title: Impaired personal trait knowledge, but spared other-person trait knowledge, in an individual with bilateral damage to the medial prefrontal cortex.
abstract: Functional neuroimaging has revealed that in healthy adults retrieval of personal trait knowledge is associated with increased activation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Separately, neuropsychology has shown that the self-referential nature of memory can be disrupted in individuals with mPFC lesions. However, it remains unclear whether damage to the mPFC impairs retrieval of personal trait knowledge. Therefore, in this neuropsychological case study we investigated the integrity of personal trait knowledge in J.S., an individual who sustained bilateral damage to the mPFC as a result of an anterior communicating artery aneurysm. We measured both accuracy and consistency of J.S.'s personal trait knowledge as well as his trait knowledge of another, frequently seen person, and compared his performance to a group of healthy adults. Findings revealed that J.S. had severely impaired accuracy and consistency of his personal trait knowledge relative to control participants. In contrast, J.S.'s accuracy and consistency of other-person trait knowledge was intact in comparison to control participants. Moreover, J.S. showed a normal positivity bias in his trait ratings. These results, albeit based on a single case, implicate the mPFC as critical for retrieval of personal trait knowledge. Findings also cast doubt on the likelihood that the mPFC, in particular the ventral mPFC, is necessary for storage and retrieval of trait knowledge of other people. Therefore, this case study adds to a growing body of evidence that mPFC damage can disrupt the link between self and memory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: María J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Marquine
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. Electronic address: mdgrilli@email.arizona.edu.
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Grilli
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Steven Z
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Rapcsak
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Alfred W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Kaszniak
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Epilepsy Center, University Hospital Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walther
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Glisky
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Autobiographical memory; Personal semantics; Prefrontal cortex; Self; Self-referential