(A) study on the neural bases underlying self-distancing process

Abstract

We generally retrieve autobiographical memories from our own perspective. Memories can also be retrieved from an alternative perspective by taking a step back from own experiences and observing them from a distanced standpoint. This process is referred to as self-distancing, which is the opposite concept of retrieving memory by immersion in one’s memories. Prior studies suggest that self-distancing can facilitate regulation and control of excessive emotion induced by negative memory. Despite the potential benefits, neural bases of self-distancing have been scarcely studied and our understanding of self-distancing therefore remains insufficient. In this study, we aimed to identify the neural bases underlying self-distancing during memory retrieval through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The experiment consisted of two sessions. In the first session, a pre-scan interview was conducted to collect autobiographical memories of participants. In the second session, participants were instructed to retrieve the memories under a self-distancing condition and self-immersion condition. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and angular gyrus revealed significantly greater activation during the self-distancing condition than the self-immersion condition. Furthermore, the neural pattern similarity analyses showed that during the self-distancing condition, common neural patterns unrelated to memory contents were observed in the visual cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and angular gyrus. These findings suggest that self-distancing during memory retrieval is associated with more pronounced common information processing across divergent memories than self-immersion during memory retrieval.