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Autobiographical memory. Sensitivity to age and education of a standardized enquiry*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Giuseppina Borrini ,
Paola Dall'Ora ,
Sergio Della Sala ,
Laura Marinelli  and
Hans Spinnler
Giuseppina Borrini
Affiliation:
Neuropathology and Psychopathology Section, Neuropsychology Laboratory of the ‘Clinica del Lavoro’ Foundation, Medical Centre of Veruno, Italy
Paola Dall'Ora
Affiliation:
Neuropathology and Psychopathology Section, Neuropsychology Laboratory of the ‘Clinica del Lavoro’ Foundation, Medical Centre of Veruno, Italy
Sergio Della Sala
Affiliation:
Neuropathology and Psychopathology Section, Neuropsychology Laboratory of the ‘Clinica del Lavoro’ Foundation, Medical Centre of Veruno, Italy
Laura Marinelli
Affiliation:
Neuropathology and Psychopathology Section, Neuropsychology Laboratory of the ‘Clinica del Lavoro’ Foundation, Medical Centre of Veruno, Italy
Hans Spinnler*
Affiliation:
Neuropathology and Psychopathology Section, Neuropsychology Laboratory of the ‘Clinica del Lavoro’ Foundation, Medical Centre of Veruno, Italy
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Hans Spinnler, 1st Neurological Department of the University, Ospedale San Paolo alia Barona, Via di Rudini 8, 20142 Milano, Italy.
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Synopsis

A structured enquiry for assessing autobiographical memory is proposed. It is made up of three standardized time-cued sets of questions focusing on three life periods: adolescence, early and late adulthood, with five questions for each life period. Standardized testing procedure, checking for veracity and scoring methods are described. Normative data from 157 healthy individuals aged over 55 are converted into ‘equivalent scores’ for use with the enquiry and for diagnostic purposes. Education and ageing, but not sex, appear to be significant factors in the efficiency of retrieval from the autobiographic repertoire.

Type
Preliminary Communication
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , February 1989 , pp. 215 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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Footnotes

*

Preliminary findings were presented at the 5th European Cognitive Neuropsychology Workshop, Brixen, Italy, in January 1987 and at the International Neuropsychological Symposium, Sintra, Portugal, in June 1987.

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