Social Cognition in a Case of Amnesia with Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms
Episodic-autobiographical memory (EAM) is considered to emerge gradually in concert with the development of other cognitive abilities. Developmental studies have emphasized socio-cultural-linguistic mechanisms that may be unique to the development of EAM. Furthermore it was hypothesized that one of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2013-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00342/full |
| _version_ | 1819041464042127360 |
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| author | Hans J. Markowitsch Angelica eStaniloiu Friedrich eWoermann Sabine eBorsutzky |
| author_facet | Hans J. Markowitsch Angelica eStaniloiu Friedrich eWoermann Sabine eBorsutzky |
| author_sort | Hans J. Markowitsch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Episodic-autobiographical memory (EAM) is considered to emerge gradually in concert with the development of other cognitive abilities. Developmental studies have emphasized socio-cultural-linguistic mechanisms that may be unique to the development of EAM. Furthermore it was hypothesized that one of the main functions of EAM is the social one. In the research field, the link between EAM and social cognition remains however debated. Herein we aim to bring new insights into the relation between EAM and social information processing (including social cognition) by describing a young adult patient with amnesia with neurodevelopmental mechanisms due to perinatal complications accompanied by hypoxia. The patient was investigated medically, psychiatrically and with neuropsychological and neuroimaging methods. Structural high resolution MRI revealed significant bilateral hippocampal atrophy as well as indices for degeneration in the amygdalae, basal ganglia and thalamus, when a less conservative threshold was applied. In addition to extensive memory investigations and testing other (non-social) cognitive functions, we employed a broad range of tests that assessed social information processing (social perception, social cognition, social regulation). Our results point to both preserved (empathy, core theory of mind functions, visual affect selection and discrimination, affective prosody discrimination) and impaired domains of social information processing (incongruent affective prosody processing, complex social judgments). They support proposals for a role of the hippocampal formation in processing more complex social information that likely requires multimodal relational handling. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T09:25:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6128dc30d2ed4d57903799542d90f054 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T09:25:24Z |
| publishDate | 2013-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-6128dc30d2ed4d57903799542d90f0542022-12-21T19:08:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782013-06-01410.3389/fpsyg.2013.0034240531Social Cognition in a Case of Amnesia with Neurodevelopmental MechanismsHans J. Markowitsch0Angelica eStaniloiu1Friedrich eWoermann2Sabine eBorsutzky3University of BielefeldUniversity of BielefeldClinic Mara, BethelUniversity of BielefeldEpisodic-autobiographical memory (EAM) is considered to emerge gradually in concert with the development of other cognitive abilities. Developmental studies have emphasized socio-cultural-linguistic mechanisms that may be unique to the development of EAM. Furthermore it was hypothesized that one of the main functions of EAM is the social one. In the research field, the link between EAM and social cognition remains however debated. Herein we aim to bring new insights into the relation between EAM and social information processing (including social cognition) by describing a young adult patient with amnesia with neurodevelopmental mechanisms due to perinatal complications accompanied by hypoxia. The patient was investigated medically, psychiatrically and with neuropsychological and neuroimaging methods. Structural high resolution MRI revealed significant bilateral hippocampal atrophy as well as indices for degeneration in the amygdalae, basal ganglia and thalamus, when a less conservative threshold was applied. In addition to extensive memory investigations and testing other (non-social) cognitive functions, we employed a broad range of tests that assessed social information processing (social perception, social cognition, social regulation). Our results point to both preserved (empathy, core theory of mind functions, visual affect selection and discrimination, affective prosody discrimination) and impaired domains of social information processing (incongruent affective prosody processing, complex social judgments). They support proposals for a role of the hippocampal formation in processing more complex social information that likely requires multimodal relational handling.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00342/fullHippocampusNeuroimagingTheory of MindMRIhypoxiasocial information processing |
| spellingShingle | Hans J. Markowitsch Angelica eStaniloiu Friedrich eWoermann Sabine eBorsutzky Social Cognition in a Case of Amnesia with Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms Frontiers in Psychology Hippocampus Neuroimaging Theory of Mind MRI hypoxia social information processing |
| title | Social Cognition in a Case of Amnesia with Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms |
| title_full | Social Cognition in a Case of Amnesia with Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms |
| title_fullStr | Social Cognition in a Case of Amnesia with Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social Cognition in a Case of Amnesia with Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms |
| title_short | Social Cognition in a Case of Amnesia with Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms |
| title_sort | social cognition in a case of amnesia with neurodevelopmental mechanisms |
| topic | Hippocampus Neuroimaging Theory of Mind MRI hypoxia social information processing |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00342/full |
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