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Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection
Published on: August 26, 2011
Autobiographical reasoning following the November 2015 Paris attacks: To the roots of meaning-making
Amaury C Mengin1, Lucie Quibeuf2, Pierre Orselli3
1Department of Psychiatry, Mental Health & Addictology, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France; Regional Great East Center for Psychotraumatism, Strasbourg, France; INSERM U1329, Strasbourg Translational NEuroscience and Psychiatry (STEP), Team Psychiatry, Strasbourg, France; Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, France; Strasbourg University, Faculty of Medicine, Strasbourg, France; Université de Caen Normandie, Inserm, EPHE-PSL, PSL Université Paris, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, U1077, NIMH, Caen 14000, France.
Introduction:
Autobiographical reasoning is the mental process of making sense of life experiences by connecting them to one's sense of self and life story. After a traumatic event, individuals may engage in ruminations and coping strategies but the relations between these processes and autobiographical reasoning remain poorly understood. Furthermore, autobiographical reasoning encompasses several dimensions that may reflect different mental health outcomes. Our objectives are to compare three dimensions of autobiographical reasoning (interpretations, exploratory processing, and meaning-making) between exposed and non-exposed individuals after a traumatic event and to examine their links to (1) ruminations and coping strategies and (2) post-traumatic mental health outcomes.
Methods:
We analyzed autobiographical reasoning levels in the narratives of 153 individuals (86 exposed and 67 non-exposed) 8-11 months after the November 13, 2015, attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis using a semi-automated approach. We explored the association of each autobiographical reasoning dimension (measured on 4-levels Likert scales) with ruminations (brooding or reflection), four coping strategies, post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), post-traumatic growth and well-being, measured by self-administered scales.
Results:
Exposed participants showed greater levels of autobiographical reasoning across all dimensions, with the strongest effect for meaning-making. Among the exposed participants, interpretations were positively related to reflection and adaptive coping, and negatively to brooding. Exploratory processing was positively related to reflection and PTSS, and negatively to well-being. Meaning-making was positively related to adaptive coping and post-traumatic growth.
Conclusions:
While traumatic events generate intense autobiographical reasoning in those exposed, identifying the different dimensions it encompasses in trauma narratives is critical, as they reveal specific issues, from higher distress and ruminations to higher adaptive coping and growth.
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