Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Autobiographical Memory

Autobiographical Memory

Autobiographical memory is a unique type of episodic memory that involves recollecting personal life experiences. It allows individuals to remember significant events from their past, creating a narrative of their lives. One interesting phenomenon related to autobiographical memory is the reminiscence bump. This effect refers to the tendency of adults to recall more events from their second and third decades of life — typically between ages 10 to 30 — than from other periods. This...

Eyewitness Memory

Eyewitness Memory

Eyewitness memory refers to the recollection of events by someone who has directly witnessed them, often serving as critical evidence in legal settings. This type of memory is commonly used in criminal cases where a witness describes details like a suspect's appearance, clothing, or behavior during a crime. However, despite its perceived reliability, eyewitness memory is prone to significant errors.
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function...

Explicit Memories

Explicit Memories

Explicit memories, also known as declarative memories, are consciously remembered, recalled, and reported. Studying for a chemistry exam involves material that will become part of explicit memory. There are two types of explicit memory: episodic and semantic.
Episodic memory contains information about personally experienced events and is reported as a story. An example of episodic memory is recalling a birthday celebration. This type of memory includes the what, where, and when of an event, as...

Traumatic Memory

Traumatic Memory

Emotionally traumatic events often lead to memories that are exceptionally vivid and enduring, sometimes persisting with remarkable clarity throughout an individual's life. A classic example of this phenomenon is a person who survives a car accident. Even years later, they may recall every detail of the event with startling accuracy — the screeching of the tires, the jarring impact, and the acrid smell of burning rubber. Such vividness contrasts sharply with how an individual...

Working Memory

Working Memory

Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this...

Storage

Storage

A schema is a mental framework that helps individuals organize and interpret information. Schemata, formed from previous experiences, influence how we process new information: how we encode it, the inferences we make, and how we retrieve it. For instance, a schema for what a typical classroom looks like might include desks, a teacher's desk, a whiteboard, and students in such an environment. This expectation helps us quickly understand and navigate new classrooms without needing to analyze...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Sound-evoked pupil dilation quantifies misophonic symptoms.

PloS one·2026

Same author

Cross-Cultural Differences in the Interpretation of Autistic Traits: A Comparison Between Iran, Malaysia, Morocco, and The Netherlands.

Journal of autism and developmental disorders·2026

Same author

Boosting behavioral adaptability to enhance older adults' mental health/well-being and quality of life using a habit-based metacognitive self-help intervention.

BMC psychology·2025

Same author

Cross-cultural data on romantic love and mate preferences from 117,293 participants across 175 countries.

Scientific data·2025

Same author

Multi-region investigation of 'man' as default in attitudes.

PloS one·2025

Same author

A preliminary study on the role of personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases on self-reported health across countries.

Public health·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 20, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Published on: August 26, 2011

The relation between verbal and visuospatial memory and autobiographical memory.

Steve M J Janssen¹, Gert Kristo², Romke Rouw³

¹School of Psychology, Flinders University, Australia.

Consciousness and Cognition

|December 3, 2014

Summary

Stronger verbal memory skills correlate with better personal event recall, supporting the basic-systems approach to autobiographical memory. This suggests cognitive abilities influence memory formation and retention across the lifespan.

Keywords:

Adolescence Aging Autobiographical memory Cognitive abilities Cognitive aging Episodic memory Reminiscence bump

More Related Videos

The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

Published on: February 19, 2018

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Effects of Mind-Body-Movement Practices on Brain Function

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Effects of Mind-Body-Movement Practices on Brain Function

Published on: January 26, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 20, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Published on: August 26, 2011

The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

Published on: February 19, 2018

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Effects of Mind-Body-Movement Practices on Brain Function

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Effects of Mind-Body-Movement Practices on Brain Function

Published on: January 26, 2024

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Human Memory

Background:

The basic-systems approach posits autobiographical memory (AM) arises from interactions between cognitive systems like language, vision, and emotion.
While system deficiencies impact AM, the precise relationship between cognitive abilities and AM remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the link between specific cognitive abilities and autobiographical memory performance.
To test whether enhanced cognitive functions correlate with superior autobiographical memory retention.

Main Methods:

Participants completed verbal and visuospatial memory tests.
A personal event was recorded and recalled after a time interval.
Performance on memory tests was correlated with personal event recall accuracy.

Main Results:

Individuals with higher scores on verbal memory tests demonstrated better retention of the personal event.
This finding supports the basic-systems approach to autobiographical memory.

Conclusions:

Cognitive abilities, particularly verbal memory, play a crucial role in autobiographical memory formation and retention.
Optimal functioning of the memory system during adolescence and early adulthood may explain the abundance of memories from these periods.