Memory distortion : how minds, brains, and societies reconstruct the past

431 Pages·1995·159.95 MB·English

by  Daniel L Schacter

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HOW MINDS,
BRAINS, AND SOCIETIES
RECONSTRUCT
THE PAST
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EDITED BY
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Memory Distortion
How Minds, Brains, and Societies
Reconstruct the Past
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Editor
Daniel L. Schacter
Contributing Editors
Joseph T. Coyle
Gerald D. Fischbach
Marek-Marsel Mesulam
Lawrence E. Sullivan
Harvard University Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England / 1995
Copyright © 1995 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Memory distortion : how minds, brains, and societies reconstruct the
past / Daniel L. Schacter, editor; Joseph T. Coyle ... ret al.l,
contributing editors.
p. cm.
Papers originally presented at the first conference sponsored by
the Harvard Center for the Study of Mind, Brain, and Behavior in
Cambridge, Mass., May 6-8, 1994.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-674-56675-0 (alk. paper)
1. Memory disorders-Congresses. 1. Schacter, Daniel L.
II. Coyle, Joseph T. III. Harvard Center for the Study of Mind,
Brain, and Behavior.
BF376.M46 1995
153.1'2-dc20 95-30479
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Contents
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Preface IX
GERALD D. FISCHBACH AND JOSEPH T. COYLE
Memory Distortion: History and Current Status 1
DANIEL L. SCHACTER
Part I Cognitive Perspectives
1 The Reality of Illusory Memories 47
ELIZABETH F. LOFTUS, JULIE FELDMAN,
AND RICHARD DASHIELL
2 Constructive Memory and Memory Distortions: A Parallel-
Distributed Processing Approach 69
JAMES L. MCCLELLAND
3 False Beliefs: Some Developmental and
Clinical Considerations 91
STEPHEN J. CECI
Part II Psychiatric and Psychopathological Perspectives
4 Hypnosis and Suggestion 129
DAVID SPIEGEL
VI Contents
5 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Psychobiological
Mechanisms of Traumatic Remembrance 150
JOHN H. KRYSTAL, STEPHEN M. SOUTHWICK,
AND DENNIS S. CHARNEY
6 Mood-congruent Memory Biases in Anxiety and Depression 173
SUSAN MINEKA AND KATHLEEN NUGENT
Part ill Neuropsychological Perspectives
7 Biological Foundations of Accuracy
and Inaccuracy in Memory 197
LARRY R. SQUIRE
8 Confabulation 226
MORRIS MOSCOVITCH
Part IV Neurobiological Perspectives
9 Emotional Activation, Neurpmodulatory Systems,
and Memory 255
JAMES L. MCGAUGH
10 Speculations on the Fidelity of Memories Stored
in Synaptic Connections 274
RODNEY A. SWAIN, KIM E. ARMSTRONG,
THOMAS A. COMERY, AARON G. HUMPHREYS,
THERESA A. JONES, JEFF A. KLEIM,
AND WILLIAM T. GREENOUGH
11 Steps Toward a Molecular Definition of Memory
Consolidation 298
TED ABEL, CRISTINA ALBERINI,
MIRELLA GHIRARDI, YA N-YOU HUANG,
PETER NGUYEN, AND ERIC R. KANDEL
Part V Sociocultural Perspectives
12 Some Patterns and Meanings of Memory Distortion
in American History 329
MICHAEL KAMMEN
13 Dynamics of Distortion in Collective Memory 346
MICHAEL SCHUDSON
Contents Vll
14 Ancient Egyptian Antijudaism:
A Case of Distorted Memory 365
JAN ASSMANN
Part VI Concluding Reflections
15 Notes on the Cerebral Topography of Memory and
Memory Distortion: A Neurologist's Perspective 379
MAREK-MARSEL MESULAM
16 Memory Distortion and Anamnesis:
A View from the Human Sciences 386
LAWRENCE E. SULLIVAN
Contributors 403
Index 407

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Preface
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Memory is the scaffolding upon which all mental life is constructed.
It is, therefore, a worthy subject for the first conference sponsored by the
Harvard Center for the Study of Mind, Brain, and Behavior (MBB), whose
mission, broadly stated, is to chart the human mind, integrating the perspec
tives of neuroscience, the social sciences, and the humanities. MBB is one
of five university-wide programs initiated by President Neil Rudenstine as
part of a search for common ground among the diverse faculties that consti
tute Harvard University.
The Center is currently composed of twenty-five faculty who gather every
six weeks or so to debate issues raised during a formal presentation by one
of the members. These stimulating discussions have lowered the intellectual
barriers that isolate one discipline from another, and they have raised expec
tations so that new research collaborations now seem likely. We want to
know what questions and theoretical constructs arise at the interface be
tween disciplines that may lead to a more profound understanding of mental
life. What is it that needs to be explained? Success in this exciting effort
depends on the willingness of established investigators to ask questions that
might seem naive within the confines of their native disciplines. The going
is slow at times, but it is precisely this interplay across discipline boundaries
that defines one of the most significant benefits of university life.
Small study groups emerge from the parent MBB fellowship from time
to time in order to explore a particular subject in a more intense, sustained
manner. Memory, in all forms from cells to institutions, is the focus of the
subgroup (Coyle, Fischbach, Mesulam, Schacter, and Sullivan) that planned
the conference on which this volume is based. The conference was held at
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
May 6-8, 1994.
x Preface
We decided to emphasize memory distortion because this phenomenon
sits at a crucial interface between neurobiology and psychology. It also raises
important issues regarding institutional and societal memory and how dis
tortion at these levels relates to the function of individuals. We also wanted
to begin a constructive, candid discussion of the relationship between recog
nized forms of memory distortion and the politically charged subject of re
pressed memories. The so-called "false memory syndrome" is currently the
subject of intense discussion in the lay press. But the issues should not be
ignored by academics. On the contrary, one important goal of MBB is to
determine how scientists and scholars from different fields might come to
gether to contribute constructively to this type of debate.
Memories are never exact replicas of external reality. Psychophysical
studies and electrical recordings from the brain have shown that incoming
sensory information is not received passively. Survival depends on rapid
transformation and interpretation of sensory stimuli based on expectations
about how the world works. We interpret patterns of light that fall on a
two-dimensional array of receptors in the retina as three-dimensional, richly
textured scenes. In this sense all memories are "created" rather than simply
"received." No memory or mental image exactly replicates the constellation
of nerve impulses associated with the initial sensation. Past experience, en
coded in the strength of synaptic connections throughout the activated neu
ral networks, modifies incoming information.
Thoughts and emotions "emerge" from patterns of electrical impulses
conducted along the fine processes of nerve cells. Our nerve cells function
in much the same manner as do worm nerve cells. But our thoughts differ
from worm thoughts because human nerve cells are arranged in more intri
cate and more adaptable circuits. To understand memory and memory dis
tortion, it is important to understand the anatomy and chemical architecture
of neural circuits that are active during the processing of explicit and implicit
memories. The time is right. Advances at many levels of analysis have pro
vided new opportunities for relating memory to specific brain functions.
New chemical transmitters have been uncovered, novel mechanisms of
transmitter action have been described, and loci within the brain where they
act have been identified with unprecedented precision. Plausible models of
behavior have emerged from this new chemical architecture. Methods for
recording the signals of single neurons or small groups of neurons in unanes
thetized, behaving animals have led to important insights regarding the func
tion of nerve cell ensembles that are active during the formation, consolida
tion, and recall of memories. Large ensembles of neurons can be monitored
with imaging techniques based on positron emission or magnetic resonance.
These noninvasive techniques have brought the human brain to center stage
because they are capable of detecting patterns of neural activity through the
intact skull. A remarkable diversity between individuals even when per-
Preface xi
forming simple tasks is one of the most important early findings and one
of the most relevant for students of memory distortion.
In the context of memory distortion, it is important to emphasize that
the brain's functional architecture is not fixed. The strength of synaptic con
nections may increase or decrease as a function of past experience. Genes
influence behavior, of course, and experience does too. It will be crucial to
determine the limits of this remarkable synaptic plasticity. Recent studies
have demonstrated a clear relationship between synaptic plasticity and sim
ple forms of learning in invertebrates and vertebrates. These findings have
immediate import for more complex phenomena associated with short-term
and long-term memory in humans. Can memory distortion, normal and ab
normal, be understood at the level of synaptic connections? What mecha
nisms might account for the recollection of a thought that has not emerged
to the level of consciousness for a prolonged period of time?
The human brain need no longer be considered an impenetrable black
box. We must crawl into the box and try to understand the brain as it func
tions in the context of human affairs. This requires that the advances in
neuroscience be paralleled by equally creative thinking at the level of psy
chology and the behavior of societies. The most powerful neurobiological
techniques will not be sufficient without clear definitions of important ques
tions to be asked and the levels of understanding that are sought. There is
a need for theories that relate neuronal activity to mental life. To understand
how memories are formed and stabilized, we must move beyond insights
gained about the first stages of sensory input and the final pathways of motor
output to consider emotional valence, and the elusive phenomena associated
with consciousness. Insights from the psychological level of analysis and
from the studies of small groups and whole societies around the globe and
through time must be incorporated.
A start must be made. Hence this volume and our choice of contributors,
a group of investigators who would not have met one another at a conven
tional gathering with a more restricted scope. We want to test the premises
of the new MBB initiative by exploring the phenomenon of memory distor
tion at all levels.
We are grateful to our colleagues in MBB for their time and energy and
their bold pursuit of important questions. Shawn Bohen is the able adminis
trator who has held the center together and brought us to this important
launch. Chrissy Thurmond organized the meeting and kept track of every
detail with infectious joy and energy. None of our efforts would have been
possible without the generous support of the Dana Foundation and the
steadfast commitment of the Foundation's leader, David P. Mahoney.
Gerald D. Fischbach
Joseph T. Coyle