Introduction

The retrieval of autobiographical memories is influenced by several factors, such as sensory modality and the emotional salience of memory cues. This study aimed at investigating the interaction between sensory modalities (olfaction, vision) and emotional dimensions (valence, arousal) of imagery cues, on the frequency, quality, and age distribution of the autobiographical memories (AMs) elicited.

Method

A total of 296 females (aged between 18 and 35 years) received one out of eight brief instructions for olfactory or visual imagery. The participants were asked to create a mental image with either high arousal/positive valence, high arousal/negative valence, low arousal/positive valence, or low arousal/negative valence (e.g., ‘imagine an unpleasant and arousing odor/scene’); no specific stimulus was mentioned in the instruction.

Results

The approach used elicited imagery with autobiographical content in the majority of participants (78%). In terms of frequency, odor imagery, compared to visual imagery, turned out to be more effective at retrieving either unpleasant memories associated with experiences in adulthood, or pleasant childhood memories. In terms of quality, the imagery was rated as less vivid in the olfactory compared to the visual condition (irrespective of valence and arousal of the imagery instruction). Visual imagery was associated with the experience of more diverse emotions (happiness, sadness, anxiety, anger) than odor imagery, which was related primarily with disgust and happiness.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that nonspecific imagery induction is a useful approach in accessing AM.

Implication

This approach presents promising clinical applications, such as in working with autobiographical memory narratives in psychotherapy.

中文翻译：

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嗅觉图像作为自传体记忆的检索方法

介绍

自传体记忆的提取受多种因素的影响，例如感觉形态和记忆线索的情感显着性。本研究旨在调查意象线索的感觉方式（嗅觉、视觉）和情感维度（效价、唤醒）之间的相互作用，以及引发的自传体记忆 (AM) 的频率、质量和年龄分布。

方法

共有 296 名女性（年龄在 18 至 35 岁之间）接受了八分之一的关于嗅觉或视觉意象的简短说明。参与者被要求创造一个具有高唤醒/正效价、高唤醒/负效价、低唤醒/正效价或低唤醒/负效价的心理图像（例如，“想象一个令人不快和令人兴奋的气味/场景”）；指令中没有提到具体的刺激。

结果

该方法在大多数参与者 (78%) 中使用带有自传内容的引出图像。就频率而言，与视觉意象相比，气味意象在提取与成年经历相关的不愉快记忆或愉快的童年记忆方面更为有效。就质量而言，与视觉条件相比，图像在嗅觉中的生动程度较低（不考虑意象教学的效价和唤醒度）。与主要与厌恶和快乐相关的气味意象相比，视觉意象与更多样化的情绪体验（快乐、悲伤、焦虑、愤怒）相关。

结论

我们的研究结果表明，非特定图像归纳是访问 AM 的有用方法。

含义

这种方法呈现出有前途的临床应用，例如在心理治疗中处理自传体记忆叙述。