Construction and Elaboration of Autobiographical Memories from Multiple Visual Perspectives

Abstract

Visual perspective, recalling events from ones own eyes or from an observer-like viewpoint, is a fundamental aspect of autobiographical memory (AM). Yet, how visual perspective influences the functional mechanisms supporting retrieval is unclear. Here, we used a multivariate neuroimaging analysis to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics supporting AM retrieval from multiple visual perspectives. Both own eyes and observer perspectives engaged an AM retrieval network (i.e., hippocampus, anterior and posterior midline, lateral frontal and posterior cortices) that peaked during later retrieval periods but was recruited less strongly for observer perspectives. Functional connectivity analyses with an anterior hippocampal seed revealed that visual perspective also altered interactions among neural regions and their timing during retrieval. There was stronger hippocampal connectivity with a posterior medial network during the initial construction of AMs from observer perspectives and stronger connectivity with a medial temporal lobe network during later retrieval periods from own eyes perspectives, suggesting that visual perspective directs how neocortical systems guide retrieval. Our findings demonstrate that visual perspective influences AM retrieval by altering hippocampal-neocortical interactions and subsequently the strength of neural recruitment in the AM retrieval network during later retrieval periods, thereby supporting the central role of visual perspective in shaping the personal past.