Conscious recollection in autobiographical memory: An investigation in schizophrenia

• Published in: Consciousness and cognition Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 535 - 547
• Main Authors: Danion, Jean-Marie, Cuervo, Christine, Piolino, Pascale, Huron, Caroline, Riutort, Marielle, Peretti, Charles Siegfried, Eustache, Francis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01-09-2005; Elsevier; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Analysis of Variance; Autobiographical memory; Awareness; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Cognitive science; Conscious recollection; Consciousness; Ego; Female; France; Geriatry and gerontology; Human health and pathology; Humans; Life Sciences; Male; Medical sciences; Mental Recall; Middle Aged; Neuroscience; Psychological Theory; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychoses; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Psychology; Self; France; Schizophrenia; Conscious recollection; Self; Autobiographical memory; Psychosis; Human; Memory retrieval; Consciousness; Cognition
• ISSN: 1053-8100; 1090-2376
• DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2005.01.005

Whether or not conscious recollection in autobiographical memory is affected in schizophrenia is unknown. The aim of this study was to address this issue using an experiential approach. An autobiographical memory enquiry was used in combination with the Remember/Know procedure. Twenty-two patients with schizophrenia and 22 normal subjects were asked to recall specific autobiographical memories from four lifetime periods and to indicate the subjective states of awareness associated with the recall of what happened, when and where. They gave Remember, Know or Guess responses according to whether they recalled these aspects of the event on the basis of conscious recollection, simply knowing, or guessing. Results showed that the frequency and consistency of Remember responses was significantly lower in patients than in comparison subjects. In contrast, the frequency of Know responses was not significantly different, whereas the frequency of patients’ Guess responses was significantly enhanced. It is concluded that the frequency and consistency of conscious recollection in autobiographical memory is reduced in patients with schizophrenia.