K., Meade, M. E., Xia, A., Honey, C. J., & Barense, M. D.
Affiliations
  • Florida State University (US)
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
Corresponding author
  • Martin, Chris B.
  • Barense, Morgan D.
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
2022-12-13
Volume
119
Issue
51
Pages
e2214285119-e2214285119
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.2214285119
PMC
PMC9907156
OpenAlex
W4311303735
Cited by
47
References
14
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 2
FWCI
4.69
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Gouvernement du Canada | Canadian Institutes of Health Research (PJT-173336, PJT-126003)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Keywords
episodic memory, recollection, hippocampus, memory reactivation, autobiographical memory, older adults, smartphone-based intervention, cognitive-behavioral intervention, memory consolidation
MeSH terms
Smartphone, Aged, Cues, Hippocampus, Humans, Mental Recall, Memory, Episodic

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