Memory
Our memory research has focused on naturalistic expressions of memory, particularly autobiographical memory, which refers to processing of information concerning events and facts from one's past. We seek to attain convergent results by using multiple methods of investigation (e.g., psychological testing, neuroimaging) across healthy and clinical samples.
Assessment of autobiographical memory
This research was initially inspired by patient M.L., who had retrograde amnesia specific to episodic autobiographical memory following a severe brain injury (Levine et al., 1998, 1999; Levine et al., 2009). From 2000-2010, our work was largely focused on analysis of the behavioral and neural correlates of autobiographical memory in various clinical samples as well as healthy younger and older adults. Much of this work utilized the Autobiographical Interview (Levine et al., 2002), now widely used for quantification of detail recovery in response to specific cues. We and others have found that autobiographical memory is often distict from laboratory-assessed memory as measured by standard tests, such as word lists, both at the behavioral and brain levels.
Most autobiographical research (including with the Autobiographical Interview) requires identification of events in retrospect, with no control of event features at the time of the event. To enhance experimental control, we have prospectively collected audio recordings of everyday events as effective retrieval cues for evoking brain network function associated with vivid autobiographical recall. We applied similar methods to assess behavioural and brain measures in relation to memories of a traumatic airline flight in which disaster was narrowly averted. More recently, we have created staged events for probing with various memory tasks, allowing us to test theories derived from laboratory studies using more naturalistic stimuli over time periods spanning beyond what is usually tested in laboratory studies, even extending years past the time of the initial event exposure.
Individual differences and Severely Deficient Autographical Memory (SDAM)
In the course of this work, we were contacted by individuals with who reported an inability to consciously retrieve and subjectively experience personal past events in the absence of a clinical pathological condition, a condition we labelled Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory (SDAM; Palombo et al, 2015). The discovery of SDAM prompted us to investigate the spectrum of individual differences in autobiographical memory in healthy adults using the Survey of Autobiographical Memory (SAM; Palombo et al., 2013).
Our memory research has focused on naturalistic expressions of memory, particularly autobiographical memory, which refers to processing of information concerning events and facts from one's past. We seek to attain convergent results by using multiple methods of investigation (e.g., psychological testing, neuroimaging) across healthy and clinical samples.
Assessment of autobiographical memory
This research was initially inspired by patient M.L., who had retrograde amnesia specific to episodic autobiographical memory following a severe brain injury (Levine et al., 1998, 1999; Levine et al., 2009). From 2000-2010, our work was largely focused on analysis of the behavioral and neural correlates of autobiographical memory in various clinical samples as well as healthy younger and older adults. Much of this work utilized the Autobiographical Interview (Levine et al., 2002), now widely used for quantification of detail recovery in response to specific cues. We and others have found that autobiographical memory is often distict from laboratory-assessed memory as measured by standard tests, such as word lists, both at the behavioral and brain levels.
Most autobiographical research (including with the Autobiographical Interview) requires identification of events in retrospect, with no control of event features at the time of the event. To enhance experimental control, we have prospectively collected audio recordings of everyday events as effective retrieval cues for evoking brain network function associated with vivid autobiographical recall. We applied similar methods to assess behavioural and brain measures in relation to memories of a traumatic airline flight in which disaster was narrowly averted. More recently, we have created staged events for probing with various memory tasks, allowing us to test theories derived from laboratory studies using more naturalistic stimuli over time periods spanning beyond what is usually tested in laboratory studies, even extending years past the time of the initial event exposure.
Individual differences and Severely Deficient Autographical Memory (SDAM)
In the course of this work, we were contacted by individuals with who reported an inability to consciously retrieve and subjectively experience personal past events in the absence of a clinical pathological condition, a condition we labelled Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory (SDAM; Palombo et al, 2015). The discovery of SDAM prompted us to investigate the spectrum of individual differences in autobiographical memory in healthy adults using the Survey of Autobiographical Memory (SAM; Palombo et al., 2013).
The Autobiographical Interview (AI)
The Autobiographical Interview (AI; Levine et al., 2002) is a method of assessing autobiographical memory using a text-based analysis of transcribed autobiographical protocols. The key innovation of the AI method lies in the segmentation of details into categories for quantification from within a single naturalistic narrative. Internal or episodic details pertain to the description of the event and sensory or mental state details specific to the event. External details pertain to semantic or factual statements and other details not specific to the event.
The AI has been used in over 200 studies in healthy and patient samples (click here for a full list). It has proven useful to test theories concerning the nature of memory loss in patients with medial temporal lobe damage (Addis et al., 2007; Rosenbaum et al., 2008; St.-Laurent et al., 2009, Miller et al., 2020), including the seminal case of Henry Molaison (patient H.M.; Steinvorth et al., 2005). It has also been used to characterize naturalistic mnemonic deficits in mild cognitive impairment (MCI; Murphy et al., 2008), Alzheimer’s disease (Irish et al., 2011), traumatic brain injury (Esopenko & Levine, 2017) depression (Söderlund et al., 2014), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD; McKinnon et al., 2006, 2008).
Other studies have adapted the AI for assessment of autobiographical memory in typical and atypical development (Willoughby et al., 2012; Gascoigne et al., 2013) and in thinking about the future (Addis, Wong, & Schacter, 2008). Numerous studies have demonstrated a relationship between internal (episodic) details as measured by the AI and structural and functional measures of the medial temporal lobes (in addition to patient studies noted above, see Hodgetts et al., 2017; Memel et al., 2020; Palombo et al., 2018).
The Autobiographical Interview (AI; Levine et al., 2002) is a method of assessing autobiographical memory using a text-based analysis of transcribed autobiographical protocols. The key innovation of the AI method lies in the segmentation of details into categories for quantification from within a single naturalistic narrative. Internal or episodic details pertain to the description of the event and sensory or mental state details specific to the event. External details pertain to semantic or factual statements and other details not specific to the event.
The AI has been used in over 200 studies in healthy and patient samples (click here for a full list). It has proven useful to test theories concerning the nature of memory loss in patients with medial temporal lobe damage (Addis et al., 2007; Rosenbaum et al., 2008; St.-Laurent et al., 2009, Miller et al., 2020), including the seminal case of Henry Molaison (patient H.M.; Steinvorth et al., 2005). It has also been used to characterize naturalistic mnemonic deficits in mild cognitive impairment (MCI; Murphy et al., 2008), Alzheimer’s disease (Irish et al., 2011), traumatic brain injury (Esopenko & Levine, 2017) depression (Söderlund et al., 2014), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD; McKinnon et al., 2006, 2008).
Other studies have adapted the AI for assessment of autobiographical memory in typical and atypical development (Willoughby et al., 2012; Gascoigne et al., 2013) and in thinking about the future (Addis, Wong, & Schacter, 2008). Numerous studies have demonstrated a relationship between internal (episodic) details as measured by the AI and structural and functional measures of the medial temporal lobes (in addition to patient studies noted above, see Hodgetts et al., 2017; Memel et al., 2020; Palombo et al., 2018).
Individual differences in autobiographical memory and SDAM
Replication of the latent structure of the Survey of Autobiographical memory (SAM) in 7487 individuals (Fan, Abdi, & Levine, 2020)
Some people remember events vividly while others have only a vague recollection of the same events. Similarly, some efficiently access factual information, such as news events or trivia, whereas others do not. Few studies have investigated such individual differences in naturalistic memory, although there have been studies concerning individual differences in performance on laboratory tasks. We have been studying "trait mnemonics" as individual differences – much like personality traits – that may have implications for cognitive function (for review, see Palombo et al, 2018). This work was inspired by the discovery of Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory (SDAM), a syndrome whereby healthy adults report an inability to re-experience personal past events.
The Survey of Autobiographical Memory (SAM; Palombo et al., 2013)
Whereas the AI assesses performance (quantified detail recovery) for discrete and typically self-selected events, the Survey of Autobiographical Memory (SAM; Palombo et al., 2013) assesses the degree to which one retrieves and subjectively re-experiences personal past episodes in general. The SAM also includes subscales for semantic memory (i.e., how easily one learns and retains general factual information), spatial navigational ability, and future thinking. The latent structure of the SAM has been replicated by our group (Fan, Abdi, and Levine, 2020) and others (Picco et al., 2020). In the past 10 years, our group and others have used the SAM as an individual differences measure to explore the relationships of trait mnemonics to other cognitive processes (visual imagery, conceptual reasoning).
The Survey of Autobiographical Memory (SAM; Palombo et al., 2013)
Whereas the AI assesses performance (quantified detail recovery) for discrete and typically self-selected events, the Survey of Autobiographical Memory (SAM; Palombo et al., 2013) assesses the degree to which one retrieves and subjectively re-experiences personal past episodes in general. The SAM also includes subscales for semantic memory (i.e., how easily one learns and retains general factual information), spatial navigational ability, and future thinking. The latent structure of the SAM has been replicated by our group (Fan, Abdi, and Levine, 2020) and others (Picco et al., 2020). In the past 10 years, our group and others have used the SAM as an individual differences measure to explore the relationships of trait mnemonics to other cognitive processes (visual imagery, conceptual reasoning).
Episodic autobiographical memory related to posterior MTL connectivity (warm colors), semantic ability related to anterior MTL connectivity (cool colors)
Neural correlates of trait mnemonics
Sheldon et al (2016) demonstrated that individual differences in trait mnemonics as measured by the SAM are related to intrinsic functional connectivity as measured by resting state functional MRI (i.e., brain activity in the absence of overt task demands). Endorsement of strongly vivid episodic memory was associated with increased connectivity between the medial temporal lobes and posterior regions. That is, individuals who report high episodic autobiographical memory in their day-to-day lives show increased connectivity in memory networks involved in accessing images and other perceptual information. Endorsement of high factual or semantic memory showed a different pattern: enhanced connectivity between the medial temporal lobes and prefrontal regions involved in organization and integrating conceptual information. Using a larger external sample (from the Human Connectome Project; HCP) with contemporaneous fMRI and behavioral performance data, we found that trait subjective episodic vividness related to neural patterns associated with perceptual processes, whereas self-rated semantic abilities corresponded to neural patterns associated with gist-based processing (Petrican & Levine, 2020). These findings suggest that individual differences in memory states as rated by the SAM relate to stable differences in functional brain organization.
Sheldon et al (2016) demonstrated that individual differences in trait mnemonics as measured by the SAM are related to intrinsic functional connectivity as measured by resting state functional MRI (i.e., brain activity in the absence of overt task demands). Endorsement of strongly vivid episodic memory was associated with increased connectivity between the medial temporal lobes and posterior regions. That is, individuals who report high episodic autobiographical memory in their day-to-day lives show increased connectivity in memory networks involved in accessing images and other perceptual information. Endorsement of high factual or semantic memory showed a different pattern: enhanced connectivity between the medial temporal lobes and prefrontal regions involved in organization and integrating conceptual information. Using a larger external sample (from the Human Connectome Project; HCP) with contemporaneous fMRI and behavioral performance data, we found that trait subjective episodic vividness related to neural patterns associated with perceptual processes, whereas self-rated semantic abilities corresponded to neural patterns associated with gist-based processing (Petrican & Levine, 2020). These findings suggest that individual differences in memory states as rated by the SAM relate to stable differences in functional brain organization.
DVN interference effect is correlated with spatial imagery abilities
Experimental evidence
One way to study memory abilities is to manipulate or interfere with them in an experiment. Sheldon et al (2016) tested memory for video stimuli while participants were watching a screen with Dynamic Visual Noise (DVN) or a solid grey screen. DVN interferes with the ability to form images. We also asked participants to rate their visual imagery abilities on a questionnaire. Individual differences in visual imagery abilities interacted with DVN such that the higher one's visual imagery ratings, the greater the effect of DVN. In other words, individuals who readily form visual images showed greater interference effects during DVN, whereas those who with lower visual imagery abilities were less affected by this manipulation. This study reinforces a link between visual imagery and memory.
One way to study memory abilities is to manipulate or interfere with them in an experiment. Sheldon et al (2016) tested memory for video stimuli while participants were watching a screen with Dynamic Visual Noise (DVN) or a solid grey screen. DVN interferes with the ability to form images. We also asked participants to rate their visual imagery abilities on a questionnaire. Individual differences in visual imagery abilities interacted with DVN such that the higher one's visual imagery ratings, the greater the effect of DVN. In other words, individuals who readily form visual images showed greater interference effects during DVN, whereas those who with lower visual imagery abilities were less affected by this manipulation. This study reinforces a link between visual imagery and memory.
Relationship to other visual and spatial processes
The link between different forms of autobiographical memory as assessed by the SAM and visual imagery was reinforced in a study of 7,487 volunteers, led by Carina Fan. Episodic autobiographical memory and spatial navigation dissociated from each other and mapped onto different forms of visual imagery (Fan, Abdi, & Levine, 2020), a finding that runs counter to theories that tightly link episodic memory and navigation.
The link between different forms of autobiographical memory as assessed by the SAM and visual imagery was reinforced in a study of 7,487 volunteers, led by Carina Fan. Episodic autobiographical memory and spatial navigation dissociated from each other and mapped onto different forms of visual imagery (Fan, Abdi, & Levine, 2020), a finding that runs counter to theories that tightly link episodic memory and navigation.
Relationships between the SAM subscales and imagery as measured by the Object-Spatial Imagery Questionnaire (OSIQ; Blajenkova et al., 2006) in 7487 adults. The SAM-episodic and SAM-future subscales are related to object-scene imagery, whereas the SAM-spatial subscale is related to the spatial imagery. From Fan, Abdi, & Levine, 2020)
Eye movements (number of fixations) relate to the number of internal (episodic) details recalled for a staged event but only for those high (left) trait-level episodic autobiographical memory (as measured by the SAM; Armson et al., 2020). As fixations are an oculomotor indicator of visual imagery, these findings suggest that those with high episodic autobiographical memory experience a greater degree of visual vividness than those with low episodic autobiographical memory. External (non-episodic) details were unrelated to fixations.
Visual processes: eye movement monitoring. In collaboration with Rotman scientist Jennifer Ryan, Mike Armson assessed visual processes through objective measures derived from eye movement monitoring. Participants recalled events while their eye movements upon a blank screen were monitored. Consistent with the notion that autobiographical memory involves visual imagery, we found that saccades were related to the richness of memory as quantified by internal (but not external) details on the Autobiographical Interview. However, under an individual differences framework, we reasoned that this relationship would be modulated by trait episodic autobiographical capacities. Evidence for this hypothesis was supported through free recall of a staged event across 90 participants with varying episodic autobiographical memory capacities as measured by the SAM (Armson, Ryan, & Levine, 2020). This finding suggests that those with congenitally lower episodic autobiographical memory abilities (such as people with SDAM; see below) generate internal episodic details via non-visual mechanisms, such as implicational reasoning, converging with the brain image analysis results of Sheldon and colleagues (2016) and Petrican & Levine, (2020; see above).
Functional implications of trait autobiographical memory in aging
Individual differences in trait mnemonics may also have implications for how people function as they age. Although memory decline is a hallmark of normal aging, we predicted that people with congenitally lower episodic memory abilities may actually function better as they age compared to people who have been used to relying on their strong episodic memory throughout life and must newly adapt to age-related decline. We found evidence for this hypothesis in a cross-sectional online study of almost 1000 older adults (Fan, Romero, & Levine, 2020), and we are currently preparing for a longitudinal follow-up study to assess if this effect holds over time.
Individual differences in trait mnemonics may also have implications for how people function as they age. Although memory decline is a hallmark of normal aging, we predicted that people with congenitally lower episodic memory abilities may actually function better as they age compared to people who have been used to relying on their strong episodic memory throughout life and must newly adapt to age-related decline. We found evidence for this hypothesis in a cross-sectional online study of almost 1000 older adults (Fan, Romero, & Levine, 2020), and we are currently preparing for a longitudinal follow-up study to assess if this effect holds over time.
People with low episodic autobiographical memory abilities as measured by the SAM report greater real-life memory errors and slips in their 50's, but not with advancing age, suggesting that they are better equipped to resist age-related memory changes than those with congenitally higher episodic autobiographical memory abilities (from Fan et al., 2020).
Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory (SDAM)
SDAM refers to a lifelong inability to vividly relive or re-experience personal events. Palombo and colleagues (2015) report data from three healthy, high functioning individuals with SDAM and matched controls intensively studied in our laboratory. We found that these individuals had reduced visual memory on laboratory tasks, reduced right hippocampal volume, and reduced activation of the canonical autobiographical memory network during fMRI scanning. They also showed a greatly reduced late positivity Event Related Potential (ERP) component of recognition memory for pictures presented in a laboratory experiment, in spite of the fact that their recognition memory performance was intact. The late positivity ERP component indicates conscious recollection or re-experiencing of the test item. This latter finding suggests that intact memory performance (and day-to-day memory function) in SDAM is may be supported by non-episodic processes (e.g., semantic memory, familiarity).
In a followup study, Fuentemilla, Palombo, and Levine (2018) played recordings of prospectively collected autobiographical events during monitoring of brain activity with magnetoencephalography (MEG), which directly measures brain activity. Healthy adults showed robust synchronized oscillations in the gamma frequency (27-45 Hz) when listening to these recordings, whereas an individual with SDAM did not, although normal activity was observed in relation to stimulation with semantic information.
We have been contacted by many thousands of individuals since our initial publication concerning SDAM and subsequent media presentations who have volunteered for research by completing our online memory survey. More information about SDAM can be found here.
SDAM refers to a lifelong inability to vividly relive or re-experience personal events. Palombo and colleagues (2015) report data from three healthy, high functioning individuals with SDAM and matched controls intensively studied in our laboratory. We found that these individuals had reduced visual memory on laboratory tasks, reduced right hippocampal volume, and reduced activation of the canonical autobiographical memory network during fMRI scanning. They also showed a greatly reduced late positivity Event Related Potential (ERP) component of recognition memory for pictures presented in a laboratory experiment, in spite of the fact that their recognition memory performance was intact. The late positivity ERP component indicates conscious recollection or re-experiencing of the test item. This latter finding suggests that intact memory performance (and day-to-day memory function) in SDAM is may be supported by non-episodic processes (e.g., semantic memory, familiarity).
In a followup study, Fuentemilla, Palombo, and Levine (2018) played recordings of prospectively collected autobiographical events during monitoring of brain activity with magnetoencephalography (MEG), which directly measures brain activity. Healthy adults showed robust synchronized oscillations in the gamma frequency (27-45 Hz) when listening to these recordings, whereas an individual with SDAM did not, although normal activity was observed in relation to stimulation with semantic information.
We have been contacted by many thousands of individuals since our initial publication concerning SDAM and subsequent media presentations who have volunteered for research by completing our online memory survey. More information about SDAM can be found here.
Healthy adults showed robust synchronized oscillations in the gamma frequency (27-45 Hz) in response to hearing audio recordings of autobiographical events collected prospectively in the months preceding scanning.
Prospectively collected or staged events
We have sought to increase the fidelity of autobiographical stimulation by using a prospective "diary" method whereby research participants are scanned during replay of audio recordings that they made contemporaneously with events from their own past. This method allows for a high degree of control over autobiographical stimuli that cannot be attained with retrospective methods that are typically used in functional neuroimaging studies of autobiographical memory. Using this method, we have demonstrated distinct networks associated with vivid recall of verified episodic and semantic autobiographical information (Levine et al., 2004) and the effects of memory characteristics including rehearsal and age of autobiographical events on medial temporal lobe activation (Svoboda et al., 2009; Sheldon & Levine, 2013; also see Söderlund et al., 2012).
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) data using this paradigm have been used to show how coupling or synchrony of theta oscillations in medial temporal and anteromedial prefrontal regions support subjective vividness in autobiographical recall (Fuentemilla et al., 2014), with followup work focused on cortical gamma synchrony (Fuentemilla et al., 2018).
We have sought to increase the fidelity of autobiographical stimulation by using a prospective "diary" method whereby research participants are scanned during replay of audio recordings that they made contemporaneously with events from their own past. This method allows for a high degree of control over autobiographical stimuli that cannot be attained with retrospective methods that are typically used in functional neuroimaging studies of autobiographical memory. Using this method, we have demonstrated distinct networks associated with vivid recall of verified episodic and semantic autobiographical information (Levine et al., 2004) and the effects of memory characteristics including rehearsal and age of autobiographical events on medial temporal lobe activation (Svoboda et al., 2009; Sheldon & Levine, 2013; also see Söderlund et al., 2012).
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) data using this paradigm have been used to show how coupling or synchrony of theta oscillations in medial temporal and anteromedial prefrontal regions support subjective vividness in autobiographical recall (Fuentemilla et al., 2014), with followup work focused on cortical gamma synchrony (Fuentemilla et al., 2018).
The Air Transat Study
In 2001, Air Transat flight 236 ran out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean. After 30 terrifying minutes in which the passengers and crew prepared to ditch into the ocean, the pilot miraculously glided the jet to an Azores airbase with no injuries. Our team, including Margaret McKinnon, Daniela Palombo, Rebecca Todd, and Adam Anderson, have been studying the effects of this trauma on memory and attention. Using the Autobiographical Interview, we showed that memory for details of the Air Transat disaster was greatly enhanced, but this enhanced vividness was not associated with the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; McKinnon, Palombo et al., 2015). On the other hand, those with PTSD generated an excess of external details. This effect was observed for all events tested, not just the Air Transat disaster, suggesting that strategic control over memory may be altered in those who develop PTSD. These findings may be useful in understanding why some develop PTSD while others do not, even when exposed to the same traumatic event.
We next probed the neural correlates of traumatic memory enhancement in a subset of passengers scanned with fMRI 9 years after the Air Transat disaster (Palombo et al., 2016). Passengers were scanned while viewing video recreations of the event from NBC and the Discovery Channel as part of the media coverage at the time of the event, along with footage of the events of September 11, 2001 and a neutral event. After the scans, passengers' narrative descriptions of the events were scored using the Autobiographical Interview. As in our prior study, passengers showed a strong memory enhancement effect for the traumatic event. The degree of memory enhancement was correlated with activation in the bilateral amygalae, along with medial temporal regions, the ventral visual system, and anterior and posterior midline regions. The same pattern was observed in relation to memory for September 11, 2001. This is the first fMRI study of memory for a life-threatening event in a group of individuals with homogenous traumatic exposure. The correspondence of traumatic memory enhancement with amygdalar activation supports the role of this structure in memory for remotely occurring trauma, and further suggests mechanisms for memory vividness of both traumatic and non-traumatic events.
In 2001, Air Transat flight 236 ran out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean. After 30 terrifying minutes in which the passengers and crew prepared to ditch into the ocean, the pilot miraculously glided the jet to an Azores airbase with no injuries. Our team, including Margaret McKinnon, Daniela Palombo, Rebecca Todd, and Adam Anderson, have been studying the effects of this trauma on memory and attention. Using the Autobiographical Interview, we showed that memory for details of the Air Transat disaster was greatly enhanced, but this enhanced vividness was not associated with the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; McKinnon, Palombo et al., 2015). On the other hand, those with PTSD generated an excess of external details. This effect was observed for all events tested, not just the Air Transat disaster, suggesting that strategic control over memory may be altered in those who develop PTSD. These findings may be useful in understanding why some develop PTSD while others do not, even when exposed to the same traumatic event.
We next probed the neural correlates of traumatic memory enhancement in a subset of passengers scanned with fMRI 9 years after the Air Transat disaster (Palombo et al., 2016). Passengers were scanned while viewing video recreations of the event from NBC and the Discovery Channel as part of the media coverage at the time of the event, along with footage of the events of September 11, 2001 and a neutral event. After the scans, passengers' narrative descriptions of the events were scored using the Autobiographical Interview. As in our prior study, passengers showed a strong memory enhancement effect for the traumatic event. The degree of memory enhancement was correlated with activation in the bilateral amygalae, along with medial temporal regions, the ventral visual system, and anterior and posterior midline regions. The same pattern was observed in relation to memory for September 11, 2001. This is the first fMRI study of memory for a life-threatening event in a group of individuals with homogenous traumatic exposure. The correspondence of traumatic memory enhancement with amygdalar activation supports the role of this structure in memory for remotely occurring trauma, and further suggests mechanisms for memory vividness of both traumatic and non-traumatic events.
Behavioral PLS analysis results showing correspondence of memory vividness (internal details from the Autobiographical Interview) for the AT disaster and September 11, 2001 with amygdalar activation.
Selected publications
For full publication list, see Google Scholar; articles may be downloaded from the Rotman Research Institute article database
Imaging/ Healthy Adults
Clinical
For full publication list, see Google Scholar; articles may be downloaded from the Rotman Research Institute article database
Imaging/ Healthy Adults
- Petrican, R., Palombo, D., Sheldon, S., & Levine, B. (2020). The Neural Dynamics of Individual Differences in Episodic Autobiographical Memory. eNeuro, 7(2). DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0531-19.2020.
- Diamond, N. B., Abdi, H., & Levine, B. (2020). Different patterns of recollection for real-world and laboratory-based episodes in younger and older adults. Cognition, 202, 104309. DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104309.
- Diamond, N. B., Armson, M. J., & Levine, B. (2020). The truth is out there: Accuracy in recall of verifiable real-world events. Psychological Science, 31(12), pp. 1544–1556. 2020 Nov 23:956797620954812. DOI: 10.1177/0956797620954812. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33226299.
- Diamond, N. B., & Levine, B. (2020). Linking Detail to Temporal Structure in Naturalistic-Event Recall. Psychological Science, 31(12), pp. 1557–1572. 2020 Nov 23:956797620958651. DOI: 10.1177/0956797620958651. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33226305.
- Fan, C.L, Romero, K., & Levine, B. (2020). Older adults with lower autobiographical memory abilities report less age-related decline in everyday cognitive function. BMC Geriatrics, 20(1), 308. DOI: 10.1186/s12877-020-01720-7.
- Fan, C. L., Abdi, H., & Levine, B. (2020). On the relationship between trait autobiographical episodic memory and spatial navigation. Memory & Cognition, 49(2), 265-275. DOI: 10.3758/s13421-020-01093-7.
- Armson, M.J., Diamond, N.B., Levesque, L., Ryan, J. D., & Levine, B. (2020). Vividness of recollection is supported by eye movements in individuals with high, but not low trait autobiographical memory. Cognition, 2021, 206, 104487. DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104487.
- Selarka, D., Rosenbaum, S., Lapp, L., & Levine, B. (2019). Association between self-reported and performance-based navigational ability using internet-based remote spatial memory assessment. Memory, 27(5):723-728. DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2018.1554082.
- Diamond, N., Romero, K., Jeyakumar, N. & Levine, B. (2018). Age-related decline in item but not spatiotemporal associative memory for a real-world event. Psychology and Aging, 33(7):1079-1092. DOI: 10.1037/pag0000303.
- Petrican, R. and Levine, B. (2018). Similarity in functional brain architecture between rest and specific task modes: A model of genetic and environmental contributions to episodic memory, Neuroimage, 179:489-504. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.06.057.
- Palombo, D., Sheldon, S., & Levine, B. (2018). Individual differences in autobiographical memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 22(7):583-597. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.04.007.
- Sheldon, S. & Levine, B. (2018). The medial temporal lobe functional connectivity patterns associated with forming different mental representations. Hippocampus, 28(4):269-280. DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22829.
- Palombo, D.J., Bacopulos, A., Amaral, R.S.C, Olsen, R.K., Todd, R.M., Anderson, A.K., & Levine, B. (2018). Episodic autobiographical memory is associated with variation in the size of hippocampal subregions. Hippocampus, 28(2):69-75. DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22818.
- Fuentemilla, L. Palombo, D.J., & Levine, B. (2018). Gamma phase-synchrony in autobiographical memory: evidence from magnetoencephalography and Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory. Neuropsychologia, 110:7-13. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.08.020.
- Hebscher, M., Levine, B., Gilboa, A. (2017). The precuneus and hippocampus contribute to individual differences in the unfolding of spatial representations during episodic autobiographical memory. Neuropsychologia. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.03.029.
- Sheldon, S., & Levine, B. (2016). The role of the hippocampus in memory and mental construction. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1369(1). 76-92. DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13006.
- Sheldon, S., Amaral, R., & Levine, B. (2016). Individual differences in visual imagery determine how event information is remembered. Memory, 5,1-10. DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2016.1178777.
- Armson, M.J., Abdi, H., & Levine, B. (2016). Bridging naturalistic and laboratory assessment of memory and aging: The Baycrest Mask Fit Test. Memory, 17,1-10. DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2016.1241281.1-10.
- Sheldon, S., Farb, N., Palombo, D., & Levine, B. (2016). Intrinsic medial temporal lobe connectivity relates to individual differences in episodic autobiographical remembering. Cortex, 74, 206-216.
- Sheldon, S., & Levine, B. (2015). The Medial Temporal Lobes Distinguish Between Within-Item and Item- Context Relations During Autobiographical Memory Retrieval. Hippocampus, 25(12), 1577-1590.
- Palombo, D.J., Alain, C., Söderlund, H., Khuu, W., & Levine, B. (2015) Severely deficient autobiographical memory (SDAM) in healthy adults: A new mnemonic syndrome. Neuropsychologia, 72, 105-118.
- Fuentemilla, L, Barnes, G., Düzel, E.*, & Levine, B.* (2014). Theta oscillations orchestrate medial temporal lobe and neocortex in remembering autobiographical memories. NeuroImage, 85(2), 730-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.08.029.
- Heisz, J.J., Vakorin, V., Ross, B., Levine, B.,* & McIntosh, A.R.* (2014). A Trade-off between Local and Distributed Information Processing Associated with Remote Episodic versus Semantic Memory. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 26(1), 41-53. DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00466.
- Palombo, D.J., Amaral, R.S.C., Olsen, R.K., Müller, D.J., Todd, R.M., Anderson, A.K., & Levine, B. (2013). KIBRA Polymorphism is Associated with Individual Differences in Hippocampal Subregions: Evidence from Anatomical Segmentation using High-Resolution MRI. J Neuroscience, 33(32), 13088-13093.
- Sheldon, S., & Levine, B. (2013). Same as it ever was: Vividness modulates the similarities and differences between the neural networks that support retrieving remote and recent autobiographical memories. Neuroimage, 83, 880-891.
- Söderlund H., Moscovitch M., Kumar N., Mandic, M. & Levine, B. (2012). As time goes by: Hippocampal connectivity changes with remoteness of autobiographical memory retrieval. Hippocampus, 22, 670-679.
- Spreng, R.N., & Levine, B. (2012). Doing what you imagine: Completion rates and frequency attributes of imagined future events one year after prospection. Memory. DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2012.736524.
- Renoult, L., Davidson, P.S.R., Palombo, D.J., Moscovitch, M., & Levine, B. (2012). Personal Semantics: At the crossroads of semantic and episodic memory. Trends in Cognitive Science, 16(11), 550-558. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2012.09.003.
- Palombo, D., Williams, L., Abdi, H., Levine, B. (2012) The Survey of Autobiographical Memory (SAM): A novel measure of trait mnemonics in everyday life. Cortex. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2012.08.023.
- Todd, R.M., Palombo, D.J., Levine, B., & Anderson, A.K. (2011). Genetic differences in emotionally enhanced memory. Neuropsychologia, 49, 734-744.
- Svoboda, E & Levine, B. (2009). The effects of rehearsal on the functional neuroanatomy of episodic autobiographical and semantic remembering: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 3073-3082.
- McKinnon, M. C., Svoboda, E., & Levine, B. (2007). The frontal lobes and autobiographical memory. In B. L. Miller & J. L. Cummings (Eds.), The Human Frontal Lobes, Functions and Disorders (2nd ed., pp. 227-248). New York: Guilford Publications.
- St Jacques, P. L., & Levine, B. (2007). Ageing and autobiographical memory for emotional and neutral events. Memory, 15, 129-144.
- Svoboda, E., McKinnon, M. C., & Levine, B. (2006). The functional neuroanatomy of autobiographical memory: A meta-analysis. Neuropsychologia, 44, 2189-2208.
- Spreng, R.N. and Levine, B. (2006). The temporal distribution of past and future autobiographical events across the lifespan. Memory & Cognition, 34, 1644-51.
- Levine, B., Turner, G.R., Tisserand, D.J., Graham, S.I., Hevenor, S.J., McIntosh, A.R. (2004) The functional neuroanatomy of episodic and semantic autobiographical remembering: a prospective study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16, 1633-1646.
- Levine, B. (2004). Autobiographical memory and the self in time: Brain lesion effects, functional neuroanatomy, and life-span development. Brain and Cognition, 55, 54-68.
- Levine, B., Svoboda E.M., Hay, J.F., Winocur, G., Moscovitch, M. (2002). Aging and autobiographical memory: dissociating episodic and semantic retrieval. Psychology & Aging, 17, 677-689.
Clinical
- Seixas Lima, B., Graham, N.L., Leonard, C., Levine, B., Black, S.E., Tang Wai, D.F., Freedman, B., & Rochon, E. (2020). Impaired coherence for semantic but not episodic autobiographical memory in semantic variant primary progressive aphasia. Cortex, 123:72-85. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.10.008.
- Seixas Lima, B., Murphy, K., Troyer, A., Levine, B., Graham, N. L., Leonard, C., Tang-Wai, D., Black, S., & Rochon, E. (2020). Language and memory: An investigation of the relationship between autobiographical memory recall and narrative production of semantic and episodic information. Aphasiology, 1-20. DOI: 10.1080/02687038.2020.1843593.
- Seixas Lima, B., Murphy, K., Troyer, A., Levine, B., Graham, N. L., Leonard, C., & Rochon, E. (2020). Episodic memory decline is associated with deficits in coherence of discourse. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 37(7-8), 511-522 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2020.1770207.
- Renoult, L., Armson, M., Diamond, N., Fan, C., Jeyakumar, N., Levesque, L., Oliva, L., McKinnon, M., Papadopoulos, A., Selarka, D., St. Jacques, P., & Levine, B. (2020) Classification of general and personal semantic details in the Autobiographical Interview. Neuropsychologia, 144, 107501. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107501.
- Petrican, R., Soderlund, H., Kumar, N., Daskalakis, Z.J., Flint, A., & Levine, B. (2019). Electroconvulsive therapy “corrects” the neural architecture of visuospatial memory: Implications for typical cognitive-affective functioning. NeuroImage: Clinical, 23:101816. DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101816.
- Sekeres, M., de Medeiros, C., Decker, A., Bacopulos, A., Skocic, J., Szulc, K., Bouffet, E., Levine, B., Grady, C., Mabbott, D., Josselyn, S., & Frankland, P. (2018). Impaired recent, but preserved remote, autobiographical memory in pediatric brain tumor patients. Journal of Neuroscience, 38(38):8251-8261. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1056-18.2018.
- Stamenova, V., Gao, F, Black, S.E., Schwartz, M.L., Kovacevic, N., Alexander, M.P. & Levine, B. (2017). The effect of focal cortical frontal and posterior lesions on recollection and familiarity in recognition memory. Cortex, 91:316-326. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.04.003.
- Esopenko, C. & Levine, B. (2017). Autobiographical memory and structural brain changes in chronic phase TBI. Cortex. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.01.007.
- Palombo, D.J., McKinnon, M.C., McIntosh, A.R., Anderson, A.K., Todd, R.M., & Levine, B. (2016). The Neural Correlates of Memory for a Life- Threatening Event: An fMRI study of Passengers From Flight AT236. Clinical Psychological Science, 4, 312-319.
- McKinnon, M.C., Palombo, D.J., Nazarov, A., Kumar, N., Khuu, W., & Levine, B. (2015). Threat of death and autobiographical memory: a study of passengers from Flight AT236. Clinical Psychological Science, 3, 487-502.
- Söderlund, H., Moscovitch, M., Kumar, N., Daskalakis, J., Flint, A., Hermann, N., & Levine, B. (2014). Autobiographical episodic memory in major depressive disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123, 51-60.
- Söderlund, H., Percy, A., & Levine, B. The effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on autobiographical memory: a review of the literature (2012). In Zeman, A., Kapur, N., & Jones-Gotman, M. (eds.), Epilepsy & Memory: State of the art. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Levine, B., Svoboda, E.M., Turner, G.R., Mandic, M., & Mackey, A. (2009). Behavioral and functional neuroanatomical correlates of autobiographical memory in isolated retrograde amnesic patient M.L. Neuropsychologia, 47, 2188-2196.
- McKinnon, M. C., Nica, E. I., Sengdy, P., Kovacevic, N., Moscovitch, M., Freedman, M., Miller, B. L., Black, S. E., & Levine, B. (2008) Autobiographical memory and patterns of brain atrophy in frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20, 1839-1853.
- Rosenbaum, R.S., Moscovitch, M., Foster, J.K., Verfaellie, M., Gao, F.Q., Black, S.E., & Levine, B. (2008). Patterns of autobiographical memory loss in medial-temporal lobe amnesic patients. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20, 1490-1506.
- Söderlund, H., Black, S. E., Miller, B. L., Freedman, M., & Levine, B. (2008). Episodic memory and regional atrophy in frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Neuropsychologia, 46, 127-136.
- Rosenbaum, R.S., Stuss, D.T., Levine, B., and Tulving, E. (2007). Theory of mind is independent of episodic memory. Science, 318, 1257.
- McKinnon, M. C., Svoboda, E., & Levine, B. (2007). The frontal lobes and autobiographical memory. In B. L. Miller & J. L. Cummings (Eds.), The Human Frontal Lobes, Functions and Disorders (2nd ed., pp. 227-248). New York: Guilford Publications.
- McKinnon, M.C., Black, S.E., Miller, B., Moscovitch, M., & Levine, B. (2006). Autobiographical memory in semantic dementia: implication for theories of limbic-neocortical interaction in remote memory. Neuropsychologia, 44(12), 2421-2429.
- Steinvorth, S., Levine, B., & Corkin, S. (2005). Medial temporal lobe structures are needed to re-experience remote autobiographical memories. Neuropsychologia, 43, 479-496.
- Levine, B., Freedman, M. Dawson, D., Black, S.E. & Stuss, D.T. (1999). Ventral frontal contribution to self-regulation: Convergence of episodic memory and inhibition. Neurocase, 5, 263-275.
- Levine, B., Black, S.E., Cabeza, R., Sinden, M., Mcintosh, A.R., Toth, J.P, Tulving, E., & Stuss, D.T. (1998). Episodic memory and the self in a case of isolated retrograde amnesia. Brain, 121, 1951-1973.