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Pervasive autobiographical memory impairments in Huntington's disease
Anna M Carmichael1, Muireann Irish2, Yifat Glikmann-Johnston1
1School of Psychological Sciences, Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
Neuropsychologia
|March 1, 2019
Summary
Autobiographical memory is impaired in individuals with Huntington's disease (HD), even in early stages. This dysfunction affects recalling personal life events and may be an overlooked cognitive symptom of HD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neurology
Background:
- Autobiographical memory dysfunction is common in neurodegenerative diseases.
- Huntington's disease (HD) is known to cause episodic memory deficits.
- The impact of HD on autobiographical memory retrieval is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate autobiographical memory performance in individuals with Huntington's disease (HD).
- To determine if HD affects the retrieval of personally-relevant episodic memories across the lifespan.
- To explore the nature of memory retrieval deficits in early-stage HD.
Main Methods:
- The study involved 26 participants with genetically confirmed HD (peri-manifest stage) and 24 matched controls.
- Autobiographical memory was assessed using the Autobiographical Interview (AI).
- The AI is a semi-structured interview evaluating retrieval of lifetime episodic details.
Main Results:
- Participants with HD showed significant global episodic autobiographical memory impairments compared to controls.
- Memory deficits persisted regardless of whether memories were recent or remote.
- While cues improved episodic detail retrieval in HD, performance remained lower than controls.
Conclusions:
- Autobiographical memory dysfunction is a notable feature of Huntington's disease, even in its early stages.
- These impairments are not solely due to strategic retrieval deficits.
- Autobiographical memory deficits may represent an underrecognized aspect of the HD cognitive phenotype.