The neuroanatomy of autobiographical memory: a slow cortical potential study of autobiographical memory retrieval

Changes in slow cortical potentials recorded at the scalp were tracked while participants retrieved autobiographical memories and then held them in mind. During retrieval extensive areas over left frontal scalp exhibited marked negative dc shifts and a similar though smaller effect was also observed over right frontal regions. As a memory was formed and then held in mind, electrodes located over posterior temporal and occipital regions exhibited marked negative shifts. It is proposed that the left frontal negativity primarily reflects cortical activation associated with the operation of a complex retrieval process, whereas the later temporal and occipital negativity (the result of the retrieval process) reflects activation corresponding to the formation and maintenance of a detailed memory.