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Poster Session B: Wednesday, August 13, 1:00 – 4:00 pm, de Brug & E‑Hall

Exploring the Neural and Phenomenological Landscapes of Self-Incongruent Autobiographical Memories

Alicja Wicher¹, Rebekka Heinen¹, Thomas Lukaschewski, Nikolai Axmacher; ¹Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Presenter: Alicja Wicher

Autobiographical memory recall depends on integrating personal experiences with the self-model, ensuring a coherent identity. Yet self-incongruent memories—particularly those involving shame—disrupt this integration and alter phenomenological characteristics. Building on previous diary study findings linking self-incongruence to changes in recall perspective, our ongoing work develops a novel fMRI paradigm to investigate neural correlates of self-memory integration. In this study, participants recall autobiographical episodes eliciting pride, shame, contentment, or fear, with each memory cued by personalized words. Memory recall is accompanied by free verbal narration and simultaneous recording of physiological measures, including cheek temperature, heart rate, and galvanic skin responses, along with self-report ratings on valence, arousal, and memory experience. Representational Similarity Analysis examines distinct neural signatures across emotional states, while semantic analyses illuminate differences in narrative content. This multimodal, ongoing approach elucidates how self-conscious emotions modulate memory integration across neural, experiential, and semantic dimensions.

Topic Area: Memory, Spatial Cognition & Skill Learning

Extended Abstract: Full Text PDF