title: Damage to the default mode network disrupts autobiographical memory retrieval.
abstract: Functional neuroimaging studies have implicated the default mode network (DMN) in autobiographical memory (AM). Convergent evidence from a lesion approach would help clarify the role of the DMN in AM. In this study, we used a voxelwise lesion-deficit approach to test the hypothesis that regions of the DMN are necessary for AM. We also explored whether the neural correlates of semantic AM (SAM) and episodic AM (EAM) were overlapping or distinct. Using the Iowa Autobiographical Memory Questionnaire, we tested AM retrieval in 92 patients with focal, stable brain lesions. In support of our hypothesis, damage to regions within the DMN (medial prefrontal cortex, mPFC; posterior cingulate cortex, PCC; inferior parietal lobule, IPL; medial temporal lobe, MTL) was associated with AM impairments. Within areas of effective lesion coverage, the neural correlates of SAM and EAM were largely distinct, with limited areas of overlap in right IPL. Whereas SAM deficits were associated with left mPFC and MTL damage, EAM deficits were associated with right mPFC and MTL damage. These results provide novel neuropsychological evidence for the necessary role of parts of the DMN in AM. More broadly, the findings shed new light on how the DMN participates in self-referential processing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, Department of Psychology and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA, and Laboratory of Functional Imaging, UMR678, INSERM/UPMC Univ Paris 06, Paris, France Department of Neurology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, Department of Psychology and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA, and Laboratory of Functional Imaging, UMR678, INSERM/UPMC Univ Paris 06, Paris, France cphilippi@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Carissa L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Philippi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, Department of Psychology and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA, and Laboratory of Functional Imaging, UMR678, INSERM/UPMC Univ Paris 06, Paris, France Department of Neurology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, Department of Psychology and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA, and Laboratory of Functional Imaging, UMR678, INSERM/UPMC Univ Paris 06, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tranel
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, Department of Psychology and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA, and Laboratory of Functional Imaging, UMR678, INSERM/UPMC Univ Paris 06, Paris, France Department of Neurology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, Department of Psychology and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA, and Laboratory of Functional Imaging, UMR678, INSERM/UPMC Univ Paris 06, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duff
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, Department of Psychology and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA, and Laboratory of Functional Imaging, UMR678, INSERM/UPMC Univ Paris 06, Paris, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rudrauf
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000293:injuries* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: autobiographical memory retrieval; default mode network; episodic autobiographical memory; self-referential processing; semantic autobiographical memory