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Updated: Mar 21, 2026

Eye-Tracking Control to Assess Cognitive Functions in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Published on: October 13, 2016
My memories are important to me: Changes in autobiographical memory in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Sharpley Hsieh1, Muireann Irish2, David Foxe2
1Brain and Mind Research Centre.
Objective:
The loss of autobiographical memories (ABM) is a pervasive feature of neurodegenerative diseases. Studies to date have not investigated ABM retrieval in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a multisystem disorder that may be associated with cognitive dysfunction and dementia.
Method:
The integrity of autobiographical memory was evaluated in 22 ALS patients compared with 28 age-matched controls using the Autobiographical Interview (AI), a semistructured interview assessing autobiographical events from discrete time periods across the life span.
Results:
ABM retrieval was preserved in ALS and remained rich in detail for personal events in recent (last 12-months) and remote (teenage years) time epochs. ABM retrieval was positively correlated with months since ALS symptom onset, with a greater number of contextual details being recalled as ALS progressed. A shift in how ABMs were perceived in ALS patients became apparent, with more recurrent reflection of recent life, which was also weighted with greater personal importance.
Conclusion:
The preservation of ABM in ALS has clinical implications for the use of life review as a therapeutic tool in a multidisciplinary care setting. (PsycINFO Database Record
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