Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Autobiographical Memories and PTSD

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Comprehensive Guide to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

PTSD has long been associated with alterations in autobiographical memory. In addition to those memory-related symptoms of PTSD found in the diagnostic criteria, such as intrusive memories and flashbacks, researchers have found that individuals with PTSD tend to have difficulty recalling specific moments from their past, a phenomenon referred to as overgeneralized autobiographical memory. Since the original findings were presented two and half decades ago, there now exists a considerable body of work examining the mechanisms underlying overgeneralization. This chapter summarizes the findings on overgeneral memory to date, including the paradigms employed to study this phenomenon, as well as the theories, research outcomes, and implications for vulnerability to and recovery from traumatic stress.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Abbreviations

AMT:

Autobiographical Memory Test

ASD:

Acute Stress Disorder

MEST:

Memory Specificity Training

OGAM:

Overgeneralized Autobiographical Memory

PTSD:

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

SMS:

Self-Memory-System

References

  • Abdollahi M, Moradi A, Hasani J, et al. Investigating the relationships between autobiographical remembering, the self and posttraumatic stress disorder in individuals with HIV. Memory. 2012;20:872–81.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blix I, Brennen T. Mental time travel after trauma: the specificity and temporal distribution of autobiographical memories and future-directed thoughts. Memory. 2011;19:956–67.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boelen P, Huntjens R, van Deursen D, et al. Autobiographical memory specificity and symptoms of complicated grief, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder following loss. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2010;41:331–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown A, Root J, Romano T. Overgeneralized autobiographical memory and future thinking in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2013;44:129–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown A, Addis D, Romano T, et al. Episodic and semantic components of autobiographical memories and imagined future events in post-traumatic stress disorder. Memory. 2014;22:595–604.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant R, Sutherland K, Guthrie R. Impaired specific autobiographical memory as a risk factor for posttraumatic stress after trauma. J Abnorm Psychol. 2007;116:837–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bunnell S, Greenhoot A. When and why does abuse predict reduced autobiographical memory specificity? Memory. 2012;20:121–37.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conway M, Pleydell-Pearce C. The construction of autobiographical memories in the self-memory system. Psychol Rev. 2000;107:261–88.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crane C, Heron J, Gunnell D, et al. Childhood traumatic events and adolescent overgeneral autobiographical memory: findings in a U.K. cohort. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2014;45:330–8.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • de Decker A, Hermans D, Raes F, et al. Autobiographical memory specificity and trauma in inpatient adolescents. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2003;32:22–31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ehlers A, Clark D. A cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Behav Res Ther. 2000;38:319–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Graham B, Herlihy J, Brewin C. Overgeneral memory in asylum seekers and refugees. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2014;45:375–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey A, Bryant R, Dang S, et al. Autobiographical memory in acute stress disorder. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1998;66:500–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Humphries C, Jobson L. Short report: influence of culture and trauma history on autobiographical memory specificity. Memory. 2012;20:915–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jelinek L, Randjbar S, Seifert D, et al. The organization of autobiographical and nonautobiographical memory in posttraumatic stress disorder. J Abnorm Psychol. 2009;118:288–98.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kangas M, Henry J, Bryant R. A prospective study of autobiographical memory and posttraumatic stress disorder following cancer. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2005;73:293–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kleim B, Ehlers A. Reduced autobiographical memory specificity predicts depression and posttraumatic stress disorder after recent trauma. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2008;76:231–42.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kleim B, Wallott F, Ehlers A. Are trauma memories disjointed from other autobiographical memories in posttraumatic stress disorder? An experimental investigation. Behav Cogn Psychother. 2008;36:221–34.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kleim B, Griffith J, Gäbler I, et al. The impact of imprisonment on overgeneral autobiographical memory in former political prisoners. J Trauma Stress. 2013;26:626–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kleim B, Graham B, Fihosy S, et al. Reduced specificity in episodic future thinking in posttraumatic stress disorder. Clin Psychol Sci. 2014;2:165–73.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuyken W, Brewin C. Autobiographical memory functioning in depression and reports of early abuse. J Abnorm Psychol. 1995;104:585–91.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McNally R, Litz B, Prassas A, et al. Emotional priming of autobiographical memory in posttraumatic stress disorder. Cogn Emot. 1994;8:351–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNally R, Lasko N, Macklin M, et al. Autobiographical memory disturbance in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Behav Res Ther. 1995;33:619–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moore S, Zoellner L. Overgeneral autobiographical memory and traumatic events: an evaluative review. Psychol Bull. 2007;133:419–37.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moradi A, Abdi A, Fathi-Ashtiani A, et al. Overgeneral autobiographical memory recollection in Iranian combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Behav Res Ther. 2012;50:435–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moradi A, Miraghaei M, Parhon H, et al. Posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, executive functioning, and autobiographical remembering in individuals with HIV and in carers of those with HIV in Iran. AIDS Care. 2013;25:281–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moradi A, Moshirpanahi S, Parhon H, et al. A pilot randomized controlled trial investigating the efficacy of MEmory Specificity Training in improving symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Behav Res Ther. 2014;56:68–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neshat-Doost H, Dalgleish T, Yule W, et al. Enhancing autobiographical memory specificity through cognitive training: an intervention for depression translated from basic science. Clin Psychol Sci. 2013;1:84–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neshat-Doost H, Yule W, Kalantari M. Reduced autobiographical memory specificity in bereaved Afghan adolescents. Memory. 2014;22:700–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neufeind J, Dritschel B, Astell A, et al. The effects of thought suppression on autobiographical memory recall. Behav Res Ther. 2009;47:275–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prigerson H, Horowitz M, Jacobs S, et al. Prolonged grief disorder: psychometric validation of criteria proposed for DSM-V and ICD-11. PLoS Med. 2009;6, e1000121.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raes F, Williams J, Hermans D. Reducing cognitive vulnerability to depression: a preliminary investigation of MEmory Specificity Training in inpatients with depressive symptomatology. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2009;40:24–38.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ratcliffe M, Ruddell M, Smith B. What is a “sense of foreshortened future?” A phenomenological study of trauma, trust, and time. Front Psychol. 2014;5:1026.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin D. Autobiographical memory. New York: Cambridge University Press; 1986.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schacter D, Addis D. The cognitive neuroscience of constructive memory: remembering the past and imagining the future. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2007;362:773–86.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schacter D, Addis D, Hassabis D, et al. The future of memory: remembering, imagining, and the brain. Neuron. 2012;76:677–94.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schönfeld S, Ehlers A. Overgeneral memory extends to pictorial retrieval cues and correlates with cognitive features in posttraumatic stress disorder. Emotion. 2006;6:611–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schönfeld S, Ehlers A, Böllinghaus I, et al. Overgeneral memory and suppression of trauma memories in posttraumatic stress disorder. Memory. 2007;15:339–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • St Jacques P, Botzung A, Miles A, et al. Functional neuroimaging of emotionally intense autobiographical memories in post-traumatic stress disorder. J Psychiatr Res. 2011;45:630–7.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sumner J. The mechanisms underlying overgeneral autobiographical memory: an evaluative review of evidence for the CaR-FA-X model. Clin Psychol Rev. 2012;32:34–48.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sumner J, Griffith J, Mineka S. Overgeneral autobiographical memory as a predictor of the course of depression: a meta-analysis. Behav Res Ther. 2010;48:614–25.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland K, Bryant R. Autobiographical memory in posttraumatic stress disorder before and after treatment. Behav Res Ther. 2007;45:2915–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland K, Bryant R. Autobiographical memory and the self-memory system in posttraumatic stress disorder. J Anxiety Disord. 2008a;22:555–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland K, Bryant R. Social problem solving and autobiographical memory in posttraumatic stress disorder. Behav Res Ther. 2008b;46:154–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tulving E. Memory and consciousness. Can Psychol. 1985;26:1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ursano R, Li H, Zhang L, et al. Models of PTSD and traumatic stress: the importance of research “from bedside to bench to bedside”. Prog Brain Res. 2007;167:203–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Vreeswijk M, de Wild E. Autobiographical memory specificity, psychopathology, depressed mood, and the use of the Autobiographical Memory Test: a meta analysis. Behav Res Ther. 2004;42:731–43.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Q. Once upon a time: explaining cultural differences in episodic specificity. Soc Personal Psychol Compass. 2009;3:413–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wessel I, Meeren M, Peeters F, et al. Correlates of autobiographical memory specificity: the role of depression, anxiety and childhood trauma. Behav Res Ther. 2001;39:409–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams J. Depression and the specificity of autobiographical memory. In: Rubin D, editor. Remembering our past: studies in autobiographical memory. New York: Cambridge University Press; 1996. p. 244–67.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Williams J, Broadbent K. Autobiographical memory in suicide attempters. J Abnorm Psychol. 1986;95:144–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams J, Barnhofer T, Crane C, et al. Autobiographical memory specificity and emotional disorder. Psychol Bull. 2007;133:122–48.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wingenfeld K, Driessen M, Terfehr K, et al. Cortisol has enhancing, rather than impairing effects on memory retrieval in PTSD. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2012;37:1048–56.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, 360 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Hill Hall 325, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    Elizabeth S. Lapidow

  2. Department of Psychology, Sarah Lawrence College, 1 Mead Way, Science Building, #313, Bronxville, NY, 10708, USA

    Adam D. Brown

  3. Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Adam D. Brown

Authors
  1. Elizabeth S. Lapidow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Adam D. Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adam D. Brown .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Buckinghamshire New University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, United Kingdom

    Colin R. Martin

  2. Kings College, London, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

  3. University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom

    Vinood B. Patel

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this entry

Cite this entry

Lapidow, E.S., Brown, A.D. (2015). Autobiographical Memories and PTSD. In: Martin, C., Preedy, V., Patel, V. (eds) Comprehensive Guide to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08613-2_117-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08613-2_117-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08613-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation