title: My memories are important to me: Changes in autobiographical memory in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  
  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.
  
  
  
  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.
  
  
  
  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
authors.affiliation: Brain and Mind Research Centre.
authors.forename: Sharpley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia.
authors.forename: Muireann
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Irish
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Foxe
authors.affiliation: Brain and Mind Research Centre.
authors.forename: Jashelle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caga
authors.affiliation: Brain and Mind Research Centre.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Devenney
authors.affiliation: Brain and Mind Research Centre.
authors.forename: Rebekah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hodges
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Piguet
authors.affiliation: Brain and Mind Research Centre.
authors.forename: Matthew C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kiernan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D008875:Middle Aged