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Episodic and Semantic Autobiographical Memory in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

Episodic and semantic autobiographical memories were examined in a group of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and a control group matched for age, gender and IQ. Results demonstrated a personal episodic memory deficit in the ASD group in the absence of a personal semantic memory deficit, suggesting a deficit dissociation between these two components of memory in ASD. Further analysis of memories across different lifetime periods revealed the adolescent and early adult lifetime periods to facilitate memory recall in the control group, but not in the ASD group. These findings suggest a distinctive pattern of remembering in ASD.

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Acknowledgments

The research presented in this article was conducted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a master’s degree by the first author, with support of a 1 + 3 PhD studentship from the Economic and Social Research Council (UK), ref. PTA-030-2005-00091. We would like to thank Dr Sally Robinson for her assistance in coding the episodic memory data and also thank all who participated in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK

    Laura Crane & Lorna Goddard

Authors
  1. Laura Crane
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  2. Lorna Goddard
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Correspondence to Laura Crane.

Appendix

Appendix

Episodic memory narrative task questions.

  1. 1.

    Can you tell me about all the things that you did before you went to bed last night? Tell me everything that you did after you ate dinner until right before you went to bed.

  2. 2.

    Now, can you tell me everything you did when you woke up this morning?

  3. 3.

    Now, can you tell me just one thing you did recently that was enjoyable?

  4. 4.

    What did you do for your last birthday?

  5. 5.

    Now, can you tell me about a time, when you were younger, when your parents punished you for something?

  6. 6.

    Can you tell me the first thing that you can remember in your life, your very first memory? How old were you when you think this event occurred?

  7. 7.

    What’s the very first (i.e. earliest) birthday that you can remember? What did you do for that birthday?

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Crane, L., Goddard, L. Episodic and Semantic Autobiographical Memory in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 38, 498–506 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0420-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0420-2

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