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re:[B]Episodic or Autob...
Episodic or Autobiographical Memory
Autobiographical, or Episodic, Memory is a representation we form of an event in our lives, strongly anchored by an emotional appraisal of that episode, that we use to form a sense of ourselves and to anticipate our future. The key is that it is organized around an emotional experience. It requires three different elements to be encoded together: the pieces of data, the emotions we experience, and the meaning we extract. One way of thinking about Autobiographical Memory is that it is personal representational memory. We extract meaning not from detail, or procedure, but from the subjective meaning of an event. It requires the coordination of the pre-frontal cortex, the brain’s executive, with the limbic system, the center for meaning and understanding of novelty. Autobiographical memory is very different than just remembering details of a past episode. It is extracting something that is personally important, different, changed, or something that stands out because it has personal meaning to an individual.
Episodic Memory is an active analytic process in which the child learns to focus on and select critical moments from their current experience to preserve for later utilization. It begins to be observed between 18 and 24 months of age in typical children. It allows for using recollection of past experience to anticipate, plan and project into the future. As Endel Tulving states, “It allows people to update information critical to dealing with meaningful changes in their world.” Personal Episodic Memory is also the critical foundation for the development of a personal identity and self concept. Without Autobiographical Memory you don’t develop a sense of self. You also don’t develop the ability to anticipate and think in a hypothetical sense about what might happen in your future. You don’t learn to dream, create goals, plans, and really tie the past in with the future.
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